The leader of a notorious Berkeley real estate dynasty, who in 2001 pled guilty for his role in a family operation to smuggle young Indian girls into the country for sex and cheap labor, has asked a United States District Court judge to rescind his guilty plea just as a civil case against the family is about to commence.  

Berkeley real estate mogul Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 66, has filed a writ of habeas corpus asking Judge Claudia Wilken to overturn his plea of guilt to sex, tax and immigration offenses, Wilken revealed Monday at a sentencing hearing for Reddy’s 45-year-old son Prasad Lakireddy.  

Saying that she feared the no-prison-time plea agreement for Prasad Lakireddy was too lenient, Wilken postponed a issuing a sentence. Lakireddy was the fifth and final member of the family to plead guilty to reduced charges in the scandal. 

While Wilken did not give a timetable for how she planned to respond to Lakireddy Bali Reddy’s request, the judge reset Prasad Lakireddy’s sentencing hearing for April 19 and asked defense attorney Paul Wolf and U.S District Attorney Stephen Corrigan to provide evidence pointing to the appropriateness of the plea bargained sentence. 

After the hearing, Lakireddy’s attorney Paul Wolf blasted the postponement. “This is an ambush to keep this man from defending himself at his civil trial,” he said, pointing at Lakireddy. Wolf’s statement implied that so long as Lakireddy faces criminal sentencing, he would probably choose not to testify in the civil trial, where he would risk incriminating himself. 

The civil trial played heavily into Monday’s proceedings, said an attorney at the sentencing who declined to be named. Should Judge Wilken throw out the guilty pleas of Lakireddy Bali Reddy—the only member of the family to plead guilty to sexual improprieties—it could improve his standing in the civil trial.  

Developments since Reddy pled guilty in 2001 have improved the family’s legal position. Several of the Lakireddy’s chief accusers have alleged that the court translator, Uma Rao, exaggerated their testimony. Some of the victims who might have been key witnesses in criminal trials have subsequently indicated that they would refuse to testify against the family if such trials were now to take place. 

Michael Rubin, attorney for the plaintiffs in the civil case, said six of the original plaintiffs have abandoned the suit and have since filed papers to withdraw their statements from the court record. 

The Lakireddy saga first surfaced in November, 1999 when 17-year-old Chanti Pratipatti died from carbon monoxide fumes caused by a blocked heating vent in a downtown Berkeley apartment owned by the Lakireddys. Pratipatti’s older sister was also in the apartment, but survived. The parents of Pratipatti and two men, brought to the country illegally, are the only defendants remaining in the civil case, Rubin said. 

In November, Prasad Lakireddy entered a guilty plea on one count of conspiracy to employ unauthorized aliens. In return he was to receive five years of probation, one year of house arrest and a $20,000 fine.  

Lakireddy’s brother, Vijay, 34, is serving a two-year sentence for pleading guilty to the same crime—a fact that didn’t sit well with Wilken. “I have a concern with the proportionality with respect to this defendant and the sentence imposed on the brother,” she said. 

Should Wilken ultimately abide by the plea bargain, Prasad Lakireddy would become the third member of his family to avoid prison time in return for a plea. 

Lakireddy’s uncle, Jayprakash Lakireddy, spent one year in a halfway house for conspiring to commit immigration fraud. His aunt, Annapurna Lakireddy, served six months of home detention for the same offense. 

Prasad had originally been charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to import aliens for immoral purposes and witness tampering, but the allegations of misconduct against the translator and the refusal of several of the alleged victims to testify damaged the government’s case. 

When pressed by Wilken about the perceived leniency of the plea agreement, U.S. District Attorney Stephen Corrigan replied, “What we have to consider is what the government can prove.” Corrigan refused to comment following the hearing. 

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While Berkeley office vacancy rates have been increasing over the past two years, they still remain half those of San Francisco, where real estate vendors estimate year-end office vacancy rates at more than 20 percent. 

But the city’s downtown current vacancy rate of 12.25 percent is more that five times higher than 2000, when BT Commercial Real Estate estimated office vacancies at 2.21 percent. West Berkeley has fared slightly better, with vacancies rising from 3.62 percent four years ago to 11.46 percent today. 

But compared to San Francisco and Santa Clara County, Berkeley is sitting pretty, and the city’s vacancies are the lowest of all regions of Alameda County, save for Jack London Square. 

“We’re going good,” said John Gordon of Gordon Commercial Real Estate Services in Berkeley. “This is generally a healthy community. It’s a place where people want to be.” 

“In the long run, because we’re so diversified, we’ll be in much better shape than a lot of other areas,” said Ted Burton, the city’s Economic Development Program coordinator. 

“The dot.com bust and declines in the high tech sector have had some impact, especially in West Berkeley, but we’re a lot better off than Silicon Valley,” Burton said. 

The recent downsizing of the UC Berkeley Extension program has made 12,000 square feet available downtown, Gordon said, “and there’s been some downsizing and closings in the high tech field.”  

By contrast, downtown San Francisco’s office vacancy rate was the second highest in the country in 2003, trailing only suburban Detroit, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. 

And of the 110 million square feet of vacant office space in the greater Bay Area, 70 million are in Santa Clara County, emptied by the dot.com collapse, said Jeffrey Wieland of Walnut Creek, senior vice president of Colliers International, a global commercial real estate brokerage. 

“The East Bay’s relatively well off because of the diversity of businesses here,” said Erin M. Proto, East Bay Research Services Manager for real estate giant Grubb & Ellis Company. 

Higher vacancies mean less rental income for owners, not only from more empty offices but from the dropping rental rates that accompany high vacancies. 

The average monthly rent per square foot of a downtown office has dropped from $3.29 in 2000 to $2.05 today—in West Berkeley from $2.81 to $1.82. 

High vacancy rates translate into dramatically lower rates in San Francisco, Wieland said, where annual rates for the choicest San Francisco that were running $110 per square foot at the peak of the boom have dropped to $32, with rates in the South of Market area dropping to $18 to $20 a year. 

Nationally, “office markets are unquestionably in the grip of a downward cycle,” reports the Society of Industrial Office Realtors in the 2004 U.S. Office Market Review and Outlook. 

And while federal economic figures show a recovering economy, with corporate profits in double digits for the last two years, there has been no corresponding decrease in unemployment. 

One culprit implicated in the anomalous “jobless recovery” is the increasing reliance on “offshored” jobs—the replacement of American workers by cheaper foreign workers in manufacturing, technology and, increasingly, the so-called service industries. 

Accounting jobs are moving to Asia at record rates, and medical transcription and legal research are also headed offshore, primarily to India. The New York Times reported in October that offshoring has already produced higher office vacancy rates in New York City, where Wall Street brokerages and investment bankers have been sending financial analyst jobs overseas. 

“Offshoring is more of a problem in Concord and San Francisco, which have more back office rentals,” Gordon said. 

“The Berkeley office market is relatively healthy because the city hasn’t built much office space in the last five to ten years, and because the university is a big magnet for tech companies,” said Wieland. “You’re doing a lot better than Emeryville—‘Emptyville’—which has been running around 30 percent,” he said. 

Besides the vacancies created by offshoring, companies are generating increasing amounts of “shadow space” emptied by the replacement of human workers by integrated software platforms that fulfill multiple functions that once required human workers. 

Even without offshoring jobs, Wieland said many Bay Area companies are relocating to Sunbelt states like Texas, where salaries, property taxes, and workers comp insurance costs are all lower. “In the long run, Berkeley’s in an enviable position. Because of the university, people are always going to need offices,” he said. 

Berkeley’s large numbers of nonprofit organizations also contribute to the relative health of the local office market, said Gordon, who’s been dealing in local real estate for the last 24 years.

The Shattuck Hotel is no longer for sale, its owner said Monday, after the prospective buyer, Aki Ito, pulled out of the deal that would have turned the 94-year-old Berkeley landmark into short-term student housing. 

Ito, a San Diego-based businessman, declined to disclose why negotiations collapsed just one month after officials for the Shattuck Hotel said that the deal was in escrow awaiting final approval from Ito’s financiers. 

The hotel at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way will now remain the property of Sanjiv Kakkar, who purchased it in 2001 for $12.5 million. Neither Kakkar nor Ito would disclose the proposed sale price or other terms of the deal that for weeks had been rumored to be in jeopardy.  

Ito, the owner of Vantaggio Suites, operates four short-term housing complexes—two in San Diego and two in San Francisco—that cater to international students with short stays in the U.S. Had the sale gone through, he indicated that he planned to turn the 175-room hotel into a similar operation. 

Turning the Shattuck Hotel into a single-room-occupancy facility could have cost the city thousands in transient occupancy tax revenues it collects from the hotel. Any stay longer than 13 days does not qualify for the 12 percent tax, one of the biggest moneymakers for the city, said Ted Burton of the Office of Economic Development (OED). Last year the city garnered $2.5 million from its 23 hotels. Privacy laws, however, prohibit city officials from divulging tax revenues collected from any individual hotel. 

Kakkar blamed a Feb. 6 article in the Daily Planet for complicating the negotiations. “You jumped too soon with the article basically. It caused confusion,” he said. 

The offer from Ito came unsolicited, Kakkar added. Though Burton said other groups have inquired about the Shattuck, Kakkar insisted he has received no other offers and planned to keep the hotel. 

Barbara Hillman, president of the Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau, guessed that the pending closure of the English Language Program at UC Berkeley Extension helped sink the deal. “That’s 3,000 students that are not going to be here during the summer,” she said. “It’s hard to fill 175 rooms 365 days a year, especially when there are fewer international students traveling.” 

Ito faced other hurdles as well. He would have had to assume responsibility for an expensive ongoing installation of a sprinkler system. And by changing the hotel’s use to a residential dwelling, Burton said, he would have triggered a host of code requirements for the aging building. 

“I can well imagine that when Mr. Ito saw the number of city requirements he had to meet, he might have had second thoughts,” OED’s Burton said. 

The Shattuck Hotel has already undergone renovations, Abhiman Kumar, the hotel’s manager said in an earlier interview. Many of the rooms, the lobby and much of the fifth floor have been refurbished, he said. Kumar added that the hotel was making a healthy profit, even though about 60 of the rooms were already being rented on a short-term basis to UC Berkeley and other students. 

Burton, however, said he didn’t think the renovations were sufficient to significantly boost business. In 2001, the last time the hotel was up for sale, he said an independent hotel operator told him the Shattuck needed a cash infusion of about $15 million to compete with top-of-the-line hotels. 

With a new UC Berkeley-backed hotel and conference center planned for just a block away at the current Bank of America branch at Shattuck and Center Street, the Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Hillman sees better days ahead for the Shattuck. She said the planned complex would return visitors and conferences that had been displaced to Emeryville. “When the new hotel opens we can attract conferences and events we couldn’t have gone after before, and the guests can’t all stay at that one new hotel,” she said. “The Shattuck will get business it hasn’t gotten before.”›

A Berkeley-based concert promoter has struck a blow against corporate music behemoth Clear Channel Entertainment, winning the exclusive rights to promote concerts at the Greek Theater. 

The three-year contract between Cal Performances and Another Planet Entertainment (APE), announced last week, effectively ends Clear Channel’s monopoly over amphitheater venues in the Bay Area. 

It is also the latest salvo in an ongoing feud between Clear Channel and their former employees, UC Berkeley alumnus Gregg Perloff and Berkeley High graduate Sherry Wasserman, who left the company last year to start APE. The two parties are currently in litigation over APE’s first independent concert, a Bruce Springsteen show last summer at Pacific Bell Park that Clear Channel insists Perloff and Wasserman organized while they were still Clear Channel employees. 

Wasserman said she and Perloff decided to bolt from the company after repeated clashes with top management over ideas for shows. After years as one of the region’s dominant promoters for Bill Graham Presents, she savors her new underdog role. “Clear Channel wants to rule the world,” she said. 

Clear Channel has a poor reputation among free speech advocates and music lovers for the company’s banning of controversial songs from its radio stations following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and employing strict decency standards that led to the banishment of radio shock jock Howard Stern from its airwaves. In addition, the company maintains close ties to Republican politicians. But Robert Cole, director of Cal Performances, insisted politics weren’t a factor in his decision to sever ties with Clear Channel. 

“This was more about which group shared our vision for what the Greek could become,” he said. Cole received bids from three promoters—APE, Clear Channel and Nederlander, a Los Angeles-based promoter—and said the top two bidders offered similar (Cole would not reveal which company came in second).  

APE got the nod, he said, because the promoters pledged to make the 8,000-capacity theater in the Berkeley hills their signature venue and offered to put money into upgrading its facilities. That’s something the university can’t do on its own, Cole explained, because of its budget crunch. Cole said he didn’t expect the change in booking agent to affect ticket prices. 

Wasserman said the Greek Theater deal would give APE a base to compete locally with Clear Channel. “For us it’s extremely important to have a place to call home,” she said. “After leaving Clear Channel, there aren’t many buildings still open to independents.” Wasserman and Perloff are no strangers to the Greek Theater venue. They booked it for years when they at Bill Graham Presents. 

Lee Smith, Clear Channel’s vice president of the Western region of its music division, didn’t reply to telephone inquiries. 

Since a 1996 Federal communications law loosened restrictions on media ownership, Clear Channel has gone on a buying spree, gobbling up 135 concert venues, 1,225 radio stations and 39 television stations, according to its website. One of its purchases was SFX Entertainment, the parent company of Bill Graham Presents, which Wasserman and Perloff had co-owned with 14 other partners.  

“The deal bodes well for seeing the best schedule at the Greek in years,” said Gary Bongiovani, editor at Pollstar magazine, a music industry periodical. Previously the venue didn’t get high priority, he said, because Clear Channel shipped most of its top shows to its outdoor theaters in Concord and Mountain View. “In terms of pushing shows into the facility, it makes sense to go with Another Planet,” he said. 

Another Planet might also increase the number of shows at the Greek, said Cole of Cal Performances. The venue is permitted 15 performances a year, but Cole said in recent years Clear Channel had only booked between eight and 10.  

The Greek will now be shut out of some big name performers that have exclusive contracts with Clear Channel, but Wasserman said nearly all of the regular performers for the summer stage would remain available and that she was hoping to book a more eclectic roster of performers. 

Since forming APE, the company has taken over and renovated two clubs in San Francisco—The Independent, formerly known as the Justice League and the Grand Ballroom—and have promoted shows in Sacramento featuring Simon and Garfunkel and Metallica.  

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A controversial activist group met in a South Berkeley church Saturday afternoon to urge parents to enlist in the fight against a lawsuit filed by an Berkeley affirmative action foe backed by a equally controversial conservative legal foundation. 

“The defense of desegregation in Berkeley is a critical moment in the struggle for desegregation and diversity in America,” Luke Massie, national co-chair of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) told some 50 activists. “This lawsuit is part of the little-publicized but well-organized attack on desegregation, and we must launch an effective defense. We are in the front lines of the battle with this case in Berkeley.” 

The Alameda County Superior Court lawsuit by Berkeley parent Lorenzo Avila, supported by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), seeks to end a Berkeley Unified School District plan that encourages racial diversity without specifically using ethnicity as a criterion. PLF attorneys, who are arguing the case for Avila, say the new plan is illegal under Proposition 209, the 1996 voter-passed anti-affirmative action amendment to the state constitution.  

In 2002, PLF successfully challenged the Huntington Beach school district’s integration plan, which was nearly identical to Berkeley’s earlier ethnically explicit school assignment plan.  

On Thursday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Richman will hear arguments in on a motion by BAMN, sister organization United for Equality and Affirmative Action (UEAA) and two Berkeley parents to grant them legal standing to join in opposition to the lawsuit. A BAMN-sponsored 8 a.m., two-hour rally outside the courthouse at 201 13th St. in Oakland will precede the hearing. 

The Berkeley lawsuit “is a huge opportunity,” BAMN’s Massie told the Saturday gathering. “If we take a stand here and fight and win, we’ll be setting an example for the entire country.” 

Massie’s sister, Michigan attorney Miranda Massie, is one of the attorneys who will argue for the intervention motion. 

Joining Massie on the platform were Janeare Ashley and Pamela Sanford, graduates of Berkeley schools and respectively the mother and grandmother of current students, along with Joyce Scon of UEAA and Yvette Felaca, a member of the local BAMN chapter. 

“I want my child to attend the best possible schools,” said Ashley, a graduate of Malcolm X Elementary School and the mother of a current Malcolm X student. “I don’t want someone else to tell me where my child can go. If you allow a group of people to set the limits, and if you let them take an inch today, don’t you think they’ll take a mile tomorrow?” 

Massie and Scon had harsh words for mainstream civil rights organizations, which they said have been reluctant to mount legal challenges in light of the conservative mood of Congress and the courts. 

Berkeley NAACP chapter chair Alex Papillon told the gathering he approved of the district’s current integration program, but not the revised program which is scheduled to start with the next school year. “We’d refuse to be an intervenor in defense of a non-race-based plan.” Berkeley’s was “the first and only school system that voluntarily integrated,” Papillon said, “which was a slap in the face of racism because it showed that white people were opposed to segregation.” 

Papillon said he is worried because a partial confluence of interests between whites on the far left who are shooting for a non-race-based society and those on the far right “who are shooting for a segregated society achieved by not using race.” 

The NAACP has filed a separate intervention brief in the case in alliance with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Papillon said he’ll attend Thursday morning’s rally because “if PLF wins in Berkeley, they’ll crow about it all over the country.”  

John Findley, the PLF attorney representing the Avilas, said he doesn’t think a judicial decision to grant the intervention petitions should have much impact on the case. “We are dealing here with constitutional law, and we assume that’s what will govern the outcome of the case,” he said.  

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As touchscreen voting machines continue to draw heat from critics pointing to allegations of security vulnerabilities, one group of computer science experts proposes to have the solution. 

The Open Voting Consortium (OVC), a nonprofit group with several Bay Area members, recently announced the development of touchscreen voting machine software that uses open source and creates a voter verified paper trail. Recently completed, the software is set to be publicly tested this Thursday, April 1, at the Santa Clara County government offices in San Jose. 

The group’s development comes at a particularly charged time for the touchscreen debate. Just last week, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Brad Clark filed an official complaint with Diebold, the manufacturer of the touchscreen voting machines used throughout the county. Clark was one of the first county registrars in the state to invest in the new technology, spending $12.7 million on the Diebold machines in May of 2002. But he made his formal complaint after several problems with the Diebold machines during last October’s gubernatorial recall, as well as the primary earlier this month, resulted in switched votes and major delays. 

Two state senators, including Oakland’s Don Perata, recently introduced legislation asking the state to decertify touchscreen machines. California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has also issued two mandates asking for increased security updates on all touchscreen machines for upcoming elections. 

Taking all the complaints and security vulnerabilities into question, the Open Voting Consortium developed a simple approach; maintain the advantages of a touchscreen system but include the security features that alleviate the current security concerns.  

OVC’s system, currently in software form only, can be used on regular desktop PCs hooked up to a touchscreen monitor and a standard printer. Like the touchscreen machines now in use, the OVC unit records the vote electronically. But unlike Diebold’s machines, the OVC system also automatically produce a paper receipt, which is intended to be the official tally. To ensure accuracy, the paper count is then reconciled against the electronic one stored on the machines.  

“Our idea is that the machines should have [a tally] that people can inspect,” said Arthur Keller, a computer scientist who teaches part-time at UC Santa Cruz. “You trust the paper and can have much more faith in the process.”  

The group has written open source software that can be checked by anyone for malicious code that might tamper with votes. Like Linux software for PCs, OVC’s code isn’t proprietary. 

In contrast, the proprietary base software that runs the Diebold touchscreens machines in Alameda county was inspected by private companies before state certification, but is exempt from other check-ups. In the past, Diebold has been severely criticized for using un-certified software updates on their machines. 

No one associated with OVC thinks the new software or process will be the end-all of electronic voting problems but they say it’s a step in the right direction. 

“I think there has been a lack of critical analysis of claims made by voting companies, and now there is a healthier dose of criticism,” said David Dill, a computer science professor at Stanford and one of the leading experts on touchscreen voting vulnerabilities. Dill is not affiliated with OVC. Asked if OVC’s approach might be the solution, he said, “I don’t know, it’s still too early to say. He added, though, that, “I’m glad they’re doing it.” 

“I have hopes that they will come up with something,” said Judy Bertelsen, a member of Berkeley’s Wellstone Democratic Club who has been tracking the touchscreen debate. “What I’m concerned about is that if we do get some sort of paper trail that people will wander off and say everything is fine.” 

The touchscreen machines are just part of the problem, Bertelsen said. She is also concerned about the optical scan machines, another Diebold product. These devices were responsible for switching thousands of absentee ballot votes from Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante to Southern California Socialist John Burton during the Oct. 7 recall election. The Diebold machines used by the county to tally votes are an additional problem. 

Like Diebold’s machines, the Open Voting Consortium’s system would facilitate voting for people with certain disabilities. The group hopes their machines could also provide additional advantages for blind voters by producing paper receipts in Braille.  

The machines are still several steps away from making it onto the market. They need to be certified and also need the financial backing of a for-profit producer. One advantage over the Diebold machines, according to OVC members, is that the OVC software can be put on any standard PC. According to Keller, even an older and fairly slow PC can still run the program. Recycling old PCs could potentially cut down on cost, since old PCs can be bought for a fraction of the price of a Diebold machine. 

Alan Dechart, a former computer consultant for Sacramento County and founder of OVC, said the group has scheduled meetings with several secretaries of state around the country to discuss the new system. OVC also partnered with several universities on their project, including the University of California, and hopes to receive federal funding to move the project ahead. 

“It will catch on in certain areas,” Dechart said. “The people who have bought the voting machines will resist but they have to in order to cover their tracks so they don’t have to admit they made a stupid mistake.” 

The Open Voting Consortium’s software demonstration will take place this Thursday at 10 a.m. in room 157 at the Santa Clara County government office building located at 70 W. Hedding St. in San Jose. For more information please contact them at (916) 791-0456.

When the lights went out in downtown Berkeley two weeks ago, renowned French actor/producer/author Anne Delbee had just launched into her one-women show reenacting the greatest performances of legendary 19th Century actress Sarah Bernhardt. Delbee’s director walked on stage and asked if she wanted to quit. 

“No,” said Delbee, the embodiment of that grand old stage tradition which holds that the show must go on. 

So Aurora Producing Director Tom Ross and his technical director each grabbed a flashlight to replace the darkened spotlights, and Delbee finished her show. 

“Fortunately, she was doing tragedy,” Ross said. “It wouldn’t have come out nearly as well had she been doing comedy. And we didn’t have to give out refunds, which would’ve been a real tragedy.” 

The French American Chamber of Commerce had rented the Aurora Theater for the sold-out one-time-only show. 

Ross said the theater loss power four times over a two-week period, but only once during a performance. 

“The next night (Monday, March 15), power went out again, this time during a board meeting,” the director said. “I couldn’t take BART home because the station was closed, so I had to have a board member drive me home to San Francisco.” 

Mid-show power outages are, in themselves, dramatic events. “The magnetized doors close and iron gates drop down over the box office, making a lot of noise,” Ross said, adding that “all of us who are members of the Downtown Arts District are very concerned.” 

Meanwhile, Councilmember Kriss Worthington and several downtown merchants met last Thursday with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. representative Tom Guarino to discuss the spate of recent outages. 

“It was mildly helpful,” Worthington said. “We are still trying to get detailed information about the outages, and a lot of merchants don’t realize they can file claims with PG&E to recover their damages.” 

Worthington is pushing for businesses to file claims “because the last time something like this happened was in 1998-99 on College Avenue, and we were enable to get enough people to file claims so that PG&E made repairs costing several million dollars, and there haven’t been any more outages like that.” 

One PG&E customer filled out claim forms during Thursday’s meeting. Chamber of Commerce CEO Rachel Ruppert handed the completed documents to PG&E’s Oakland-based government relations manager Tom Guarino before the session adjourned. 

While the utility blames the outages on antiquated lead cable, Worthington has asked PG&E for a complete list of outages, their times and their causes. 

“We also asking what maintenance tags are already in place so we can have our own engineers examine them and prioritize repairs,” he said. “There are three substations that serve downtown, and we want to know if one or all of them need replacement and, if so, could at least one be completed in six months. We also want to know if some part of the cable replacement is critical, and to see if it could be replaced within a month.” 

Worthington said he wants to hold another meeting with the utility and downtown businesses once the necessary information is in hand.  

Phil McArdle is a Berkeley resident and author. On vacation in Spain, he arrived one day after the horrific terrorist bombing on the Madrid commuter train. Below is his first-hand account of events in Spain in the immediate aftermath of that bombing, including the election that toppled the Spanish government. 

On Thursday, March 11, my family and I set out for a holiday in Barcelona, one of Spain’s most beautiful cities. It has achieved a rare balance between the modern and the ancient, and we wanted to see the medieval frescos and the Picasso museum, certain Gothic churches and the Gaudi cathedral. We didn’t know as we rode BART to San Francisco International Airport that in Madrid commuter trains full of workers had been blown up by terrorists. 

When we arrived on Friday afternoon, Spain was in mourning. At least 200 people were known to be dead, and some 1,500 had been injured. And the massacre’s toll had still not been fully counted. We pieced together a picture of this dreadful atrocity from the Spanish newspapers, but our command of Spanish was inadequate to the event. 

The surface of life seemed relatively undisturbed in the Ciutat Vella, the medieval quarter where we had rented an apartment. The shops opened as usual in the mornings and early evenings, and closed in mid-afternoon. Shoals of well-dressed men and stylish women drifted this way and that through the narrow, echoing streets, some shopping, some en route to restaurants. No one hurried. And it was a perfect setting for a holiday: the mellow afternoon light enhanced the light gray of the ancient stone buildings, and the weather was wonderful, cool and comfortable. 

But we soon saw the signs of communal mourning. Catalonians though they are, the Barcelonans fully shared the grief of their fellow Spaniards. Black crepe bows were everywhere: on flags, on white towels hung from apartment windows five and six stories above the streets, on the doors of shops and restaurants, on church altars and government buildings, and on monuments sacred to the Catalan people, such as the eternal flame in the Placa de Santa Maria del Mar. 

In the evening we also saw the rich, somber glow of hundreds of red mourning candles in the plaza on the Palu de Generalitat (which houses Catalonia’s parliament), in front of flower-bedecked national memorials, and in the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, where we attended a memorial service for the people lost in Madrid, with the liturgy sung in Catalan and the sermon in Spanish. 

On Saturday we found a tobacconist who sold English papers like the Guardian and the Telegraph, and we learned the full extent of the disaster. As we put the threads of the story in place, we learned the government was blaming ETA, the Basque separatist movement, for the crime. We also learned a national election would be held the next day (Sunday). In the final pre-election polls, the governing Popular Party (PP) led the Socialists in a close race. 

Jose Maria Aznar, the PP Prime Minister, a right wing nationalist, had waged an unrelenting personal crusade against ETA. He had made complete suppression of the Basque movement a major theme in his campaign. Aznar was so fixated on ETA that, without waiting for preliminary investigations to be completed, he announced the Basque movement was responsible. Within hours the intelligence services and the Madrid police both told the press that preliminary evidence pointed to Al-Qaeda. Aznar’s credibility plummeted. He stood revealed as a man blind to reality. 

But it was too late for pollsters to predict the impact of this on the vote. Political professionals didn’t know whether people would turn away from Aznar. 

We had, of course, noticed political graffiti. Its import was ambiguous. Some was perfectly clear, as in this anti-PP slogan: “Is it democratic to be fascist?” But some of it could be read in a number of ways: 

“NO to AIDS 

“NO to AL-QAEDA 

“NOW—VOTE!” 

But who should you vote for? The Socialists or the Popular Party? 

Saturday evening when we took a stroll through the Gothic quarter, we heard the voice of the people. Indeed, in those narrow streets—some only eight feet wide—it practically deafened us. At ten o’clock people indoors and outdoors, in the streets and at their windows, began beating on pots and pans. The volume of sound rose as it echoed off the stone walls, quickly reaching an ear-splitting, rock-concert volume. And it went on, and on, and on. As we approached an apartment where a young man stood in the doorway beating on a frying pan, I stopped and asked, “What is this all about?” 

“We are protesting the lies of our government,” he answered. 

“Which particular lies?” 

“About the bombings in Madrid.” 

We walked further on, sat down on a bench, and let the sound roll over us. My wife said, “We’re in the presence of something profound.” The protest lasted for an hour. 

The next day, the Spaniards voted out the conservatives. 

Sidney Blumenthal described the outcome as “a revulsion against the political manipulation of terror.” It is clear that the Spanish believed Aznar hoped their rage at the massacre in Madrid would cause a surge of patriotic feeling and return him and his party to office with an increased majority. They became angry at him, believing he deliberately lied for political advantage—playing politics with the deaths of his own people. 

American conservatives have derided the Spanish vote as appeasement of Al-Qaeda. They could hardly be more mistaken. The Spanish have contempt for the terrorism of Al-Qaeda. None of our conservatives have had the grim wit to compare the sickness of Osama Ben Laden’s terrorism to the scourge of AIDS. 

For what it’s worth, we came home convinced the Spanish election was a marvelously encouraging event. Aznar lost because he lied to the people. They exercised their right to demand a truthful government. They insisted on the honesty without which freedom and democracy really can’t exist. 

As to the future, the new Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, appears to be part of an evolving European consensus which conceives of the “war” on terrorism differently than the Bush administration. He has frequently said, “Fighting terrorism with bombs is not a way to win, but will instead provoke more extremism. Terrorism is fought with the rule of law, international law, and with intelligence services.” 

Corelli Barnett, the British historian, wrote of Zapatero that he “has expressed his strong resolve to cooperate with other European states in combating terrorism. His opposition to the American-led attack on, and occupation of, Iraq is a quite separate matter. His party believed a year ago that Bush’s plan to topple Saddam was irrelevant to the problem of Al-Qaeda.” His intention to remove Spanish troops from Iraq is consistent with this. 

As we look at the American scene today, we see the Bush administration sitting surrounded on all sides by the rubble of its own credibility, which has been blown up (like Aznar’s) by falsehoods on matters of life and death. The Spanish have every right to ask us whether we will allow our government to lie to us with impunity.

There is an old saying that “to speak the name of our ancestors is to keep them alive.” Today I speak the name of labor leader and environmentalist, César Estrada Chávez. He was a man who died prematurely at 66, a life worn out by dedicated service, personal sacrifice, constant threats to his and his family’s life; and the formidable efforts of agribusiness, Teamsters, and government agents to derail everything he tried to accomplish. 

Those of us who lived during the tenure of his time on this earth have a special obligation to speak his name today and to find enduring ways to remind our children and ourselves of his legacy.  

In 1960, CBS produced a documentary, narrated by the celebrated journalist Edwin R. Murrow, called “Harvest of Shame.” It was a jolt at the time, but seeing it today one is struck by the pathetic pace of change, and by what can only be regarded as the heroic patience of those who are stuck in the inertia.  

Over all these years, César Chávez, more than any other person, was able to bring light, energy and forward movement to the struggle of farm workers in this country. He tirelessly brought attention to a societal detachment from the source of our nourishment, and attention to faceless farm workers who labor in the fields to put food on our tables, and who suffer the vicissitudes of a yearly harvest. 

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Chávez set an example for the nation in his non-violent leadership. He used Gandhi’s notion of “moral jujitsu” to describe its effect on the opposition. He fasted for enlightenment as well as publicity, putting his life at risk to protest against intransigent growers or grocery chains, or to restrain his own followers when the impulse to violence reared its ugly head. 

Chávez’ successes were many, including the signing of the first agricultural worker agreements, passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, banning use of the dreaded and disabling short-handled hoe, and raising the public’s awareness about the dangers of chemicals and pesticides used in modern farming.  

Dolores Huerta, herself such a looming figure in this struggle, pinpointed his gift: “César's life is the lucero, the light, the morning star, that provides vision to the path, with the glow of energy generated by the struggle.”  

César combined a unique set of virtues to sustain the struggle he led, to relentlessly champion those who have no voice, and to resist the seductive temptations of a society propelled by a consumer definition of happiness. 

As Filipino labor organizer Pet Velasco put it, “César taught us how to walk in the jungle and not be afraid.”  

In the vernacular of my youthful street self and the many Chicanos who grew up in the barrios of California and the Southwest, César was “The Vato” the man who stood up to the Man, the one who met danger without giving way to fear. He was courageous and it gave us courage. He was determined and it made us determined. He practiced tolerance and non-violence and it made us more tolerant and non-violent. And he was persistently hopeful, and it gave us hope. Though he rejected the rhetoric of the defiant Raza Movement, he was still ours and he made us proud.  

So how do we perpetuate the speaking of his name, to perpetuate his virtues—determination, courage, tolerance, and hope? And how do we adapt them to the challenges of the future as César might have?  

In Berkeley, the César Chávez Memorial Solar Calendar Project has chosen a dual approach with an educational curriculum (K-12) integrated into a unique memorial that would serve as a field classroom.  

The project, more than five years in the making, aims to create a major work of “site-specific” public art in the form of an ancient solar calendar, a fitting one to a man who devoted his life to the earth and to farm workers who have always lived by understanding the cycle of the seasons. Think of Stonehenge if you are searching for an image, or check the website: www.solarcalendar.org. The project connects art, science, culture and history in a form that is unique for a memorial. When the memorial is completed it will be both contemplative and educational. The Berkeley City Council has provisionally reserved 1.5 acres at César Chávez Park for the memorial, a site with a sensational 360-degree panoramic view of the horizon, and a perfect place for reflection.  

The companion educational curriculum links the legacy of César Chávez with the pressing need for environmental stewardship and service to the community. The memorial calendar will incorporate four of the virtues of Chávez into the four cardinal directions of the site. The subtitle of the curriculum is “the seed of the soul is service.” The four selected virtues will serve as the seeds. 

Though some may argue for an official Chávez holiday, the memorial solar calendar project advocates engaging school children in service learning projects to celebrate Chávez’ life. All lessons will radiate from the four virtues, which will help keep our youth fully engaged in education by serving their community.  

There are many ways to honor an exceptional leader. One is to speak his name and to tell his story. The César Chávez Memorial Solar Calendar and educational curriculum will ensure that we speak his name, reflect on his life and serve his legacy through service to our community. Arguably there are no major memorials to Latinos in this country. May the first one be for César, and may it be right here in the Bay Area. 

Santiago Casal is the director of the Chávez Memorial Solar Calendar Project and the Rhythm of the Seasons Curriculum. 

ª

“I have to go to the powder room,” my ancient Grandmother announced, a note of desperation in her voice, her caterac-ted eyes staring at me in cloudy confusion.  

“Okay, Grandma. I’ll help you.” I pushed back my seat and rolled her walker toward her. I gently grabbed her under the armpits, pushed aside her chair with my foot and moved the walker closer to her shaky, outreached, translucent hands.  

“Here,” I said as I swiveled her slight body around, pointing her toward the woman’s restroom. “The bathroom is down the hallway.”  

It took us an eternity to reach it. I pushed the swinging door forward and accompanied Grandma through, helping her negotiate the transition from carpet to tile.  

“Oh damn,” she mumbled to herself. “I think it’s too late.”  

“It’s okay, Grandma,” I reassured her. “You’ll be just fine.”  

I followed her as she slid the walker across the floor. She headed for the disabled stall, the one with the extra wide seat and handholds. We negotiated the turn and I moved her walker away from her. She held on tight to the banister as I slipped her wool skirt up over her soft thighs, pulling down her stockings and panties in one gentle yank.  

“I hope it’s not too late,” she whimpered.  

“It’s not,” I answered, relieved. I helped her sit down on the toilet seat.  

She pulled at the toilet tissue with her manicured, delicate fingers, her gold charm bracelet clattering against the metal stall wall. She rose slowly as I held her with both my hands under her hollow, fragile armpits. She felt like a rag doll. She could fall to the floor in a heap at any moment.  

“Lean forward Grandma, onto my shoulders,” I directed her. I bent down, pulled up her panties and stockings around her rounded, tender tummy. I tugged the silk slip and plaid skirt down over her prefabricated hips.  

“Thank you honey,” she said as I swung the walker toward her. “Old age is the pits. I hope you never have to go through this.”  

We shuffled back to the table. Our soup was waiting for us. I helped Grandma sit down, then placed a napkin around her neck. “The soup should be cold enough to eat now,” I said.  

“Pass me the sherry,” Grandma demanded before tasting her chowder. I did as she asked. She turned the bottle upside down and poured a generous portion into her bowl. “They never put enough damn sherry into the soup here,” Grandma whispered to me. “You know how they are with sherry? Stingy.” She smiled at me and set about eating with fragile gusto.  

When she was done she pushed the bowl forward. “That was good,” she said leaning back into her chair. “Yesterday your mother took me here to eat and someone paid the tab. The waitress came over to our table and said, ‘Ladies, you don’t need to pay. The man who just left picked up your bill.’ We couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t that nice?”  

“Yes Grandma,” I said.  

“So then your mother took me to the dentist. And when the doctor was done he said ‘Mrs. Daniels, your teeth are fine. I don’t need to do anything with you today. Go home and rest.’ I said ‘What do I owe you?’ He said, ‘Nothing, it’s on the house.’ I turned to your mother and said, ‘Quick Edna, get in the car and let’s go to a fur store and buy a mink stole. Luck is with us today.’ But your mother wouldn’t go. You know how she is. She didn’t think someone would give me a mink coat, but I think if we had gone, there might have been a chance. Growing old is awful sweetheart, but yesterday it worked to my advantage. Now pour a little of that sherry into my glass, please. I might as well finish it up.”  

F

TUESDAY, MARCH 30 

Tuesday Morning Birdwalk at Tilden’s Vollmer Peak, meet at the Little Train parking lot at 7:30 a.m. Call if you need binoculars. 525-2233. 

Return of Over-The-Hills-Gang An excursion for hikers 55 years and over. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Little Train parking lot. Registration required. 525-2233. 

National Nutrition Month “Eat in Season” from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Derby St. at MLK. Cooking demonstrations, recipes and nutrition education. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Celebrating the Environmental Leadership of Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Movement from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“The Truth About the Coup in Haiti” with Brian Concamon, Haitian human rights attorney and Lovinsky Antoine Pierre, Haitian human rights activist, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship, 1924 Cedar St. Sponsored by the Haiti Support Group. 528-5403. 

“Blue Vinyl” a free screening of the documentary by Judith Hefland and Daniel Gold at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Central Public Library, 2090 Kittredge, 3rd floor meeting room. Sponsored by Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil. 

Creative Project Institute An event for inspiration, information and motivation for writers with author Elizabeth Stark and editor Nanou Matteson at 7 p.m. at Alaya, 1713 University Ave.  

Bolivian Archeology and Nationalism with José Luis Paz Soria, director of the Kallamarka Archeological Project in La Paz, Bolivia. He has also worked extensively with the Taraco Archeological Project. Please note this presentation will be in Spanish. At 4 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Creativity, Healing, and Wholeness, a workshop on written and visual journaling as a path through cancer at 7 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Free, but please register. 526-0148. 

“Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail,” a documentary by Myles Murphy and Dale Brosnan, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Dr. Robert Raabi, botanist, will show flower pictures at 11 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 

Tobacco Awareness Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lower Sproul Plaza, UC Campus. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Tobacco Prevention Program. 981-5330. 

Nonviolent Conflict Transformation a workshop with Johan Galtung, Professor of Peace Studies, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, Kensington. Cost is $120, $60 for students and includes lunch and a comprehensive training manual. A limited number of scholarships are available. For information and registration, please contact Marilyn Langlois 232-4493, or Diana Young 655-8252. 

Berkeley Outstanding Woman Award will be presented to Sylvia McLaughlin in recognition of the work she has done to preserve the Bay and the East Bay shoreline, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women. 981-5347, 461-4665. 

Great Decisions 2004: “Public Diplomacy” with Emily Rosenberg, Middle East Peace Education, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

The Berkeley Forum “Peace vs. Empire” with Johan Galtung, father of Peace Studies, UN Consultant, Daniel Ellsberg, anti-war author, Michael Nagler, founder, Peace and Conflict Studies, UCB, Nancy Hanawi, co-chair, Peace and Justice Studies Association at 7:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Road, Kensington. 925-376-9000. 

Re-defining Community, Re-creating Public Space with Keith Thomas, Julio Morales, artists and CCA professors, at 6 p.m. in Nahl Lecture Hall, Oakland campus, 5212 Broadway , at College. 594-3763. www.cca.edu/center 

Bayswater Book Club monthly dinner meeting to discuss “Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939” by Virginia Nicholson at 6:30 p.m. at Liu’s Kitchen restaurant, 1593 Solano Ave. 433-2911. 

Having Our Say: Children of Jewish - Christian Families Speak Join a lively conversation with a panel of people who have grown up in interfaith homes as they talk about what worked and didn’t work for them. From 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Sponsored by Building Jewish Bridges: Outreach to Interfaith Couples. Cost is $5. For more information or to register call Dawn at 839-2900, ext. 347.  

“Holy Week Processions” with Bonnie Harwick, GTU Library Director, at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Parish, 2220 Cedar St. 848-1755. 

Fun with Acting Class every Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Free, all are welcome, no experience necessary.  

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 

Morning Birdwalk on Nimitz Way. Meet at 7 a.m. at Inspiration Point to “hunt the gowk.” 525-2233. 

Livable Berkeley, an organization that advocates smart growth and sustainable development, will host local architect David Baker at the Berkeley Central Library Community room at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.livableberkeley.org 

“Fourth World War” a documentary produced by a network of independent media and activist groups on the inside of movements on five continents. At 8 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751.  

“Leadership and Ethics in an Age of Globalization” at 3:30 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. 649-2422. 

Street Skills for Cyclists from 6 to 10 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Free, but pre-registration required. 433-7433. 

Free Reading Workshop for Parents of students in Pre-K and Kindergarten at 8 p.m. at Classroom Matters, 2607 7th St., Suite E. 540-8646. www.classroommatters.com 

“Whose House are You Living In?” an inter-active presentation by professional interior designer and author Diana Cornelius at 7 p.m. at the Claremont Resort, 41 Tunnel Rd. 743-3000, ext. 516.  

Metaphysical Toastmasters Practice spiritual public speaking on the first and third Thurs. each month at 6:15 p.m. at 2515 Hillegass Ave. 848-6510. www.metaphysicallyspeaking 

Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM holds public meetings for all interested people first and third Thursdays, 7 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751.  

FRIDAY, APRIL 2 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with David Hooson, Prof. emeritus, Geography, UCB on “Inner Asia.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. for $12.50. Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

“A Lot in Common” a documentary on the growth of community in a North Berkeley neighborhood as residents, artists, and other volunteers build and use the Peralta and Northside Community Art Gardens, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at the corner of Cedar and Bonita.  

“EarthDance“ Environmental Film Festival, showing ten short films on urban, rural and wild environments, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak and 10th Sts. Admission is $5-$8. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

From Frybread to Fueltank: Bringing Biodiesel to Native America Join us in a benefit to support a biodiesel bus tour led by Zachary Running-Wolf that will leave from Oakland and cover the Southwest. At 7:30 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. $5 donation requested. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Kite Fly from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina. Part of National Kite Month celebration. www.NationalKiteMonth.org 

Womansong Circle: Songs of Rebirth and a Greening Earth with Betsy Rose at 6:45 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $8. Bring a snack to share. 525-7082. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com, 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Overeaters Anonymous meets every Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. Parking is free and is handicapped accessible. For information call Katherine, 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 3 

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Orchid Greenhouse Exotic, rare, fragrant and extensive. Tour with renowned orchid expert Jerry Parsons and hear all about the Garden's global collection of hundreds of orchids and epiphytes. At 1 and 3 p.m. Registration required. UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botan- 

icalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Sick Plant Clinic from 9 a.m. to noon, the first Sat. of every month, UC plant apthologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants. Free. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

Color and Art in the Garden with Keeyla Meadow, garden designer and artist at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

California Wildflower Show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., also on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Admission is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class in Shelter Operations from 9 a.m. to noon at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. To sign up call 981-5605. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html 

Northern California Socialist Conference 2004 “Resisting US Empire, Fighting for a Better World” from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. Cost is $10-$50 sliding scale. For information call 333-4604 or email ISObayarea@aol.com 

“News from Haiti: Eyewitness Accounts” with missionaries Sandra and Daniel Gourdet at 10 a.m. at South Berkeley Community Church, 1802 Fairview, at Ellis. 652-1040. 

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. The class is taught by Rosie Linsky, who at age 72, has practiced yoga for over 40 years. Open to non-members of the club for $8 per class. 848-7800. 

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 4 

“What’s Up Down Under?” Explore the fascinating subterranean hemisphere of the hidden half of plants by attending the annual Unselt Lecture delivered this year by UCB Professor of Plant Biology, Dr. Lewis Feldman. Lecture concludes with a walk through the Garden to observe root diversity. From 1 to 4 p.m. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Registration required 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Soda Bottle Ecosystem Build a take-home eco-system that sits in the palm of your hand. Bring two 2-liter bottles. At 10:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Protist April Toss the plankton net, tow it in, and see what members of the Kingdom Protista you can find in the 14-power Discovery scope. From 2 to 4 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Area. 525-2233. 

Full Moon Walk Meet at 7 p.m. at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park. Learn about the origin and history of the moon, and see where the astronauts walked. 525-2233. 

“Ratcatcher” a film set in Scotland during the national garbage strick in the 1970s. At 8 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751.  

Golden State Model Railroad Museum opens from noon to 5 p.m. Located in the Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline Park at 900-A Dornan Drive in Pt. Richmond. Admission is $2-$3. 234-4884 or www.gsmrm.org 

Free Sailboat Rides at the Cal Sailing Club, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the foot of University in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm, waterproof clothes. For more information, visit our website at www.cal-sailing.org 

“The Journey of a UU Christian and Pagan Mystic” with Cathleen Cox Burneo at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd. Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

“Eckhart Tolle Talks on Video” at 6:30 p.m. at the Feldenkrais Ctr., 830 Bancroft Way. First and third Sunday of each month. $3 donation requested, no one turned away for lack of funds. Contact Maitri at 415-990-8977. 

MONDAY, APRIL 5 

The Oakland/East Bay Chapter of the National Organization for Women has cancelled its April meeting because of the Jewish holiday. We usually meet the first Monday of each month at the Oakland YWCA. Hope to see you next month. 841-1672. 

Tea at Four Enjoy some of the best teas from the other side of the Pacific Rim and learn their cultural and natural history. Then take a walk to see nesting birds and flowering shrubs, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Registration required. Cost is $5 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. 

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthening at 1:15 p.m. every Monday at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

Baby Yoga Learn how to soothe your infant. Bring a pillow, blanket, mat and olive oil. At 11 a.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Admission by donation. 883-0600. 

Yoga and Meditation for Children from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. at at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Admission by donation. 883-0600. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 6 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Advance sign-up needed. 594-5165. 

Berkeley Ecological and Safe Transportation hosts a public discussion of car-free housing at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge, 3rd floor meeting room. 652-9462. 

Death Penalty Vigil, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley BART station. Sponsored by Berkeley Friends Meeting. 528-7784. 

Map and Compass 101 An introduction to backcountry navigation at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Leonar Joy will speak on Human Rights at 11 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672 for information or check our web page, http://home.comcast.net/~teachme99/tildenwalkers 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Passover Seder at 6 p.m. at GTU’s Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. Cost is $10-$25. Reservations required. 649-2482. 

ONGOING 

Free Income Tax Help is available on Tuesday mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Ozzie Olson, AARP trained tax preparer is available by appointment. 845-6830.  

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center, from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tue. - Sun. 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Medical Care for Your Pet at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society low-cost veterinary clinic. 2700 Ninth St. For appointments call 845-3633. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Spring Bulb Bonanza at the Botanical Garden, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,to April 15, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

CITY MEETINGS 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Apr. 1, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs. Apr. 1, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/housing 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Apr. 1, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworksˇ

“If I couldn’t go to Vista College I would just have to focus on working, getting by. I couldn’t get a better job. What would the future be?”  

—Ayanna Roberts, student 

Vista Community College  

Ayanna Roberts was one of the 10,000 community college students, staff and faculty members who converged on Sacramento on March 15 to protest Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed 44 percent increase in community college fees. This proposal comes on top of the 64 percent fee increase these same students saw last year. Last year’s fee increase combined with $200 million in budget cuts forced an estimated 175,000 students across the state out of college this year.  

Before attending Vista, Ayanna was a hostess at IHOP making $6.75 an hour. She now works 32 hours a week in a retail job making all of $8 an hour while going to school full time. She hopes to develop the skills to go into radio and broadcast production. Vista and other community colleges in the East Bay can help. But, right now, the future for all of the Ayannas in the state is at risk. 

Faced with massive deficits, the governor has proposed to balance a large part of the budget on the backs of California’s students. In addition to the fee increases mentioned above, the governor has proposed: 

• Seventy percent increases for community college students who already have a B.A. and are returning for job retraining or continuing education. 

• Ten percent increases for UC undergrads. 

• Forty percent increases for UC’s graduate and professional students. 

• Nine percent budget cuts for Cal State Universities (CSU).  

He then proposes pushing some 10,000 students from the UC and CSU systems into the community colleges, further displacing students like Ayanna. 

For a time in the United States, the classic vision of the American Dream, at least for some, was not just a myth. In the period following World War II, the U.S. economy grew at a fabulous rate. Increases in productivity (averaging three percent a year) translated into higher wages. Between 1950 and 1973, average workers saw their real pay increase from about $9 to just over $14 an hour.  

Open access to higher education was part of the virtuous circle that led to this expansion of the American Dream. California’s Master Plan for Education adopted in 1960 promised every high school graduate in the state access to a college education. College graduates became more productive and creative citizens who in turn paid far more in taxes which allowed for the continued investment in the commons. Put quite simply, public investment in higher education was beneficial for everyone. 

Since the 1970s, however, much has changed. Inflation-adjusted wages have actually declined for wage earners. Between 1973 and 2000, average real income for the bottom 90 percent of Americans workers fell by seven percent. The gap between the rich and everyone else has widened to levels not seen since the 1930s with the top one percent of taxpayers increasing their income by 148 percent, the top .1 percent gaining some 343 percent and the top .01 percent gaining an astounding 599 percent. 

This is a real reversal of fortunes that has been imposed on average people. Major corporations and the wealthy have sent good jobs abroad in search of cheaper labor and bigger profits. They have orchestrated tax cuts for the rich. They have beat up the labor movement, undermining the power of working families to bargain for decent wages.  

And now, they are making it even harder simply to get a college education. Last year, across the country average fees at public universities and community colleges rose by 14 percent (and UC students were hit with a whopping 30 percent fee hike.)  

How important is college for a student’s economic prospects? One report notes that college graduates will earn fully $38,000 a year more than those with only a high school diploma. When Ayanna says that without Vista she would just have to focus on work without much of a future, she speaks for every high school graduate trying to get a college education. 

Sure, there might be some financial aid to help the poorest of these students cope with fee hikes. But what about the average working student who is already juggling two jobs just to pay rent and keep food on the table? What about the student whose book grant program won’t have enough money to help her pay for textbooks? What about the 175,000 students who were already pushed out of school because of the current year cuts? What kind of a future are we holding out for these students? 

I’ve been a community college teacher for 15 years. I love my work. I love that community colleges are a source of hope and renewal for millions of Californians. I love that they are a source of democracy, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. I love that students get a second chance, and in some cases a first chance, to get a good education which can sometimes lead to a good job. And I love that they are the foundation for a skilled workforce for California’s businesses.  

But I’m worried right now and I’m angry. I’m worried for the Ayannas out there who are already having a hard enough time making it. I’m worried that closing access to higher education, means the Ayannas of the world will not become the creative and productive citizens they can be, that they will not pay higher levels of income tax that good jobs generate, that we’re setting up a lose-lose scenario for everyone. And I’m angry that we’re sticking it to students who are already on the edge without first calling for real shared sacrifice— say, by reinstating the tax on household incomes over $270,000?  

Plain and simple, this is a fight about who is going to pay taxes to invest in the future. The community college “fee” increases are just taxes by another name. This money goes not to the colleges at all, but straight into the state’s general fund like any other tax. This “fee” was already increased by 64 percent last year. Haven’t they paid their share already? So, who’s it going to be, impoverished and working students or those who can really afford it?  

This is not just Ayanna’s fight. It’s mine and yours too. Call the governor and tell him to quit picking on the students. Tell him that it’s time for those who benefit most richly from California’s great environment to pony up and pay their share. 

Gov. Schwarzenegger can be reached by telephone: (916) 445-2841; by fax: (916) 445-4633; and by e-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. 

Nicky González Yuen, JD, Ph.D., is a Berkeley resident and a community college instructor at De Anza College in Cupertino. 

›

Alameda County Registrar of Voters Brad Clark deserves thanks for making a formal contract complaint against Diebold Election Systems, the vendor for the county’s touchscreen and vote tallying technology. According to the Oakland Tribune, the precipitating event for Registrar Clark’s action appears to have been the failure of 200 uncertified and poorly tested voter card encoders during the March 2 election.  

More ominous, however, is the reference to a “glitch” in the recent gubernatorial recall election that transferred thousands of absentee votes for Bustamante to another candidate. Clark is quoted as saying he was sure the problem had been fixed but was “not satisfied with the answers as to why it happened.” Those words make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.  

It is not only the registrar of voters who needs to know exactly how such a miscount of votes could take place. Every citizen has a right to know. Furthermore, we all have a right to know how the glitch was fixed. This is not a private matter between a vendor and its purchaser. It is a crucial matter of public policy and public concern. Apparently the glitch was detected by the registrar’s staff—and the public has a right to know the details of how all of this came to light. Apparently the problem was fixed by Diebold staff by a means that is not fully understood by the registrar. This is absolutely unacceptable.  

The voters of Alameda County and of the whole country cannot afford to entrust the conduct of the November 2004 presidential election to this kind of technology. We must replace all the Diebold hardware and software with methods that are transparent, that involve voter verification of the ballot, and that allow a meaningful recount. It is noteworthy that the glitch that was caught involved absentee votes—the only ballots in Alameda County that currently provide a voter verified paper audit trail. Who knows how many Bustamante votes were transferred to others within the paperless touchscreen part of the election? No one knows, because there is no voter verified paper ballot to count as an independent check against the electronic results. 

California State Senators Don Perata (Democrat) and Ross Johnson (Republican) have recently introduced SB 1438 calling for additions and amendments to the Elections Code to require among other things “a permanent paper record with an audit capacity for that system, to allow the voter to verify his or her votes before the voter’s ballot is cast, and to be accessible for individuals with disabilities.” Parallel legislation has been introduced in the Assembly (AB 2843) by Lloyd Levine. There has been a call for urgency legislation to suspend all paperless electronic voting to go back to paper balloting in order to provide a voter verified auditable paper ballot for the November 2004 election. Furthermore, State Sen. Perata also has introduced legislation (SB 1376, the “Voting System Security Act of 2004”) which makes it a felony to modify any voting system in any uncertified way. All of this legislation deserves to have the active support of all citizens who want a fair election in November. 

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who deserves our thanks for his courageous leadership requiring a voter verified paper audit trail by 2005-2006, is continuing to press for reforms that will assure a safe and secure election in November 2004. His Voter Systems and Procedures Panel will hold a two day meeting April 21-22 in Sacramento focused on Diebold and related matters of electronic voting (the agenda and meeting place/time can be viewed at www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ vsp_042104.pdf ). Comments may be sent by April 6 for inclusion in the panel members’ packets to Michael Wagaman, mwagaman@ss.ca.gov. 

The registrar of voters’ office is the responsibility of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. It would seem sensible to let the supervisors know that we support Registrar Clark in his calling Diebold to task and that we demand and require a transparent, voter verified, and secure election system in place for the November 2004 presidential election.  

In the United States Congress, Rush Holt has introduced HR 2239 to require voter verification. Our representative, Barbara Lee, is a co-sponsor of HR 2239, for which she should be thanked. Parallel supportive legislation has been introduced in the Senate. 

I do not think that we can or should consider tolerating another election run by the Diebold technology. Alameda County should become the leader in the nation to get rid of this dysfunctional mess, which includes not only the touchscreens but also the optical scanner and the GEMS system that configures the election and does the final tally of votes, that could contribute to chaos and/or subversion of the voters’ intent in November 2004 by moving votes from the intended candidate to another. We have seen that this can happen here in our county. We need to contact Alameda County Registrar of Voters Brad Clark, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, our representatives in the California State Senate and Assembly, and our representatives in Congress and the Senate to call for decertification of Diebold and other proprietary (secret) paperless touchscreen systems, establishment of transparent and voter-verifiable systems, and establishment of effective security for election processes.  

Judy Bertelsen, M.D., Ph.D., resides and votes (absentee) in Berkeley. She is an active member of the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club and VoterMarch. 

f

PLACEMENT TESTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would like to respond to the commentary by Toni Martin (“Private School Students Face Bias In Math Placement Tests,” Daily Planet, March 23-25). Regardless of nasty sniping by a “Senior, Berkeley High,” I thought she made many valid points. The math department at BHS is not good. My daughter took Honors math there and was very disappointed by the quality of the teaching. She finally took calculus over the summer at UC to avoid taking it at BHS. 

I also encountered an African-American girl who had been encouraged to leave the Honors Geometry class. She was obviously very bright and could have succeeded in the proper atmosphere. I think that minorities who show interest in honors and AP classes should receive support, not the heave-ho. 

Jenifer Steele 

• 

BARRIERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks for publishing the piece by Toni Martin about bias in math placement tests at Berkeley High. I also have a daughter who did not pass the Honors Geometry placement exam despite getting A’s in eighth grade algebra at a local private school. She spent ninth grade in regular geometry when she could have learned the material in significantly more depth, had she not been denied access to Honors Geometry. 

While this issue may be a small one on Berkeley High’s list, shouldn’t the high school be encouraging students who want to take more challenging classes rather than putting up barriers?  

Thanks for running stories on Berkeley school issues. 

Tish Brewster 

• 

POLICE DOGS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I believe that reasonable people can agree or disagree as to whether or not police dogs in Berkeley are a good idea. However, recent comments in the Daily Planet (“Police Dog Plan Moves Toward Possible PRC Approval,” March 23-25) regarding the “shamefulness” of the PRC to consider police dogs in Berkeley by Commissioner Jaqueline DeBose, I feel, are ill chosen. 

DeBose invokes the infamous Commissioner “Bull” Connor and his vicious use of police dogs and water hoses against African-American civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama as an incident analogous to the situation in Berkeley.. 

This, I feel, is tantamount to calling the Berkeley Police racist Klansmen. 

I, for one, find this an unreasonable and unfortunate comparison. 

John Herbert 

• 

QUALITY OF LIFE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I love the “Berkeley quality of life.” Why? In part: We have a wildly democratic city with a top-notch public university, accessible and varied entertainment, good restaurants, parks, bikeways, good schools, good local shopping, and clean streets. Berkeley is noticeably and measurably different (and better!) than other nearby cities. I feel very fortunate (and even proud!) to be able to afford to live and work here. 

Think about it: Why do you choose to live in Berkeley, and not Concord, Oakland, or El Cerrito, for example? 

I believe we need to pass a measure in November that will maintain city services so that Berkeley can continue to remain an attractive place to work, shop, recreate, and live for everyone. There are many people—seniors, children, youth, people who are disabled or without a home—who are less fortunate than many of us and who need lifeline services. 

I also believe we must use the energy, commitment, enthusiasm and innovative thinking of local community members and city workers to manage our city into the 21st century. We’re not there yet.  

The city needs structural, organizational, and technological changes that have not yet been broached in the current budget discussions. We need proposals that can increase revenue and that will positively, rather than negatively motivate remaining workers. Before we move to cut city services or our public servant’s paychecks, let’s work together to come up with creative and viable longer term approaches to sustaining Berkeley into the new millennium. 

Iris Starr 

• 

UNIVERSITY AVENUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

University Avenue neighbors are trying to use a subterfuge to get around state law. They want to radically downzone University Avenue by passing two- and three-story height limits, one story less than the limits in the University Avenue Strategic Plan, so the heights will still be three and four stories after applying the state density bonus for affordable housing. (“Neighbors, City Split Over University Avenue Rezoning,” Daily Planet, March 26-29). 

There is a reason this law was passed. Local governments tend to think about the local impacts of their policies, so they tend to zone for very low densities to push traffic problems away from themselves. They do not think about the regional or global impacts of their policies, so they overlook the fact that their low density zoning creates housing shortages and sprawl that harm the entire region and the global environment. 

That is why the state has to step in and pass laws, such as the density bonus law, that protect the region and the environment. 

We have a government of checks and balances, with different levels of government looking at different interests. Berkeley should zone University Avenue with three- and four-story height limits, in keeping with the University Avenue Strategic Plan that was developed to protect local interests. And it should allow the density bonus in addition to these height limits, in keeping with state law that was passed to protect the entire region and the environment. 

Charles Siegel 

• 

PEACE, CIVILIZATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I wonder if everyone was as astonished as I was when Michael Rennie got shot as he stepped out of the alien spaceship. Sent to order the earth to be peaceful and civilized, he is given wonderful powers by his home world. Yet when he lands, he is shot and nearly killed, putting his mission in jeopardy. One must assume that he was chosen in order to get him out of his galaxy, and that his career had had some problems before this mission. 

In 1996, the citizens of Berkeley sent the City Council on a mission to bring peace and civilization to University Avenue. They were given all the power that the people can give. It has taken the council eight years to arrive at University Avenue, having traveled at impulse speed, and now that they have just arrived, their mission seems to be in jeopardy. 

The council has not brought peace and civilization to University Avenue, nor have they laid out a vision different from the University Avenue Strategic Plan. What exactly is the difficulty?  

Why do they not order that: “All plans for development on University Avenue shall conform to the University Avenue Plan in addition to all zoning laws, and that current buildings that are not in conformance with the plan shall apply to the zoning board for a variance.” I believe that Michael Rennie could have done as much. 

Martin Gugino 

• 

BUSHWHACKED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I can’t help noticing how the Bush White House tries to smear every one of its critics who have resigned their post and then reveals some ugly truth about how Bush and Cheney are running our government. The latest man of integrity to be smeared as “disgruntled” is Richard Clark, former anti-terrorism advisor to four presidents. He joins the ranks of Paul O’Neil, former secretary of the treasury, Joseph Wilson, former U.S. ambassador, David Kaye, former CIA weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, former U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, recent U.N. weapons inspector. The smear-jockeys even went after that Medicare cost analyst who found that the Bush proposal to Congress was underestimated by $ 140 billion. 

How many people with integrity need to resign from their jobs before Bush’s supporters realize that their trust has been abused? Are there any people of integrity still in the Bush administration? 

Bruce Joffe 

• 

JOHN CURL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

We are active members of a West Berkeley neighborhood association and in this capacity we have watched John Curl, as a member of the Berkeley Planning Commission, demonstrate unwavering clarity and vigorous energy in supporting the interests of those of us committed to protecting our neighborhoods’ character and supporting the light industrial/artist friendly zoning that characterizes the best of West Berkeley. His clarity of purpose and leadership on the Planning Commission will be sorely missed. Our hope is that John will find another venue to put his considerable experience and leadership skills to use in continuing to protect and shape our community. 

Thank you John. You will be sorely missed. 

Paul Shain, Barbara Getz, Rolf Williams, Ed and Sigrid Allen, Carrie Adams, Marc Mathieu, Elaine Eastman, Ruth Knapp, Dale Anania, Michael Duenes, Pam Ormsby, Kimberley Kline, Hopper Branam, Alice Jorgensen, Joe Michael 

Members, Hearst-Curtis-Delaware Neighborhood Association 

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The San Francisco Bay Area and the West Coast were dramatically transformed during the Great Depression. Great new bridges spanned the bay. The New Deal brought funding for other immense public works—dams, highways, aqueducts, and electrification—throughout California, the Pacific Northwest and the desert Southwest. 

Among the private projects that prospered from government spending during this era were those built by Henry Kaiser, who relocated to Oakland in 1921 and, literally, began building in all directions. 

The Kaiser industries and the man who created them are the subject of a current exhibit at the Oakland Museum. “Henry J. Kaiser: Think Big” profiles Kaiser, his rise to prominence, and his numerous commercial and philanthropic activities. The show runs through Aug. 29. 

A museum announcement posited the exhibit as “a long overdue survey of his life…” That it is, but unfortunately it falls short of the careful historian’s ideal. Much of the exhibit reads and shows disturbingly like publicity, not objective historical inquiry. 

There is no question that Kaiser had an immense impact on Bay Area and American economic and social life. It is worth visiting the exhibit to see the array of Kaiser activities—from dam building to dishwasher production—smartly detailed in panels and display cases framed by faux steel girders.  

The exhibit is rich and engaging in artifacts including cars, appliances, models, maps, and period advertisements (be sure to watch the video reel of Kaiser commercials). But visitors may come away dissatisfied. Instead of a thoughtful exploration of a man who catalyzed major changes in American life, it is primarily a panegyric. There is little introspection on the massive—and mixed—impacts of Kaiser’s accomplishments. 

For example, consider these two sentences from the exhibit text. “1933: Workers are building a 242-mile aqueduct to bring needed water from the Colorado River to metropolitan Los Angeles.” And, “the dam will irrigate the deserts, generate electrical power, and tame the river’s floods.”  

A different exhibit strategy might have noted the extent to which the water was primarily “needed” to make real estate speculation profitable in the Southland, or how “taming” floods changed the ecology of the Southwest. Such an approach would invite viewers to weigh benefits and costs and draw their own conclusions. 

The exhibit also offers little exploration of the connection between government contracts and private prosperity in the West. Henry Kaiser was—like California’s railroad barons before him—an icon whose financial success was substantially built upon his ability to obtain and fulfill massive government contracts.  

California continues to be shaped by the mythology that such men and their enterprises were entirely “self-made,” ignoring the role of public investment (and the methods sometimes used to obtain and direct it) in the state’s political and economic life. 

Another frustrating characteristic of the exhibit is the lack of detail about Kaiser’s life outside business. There is not much about his upbringing in rural New York or his family. A few anecdotes are provided along with an abbreviated timeline of major events in Kaiser’s life, but the overall effect is one of tantalization, not explanation.  

What precisely sparked Kaiser’s early career, work ethic, and drive to succeed in business? This subject is barely outlined, beyond quoting some of Kaiser’s favorite poems. Instead, we learn he liked pink (and painted his cement trucks and aircraft accordingly), didn’t exercise (occasionally serving volleyballs in company games but refusing to return them), and apparently drove like a demon (commuting weekly between the Bay Area and the Hoover Dam site, and piloting his own speedboats on Lake Tahoe).  

He was a man in motion, manipulating eight telephones from his desk, calling his managers at all hours, driving his staff relentlessly, and apparently living what he preached. After he “retired” to Hawaii, he undertook trend-setting developments. He built the first high rise hotel in Waikiki and obliterating a “swamp” by Diamond Head to create a residential subdivision. 

His principal accomplishments should not be minimized. Henry Kaiser pioneered mass pre-paid health care, was more cooperative with unions than many of his fellow industrialists, and was an early practitioner of television show sponsorship to sell the products he manufactured.  

His firms constructed roads, aqueducts, dams and factories that opened up the arid West for extensive development and settlement. Kaiser concerns had a major hand in building the great public works of the age from Hoover Dam on the Colorado to the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams on the Columbia.  

When World War II began, Kaiser landed a contract to build cargo ships for Britain. This positioned him to be a major manufacturer of both “Liberty” and “Victory” ships when the United States entered the war. His shipyards would ultimately build more than 700 vessels, one-third of the merchant marine tonnage launched by America during the war.  

As a result of the Kaiser shipyards, Richmond changed from a sleepy shoreline town into a roaring industrial center. A commuter rail line shuttled thousands of workers to the yards, which operated around the clock. One ship at Richmond was completely constructed—from laying of the keel to launching, with dishtowels in the galley and pencils in the chartroom—in less than five days. 

With war, the San Francisco Bay region became fortress, arsenal, manufactory, and melting pot. Shipyards, factories, and company towns proliferated along the bay and throughout the countryside, along with new and expanded military bases. For the first time, large numbers of African Americans—many arriving from the American South on Kaiser’s chartered trains—came to the Bay Area to work and settle permanently.  

When the war ended, along with wartime manufacturing contracts, Kaiser smoothly shifted his factories to consumer production and his publicity machine to the promotion of consumer demand. His enterprises built automobiles (two of which are displayed in the exhibit) and household appliances. His construction companies developed some 10,000 suburban homes on the West Coast.  

Throughout his life, Kaiser innovated. Construction of the Philbrook Dam on the Feather River in the 1920s was, according to the exhibit, the “first major undertaking completed solely by mechanical equipment and without draft animals.” Later, he pioneered the use of aluminum in certain types of manufacturing, speculated in plans for personal aircraft, promoted new car technology and new household appliances, and built a large geodesic dome to Buckminster Fuller’s design. 

What the exhibit calls his most considerable accomplishment was the creation of modern pre-paid healthcare, beginning with small company hospitals for workers on his dam projects. Employees could pay a small sum per month for a basic health plan. This was one of the first opportunities for working class Americans to reliably obtain and affordable health care and, in particular, preventive care.  

The exhibit quite rightly places great emphasis on the Kaiser innovations in health care, but once again disappoints in the presentation. Exhibit descriptions again read like press releases. “Consistent with its founding objectives 60 years ago, Kaiser Permanente is committed to physician responsibility for clinical-decision making.” That’s more appropriate for a Kaiser newsletter than a display in a public museum. 

“Henry Kaiser: Think Big” is, on balance, an exhibit worth seeing, particularly if you also take in some of the permanent exhibits and other traveling shows at the finely diversified Oakland Museum. However it’s not the best that could be done on its intriguing subject. ‹

Thirty-five years ago, to an artist captivated by old boats and maritime dereliction, the Oakland Estuary—described on the AAA map as the Inner Harbor—was a paradise of waterscapes. Employed by the city’s Planning Department, I was left gloriously alone for months to pursue a photo-survey of the whole terrain. The old semi-derelict water-edge was far and away my preferred haunt. 

Not much of it at that time was public domain. Jack London Square at the bottom end of Broadway was mostly a collection of popular restaurants and bars. There were a couple of similar destinations on the Alameda side, and that was it. The rest of the seven-mile waterway was lined largely with military installations, the remains of a WWII shipyard, and acres of scrap metal destined for Asia. A few still-functioning docks—the Ninth Avenue Terminal, and the Encinal Terminals in Alameda—guaranteed the occasional passing of large ships, with tugs, fishing vessels, Coast Guard cutters and yachts forming the rest of the nautical parade. 

In those pre-container-port years, along the whole unglamorous stretch, policing and “security” were almost non-existent. One could cruise unchallenged along Middle Harbor Road, and head off anywhere driveable, past old machinery and giant crushers, to an edge of ancient wood pilings. Here was Norwalk Yacht Harbor, a still-functioning dock full of old sailboats, run-down motor cruisers and an occasional tug, a true haven for the non-yuppie sailor. My black pentel on-the-spot drawing of an old ship being cut up for scrap was done in 1971 at the Grove Street Pier, now the cleaned-up unexciting end of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 

Immediately east of Jack London Square, a long derelict edge stretched as far as the Lake Merritt Channel. Look across the water from this edge today—now an elegantly landscaped portion of the new Bay Path—and you will notice two grand pieces of “industrial archeology” left over from WWII. They are the huge concrete launch ramps of the Bethlehem Shipyard, looking for all the world like some abandoned utopian project by Le Corbusier. 

Still on the Oakland side, between the channel and the city’s Ninth Avenue Terminal, lies a strange enclave of industrial and marine activity hardly changed from my 1960s explorations. South of the elevated freeway, the unpaved alleys of Fifth and Sixth avenues are the busy heart of the J.W. Silveira Co., a little private realm that would make the perfect movie set for a hippie live-work paradise! Welding shops, graphic designers, engine repair and even psychic readings are housed in a bizarre “village” of plywood, ancient boards and metal siding, with here and there a small garden crowded with oddly assorted plants in cans. 

The climax of all this picturesque disorder is the Fifth Avenue Marina, a maze of tippy wood walkways, big antique motorcruisers well-used yachts and a couple of houseboats, enclosed on one side of the barges and tugs of a sand and gravel company, and on the other by a derelict edge of upturned boats. There’s even a lived-steel barge domesticated by a lone tree. If you have any interest whatever in the gutsy remains of the pre-computer age, go visit the Fifth Avenue Marina. 

Brooklyn Basin, east of this disreputable paradise, is now a long curve of power boat sales and bland motels, missing the one drawable activity—Pacific Drydock, where, for decades, one could watch seagoing tugs, bay ferries, and even FDR’s Potomac, being worked on high above dry land. The uninspiring stretch finally becomes eventful in the vicinity of Quinn’s Lighthouse, a romantic tower of restaurants and bars worth visiting for its panoramic views of nearby Coastguard Island and the distant towers of downtown. Immediately west of Quinn’s is a cluster of handsome “Victorians” set in a waterside garden and occupied by law firms. East of it, beyond a small marina, is Livingstone Street Pier, which in my earlier roamings was a busy fishdock surrounded by classic, wood-hulled commercial fishing boats, as captured in my painting from the late ‘70s. 

Now the fishing fleet has gone elsewhere, replaced by “Vortex,” a diving and salvage operation, less paintable, but at least maritime. The dockside cafe, an affordable “1950s” diner, has also gone. 

Just beyond the Coastguard station, the spacious Inner Harbor turns into the Tidal Canal, created in the early 20th Century to connect the Estuary with San Leandro Bay, and incidentally turn Alameda into an island. Here, the dominant features are two steel bascule bridges, a green-painted one at Park Street and a silver one at High. Besides carrying traffic, they open upwards like huge toys to let through an occasional yacht or tall boat. 

For the urban explorer, both are worth walking across to see the lively mix of activities along the shores—old, gutsy ship repair from the one, and the backs of a sedate 1940s subdivision complete with private docks from the other. My painting of old ships seen from the High Street Bridge typifies the changing maritime scene that still prevails along this odd canal. 

Oakland’s water-edge grows simultaneously less derelict and more tidy. It also grows less visually intriguing and more like everywhere else. “Mediterranean” view apartments are not drawable. Old drydocks and derelict marinas are, but for better or worse they can’t be duplicated, even for artists! However, as the old gutsy “blue-collar” scene disappears, it can at least be replaced by imaginative design and inspired uses. The parklike edge of the new Bay Path, the Jack London Aquatic Center, the Potomac—presidential yacht—cruises and the San Francisco commuter ferry are all vivid examples of enlightened change.›

TUESDAY, MARCH 30 

FILM 

Chantal Akerman: “With Sonia Wieder-Atherton” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kala Fellowship Artists Paul Catanese and Cynthia Innis at 7 p.m. at Kala Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

Dawn Prince-Hughes discusses “Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Spanning the Strait: Building the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge” a slide show and lecture by John V. Robinson at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Kate Wenner reads from her new novel, “Dancing with Einstein” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

R. Larry Wilson, author of “Silk and Steel: Women at Arms” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bandworks Recital at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“All The World Is In It: The Musical Universe of East-European Jews” at 7 p.m. at the Dinner Boardroom, in GTU’s Hewlett Library. 649-2482. 

Mimi Fox, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Maryann Price & Naomi Ruth Eisenberg at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley High Photography Exhibition Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, MetroCenter, 101 Eighth St., Oakland. Exhibition runs until the end of April. 464-7773. 

FILM 

Film 50: “Being There” at 3 p.m. and Meet Your Makers: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Parrot: The Art of Anne Walsh” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Redefining Community, Recreating Space” with artists Julio Morales and Keith Thomas at 6 p.m. at California College of Arts, 5212 Broadway. 594-3764. www.cca.edu 

“The Frankenstein Projects: An Archeology of Graffiti” with Sven Ouzman, Fulbright Scholar, drawing on examples from Berkeley, San Francisco, and South Africa. At noon at the Hearst Museum, Bancroft at College Ave. Free with museum admission. 643-7648. 

Owen Gingerich describes “The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert with Jilian Khuner, soprano and Jonathan Khuner, piano at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Youth Art Festival with Karen Sujian Lampkin and students from Whittier EDC at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkleyartcenter.org 

Jules Broussard, Bing Nathan and Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Bandworks Recital at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Lithium Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Scoop Nisker’s “Crazy Wisdom Show” at 2 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core, modern jazz, experimental, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Girl Powder, Milka, Simon Stinger and Mudbath at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Sketches of a Sound Installation by Hugh Livingston and Michael Zbyszynski, from 7 to 11 p.m. at 21 Grand Gallery, 449b 23rd St., Oakland. Demonstrations at 7:42 (high tide), 8:42, 9:42, 10:42 p.m. Free. Wheelchair accessible.  

THEATER 

Everyday Theater, “The Bright River,” a show by Tim Barsky, at 8 p.m. at the Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through April 3. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 644-2204. 

FILM 

Charles Burnett: “Nightjohn” and “My Brother’s Wedding”at 5:30 at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with David St. John, a National Book Award finalist, at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library in Doe Library, UC Campus. Admission is free. 642-0137. http://lunchpoems.berkeley.edu 

Poetry at the Albany Library with Tsering Wangmo Dhompa at 7 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 20. 

“Ant Farm 1968-1978” Guided Tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Bruce Cumings on “North Korea: Another Country” at 12:30 p.m. at the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor. 642-2809. 

Beatrice Manz disusses “Paradise in Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror, and Hope” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Garrett Murphy and Manuel Garcia, Jr. followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. For information call 526-5985 or 205-1749.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Keni El Lebrijano, flamenco guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Crystal and Angela, acoustic pop, at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

George Pederson and His Pretty Good Band at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Patrick Cress’ Telepathy & Transmission Trio, innovative jazz, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $8-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Estero at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Swoop Unit with guitarist/ 

composer Patrick Greene at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 2 

CHILDREN 

A Love Story for Children at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“A Woman’s Love” pastels by Kelvin Curry. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. The artist will donate 25% of his sales to the WCRC. 601-0404, ext. 111. www.wcrc.org 

“Nudes: An Intimate View of Nature” photographs by Jane Magid. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Runs through May 27 at Red Oak Realty, 2983 College Ave. 849-9990. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Alarms and Excursions” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Also on Sat and Sun. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. 558-2500, ext. 2579. 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen, at 8 p.m. through April 11. 647-2917. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Everyday Theater, “The Bright River,” a show by Tim Barsky, at 8 p.m. at the Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through April 3. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 644-2204. 

Hillside Players “Tangled Tales Three: It’s Not Easy Being Smee” a comic journey into The Enchanted Forest for the whole family at 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $7, $4 for children, students and seniors. 384-6418. 

Un-Scripted Theater “Improv Survivor” opens at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, and runs to April 3. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.un-scripted.com 

FILM 

Remembering Marlon Riggs: “Tongues Untied” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John Eidenow talks about “Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Simryn Gill: “Matirx 210” Curator’s Talk with Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson at 12:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Baaba Maal, Senegalese pop singer and guitarist, at 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$36, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Soli Deo Gloria and Orchestra Gloria perform Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at 7 p.m. at Piedmont Community Church, 400 Highland Ave., Piedmont. Tickets are $15-$20 available from 415-982-7341. www.sdgloria.org 

The California Golden Overtones Spring Show at 8 p.m. in 155 Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. Performances by the UC Men’s Octet and The Williams Octet. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-3880. http://ucchoral.berkeley. 

edu/uchoral/overtones 

“Stomp the Stumps” Benefit for Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters and Earth First with Wild Buds, Gary Gates Band, Funky Nixons and Day Late Fool’s Band at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Solace Brothers, Amee Chapman, Gina Villalobos at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Triple Play at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

El 20 y 10: A Celebration of Dignity and Rebellion at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Herb Gibson, odd-school jazz, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $10-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Sylvia and the Silvertones play classic music of the 30s and 40s at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

The Waybacks, acoustic mayhem, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Skin Divers at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Yaphet Kotto, Takaru, Confidante, Tafatka, A Light in the Attic at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Mood Food at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Jazz Mine at 6:30 p.m. at King Tsin Chinese Restaurant, 1699 Solano Ave.  

SATURDAY, APRIL 3 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Gaile Schmitt and the Toodala Ramblers performing bluegrass at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Wild About Books with Jo Jo LaPlume and her marionettes at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Paintings of Tilden” by Deborah Shappelle. Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Environmental Education Center, Tilden Nature Area. 525-2233. 

Ant Farm Exhibition Tour at 1 p.m. and screenings at 2 p.m at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Alarms and Excursions” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. 558-2500, ext. 2579. 

“Free and Ova Saopeng, Lao as a Second Language” at 8 p.m. at La Peña. cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Hillside Players “Tangled Tales Three: It’s Not Easy Being Smee” a comic journey into The Enchanted Forest for the whole family at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $7, $4 for children, students and seniors. 384-6418. 

FILM 

Charles Burnett: “Nightjohn” at 3 p.m., “Shorts” at 7 p.m. and “Sleep with Anger” at 8:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, discusses the process of bringing a book to the screen, at 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $18-$28, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

"How to Survive in the Music Business” a panel discussion at 2 p.m. at The Jazzchool. Cost is $10, free for K-12 students. Sponsored by Music in Schools Today. www.jazzschool.com  

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m. at the West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

Joel Ben Izzy talks about “The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Harvard Glee Club and the Pacific Boychoir at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Ave. Tickets are $15 at the door or from 866-468-3399. 

The California Golden Overtones Spring Show at 8 p.m. in 155 Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. Performances by the UC Men’s Octet and the Oxford College Out of the Blue. Tickets are $-$10. 642-3880. http://ucchoral.berkeley.edu/uchoral/overtones 

“Opera Scenes” performed by Holy Names College Opera Scenes Program at 8 p.m. at Regents’ Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $7-$10, available at the door. 436-1330. 

Samba Ngo, Congolese singer, songwriter, guitarist at 8 p.m. at iMusicast, 5429 Telegraph Ave. at 55th. Cost is $13. 601-1024. www.imusicast.com 

BAM/PFA Open House with performance by The Edlos at 3:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson with Dana DeSimone at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Rory Block, country blues, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $18.50 advance, $189.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Gojogo, Indian percussion with violin and acoustic bass, at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Bill Holdens, The Cables, The Happy Clams at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Rhoda Benin and Soulful Strut at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Tree Leyburn at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Rock & Roll with Nicole at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Time for Living, Killing the Dream, In Control, These Days, At Risk at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Dave Gleason and Wasted Days at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Tickets are $10 at the door. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Pickpocket Ensemble performs European café music at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Happy Birthday Herbie! Cannonball plays the music of Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.˝

THE FIVE BIGGEST LIES BUSH TOLD US ABOUT IRAQ 

By Robert Scheer, Christopher Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry 

Seven Stories Press, 178 pages, $9.95. 

Editor’s Note: This is a modified excerpt from the new edition of The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq by Berkeley residents Robert Scheer, Christopher Scheer, and by Lakshmi Chaudhry. 

On Feb. 17, President Bush sought once again to extricate himself from the scandal that simply won’t go away: the missing Iraqi WMD. “My administration looked at the intelligence and we saw a danger,” he told thousands of U.S. soldiers at Fort Polk, Louisiana. “Members of Congress looked at the same intelligence, and they saw a danger. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence and it saw a danger. We reached a reasonable conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a danger.” 

It’s no surprise that the independent commission appointed by the president has been carefully instructed to only look into lapses in intelligence-gathering, and not at the ways in which the administration may have exaggerated or misused intelligence. Now that it has become clear that Saddam Hussein’s fabled weapons programs simply “did not exist,” as the outgoing chief weapons inspector David Kay put it, the White House is scrambling to cast its now exposed lies as the inevitable consequence of a massive intelligence failure. In other words, the flaw lay not in the “reasonable conclusion” of the administration, but the evidence it was based on. 

Whatever the state of U.S. intelligence gathering, the Bush administration’s sales pitch for the Iraq War relied on public displays of classified data to an unprecedented degree, a practice that has now come to haunt the White House. Scrutiny of the record since Bush assumed office shows a clear and disturbing pattern: the manipulation of intelligence data to fit the administration’s preconceived theories to support a policy based on a political agenda rather than the facts at hand. 

The practice, which far surpasses the usual political sleight-of-hand employed by previous administrations, was so pervasive as to alarm career intelligence analysts. “I believe the Bush administration did not provide an accurate picture to the American people of the military threat posed by Iraq. Most of it lies with the way senior officials misused the information they were provided,” said Gregory Thielmann, a key whistleblower who was the former director of the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) until September 2002. “This administration has had a faith-based intelligence attitude: ‘We know the answers-give us the intelligence to support those answers,’” he said. 

Remember the OSP? 

Where Donald Rumsfeld went for his Iraq intelligence was to something called the Office of Special Plans that he himself had formed as a sort of personal intelligence agency. The day-to-day intelligence operations were run by ex-Cheney aide and former Navy officer William Luti, reporting to Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith, a former Reagan official. According to the Guardian, “The ideologically driven network functioned like a shadow government, much of it off the official payroll and beyond congressional oversight. But it proved powerful enough to prevail in a struggle with the State Department and the CIA by establishing a justification for war.” 

The OSP amassed huge amounts of raw intelligence from “report officers” in the CIA’s directorate of operations whose job it is to cull credible information from reports filed by agents around the world. Under pressure from Pentagon hawks, the officers became reluctant to discard any report, however farfetched, if it bolstered the administration’s case for war. 

John B. Judis and Spencer Ackerman revealed in a New Republic article published in June 2003 that there was “no consensus” within the U.S. intelligence community on the level of threat posed by Saddam. Judis and Ackerman reported, “The administration ignored, and even suppressed, disagreement within the intelligence agencies and pressured the CIA to reaffirm its preferred version of the Iraqi threat.” Bush then would repeatedly deploy this misleading data to sell the war in his speeches. 

A Pattern of Deception 

There is no better example of the pattern of deception that has defined the administration’s case for the war than its claim that Saddam Hussein possessed a well-established nuclear weapons program. 

On Sept. 8, 2002, in a classic example of how easy it is for the White House to manipulate the media, and thus the public, the New York Times ran a story planted by the Bush administration. The front-page article, written by Judith Miller and Michael Gordon and headlined “U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts,” informed Americans that, according to unnamed Bush officials, Iraq had repeatedly attempted to secretly purchase aluminum tubes “specially designed” for enriching uranium as part of a nuclear weapons program based on their “diameter, thickness, and other technical properties.” 

It was the ultimate advertorial: great placement, perfect message, excellent timing-all basically controlled by the advertiser but looking as if it came from “neutral” sources. From its August launch through its acceptance by Congress in October, the Bush marketing campaign for the war was perfectly executed, and the tubes revelation was a classic example. 

By the time the truth that the attempted purchases were neither secret nor likely intended for nuclear uses was tracked down and exposed by whistle-blowers, journalists, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, it wouldn’t matter, having already served dutifully as a scary totem in Bush speech after Bush speech. When its power did flag, it would simply be replaced by another shaky fact put into the rotation and foisted upon a compliant media. This leak-and-retreat tactic proved astonishingly effective up to and through the war. 

One key to a president exploiting shaky yet convenient intelligence data is to always maintain deniability. Aiding and abetting this is the array of different intelligence agencies that the president has reporting to him-CIA, NSA, FBI, and sub-agencies of State, Defense, and so on-not to mention the information generated by allied nations’ intelligence agencies that are passed along (more on that later). Combined, these agencies, each with its own strong institutional biases and rivalries, generates so much data that it is child’s play for politicians (or reporters with good sources) to cherry-pick opinions that fit their policy platform (or story angle). 

The Real Intelligence Failure 

In an effort to control this kind of chicanery, the intelligence agencies are often required to pool their insights and evidence into overview documents to see whether or not there is a consensus as to their reliability. Relevant experts may also be called in, especially in a case like this where highly technical expertise was essential to separating fact from fiction. 

When the experts looked at the tubes later cited by the White House, however, questions immediately arose over whether they were appropriate for centrifuges used in a nuclear reactor. Working under a blanket of enormous pressure coming from the White House, and especially the vice president, to find damning things regarding Iraq and nuclear weapons, a full-blown row soon broke out within the alphabet soup of U.S. intelligence agencies over this obscure issue. 

For their part, CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency believed the tubes were similar to those used in Iraq’s previous attempt to build nukes, while the State Department’s INR and the Department of Energy were adamant that they were in fact much more appropriate for artillery shells. The division was made explicit in the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate report on Saddam’s pursuit of WMD, as the State Department experts insisted a sharply worded dissent be included in the overall report, controlled by the top dog in the intelligence “community,” the CIA. 

While the NIE cited “compelling evidence that Saddam is reconstituting a uranium enrichment effort for Baghdad’s nuclear weapons program,” the INR dissent (which was later dismissed by the White House as a footnote), stated explicitly “the tubes are not intended for use in Iraq’s nuclear weapons program.” 

Meanwhile, British experts weighed in against the White House’s interpretation and some CIA analysts also expressed doubts. The longer the tubes bounced around the intelligence community, the iffier it got as a piece of evidence affirming Iraq’s threat to the world. Ultimately, however, the CIA, as the top intelligence agency, won out, forcing their analysis into the NIE, leading inevitably to the New York Times front-page headline trumpeting its scoop. 

Role of the CIA 

The CIA’s complicity in this prototypical Bush bait and switch tactic can be clearly seen when looking back at the annual reports the agency delivered to Congress on the global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 

In its 1997 report, Iraq only warranted three paragraphs, to the effect that Baghdad possessed dual-use equipment that could be used for biological or chemical programs. There was no mention of a nuclear weapons program. By 2002, however, the Iraq section was seven times as long, and warned that “all intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons” and the country could produce a nuclear bomb “within a year” if it got its hands on weapons-grade material. The CIA also reported as late as 2001 that enforcement of the UN arms embargo on Iraq was “generally successful”-but this reference was dropped in the 2002 report sent to a White House that claimed the embargo wasn’t working. 

Why, then, had the reports become so shrill on the topic after Bush’s inauguration, presenting the same intelligence with a completely different interpretation? After all, the CIA even had the same director under both Clinton and Bush. 

“I’m afraid that the U.S. intelligence community, particularly the CIA . . . is sometimes quite sensitive to the political winds,” Thielmann, formerly a senior intelligence official at the State Department, told Newsday. 

Despite what David Kay may claim, a number of CIA officers clearly felt the brunt of the administration’s desire for the “right” kind of intelligence. Vice President Cheney, in particular, made a number of personal trips to the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to meet with low-level analysts who were reviewing the raw intelligence on Iraq. As one CIA official told the South African Mail and Guardian, “[He] sent signals, intended or otherwise, that a certain output was desired from here.” 

Other visitors to CIA headquarters representing the White House included Cheney’s chief of staff, Scooter Libby, and ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who joined the Pentagon as a “consultant” after 9/11. “That would freak people out,” a former CIA official told the New Republic. 

The Mythic Consensus 

While the Bush administration now claims otherwise, there was no consensus whatsoever over Saddam’s weapons capabilities. The New Republic’s investigation revealed many of the tube skeptics still hopping mad, incited by the continued use of the centrifuge claim. One intelligence analyst, who was part of the internal multi-agency tubes investigation, angrily-though anonymously-told the magazine known for its hawkish stances, “You had senior American officials like Condoleezza Rice saying the only use of this aluminum really is uranium centrifuges. She said that on television. And that’s just a lie.” 

And Rice hadn’t stopped there. After saying on the Sept. 8, 2002 Late Edition that the tubes “are only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs,” she then went on to brandish the ultimate image of twentieth century terror: “The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly [Hussein] can acquire nuclear weapons, but we don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.” 

And contrary to the president’s claims that the UN shared his interpretation of Saddam’s capabilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency was blunt in its assessment of the tubes. On Jan. 24, ElBaradei told the Washington Post, “It may be technically possible that the tubes could be used to enrich uranium, but you’d have to believe that Iraq deliberately ordered the wrong stock and intended to spend a great deal of time and money reworking each piece.” And on Mar. 7, the IAEA stated its analysis quite clearly in its formal report to the United Nations, just two weeks before the war to “disarm Saddam Hussein” began. 

The truth is that the White House continued to be hell-bent on supersizing our fear in the lead up to the war, turning an admittedly scary world into a chamber of horrors. And it used every weapon in its arsenal-from outright intimidation to skilful media manipulation-to achieve its goal. Claiming that this well-oiled campaign was instead a well-intentioned error is just the latest in a very long list of Bush lies. 

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Three recent books with local connections explore a variety of approaches to the topic of what it means to do public service. 

Zac Unger (a Berkeley resident and frequent Daily Planet contributor) has written a personal memoir of his career as an Oakland firefighter, a profession he embarked on almost by accident while trying to decide what to do after he finished an Ivy League education. He combines vivid descriptions of what he does with introspective passages about why he does it. The excitement is a big part of why, but also, he says, because "I know that if I don’t do what I’m supposed to, then nobody else will either." 

Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman, Zac Unger, Penguin, March 2004. 

Mary Tolman Kent’s memoir of her 80 years of life describes public service of an older school: the generation of women who devoted the major part of their lives to home and family, and who were movers and shakers by virtue of their volunteer activities. She was a faculty wife when that was almost a career in itself, and she and her husband, University of California professor and Berkeley City Councilman Jack Kent, were deeply involved in Democratic politics, civil liberties and other liberal causes. She lost a son to AIDS and her husband to Alzheimer’s disease, and the book is also a moving account of how she has survived these losses. The book was published by the now defunct Creative Arts Book Company, but can be found in local bookstores or purchased from the author. 

The Closing Circle, Mary Tolman Kent, Creative Arts Book Company, 2003. 

MoveOn.com, the online political action organization which is Berkeley’s current pride and joy, has lent its name to a compendium of short essays on 50 Ways to Love Your Country, with introductory remarks signed by founders Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, today’s inheritors of the Berkeley political mantle of Jack and Mary Kent. Most of the recommended activities are the same ones activists did in the last generation: registering voters, writing letters to the editor, holding house parties for candidates, running for office. The new twist is that with modern technology it is theoretically possible to do it all faster and better. The book doesn’t dwell on this aspect, however. 

50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change, Inner Ocean Publishing, March 2004.

Listening to biologists could easily lead you to believe that all field work has to cope with impassible roads, extreme weather, tropical diseases, leeches, guerilla movements, or some combination of the above. I remember the late herpetologist, Joe Slowinski, describing how everyone in his party contracted malaria in Burma, then going on about what a great place it was in which to work. (On his next trip back, Slowinski was fatally bitten by one of his research subjects.) 

So I was pleased to learn of a recent study by a team of entomologists that entailed nothing more risky or strenuous than walking the residential streets of Berkeley and Albany, counting bees and flowers. 

Robbin Thorp, an emeritus professor at UC Davis, and his colleagues were looking for patterns of native bee diversity in urban settings. Since we’re talking about artificial habitats filled with flowering plants from all over the world, and since many native bee species are specialists in only one or a few kinds of flower, you might not expect much in the way of variety. 

But you’d be wrong. As reported in Fremontia, the journal of the California Native Plant Society, the bee counters found 74 species in their study area. All but two—the ubiquitous honeybee and a European leafcutter bee—were natives. That’s not much compared with a bee hotspot like Pinnacles National Monument with its 398 species, but it’s not bad for next door. The natives were common visitors to native shrubs like ceanothus and California poppies, but they also patronized cosmos, marigolds, marguerites, and other exotics. 

Bee diversity peaked at two locations, the Peralta Community Gardens and the Oxford Tract. With large numbers of bee-attractive plants packed in close proximity, each drew about 20 species of native bees. It probably helped that both gardens were pesticide-free. 

We tend to think of the honeybee as the typical bee, but in fact its social lifestyle is unusual. The hive habit evolved only a few times, in honeybees, bumblebees, sweat bees, and some tropical groups. The vast majority of bee species are solitary. 

If you’ve noticed a non-honeybee in your garden, odds are it was a bumblebee—maybe the yellow-faced bumblebee, which has the resounding Latin name of Bombus vosnesenskii. Their colonies are annual, like those of wasps; the workers die off in fall, leaving the queen to hibernate through the winter and found a new realm when spring comes. 

In some parts of northern California up to a dozen bumblebee species may coexist in a small area, partitioning the floral resources. Species with tongues of different lengths feed at flowers with nectaries of different depths. But some short-tongued bumblebees cheat by biting into the base of a flower to get at the nectar, bypassing the pollen-bearing parts. 

Among the solitaries, the leafcutter bees are the most conspicuous. Males will stake out a patch of flowers and patrol it for females. You’re more likely to see the work of the females, though: neat semicircular cuts excised from the leaves of your rosebushes with the bee’s scissor-like jaws. 

The leafcutter’s nest can be in almost any crevice or cranny, including hollow plant stems and beetle tunnels in wood, garden hoses, even the radiators of abandoned cars. She lines it with elongated leaf fragments, pads it with oval pieces, provisions it with pollen and honey, lays a single egg, seals the brood cell with a plug of circular leaf bits, and moves on. Leafcutter bees will also use artificial nests with ready-made holes, and that European species, the alfalfa leafcutter, has become a commercially important pollinator. 

Mason bees—here’s one species in Berkeley—have their own variation: using resin from pines and other trees, mud, and chewed-up plant material to construct their brood cells. These were favorites of the pioneering French entolomologist Jean-Henri Fabre. 

Fifteen of the bee species recorded in the Berkeley-Albany study were miner bees in the genus Andrena, which has 150 species in California alone and over 500 in North America. As the name implies, they dig their nests, usually in the form of a straight shaft with brood chambers branching off it. The excavation is usually two feet deep or less, but one Colombian miner bee is known to tunnel more than eight feet down. 

What’s remarkable about andrenid miner bees is the way they line their brood cells to keep out the dampness of the soil. They’ve evolved a biological equivalent of polyester. Female miners have an organ called the Dufour’s gland which secretes a sticky substance that the bee spreads over the cell wall. The stuff dries to a waxy or varnish-like finish, effectively watertight and fungus-proof. The chemistry varies: andrenids use a mix of terpenes, others produce polymerized lactones. 

The authors of the Berkeley bee study didn’t have an historic baseline to work from, but they report anecdotal evidence that honeybee numbers have decreased in the last 10 years or so. Since honeybee populations all over North America have been hard hit by parasitic mites, the local decline makes sense. It’s a good thing for home gardeners that the bumblebees, leafcutters, masons, and miners were still around to take up the slack. 

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The City Council laid the groundwork at last Tuesday night’s meeting for an austerity budget certain to dent city services and maybe taxpayer wallets as well. To do so, however, they had to run a gamut of senior citizens protesting proposed cuts to the city’s senior programs. 

With a $14.6 million dollar deficit looming over the next two years, the council approved a budget framework that calls for $9.2 million in budget cuts spread over 2004 and 2005. 

The council approved the broad framework of a plan that also calls for the use of reserve funds and the restructuring of employee retirement funds to close the budget gap blown open by rising employee benefit costs and declining state funding and local tax revenue. 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz will present the City Council with a final budget plan May 4. The council is scheduled to approve next year’s budget on June 22, after two public hearings set for May 18 and June 8. 

Among the services slated for reduction in the preliminary budget proposal presented to the council by Kamlarz Tuesday night include: 

• Closing one of the city’s two fire truck companies ten hours a day, saving the city $500,000 next year. The proposal would leave the city short a second ladder truck, which city figures show is called into duty about 10 to 12 times a year.  

• Eliminating all 25 part-time school crossing guards, the Berkeley Guides, and Berkeley Escorts at a savings of $328,000 a year. 

• Closing public libraries on Sundays and some evenings and slashing one-quarter of the library budget for buying new books, videos and CDs, for a savings of $1.2 million. 

• Cutting 13 vacant police officer positions for a savings of nearly $2 million. 

• Eliminating a driver and reducing meals and services at the city’s three senior centers, for a savings of $136,000 in 2005 with further cuts up to $191,000 considered for 2006. 

It was the cuts to the senior centers that drew the ire of a group of about 30 seniors.  

“If they make the cuts they’re talking about, we won’t have a staff,” said Cecilia Gaerlan, who volunteers at the West Berkeley Senior Center. The protesters didn’t enter the council chambers until after Mayor Bates paid a visit and promised the council would try to seek new revenue to keep the programs running.  

“It can’t just be cuts,” Bates told the protesters. “People have to step up to the plate and help out.” 

In all Kamlarz proposed cutting 81 positions in Fiscal Year 2005, 69 of which are currently vacant. FY 2005 begins in July of this year. 

That didn’t sit will with Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, who questioned how the elimination of vacant positions actually improved the city’s budget standing.  

“These are phantom positions,” he said. “This kind of creative accounting I think puts Enron to shame.” Wozniak also added concerns raised by the Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Organizations that staff costs needed to be addressed before considering new taxes. 

Kamlarz said that because many of the positions listed as vacant were being filled by temporary workers or by employees working overtime, the elimination of the positions did impact the budget. 

Kamlarz has penciled in an estimated $1.2 million in savings from staff givebacks for 2005. The city is negotiating with its unions on returning 3 percent of the city’s contribution to their retirement benefits for 2005, as senior management has already done. If those negotiations fail, Kamlarz says he will close down city government one day per month, which would yield a similar savings. 

Some of the cuts outlined in the budget will likely be restored if the council, as expected, passes a series of new fees totaling up to $2.6 million.  

The fees include a $1.5 to $3 surcharge attached to all telephone landlines and possibly cellular phones for use of 911 emergency service calls, rescinding seismic fee waivers for building permits, eliminating the option of performing community service for parking fines and implementing a $2 fee for paying city fines and fees over the Internet. The council voted unanimously to set a public hearing for April 20 on the fees for the 911 surcharge and the seismic waiver. 

Those may not be the only new expenses facing Berkeley taxpayers this year. The council voted 7-1-1 (Olds no and Wozniak abstaining) to ask staff to begin preparations for up to four ballot measures that would raise taxes by $4.2 million. If passed, the measures would include $1.2 million to preserve library services, $800,000 to restore funding to youth programs, $1 million for the city’s fund to maintain storm water drains and $1 million to maintain paramedic services. The taxes would come in the form of special assessments to property owners, except for the youth services proposal, which could be funded by a property transfer tax. 

The council opted not to consider a $700,00 tax for street lights, though the city attorney’s office will study the legality of combining street lights with storm water drains as a single infrastructure tax. 

Some city commissions could also soon feel the impact of the budget shortfall. The council voted unanimously to refer to commissions a staff report that calls for 22 of the 45 citizen commissions to meet less frequently. The commissions on aging, disability, civic arts, peace and justice and homelessness would be among 15 commissions to go from meeting every month to every second month. Others would meet quarterly, while the Solid Waste Commission would be combined with the Public Works Commission.  

The reforms would reduce 4,292 hours of staff time, according to the staff report, which also estimated the city spends more than $850,000 a year staffing its commissions. 

The number of commission meetings wasn’t the only thing the council was considering shrinking Tuesday. By a 5-3-1 vote (Bates Worthington, Maio, Breland and Spring voting yes) the council requested that the city staff study reducing the next mayor’s term to two years so that future elections would coincide with presidential elections when voter turnout peaks. 

In non-budget action at Tuesday’s council meeting: 

Satellite Homes non-profit senior housing development received a zoning reprieve. The council voted 8-1-1 (Olds no, Wozniak abstain) to exempt the 79-unit housing project at 1535 University Ave. from new zoning rules being established for the avenue. Satellite Homes argued that if they had to wait for the new regulations to move through the Berkeley permit process, they would lose out on a chance to win funding in February. The project is the fourth on University now exempt from the future zoning ordinance. 

The council voted unanimously to hold a public hearing April 20 on a proposal to set a flat fee rate of $1.50 for a two-hour parking period at the center street garage between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays to encourage more visitors to the farmer’s market. 

The council also denied 8-0-1 (Spring abstaining) the appeal against the Library Gardens housing and retail complex set to be built just west of the central library. Steve Geller staked his appeal of a use permit issued by the Zoning Adjustment Board on grounds that the developer was only required to provide 59 parking spaces for his tenants instead of the 105 he had planned. City staff countered that since Library Gardens includes some retail, city regulations required all of the 105 spaces offered.

After hearing from a substantial group of community members opposed to the use of police dogs by the Berkeley Police department, the Berkeley Police Review Commission (PRC) voted 6-3 Wednesday night to reject a plan to put two German shepherds on the force.  

Commissioners Jacqueline DeBose, Michael Sherman, Michael Sheen, William White, David Ritchie and John Sternberg all voted against the measure, while commissioners Annie Chung, Jack Radisch and Lucienne Sanchez-Resnik voted in favor. 

The issue isn’t over as yet, though. Councilmember Betty Olds says she will put the issue on the council agenda if no one else does, probably sometime in May.  

“I think it’s ludicrous not to,” she said. “I’m very much for it. I’d rather have the [police department] using a dog rather than shooting around,” to find a suspect.” Olds called it an “emotional issue” because “during the civil rights thing they used them to charge protesters.” She then suggested using bloodhounds instead of police dogs because “they won’t attack anyone.” 

Olds’ appointee to the PRC, Jack Radisch, was the most vocal proponent of the dogs. 

Prior to the meeting, Mayor Tom Bates was quoted in the Daily Planet as saying that a “as far as I’m concerned, if the PRC votes against it, it’s over,” doubting that the City Council would even take the matter up. And those opposed to the canine dog proposals are now claiming complete victory.  

“I feel a sense of relief,” said Andrea Pritchett of Berkeley’s Copwatch, a volunteer organization that monitors police activity. “I hope that this means that Berkeley really stands for the resolution of conflict instead of trying to deny there are problems. I hope the police understand that we are into community building instead of dividing.” 

One of the swing votes at the PRC meeting against the dogs came from Michael Sherman, who originally said he was leaning towards approving the plan. Sherman told meeting attendees that Tuesday, March 23 article in the Berkeley Daily Planet identifying him as a possible yes vote generated a number of phone calls and e-mails from people urging him to oppose the measure. That, plus a story in the San Francisco Chronicle describing an incident where a police dog attacked an innocent bystander, helped change his mind. 

“I was prepared to vote in favor of this decision,” said Sherman. He noted, however, that, “it is clear that a policy will not work if it does not have community support.” 

According to Lt. Dennis Ahearn from the Berkeley Police Department, the decision was not a surprise. “I don’t think there is a real sense of disappointment because [the police department] didn’t think the PRC would ever do it,” he said. 

According to Lt. Ahern, the department received e-mails and phone calls from all over the city in support of the dogs before the vote. However, it was only the opposition that showed up to the meeting to voice their opinion he said. Ahern added that, “I don’t think this is really representative of Berkeley.” 

The decision “leaves us without options that other departments have when dealing with armed suspects. I think people would agree it is more desirable to have a dog bite someone instead of having to shoot them.” 

The PRC, while congratulated for the vote, didn’t escape criticism from those who were disappointed that the issue even got as far as it did. 

“My thanks are to the people who showed up, the leaners had their mind changed,” said Carrol Denney, a well-known community activist. “But I am hesitant to thank the commission. It’s a sad comment on the political climate that it got this far.” 

No one denies that Dominique Reed is getting bullied. The question is, why is she getting punished for it? 

After “coming into her own” in elementary school, Reed has been living a nightmare in her first year at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. In her special education classes, bigger and older students quietly taunt her, in the hallways they push her and punch her, in the playground they steal her hearing aid and throw it as far as they can. 

After months of daily abuse, school officials finally took action: They confined Reed to a classroom during recess for her own safety. 

Vice principal for sixth graders Doreen Sing said school policy prevented her from commenting either on the decision to keep Reed indoors or the family’s complaints. Sing and Principal Kit Pappenheimer refused to reply to follow-up telephone calls asking to explain the school’s policies on bullying. 

Reed says she knows why she has become the number one target for the number one bully in her special day class—a special education anachronism the district plans to phase out—that mixes students with behavior issues with others with developmental disabilities.  

“He was messing with another kid who’s cross-eyed,” she said as she stared at the floor, her voice barely audible. “I said ‘stop messing with him.’ I’m tough, but now they mess with me.” 

Reed draws strength from 11 years of struggle. She stands perfectly straight, her stomach extended slightly beyond her chest. Her face is dominated by plump cheeks; her hair set back in tight braids that fall over the $3,000 hearing aid she now removes in the playground so no one yanks it from her ear.  

Reed is diagnosed with a hearing disorder that magnifies and distorts loud noises. She has suffered from the illness since birth but was only diagnosed three years ago, her mother said. Reed also takes medication for Attention Deficit Disorder. She has always scored low on standardized tests and except for a few blissful years at Malcolm X Elementary School has always had to battle bullies. 

Three times Reed tried to show her tormentors just how tough she was. Acting against the advice of the school, she fought back. Each time she was suspended along with the attacker. 

“There’s nothing I can do,” she said. “If I tell, nothing happens, and every time I defend myself I get suspended.” 

That doesn’t mean Reed has passively accepted her fate. Tired of being confined during lunch, she stopped going to her assigned classroom and returned to the playground. 

A few days later, she described the following incident. “He had me under his leg in a headlock, then he hit me in the back of my neck. I wanted to grab his head and twist it off,” she said.  

She tried to and was suspended again. 

After the fight, Andrea Reed, Dominique’s mother, spoke again with Vice Principal Sing and learned that her daughter had been confined indoors during recess for two months. Reed was furious that no one at the school informed her of the decision and that when Dominique stopped showing up no one bothered to retrieve her. 

“No one is taking accountability for this,” Reed said. “My daughter is getting picked on, hit, tagged, and no one at the school thinks it’s their responsibility to stop it.” 

“I’m at the breaking point right now,” said Larry Reed, Dominique’s father. “They’re sweeping it under the rug. “If I have to walk in the school every day and protect my daughter, I’ll do it. Maybe it will click in their heads that they need to do something.” 

Andrea and Larry Reed are hardly the first parents to charge the district with failing to protect their child.  

Laura Menard, the PTA parent advocate, said Berkeley Unified is good at implementing preventative programs and anti-bullying curriculum, but when it comes to dealing with actual chronic cases of abuse, it has no standard operating procedures, no system to report incidents, no standard forms to document and track cases, no accountability for teachers and staff and no plan to protect targeted kids so they feel safe in the schools. 

“I’ve never reconciled in my mind how the district, knowing what a kid goes through, could be so unconscionable to not have any type of a response plan,” she said. 

Berkeley High PTA Treasurer Matt Wong recalled a labyrinth of bureaucracy he faced when his child was suspended from King for defending himself.  

“If you’re a parent and your child is in danger, you don’t know who to turn to,” he said. “If we weren’t active in the district and didn’t know the right people, we wouldn’t have known what to do.” 

Wong raises a legitimate concern, said School Board President John Selawsky, who has been the board liaison on issues of school violence and bullying. He wants to centralize and codify district policies. “How do you have conversations on this when you don’t have the same programs in place at the schools?” he asked. 

In April, the school board is scheduled to discuss a plan to offer stipends to teachers and other staff to provide additional supervision during lunchtime, Selawsky said. The proposal is estimated to cost approximately $10,000 and would help supplement the work of school security officers, several of whose jobs were cut during the district’s budget crisis. 

Gerald Herrick, the district’s director of student services, insists more reforms are on the way. This spring Berkeley High is scheduled to make available incident reporting pamphlets giving students and parents precise instructions on who to contact when they fear for their safety. The pamphlet, pioneered by a parent safety committee, could soon be made available to middle schools as well, Herrick said. 

“I don’t deny that we have to put better systems in place to help document problems and follow up,” he added. “Right now every school does its own thing. Sometimes that makes it harder, sometimes that helps schools find solutions that work.”  

One policy that is uniform in the district is that any student who fights, even if it’s in self defense is suspended for at least one day. 

Andrea Reed said so far the solution King officials have offered is to transfer her daughter to another school—a resolution she has refused to accept. 

“Why should my daughter have to transfer to a school across town. She’s not the problem. If she leaves, they’re just going to pick on someone else.” 

Director Herrick said transferring the bully is especially difficult when it’s a special education student because that requires school and parent approval.  

He added that he wasn’t surprised that Reed was kept in at recess. The practice, called “time-out,” is commonly used by teachers to handle such problems, he said. That is just one of several tools at the district’s disposal to handle bullying. The school can also suspend students, offer them counseling or, if both the aggressor and the victim agree, they can enter conflict management. 

But, in cases of bullying, conflict management doesn’t work, no matter the circumstances, said Vivian Linfor, education programs consultant for the California Department of Education. “Bullying isn’t an argument or a disagreement, it’s a power play,” she said. “Having them meet on equal terms makes the bully that much more determined since he knows he has the power.” 

Linfor said California schools have done a poor job addressing issues of bullying and school violence, partly because of the emphasis now placed on test scores and partially because the don’t understand the problem. “Bullying is a different animal,” she said. You need some kind of system in place for dealing with it,” she said. 

At Willard Middle School, Vice Principal Tom Orput is working with parents on a system that would demand accountability. He has placed forms throughout the school that offer students the chance to discreetly alert school officials when they feel threatened. When the complaint is lodged, the vice principal will fill out a report with a case number to track the incident. 

“It will be like a police report,” said Orput. “Every time there is an incident it will get added to the report and we can’t close it until there is a final disposition.” 

School officials at King haven’t documented her complaints, Andrea Reed said. She claimed to have spoken to Vice Principal Sing more than 10 times about the violence against her daughter, but the only testimonial to her complaints in Dominique’s permanent record on file are the three suspension notices. 

“Instead of getting help, she’s getting a record for defending herself,” Reed said. “It’s setting her back.” 

Convinced the school couldn’t help her, Reed filed a police report in December and met with Sergeant David White of the Berkeley Police Department’s Youth Services Division. White couldn’t talk about the case, but after a particularly rough day in class, Dominique Reed is certain he paid a visit to the parents of the main bully. 

“[The boy] told everyone that my parents told the police on him, she said. “They surrounded me and got in my face and said they were going to hurt me.” 

Her biggest disappointment that day? That the police had only given the boy a tongue lashing. 

“I want them to take him to jail so he quits messing with me,” she said. 

ˇ

FRIDAY, MARCH 26 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Robert E. Brown on “The Power of Handshaking.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $11.50 - $12.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

“Literacy & Beyond!” Family Literacy Night Event at the Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way, between Shattuck and Milvia. From 7 to 9 p.m. Free and open to the community. 665-3271. 

Literary Friends meets at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center to dis cuss “For a Future, Is it Possible’’ 232-1351. 

Old School Dance Party in support of Haitian grassroots organizations at 8 p.m. at Fellowship of Humanity Hall, 390 27th St & 411 28th St, between Telegraph & Broadway, Oakland. 465-9914. 

Report Back from Ven ezuela by the February delegation at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship, 1924 Cedar St. 528-5403. 

Preparing for Surgery, Chemo, or Radiation Treatment? A workshop with Carolyn Janson from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Longs Drugs Wellness Center, 1941 San Pablo Ave. Br ing a friend or family member for free and they can learn how to support you in this process. Workshop fee is $45 and includes book and audio tape. To reserve a space call 925-825-4704. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City C lub, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Ent rance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Kol Hadash the Bay Area’s only Jewish Humanistic Congregation meets at 7:30 p.m. fo r Shabbat at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. 428-1492. www.kolhadash.org 

Shekinah Sanctuary, a metatrance ecstatic prayer ritual using chants and movement at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Admission is $21. 883-0600. 

Overeaters Anonymous meets at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 27 

Felt Fun Make your own felt from the Little Farm’s sheep’s wool. Discover felting, spinning, shearing and more, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Carpentry Basics for Women An introduction to basic carpentry tools and skills for women with little or no previous hands-on experience. After a morning lecture and demonstration, you will build your own bookshelf unit (we provide the materials). Students are asked to bring their own hand tools. From 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sat. and Sun. at the Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $225. 525-7610.  

Urban Weed Walk Learn about the edible and medicinal uses of common weeds as Terri Compost leads a walk exploring the neighborhood around the Ecology Center. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233.  

Wild About California Take a walk on the wild side amid California native p lants flush with spring growth with area horticulturist and native plant expert Nathan Smith. From 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $17, members $12. Registration required. UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

U sing Natives in Your Garden with Judy Thomas, Merritt College Horticulture Dept., at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Berkeley Biodiesel Collective celebrates the birthday of Rudolph Diesel with a biodiesel car show featuring doz ens of different vehicles along with demonstrations and information about biodiesel, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Civic Center Park. 594-4000, ext. 777.  

Northern California War Tax Resistance presents a workshop for people interested in protesting federal i ncome taxes being used for war. Topics will include: creative legal protests, refusing to pay all or part of federal taxes, and the possible consequences of this form of civil disobedience. From 9 a.m. to noon at Sacramento St. Co-Housing Common House, 22 20 Sacramento St. Sliding scale donation requested. For information call 843-9877. 

Spring Fling Contradance at 3 p.m. at Church of Good Shepard at 9th and Hearst. Music by Robin Flower and Libby McLaren. Cost is $7-$12. 482-9479. 

“Discovering Dominga” a s pecial screening of the PBS documentary of an Iowan housewife who discovers that she is the sole survivor of the massacre of her Mayan family in Guatemala, with the filmmaker Mary Jo McConahay in person at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison. Donations requested. 482-1062. 

Saturday Night Sing-Along for all ages. Bring your family, neighbors and friends for an evening of campfire classics, silly and serious songs, rounds and movement activities. At 7 p.m. at 1216 Solano Ave. at Talbot, Albany. Sponsored by the Albany YMCA. Cost is $3 for adults, $2 for children. 525-1130. 

Berkeley Copwatch Know Your Rights Orientation, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Free, donations accepted. 548-0425. 

Center for Live Art, Art Auction and Gala from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Slingshot Gallery, 1721 63rd St. at Adeline. Donated art works include paintings, prints and sculpture by prominent Bay Area artists including David Ireland, Arthur Gonzalez, Lisa Lightman, and emerging artists Liz Walsh, Sean Ma cFarland, David Fought. Free. 835-3130. www.nclt.org/Liveart.htm 

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., from 10 to 11 a.m. The class is taught by Rosie Linsky, who at age 72, has practiced yoga for over 40 years. Open to non-membe rs of the club for $8 per class. To register, call Karen Ray at 848-7800. 

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 28 

Sunday Morn ing Birdwalk for beginning birders from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

“Fire and the Wildland-Urban Interface: Lessons from the 2003 Fire Season” with Jon Keeley, research scientist with US Geologica l Survey. Breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and talk at 10:30 a.m. at Trudeau Training Center, 11500 Skyline Blvd. Reservations required, pease call 925-376-6925 or email mimipete@pacbell.net 

Butterfly Club for ages 8 and up. Learn about these colorful insects, grow ing native plants and habitat restoration. From 1-3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Dog Walk with your best friend along the creek in Tilden Park. Meet at 2 p.m. at Lone Oak picnic site by Meadows Playfield. Bring water, leash, baggies and be prepared for mud. 525-2233. 

BHS Spring Workday from 9 a.m. to noon at Berkeley High. Pull weeds, including weeding the “Jungle” garden in front of the H Bldg, pick up trash, plant spring flowers in BHS colors of red and yellow. Bring work gloves, weeding tools, sunscreen, and hat. The PTSA and BHS Development Group provides bottled water, snacks, garbage bags and disposable gloves. 333-6097, 703-0279. 

Pat Bond Old Dyke Awards Ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 C ollege Ave. Sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. 415-392-6257, ext. 321. 

Berkeley City Club free tour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are sponsored by the Berkeley City Club and the Landmark Heritage Foundation. Donations welcome. The Berkeley City Club is located at 2315 Durant Ave. For group reservations or more information, call 848-7800 or 883-9710. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Lama Amdo on “Entering the Bodhisattva Path” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sufi Dancing: Dances of Universal Peace from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 526-8944. 

MONDAY, MARCH 29 

Tea at Four Enjoy some of the best teas from the other side of the Pacific Rim and learn their cultural and natural history. From 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Registration required. Cost is $5 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. 

“The Plight of Tigers in the Wild” with Anthony Marr at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Sponsored by East Bay Animal Advocates. 925-487-4419.  

West Berkeley Community Meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at Wells Fargo Bank, 1095 Universtiy Ave. Free and open to all West Berkeley neighbo rs. 845-4106. 

Labor Regulations and the Auto and Clothing Industries in Mexico with Dr. Huberto Juárez Núñez at 4 p.m. at CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stre tching and strengthening at 1:15 p.m. every Monday at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

Baby Yoga Learn how to soothe your infant. Bring a pillow, blanket, mat and olive oil. At 11 a.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Admission by donation. 8 83-0600. 

Yoga and Meditation for Children from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. at at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Admission by donation. 883-0600. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police mi sconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 30 

Tuesday Morning Birdwalk at Tilden’s Vollmer Peak, meet at the Little Train parking lot, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Call if you need binoculars. 525-2233. 

Return of Over-The-Hills-Gang A n excursion for hikers 55 years and over. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Little Train parking lot. registration required. 525-2233. 

National Nutrition Month “Eat in Season” from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Derby St. at MLK. Cooking demonstrations, recipes and nutrition education. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Celebrating the Environmental Leadership of Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Movement from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“The Truth About the Coup in Haiti” with Brian Concamon, Haitian human rights attorney and Lovinsky Antoine Pierre, Haitian human rights activist, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship, 1924 Cedar St. Sponsored by the Haiti Support Group. 528-5403. 

“Blue Vinyl” a free screening of the documentary by Judith Hefland and Daniel Gold at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Central Public Library, 2090 Kittredge, 3rd floor meeting room. Sponsored by Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil. 

Creative Project Institute An event for inspiration, information and motivation for writers with author Elizabeth Stark and editor Nanou Matteson at 7 p.m. at Alaya, 1713 University Ave.  

Bolivian Archeology and Nationalism with José Luis Paz Soria, director of the Kallamarka Archeological Project in La Paz, Bolivia. He has also worked extensively with the Taraco Archeological Project. Please note this presentation will be in Spanish. At 4 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Creativity, Healing, and Wholeness, a workshop on written and visual journaling as a path through cancer at 7 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Free, but please register. 526-0148. 

“Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail,” a documentary by Myles Murphy and Dale Brosnan, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Dr. Robert Raabi, botanist, will show flower pictures at 11 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 

Tobacco Awareness Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lower Sproul Plaza, UC Campus. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Tobacco Prevention Program. 981-5330. 

Nonviolent Conflict Transformation a workshop with Johan Galtung, Professor of Peace Studies, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, Kensington. Cost is $120, $60 for students and includes lunch and a comprehensive training manual. A limited number of scholarships are available. For information and registration, please contact Marilyn Langlois 232-4493, or Diana Young 655-8252. 

Berkeley Outstanding Woman Award will be presented to Sylvia McLaughlin in recognition of the work she has done to preserve the Bay and the East Bay shoreline, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Commission o n the Status of Women. 981-5347, 461-4665. 

Great Decisions 2004: “Public Diplomacy” with Emily Rosenberg, Middle east Peace Education, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

The Berkeley Forum “Peace vs. Empire” with Johan Galtung, father of Peace Studies, UN Consultant, Daniel Ellsberg, anti-war author, Michael Nagler, founder, Peace and Conflict Studies, UCB, Nancy Hanawi, co-chair, Peace and Justice Studies Association at 7:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Road, Kensington. 925-376-9000. 

Re-defining Community, Re-creating Public Space with Keith Thomas, Julio Morales, artists and CCA professors, at 6 p.m. in Nahl Lecture Hall, Oakland campus, 5212 Broadway , at College. 594-3763. www.cca.edu/center 

Bayswater Book Club monthly dinner meeting to discuss “Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939” by Virginia Nicholson at 6:30 p.m. at Liu’s Kitchen restaurant, 1593 Solano Ave. 433-2911. 

Having Our Say: Children of Jewish - Christian Families Speak Join a lively conversation with a panel of people who have grown up in interfaith homes as they talk about what worked and didn’t work for them. From 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Sponsored by Building Jewish Bridges: Outreach to Interfaith Couples. Cost is $5. For more information or to register call Dawn at 839-2900, ext. 347.  

“Holy Week Processions” with Bonnie Harwick, GTU Library Director, at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Parish, 2220 Cedar St. 848-1755. 

Fun with Acting Class every Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Free, all are welcome, no experience necessary.  

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 

Livable Berkeley, an organization that advocates smar t growth and sustainable development, will host local architect David Baker at the Berkeley Central Library Community room at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.livableberkeley.org 

“Fourth World War” a documentary produced by a network of independent media and activist groups on the inside of movements on five continents. At 8 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 595-0190.  

“Leadership and Ethics in an Age of Globalization” at 3:30 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. 649-2422. 

Street Skills for Cyclists from 6 to 10 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Free, but pre-registration required. 433-7433. 

Free Reading Workshop for Parents of students in Pre-K and Kindergarten at 8 p.m. at Classroom Matters, 2607 7th St., Suite E. 540-8646. www.classroommatters.com 

“Whose House are You Living In?” an inter-active presentation by professional interior designer and author Diana Cornelius at 7 p.m. at the Claremont Resort, 41 Tunnel Rd. 743-3000, ext. 516.  

Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM holds public meetings for all interested people first and third Thursdays, 7 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 595-0190.  

ONGOING 

Family Activist Resource Center A small group of East Bay parents is meeting monthly to set up a drop-in center where parents and caregivers can come with their children and do their political work while their children are cared for in a creative, respectful and nurturing manner. For information on the next meeting, contact Erica at ericadavid@earthlink.net or call 841-3204. 

Free Income Tax Help is available on Tuesday mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Ozzie Olson, AARP trained tax preparer is available by app ointment. 845-6830.  

“Freedom from Smoking” a free six-week smoking cessation program offered Mondays from March 29 for May 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Tobacco Prevention Program. To register call 981-5330 or email QuitNow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center (open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday). 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Medical Care for Your Pet at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society low-cost veterinary clinic. 2700 Ninth St. For appointments call 845-3633. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Spring Bulb Bonanza at the Botanical Garden, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,to April 15, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berk eley.eduªs

Robin Kibby hasn’t forgotten the day last July when she walked into her first Berkeley planning meeting and spoke out against a proposed five-story apartment complex on University Avenue that would tower over the home she had recently bought.  

It was a humbling experience for the green-haired graphic designer. “I didn’t know what I was talking about,” said Kibby. “I didn’t realize all the factors that let the city to go forward with these supersized buildings.” 

Now more than six months and 500 hours of work later, Kibby, along with two neighbors and fellow planning novices, small business owner Kristin Leimkuhler and machinist Richard Graham, have launched a website that can make anyone an expert on Berkeley development. 

Their site, planberkeley.org, details pending developments along University and San Pablo avenues and offers simple explanations of the forces at work that often result in developments that are larger and bulkier than called for under local plans. 

“We wanted to paint a big picture of what’s going around University Avenue, so people can see the cumulative impact of the projects and get information about why it’s happening,” Kibby said. Before the website, she said, neighbors along University Avenue who were concerned about a development had to sort through complex language on the city’s website or go to the permit center and pour through development plans they didn’t fully understand.  

The website comes at a time when the stakes are particularly high for future development along University. In February the City Council asked staff to zone the street so that future buildings reflected the goals of the University Avenue Strategic Plan, adopted in 1996. That document envisioned moderately sized developments with courtyards above sustainable retail stores that included sufficient parking.  

But since the plan was adopted, the city has accepted a flurry of new mixed-use projects which include far more housing and less retail and parking than envisioned under the plan. Critics of the new buildings say developers have exploited city and state rules that reward the construction of high density, affordable housing projects to proceed with taller buildings that push towards property boundaries. 

The website, its designers hope, will give neighbors the knowledge and organizational tools to understand the zoning rules and density calculations—which the council is considering changing—and help them to decide for themselves what kind of development is appropriate in their neighborhood. 

“We want this to be an unbiased resource for the community,” said Leimkuhler. “Previously there was no information for residents to work with and act in an informed way.”  

Gathering the information was a Herculean effort for the trio that met in July at a meeting about a new development planned for University. From September through the end of January, they worked up to 20 hours a week, doing research in law libraries, pouring through documents on line and meeting face-to-face with city staff. 

“We hit it off right away. It was a labor of love and planning,” said Leimkuhler, who started by reading Dreamworks for Dummies and now volunteers 30 hours a week as the group’s webmaster. She had plenty of help from Kibby, who designed much of the webpage, as well as from Graham, who has followed development projects in the neighborhood for years. 

Fellow Berkeley residents gave them some background information on planning issues and some important tips on getting their website up and running, Leimkuhler said. 

The finished product is a clear and concise overview of Berkeley development. It lays out the pivotal issues facing development in the city, explains how state laws and regional agencies affect local development and gives updated information, including blueprints, on pending projects and development issues.  

“I think it’s great,” said Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks, director of the website. Marks has worked with Leimkuhler to quickly respond to her requests for updated information. On Wednesday, Leimkuhler posted the latest zoning blueprint for University Avenue, well before the document appeared on the city website. 

Leimkuhler said all her work has not only given her a better understanding of city planning but a more balanced view of the planning staff. “We entered a climate of mutual suspicion,” she said. “Now I realize that the staff doesn’t speak with one voice. There are people there who are also frustrated with the current system.” 

Leimkuhler said she hoped to one day expand the website to include information on developments planned for other neighborhoods, but that time constraints and the lack of available manpower makes that impossible.  

Besides more volunteers, Leimkuhler’s only other hope is for more readers. So far only 67 people have visited the four-week-old site. “Considering all the work we’ve put in, that makes me feel terrible,” she said.  

The battle over development on University Avenue heated up Wednesday night when city planners presented proposed new zoning rules for the avenue at a public hearing of the Planning Commission. 

At the behest of the Mayor’s Task Force On Permitting And Development, the proposals were ordered by the City Council last month to align zoning rules on University to the 1996-adopted University Avenue Strategic Plan. But University Avenue area residents and one public official accused planners of devising a proposal that would encourage the same massive, housing dominated developments that the strategic plan seeks to avoid. 

“This is upzoning,” said Councilmember Dona Spring. “These buildings are getting taller.” 

Despite a strategic plan that calls for four-story buildings along retail nodes with apartments over ample retail stores and sufficient parking, a series of new developments have topped five stories and ballooned to their property limits.  

The culprit, University Avenue neighbors say, is the combination of a city ordinance requiring that any apartment complex with more than five units include affordable units and a state law that grants developers of mixed-use developments with affordable housing a 25 percent bonus.  

Residents of the University Avenue area present at the commission meeting wanted city planners to reduce the allowable heights of buildings so that when developers received density bonuses, the highest those developers could build would be to the limits set under the strategic plan. 

But in conversations with those residents following the meeting, Planning Manager Mark Rhoades said he didn’t interpret the request from council to include downzoning University. Rhoades said he was operating on the premise that density bonuses were not to be used as a tool to bring building heights up what is called for in the area plan.  

The proposal satisfies a state law that went into effect in 2002. The law, Rhoades said, specifies that any change to city zoning rules can’t decrease the area’s housing capacity unless the city compensates for lost capacity in a different district. 

The City Council has asked that the Planning Commission fast track the zoning changes back to them so that future developments believed to be coming down the pipeline would fall under their purview. Already four projects are making their way through the city permit process that are exempt from any zoning changes. Planning staff did not respond to most comments and questions at Wednesday’s meeting, but will provide more information at a second public hearing April 14. 

The Planning Department’s zoning proposal kept most allowable heights the same, but raised them for the seven identified commercial nodes, which include intersections where University crosses California Street, Acton Street, San Pablo Avenue and Fourth Street. At these intersections, allowable heights for mixed-use buildings would be increased from 40 feet to 50 feet, commercial buildings from 40 feet to 45 feet, and residential buildings from 35 feet to 45 feet. 

That didn’t sit well with the neighbors. “We want the envelope to be the strategic plan,” said Steve Wollmer. “Once the envelope is that large, there is nothing that can be done, and the extra space developers get comes out of the neighborhood’s livability.” 

Another concern expressed at the commission meeting was the viability of retail and parking at the new buildings. Since only developments that include housing and retail are eligible to receive density bonuses, Richard Graham of Plan Berkeley said much of the retail spaces in the new developments were mere tokens. They are too small to attract viable businesses and lacked sufficient parking attract customers, he said. 

Planning Manager Rhoades said the viability of the retail will come with increased residential density.  

Developers were also concerned about the zoning proposal, especially a requirement that buildings “step down” towards the back of the parcel so they don’t tower over neighboring homes. Amy Davidson, project manager for Affordable Housing Associates, said that their step down project at University Avenue increased building costs by $30 to $60 a square foot. “We can’t afford to do another project like this,” she said. “We would look to another area.” 

Chris Hudson, a developer formerly of Panoramic Interests, warned after the meeting that a proposal to forbid any housing on the ground floor, step down construction and other restrictions would make future developments infeasible. “What they’re proposing will stop private sector development on University Avenue,” he said. 

Residents living in towns along the river were ordered to evacuate by the National Guard. 

Just about everyone had left town, except for John, a great man of faith. “Those who flee are those of little faith. The Lord will save me,” John told his pastor, who had glided up to John’s front porch in a motorized boat. 

“John, please,” the pastor said. “Get on board. The river is rising fast.” Even with the water chest-high, John refused, leaving his pastor no choice but to speed off to safety. 

An hour passed and the water was up to John’s neck. Just then, an old man rowed by John’s house in a dinghy. The old man threw John a rope. “Grab the rope and I’ll pull you aboard,” the old man called out. 

But John waved him off. “O ye of little faith. God will save me and then you all will see how great He is.” 

Ten minutes later, the water line was just under John’s nose. Suddenly, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived overhead, dangling a hoist. “Grab the hoist or you will drown,” a crewman shouted. 

“Let me be. God will save me,” John yelled. After John drowned and ascended to heaven, he understandably had a bone to pick with the Lord. 

“Lord, I believed in you. I trusted my life in your hands. Why didn’t you save me?” 

God laughed. “John,” the Lord said, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter!” 

You recall the remarks made recently by a senior ranking Bush administration economist about the “outsourcing” of American jobs and how he thought such labor market dislocations were ultimately good for America—“in the long run,” of course. 

It sparked a predictable debate. In our “liberal” media, the “anti-globalization” protesters are lumped together with NAFTA-backing liberals, union-supporters, demagogues, cranks, communists and now Candidate Kerry, only to be ridiculed by conservative and liberal pundits alike. (See Thomas Sowell and Thomas Friedman columns if you want good examples of disdainful commentary about those who don’t share their faith in American style global capitalism). 

But despite our ignorance of the finer points made by Adam Smith and David Ricardo, the New York Times ran an interesting article about free trade last week. The article, written by Challenge Magazine editor Jeff Madrick, noted that “free trade theory has a growing number of detractors, and one of their traditional concerns has understandably moved to center stage in this presidential election year. How much has the exporting of jobs to foreign nations contributed to the lack of jobs and the absence of wage growth in the current expansion at home?” 

Madrick first genuflects before the god of free trade theory, acknowledging how the theory “strongly support(s) the case for outsourcing,” drawing as it does on numerous economic studies, notably a 1972 study by Stephen Magee. 

Magee’s study purported to show that “the benefits of hypothetically eliminating all trade restrictions outweighed the costs of unemployment induced by international competition by a ratio of 100 to 1.” 

As it turns out, Magee “neglected crucial costs of job destruction, like the likelihood of displaced workers being paid a lower wage when they get new jobs,” according to a 2003 economic monograph assembled by three prominent economists at the Upjohn Institute. 

The Upjohn economists found a rather astonishing discrepancy between free trade theory and the reality of job destruction and its effects on workers. Though these economists remain advocates of free trade, Madrick reports, their “findings suggest at the very least that a sizable number of workers are inevitably hurt by free trade.” 

Bushenomics is based on the idea “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Of course, such a philosophy doesn’t bode well for those without boats. 

Come November, we can either press Kerry to throw working-class Americans an economic lifeline or we can be like John, who told his rescuers to go away because God will save us. 

The famous economist John Maynard Keynes once quipped: “in the long run, we’re all dead.” But, as one French economist put it, “Keynes is the one who is dead and we are caught up in the long run.” 

Sean Gonsalves is a reporter with the Cape Cod Times, where this story first appeared.

He’s the popular Democratic governor of a southwestern state, with the unlikely advantage of being an experienced international diplomat. He was born in California, but spent his childhood in Mexico City. He speaks real Spanish—not the spanglish kind—and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s a political moderate with charisma and charm.  

Those are some of the reasons why New Mexico governor, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former congressman and former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson Lopez is on everyone’s short list as a potential vice presidential nominee to accompany Sen. John Kerry on his bid for the White House. 

Though close to 60 people have been mentioned as possible running mates, Richardson is no doubt on Kerry’s short list. 

It’s not the first time he has been this close to the vice presidency. In 2000, he made no secret of his ambition to share the ticket with Gore, but was quickly dropped from contention after nuclear secrets were stolen from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and later found behind a copy machine. Richardson wasn’t exactly to blame for the security lapses, which over decades had become legendary within the Department of Energy, but because he was at the helm he was deemed responsible.  

Republicans in Congress, obviously nervous at the prospect of Richardson on the ticket, made a huge deal of the incident. This time, however, the issue has likely lost its ability to neutralize the governor.  

Democrats have already given Richardson a prominent position in this election cycle, as chairman of the Democratic National Convention that will nominate Kerry in Boston in July. He heads Moving America Forward, a political committee aimed at registering Latinos in Arizona, Florida, New Mexico and Nevada. 

Those states are precisely why Richardson is such an attractive choice for the VP spot: As the South goes increasingly Republican, Democratic strategy could shift to courting the Latino vote in the battleground states of the Southwest and even in Florida, where the non-Cuban, Latino, Democratic vote is growing fast.  

There are other interesting potential VP’s on Kerry’s short list, such as Sen. John Edwards, the smart, attractive, populist campaigner who gave Kerry a run for his money in the presidential primary. But if the question is, “Can you carry your state and help carry other states outside of the nominee’s reach?” then many experts say Richardson is the better choice. No one knows for sure if Edwards or anyone else can help Kerry win anywhere in the South.  

Choosing Richardson over a Southerner would challenge the traditional wisdom that no Democrat can win the White House without being from the South or having significant support there. It would signal a strategy shift, a gamble on building more support in the Southwest, where Latinos are a growing presence.  

In 2000, Gore carried New Mexico by 366 votes and lost Arizona and Nevada. California and Texas are foregone conclusions—the first for the Democrat and the second for the president—but in a close race the smaller states could be the key to victory.  

Richardson could help defeat the effort by Bush and his political point man Karl Rove to garner 40 percent or more of the Latino vote. The idea of voting for a half-Mexican who could be a heartbeat away from the presidency would be tempting for most Latinos across the nation. 

Richardson has some potential downfalls: his enthusiastic support for the North American Free Trade Agreement , for one. While in Congress, Richardson was a key vote-getter for NAFTA on behalf of the Clinton administration, back when Democrats were running as centrists and not populists. That puts him at odds with many Democrats from the heartland, who feel the pinch of jobs fleeing overseas and who espouse a more protectionist attitude.  

Choosing Richardson for vice president could also alienate African Americans, who have expressed support for Edwards. Also, the black community has voted against Latino candidates in some local and state races, when they feel their political power is being undermined by the new largest minority. Few African Americans will vote for Bush, but they may abstain if they feel unrepresented in the Democratic ticket. 

On the other hand, African Americans may cast their ballots for anyone if they dislike the incumbent enough. In California’s recall election, blacks supported Cruz Bustamante at a higher rate than Latinos. 

Richardson predicted in 2000 that, “if not this time, for sure next time” there will be a Latino on the Democratic ticket. He insisted then that America was ready for such a revolutionary proposition. 

Perhaps 2004 will do the trick. Even if Richardson does not become Kerry’s right-hand man, most people who know the governor know he would love another position in a potential Kerry administration: secretary of state.  

Pilar Marrero is a political columnist and news editor for La Opinion in Los Angeles.e

Two black men were sitting in the dark on the brick wall across from our house the other night. It was late, in the middle of that odd, late-winter heat spell of a few weeks ago. A police officer rolled around the corner in his car, saw the men, was immediately suspicious. Normally there’s nothing going on down our street that causes a police presence late at night, but lately the police have been hot-spottin’ out here, checking through the area to make sure nothing’s going on. The cop slowed down to a stop in front of the two men. One of the men turned and said in a low voice to the other, “Watch him shine his light over here.” And so the cop did, pointing his piercing spotlight into the two black men’s eyes, blinding them. They squirmed and squinted, ducking their heads a little and putting up their hands against the glare. They knew better than to look away. You want to really arouse a cop’s suspicion? Try to get out of the way when he’s shining a light in your eyes. That’s a quick trip to the back of the police car. 

I’ve often wondered why cops do that—shine their light directly in a suspect’s eyes. Me knowing nothing about police work, I’d shine the light somewhere around mid-chest, where you could watch the movements of their hands, or pockets from which weapons might come. It’s an old basketball trick. Don’t worry about the head. It goes where the body goes. 

Then again, the face might be the key. Back in the South, in the old days, there used to be a crime called eyeball rape, looking at a white woman with lust, for which many a black man was jailed or hung. “Getting sassy” was an offense, too, back then, though not one that ever made it on the books (“sassy” coming from the term “to ridicule” from the Mende folk in Sierra Leone, by way of Carolina, one of the many African words that made it, unacknowledged, into American English usage). I do remember in Carolina that there was a place on the traffic ticket marked “Attitude” with boxes for “Good,” “Moderate,” and “Poor” for officers to check and then judges to consider when giving out your fine. But, anyhow, those days are long gone… 

I think, for cops, it may be a power thing, shining their lights in a suspect’s eyes. Intimidation by blinding. Something like a pin in chest. If the suspect turns and flees, he’s clearly done something wrong, and chased down and caught. If he stands and winces in the light, he’s submitting to the cop’s authority, acknowledging the cop’s ability to hold him—without even touching him—until the cop decides to let him go. It’s the perfect nonviolent assault, leaving no marks, and, therefore, no possibility of consequences to the cop. None of those brutality allegations. 

(And if you don’t think shining a bright light in someone’s eyes is an assault, try walking down Telegraph or San Pablo avenues one night, flashlight in hand, turning it on random people that you pass. See how long it is before you get yourself arrested. Or, more likely, assaulted. In the not-non-violent way.) 

Anyhow, back to the night in front of my house. 

Like a cobra staring down its prey, the cop held the two men in his bright glare for a moment. Then, without a word, the light clicked off, and the police car rolled away, slow, down the block towards Allen Temple. The police officer didn’t say anything to the men. He’d made his point. He was watching them. If they were up to something, they needed to get their asses up and moving and not be there when he got back. 

I don’t know who the police officer was that night. We get a lot of that out here in the flats of far East Oakland, faceless, nameless cops, roaming through our streets. They come and go like wraiths. We never know who they are, or where they live, and we can only discern why they’re out here by watching the news or reading the paper. They never stop and introduce themselves. 

I don’t know who the police officer was that night, but I do know who one of the men was, sitting on the brick wall across the street from our house. His name is Frank. His mother lives in the house over there; it’s her brick wall on which the two men were sitting, talking, getting some cool night air in that recent heat spell. 

I don’t know how long Frank’s family has been living in that house. Thirty years? Forty, maybe. They moved in sometime during the years I was gone. Frank doesn’t live at the house across the street any more, but he’s always over there. He’s a Vietnam veteran, I think, though it’s nothing we’ve ever talked about. Mostly, we talk sports. He’s a Raider fanatic. He calls me a Raider Hater. We often meet in the street between the houses when I’m leaving for work or coming home. During football season we can be out there for a half-hour or more. 

In the mornings, he comes over to cut his mother’s lawn and pick up the trash that the passersby have left during the night. On Monday nights he puts out the garbage bins for his mother, and more often than not, he’ll come across the street and put out ours, too. Once, when my mother had to be rushed to the hospital, he watched the house for us. It’s that kind of neighborhood. He’s that kind of person. I don’t know who that cop was that night. But I know who Frank is. 

If you’re looking for a dramatic ending to this story, there isn’t any. Frank didn’t get shot, or put in jail. The policeman never came back. All you have is a cop rolling through our block, checking out suspicious black men, putting them in their place. A fairly typical night in our neighborhood, in Oakland, at the millennium’s turn. 

In a recent debate at Oakland City Council over his tenant eviction ordinance, Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid remarked that the American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t live in East Oakland. Cut out the first word and the last, and the man is onto something. 

ˇ

In our March 19 story on the death of Berkeley music teacher Anne Crowden, the Daily Planet reported a March 28 musical reverie in her honor to be held at the Crowden School. Sallie Arens, Crowden School Board chair, has informed the Planet that the perf ormance, which is intended to create a DVD, is closed to the public. 

The story also gave an incorrect address for the Crowden School. The correct address is 1475 Rose St. ›

JOHN KERRY 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

If Devaki Chandra (Letters, Daily Planet, March 23-24) wants to argue that John Kerry would be an improvement over George W. Bush, far be it from me to suggest otherwise. A kinder and gentler distortion of the historical record remains a distortion nonetheless. 

If John Kerry had really wanted, in October 2002, to authorize the use of force in Iraq “as a last resort and with international cooperation” as Chandra claims, he could have voted for the Levin amendment which would have authorized military action “pursuant to a new resolution of the United Nations Security Council,” rather than voting against that amendment and for the main resolution which instead granted one of the least qualified presidents of all time an unprecedented blank check. 

Any “voter who follows the news” and has access to the Internet can go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ to see the text and roll call votes of the 107th Congress, second session recorded in cyberspace for posterity. (The Levin amendment, S4862, was voted down on Oct. 10, the main resolution, HJ114, passed on Oct. 11.) 

The sooner Senator Kerry owns up to his complicity in the Bush-Cheney administration’s botched invasion and occupation of Iraq, the better off he, and America (including Berkeley), will be. 

Drew Keeling 

• 

POLICE DOGS 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

What makes a police dog a unique and valuable resource for the community is the fact that a dog is an intelligent tool. Unlike a weapon, a police dog can protect an officer one day and greet school children the next. Anyone doubting the value of German shepherds as dependable working partners ought to visit the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus in San Rafael. A Berkeley canine unit would be no nearer Bull Connor’s version of crowd control, than the fire department’s fire hoses are.  

As a veterinary nurse, I have drawn blood samples from police dogs and cleaned their wounds. I’ve found them to be well-behaved patients in the exam room and the subject of eager curiosity in the waiting room.  

Jane Townley 

• 

PEACEMAKER 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Mike Vukelich’s tongue-in-cheek letter praising Bush as a peacemaker and “great leader” was hilarious (Daily Planet, March. 23). In these trying times as we watch in horror as the soulless, heartless demons in charge rape the planet, distribute our hard-earned dollars to their cronies, and fatten on the blood and hope of struggling people all over the world, it’s important to pause now and then for a chuckle. Thanks Mike. 

Pamela Satterwhite 

• 

PLACEMENT TESTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would like to respond to Ms. Toni Martin, who wrote an editorial on the “bias in math placement tests” at Berkeley High School (“Private School Students Face Bias in Math Placement Test,” Daily Planet, March 23-25). You are sadly making a big deal about nothing. First off, honors geometry is not for just anybody. Having taken the course, I can assure you that the jump between honors algebra and geometry is biggest conceptual leap that a student will ever make at BHS. The math department is certainly justified in making it hard to get into that class. Secondly, your comparison to the Spanish department is flawed. Foreign language has no honors program. No classes are taught at a faster pace than others, as is the difference between honors and regular math. Foreign language is based only on the amount of knowledge possessed by the student, not the student’s capacity to learn. 

As for the science department, their entrance tests were only in place as an exercise to weed out the students who weren’t committed to AP sciences by eliminating students who weren’t willing to commit the time to take the test. The pass rate was close to 100 percent. 

Honors Geometry has no obvious benefits. The math department head tells me that a full 70 percent of the regular geometry students who take the placement test for Honors Algebra II pass. During my college application process, I learned that you get no grade boost from Honors Geometry. All I got from Honors Geometry was more homework and a useless tutoring requirement. 

Is the test itself fair to private school students? Probably not. Will failing to take Honors Geometry ruin your child’s chances of getting into a top rate college? Definitely not. Judging by your parting allusion to racism in the system, I am betting that you are just bitter that your child will have to be exposed to regular BHS students instead of the bleached environment of an honors-track classroom. 

Alex Weissman 

Senior, Berkeley High 

• 

MIDDLE EAST 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Many of our nation’s newspapers have been kind enough to sum up in one sentence the true purposes of Hamas. “Hamas wants to destroy the Jewish state and replace it with an Islamic one” (Palo Alto Daily, March 23). Bingo! Hamas simply wants to obliterate Israel and genocide its 5.6 million Jews. Sound familiar? It’s what the Sudanese Arabs have been doing to black African Christian and Animist Sudanese for 20 years. 

In the stirring words of Hussein Massawi (former leader of Hezbollah) “We are not fighting you (Israel) because we want something from you. We are fighting you because we want to destroy you” (quoted in Fouad Ajami, Dream Palaces of the Arabs). 

Abdul-Azziz Rantisi (number two Hamas leader) said something similar: “There is no room for a Jewish State in Palestine”. And just in case there was any doubt as to intentions, the deceased Sheikh himself prophesied: “We will destroy Israel...even if we must do it one Jew at a time”. 

Yet critics suggest that Yassin’s execution postpones negotiations. Where do they think negotiations can begin? Should Israel offer that the Arab terrorists kill only half the Jews? 

Some commentators say that the execution will generate further hatred? Hamas already wants every Jew dead. What would “further hatred” look like? Killing them twice? 

Others assert that it will do “...nothing to advance the cause of...peace”? There is no “cause of peace” when all Hamas wants is Israel’s total destruction. 

Some “senior law enforcement agents” think that Hamas has never before targeted the USA. False. Remember the three CIA agents killed when their car hit a mine while on their way to give Fulbright scholarships to Gaza teens? Remember the dozens of Americans, tourists and students and residents of Israel, killed along with Israelis in the 18,000 terror attacks since Sept. 13, 1993? Remember Yassin’s fiery rhetoric from his quadriplegic’s wheel chair as early as 1996: “When we are done with Israel, we start on the U.S.A.!” 

Some think that world leaders are right in condemning Israel for executing the number two Palestinian terrorist with the blood of hundreds on his hands? Every other nation, including the U.S.A .and U.K., does the same thing to those designated as enemies of the State, in time of war. The British assassinated Nazis after World War II, and eliminated IRA operatives in Northern Ireland. The U.S.A. used a drone to assassinate six al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen in November of 2002. When the complicity of Libya in the Lockerbie attack was confirmed, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Gaddafi’s palace in April of ‘86, missing him but killing his infant daughter. Regarding that bombing, President Reagan said: “As a matter of self-defense, any nation victimized by terrorism has an inherent right to respond with force to deter new acts of terror...(and show)...that there was a price to pay for that kind of behavior” (Washington Post, April, 1986). 

Or, to put it more succinctly: appeasement emboldens the aggressor. Hypocritical and shortsighted Israel-bashing appeases the aggressor, condemns the victim, and gives succor and support to those who seek to finish what Hitler started. 

David Meir-Levi 

Menlo Park 

• 

DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The Gray Panthers of the East Bay believe, as does the average American, that the best way to hear the voice of the people is through democratic elections.  

The recent election in Spain was a democratic process and the people there rejected the government that had supported President Bush.  

Now we find people here challenging the validity of the vote. It is maintained by many of them that the Spanish were frightened into voting as they did by the terrorist attack.  

This may be so. However, there were massive protests by Spaniards against war in Iraq, surveys indicated the Spanish people were overwhelmingly against the war, and the Spanish government ignored those who protested. So, one can also conclude the voters were angry at the government.  

But, let’s put all that aside and consider this question. Shouldn’t we honor a democratic process in another nation even if we don’t like the outcome?  

Joel Brooks  

Margot Smith, Co Convener,  

Gray Panthers of the East Bay  

• 

IDENTITY AND ETHNIC STUDIES 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

As a former Berkeley High School Identity and Ethnic Studies teacher, I write this letter in response to the article “Identity and Ethnic Studies Survives School Board Vote” (Daily Planet, March 12-15). I have always hoped to raise my children in Berkeley and send them to Berkeley public schools. But what I read in this article was frightening, to say the least. And your coverage of it, quoting only the opponents of the course, seemed extremely biased. 

The ignorance expressed in your article was laughable. I wonder how many of the opponents have actually read the curriculum in its most recent—now three year old—iteration. The funny thing about Bradley Johnson is that he never even took IES—he took the old ethnic studies/social living course, which was revised for a reason. Has he taken the time to research what the class really is, or has he been too busy crafting his argument/proposals? It seems he has become quite the conservative prodigy, following in the footsteps of political figures such as Ward Connerly, Arnold Schwarzenegger and George W. Bush, who use fear-mongering tactics to push their respective agendas. In this day and age, I wouldn’t be surprised—if Bradley were a student school board member in Fresno, that is. Something else strikes me as odd: Just who is this student who has talked to Johnson about “violent actions” he is contemplating from sitting in an IES class? Is this student a friend of Johnson’s? Did Johnson report this student who was contemplating these violent actions? Especially in his position, doesn’t he have the ethical responsibility to do so? No, I doubt this conversation (at least in the serious context Johnson implied) really took place, for this would imply that the student school board member would be putting his fellow students’ safety at risk. More likely, Johnson is taking a page from the book of right-wing rhetoric that is becoming increasingly dog-eared in our political climate.  

But let’s say this exchange really did happen. I wonder what Johnson would say to a student who contemplated violent acts after reading Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl? Or if a student who believed in creationism contemplated violent acts after learning about evolution? Would he propose eliminating English? Or science? Maybe he would introduce a compromise to make these subjects elective, so that there would be more room for students to learn and teachers to teach what they like. 

I call on Berkeley students, parents, teachers and board members: Don’t let the conservative element continue to dominate this dialogue with its uninformed and irresponsible diatribe. Instead, let us have a meaningful discussion about the value of this important course.  

Wayne Au 

Madison, WI  

• 

SIERRA CLUB ELECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

If you’re a Sierra Club member living in Berkeley, you should have received your national ballot for the Sierra Club Board of Directors. Most years voting can be a ho-hum affair if you don’t know the candidates or issues involved. This year, however, a lot is at stake. As an active Sierra Club volunteer, I am very concerned about efforts to take over the board by an anti-immigration slate.  

The background: Annually 750,000 Sierra Club members vote for five candidates for the 15-member national board of directors. This year a slate of five candidates wants to take over the board to re-direct traditional club priorities of clean air, clean water and parks, open space protection and energy conservation into anti-immigration issues. (For information, go to www.groundswellsierra.org.)  

I and other mainstream Sierra Club members are supporting five experienced and diverse activists who will put their loyalty to the club above personal agendas and who support the club’s traditional values. They include: Nick Aumen, Everglades restoration scientist and former club treasurer; Dave Karpf, recent director of the club’s student coalition; Jan O’Connell, club treasurer and fundraiser in our beat-Bush effort; Sanjay Ranchod, delegate to the Kyoto global warming negotiations; Lisa Renstrom, former foundation trustee, and former chair of the club’s fundraising efforts. 

I urge all club member to vote in the Sierra Club election for the above five candidates. 

Helen Burke 

• 

HYPOCRITES 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Once again, the international community is applying the double standard to judge an action taken by the Israel Defense Forces against a terror organization whose explicitly stated goal is to obliterate the Jewish state.  

Since September, 2000, Hamas has been the leading Palestinian terrorist organization taking responsibility for more than 50 suicide attacks, all under the “spiritual guidance” of Sheikh Yassin. 

We in the United States cannot afford to participate in this double standard while we hunt down the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. Is it not one of the primary responsibilities of a sovereign nation to protect its citizens? How can we be such hypocrites? 

Lorri Arazi 

Oakland 

• 

GLAD FOR THE BIG BANG 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Your article on creationism (“Local Activists Face Off in Creationism Debate,” Daily Planet, March 23-25) reminded me of a conversation I had with my 7-year-old grandson the other day. 

He asked me if I believed in God. I said no but I could be wrong, that many people did believe. His other grandparents certainly did. He thought for a moment, then said, “I guess I don’t believe in God but I’m sure glad we had the Big Bang.” 

Nancy Ward 

• 

MAKING PEACE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Today, the Associated Press reported that Palestinian terrorists gave a boy $22 to blow himself up. The boy, described by his own family as “slow” was caught after crossing over into Israel. Where is the outrage? 

The world’s leaders challenged Israel when the leader of Hamas was killed this week. However, Hamas is a group that is on nearly every nation’s list of terror organizations.  

Will these leaders also call for Palestinian terror groups to stop exploiting children for their cause? 

Let’s face it. Courage isn’t found in those who exploit kids in the name of the Palestinian cause. Courage comes when two parties sit down at the table, like previous leaders in Egypt and Jordan did, and try to make peace with Israel. 

Dan Cohen 

ˇ

When Tom Bates was running for mayor, he never said that, if elected, he would ensure that Shirley Dean’s supporters would take over the Planning Commission. But that’s exactly what just happened.  

On March 10, the Planning Commission held its annual election of officers. Harry Pollack was elected chair with the votes of the Dean supporters on the commission—Susan Wengraf, David Tabb and Tim Perry. Pollack was nominated by former Dean supporter and current Tom Bates appointee David Stoloff. The two progressive commissioners who were present, Gene Poschman and myself, abstained.  

In 1998 Pollack donated $150 to then Mayor Dean’s successful bid for re-election. Dean appointed him to the Planning Commission in June 2002. After Dean’s defeat by Bates, Pollack was re-appointed to the Commission by Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, who had just beaten Bates’ candidate Andy Katz for the District 8 City Council seat.  

Next at the March 10 meeting, Stoloff was nominated for Planning Commission vice-chair by Tabb, a leader in Dean’s political vehicle, the Berkeley Democratic Club (BDC), and Councilmember Betty Olds’ appointee. Stoloff was then elected vice-chair with votes from Perry, Pollack, Stoloff, Tabb and Wengraf. Poschman and I voted no.  

While Stoloff supported Bates in the 2002 mayoral race, he donated $400 ($250 in the regular election, $150 in the runoff) to Dean’s 1994 mayoral campaign and $50 to her 1992 District 5 City Council run. Voting for both Pollack and Stoloff was Wengraf, another BDC leader, sometime Dean campaign manager, and aide to Councilmember Olds.  

The real shocker here, though, is that the day before the commission election, Councilmember Margaret Breland, one of the council progressives, called her Planning Commissioner, John Curl, and told him that she was replacing him that very day with Tim Perry. Curl, one of Berkeley’s most reliably progressive and public-spirited citizens, had been one of the most diligent members of the Planning Commission since coming on in June, 2001. Tim Perry, on the other hand, had been an ardent supporter of Shirley Dean’s 2002 re-election bid. Perry contributed $250 to Dean’s 1998 campaign. In 1994 he and his wife Linda gave Dean $350 ($100 in the regular election, $250 in the run-off). Perry’s earlier, five-month stint on the Planning Commission as District 5 Councilmember Mim Hawley’s initial appointee had ended after some of Hawley’s constituents and others complained about his rudeness at commission meetings. Hawley replaced Perry with David Tabb.  

Tom Bates would have us believe that none of this matters because his election inaugurated an era of good feeling between Berkeley progressives and Shirley Deanites. “We don’t have any sides,” he asserted in his first State of the City address. “We have problems; we have points of view; we work together as a team.”  

It’s true that council meetings have become more cordial. But anyone who believes that the new collegiality on the council or off it (I’m thinking of the recent fundraiser held for the mayor by BDC regulars Betty Olds, Maggie Gee, Mim Hawley and Harry Weininger) is proof that there are no longer “sides” in Berkeley politics should consider the differences between David Stoloff and the progressives on the Planning Commission.  

In his 16 months on the commission, Stoloff, a former UC planner, has aggressively fronted for the university, doing his best to fend off any challenge to UC’s authority and will. By contrast, the progressives on the commission have tried to get UC to respect the needs of Berkeley and its citizens. Where the progressive commissioners have sought the widest feasible public participation in the planning process, Stoloff has repeatedly tried to curtail citizen input. In February of 2003, he unsuccessfully attempted to keep members of the public from engaging in dialogue with UC representatives at a commission workshop on the Southside Plan. At the commission’s Feb. 25 meeting, Stoloff first pronounced “unnecessary” the 25-member citizens’ task force on the university’s proposed downtown hotel and conference center. He then did not vote to approve the task force membership and meeting schedule.  

Finally, there is Stoloff’s involvement in John Curl’s ouster. Stoloff has said that he knows who called Breland and asked her to pull Curl, but that he is “not at liberty” to name names.  

For progressives, the recent events at the Planning Commission are a disaster, and the worst is probably yet to come. That disaster is the work of many hands, but the person who bears the lion’s share of the blame is Tom Bates. The mayor has told John Curl that he had nothing to do with Breland’s replacing him on the commission with Tim Perry. At some level, then, Tom Bates recognizes that what happened was wrong. What he doesn’t seem to have grasped is that even if he didn’t call Breland or know anything about the machinations that resulted in Curl’s ouster, he is deeply implicated in that wrong.  

For over a year, Tom Bates has blown off many private complaints about David Stoloff’s unrestrained advocacy of UC, his hostility toward citizen participation and his habitual alliance with the Dean supporters on the commission. The mayor’s indifference to these appeals suggests that he shares his Planning Commissioner’s views of democratic process and land use policy, at least as these things concern the city’s biggest and most expansionary landowner, the University of California. Those are essentially the views of Shirley Dean—carried to extremes that Dean may have dreamed of but never voiced, much less realized.  

Like myself, many Berkeley progressives saw Tom Bates as an alternative to Shirley Dean and worked very hard to help him beat her in 2002. If he maintains his public silence about the Deanite takeover of the Planning Commission and his commissioner’s role in that takeover, progressives should start wondering how much of an alternative to Shirley Dean Tom Bates is after all.  

Zelda Bronstein is a member of the Berkeley Planning Commission.

The University Avenue Association (UAA) applauds the City Council and the Planning Commission for doing the zoning overlay for the University  

Avenue Strategic Plan. Many of our members were pleased to participate in the development of the plan.  

In the next 10 years thousands of new residents will be living on University Avenue. It would be short sighted not to anticipate and plan for the services they will need. It is the need for housing and housing alone that is driving current planning. Let’s work together to plan a vibrant retail environment for the people who will live in the housing.  

The UAA is concerned that the current development model on the avenue is not conducive to retail development. As has been noted by Planning Department staff, there has been a trend on the part of developers towards adding a token amount of retail to get the extra floor given to mixed-use projects. Furthermore, the trend is towards having, at most, enough retail parking for a few employees.  

It is important that the Planning Commission move beyond theories of transit oriented development and look at the facts on the ground. Strong retail centers on University Avenue need a mix of small and large retail spaces that serve both regional and local needs and have parking for customers. The strongest demand is for large spaces with higher ceilings. Projects underway or being planned (at 1725 and 1885) on University Avenue between Martin Luther King and Sacramento will eliminate four large retail spaces with approximately 25,000 square feet of retail and 90 parking spaces. The new projects will include 6,700 feet of retail with no parking for retail customers. The developers of the Tune-up Masters project (1698) have made a credible effort to provide workable retail but offer no customer parking. The Satellite Senior project at 1535 will have 6,000 square feet of commercial space but it will be used as office space.  

Zoning rules have a strong influence on retail development and we would like the commission to use its charter wisely. The University Avenue Association requests that the Planning Commission join merchants and neighbors in walking a portion of the Avenue. We also request a meeting with the commission along with both Planning and Economic Development staff to discuss the role merchants will play in the new “village.” Two issues that we would like to review are how to plan for the thousands of new residents who will be living on the avenue and how to approach nodal development.  

The “nodes” described in the University Avenue Strategic Plan are there for only one purpose: to take a long avenue and concentrate retail in certain defined areas. Allowing projects to be one floor higher than in non-node areas was only a step in facilitating achievement of the goal. The proposed zoning changes codify the extra floor while leaving retail rules the same in both node and non-node areas. Our goal should be to develop retail services as the cornerstone of a less car dependent dense infill community. Must we fight just to save what we have?  

Kirpal Khanna is the president of the University Avenue Association.,

At 29, Iowa housewife Denese Becker went to Guatemalan to re-discover her past. She knew she was returning to dig up the roots of a horrific story that left both her parents dead, making her an orphan at the age of 9. What she didn’t know was that her trip would spark a movement to expose the perpetrators of one of the bloodiest events in Guatemalan history, and to help bring them to justice. 

Denese Becker is one of the few survivors of a massacre in the Guatemalan village of Rio Negro. 

Becker’s story was recorded by two Bay Area journalists who followed her for three years. Mary Jo McConahay and Patricia Flynn’s intensely personal and overtly political documentary of that journey, Discovering Dominga, will be shown in Berkeley on Saturday, March 27, as part of an exclusive viewing to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of St. Joseph the Worker Church. The documentary has already aired on PBS as part of the Points of View series. The movie documents Becker’s trips to her home country as she helps the community re-open the history of the murders committed by an American-backed Guatemalan army. 

Becker, now a manicurist in Iowa with an American husband and two children, begins to sift with perfectly primped hands through the dirt of a story that only she can connect. A Guatemalan-born American, Becker combines within her own life the two countries that helped tear apart the community she came from.  

“I knew this was a dream story because it could get the issue out there with an American at the center,” said McConahay, a journalist with San Francisco’s Pacific News Service. With an American protagonist, people in the United States feel an immediate connection, she added. McConahay is the co-director of the film and the person who originally found Becker. “But if it works at all, it’s because we care about Denese, and in caring about Denese we come to care about Guatemala.”  

The documentary’s director, Patricia Flynn, is an award-winning broadcaster and has produced public affairs programming and documentaries for public television and radio for more than 20 years. She was a producer for the PBS documentary series In Search Of Law And Order, and for Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS. She lives in San Anselmo. 

Beginning in 1954, Guatemala suffered in the violence sparked by an American-backed coup that ousted a democratically elected government and set the country into a whirlwind of instability. In 1982, as part of a raid on so-called “insurgents” who refused to leave their land to make way for a World Bank-funded dam, the Guatemalan army entered the village of Rio Negro and killed hundreds of people, including 70 women and 107 children. The raid that killed Becker’s immediate family was one of several that left an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people dead. 

After the massacre, Becker was adopted by an American family and grew up with only faint memories of the event. Though she married and had two children, she could never completely leave the past behind her. Eventually, after she found that she still had family in Rio Negro, she decided to return. 

She comes back to a tremendous welcome, with the whole town turning out to greet her as she arrives. Initially, it is a festive event. But as time goes on, the community begins to share its secrets with her, and she is drawn more and more into the fight for justice the community has decided to take on. 

Their struggle is sparked by a United Nations Truth Commission report that finds the Guatemalan army responsible for 93 percent of the total war crimes during the years of violence and unrest surrounding the coup, and declares the killings a genocide. The community makes the fight their own, and with Becker’s help creates a landmark human rights case against the Guatemalan military.  

Along with Becker’s story, according to McConahay, the film has served to re-expose an issue that was left to fade into history.  

“It makes me look around and see the people who just arrived, that they carry stories from their homeland,” said McConahay. “[It helps us see] the interconnectedness of this country and its affects elsewhere.” 

At a politically charged time, with the war in Iraq and the coup in Haiti, McConahay and Flynn agree the movie also delivers a message that is easily applied elsewhere. 

“As we think about Iraq, Americans will have to face a reality that Denese’s story so poignantly illustrates: that the wounds of war do not heal when the bombing stops,” write both directors in a letter posted on the PBS site. 

“How many Deneses are being created in Iraq and Haiti,” said McConahay. “In Guatemala 50 years ago it was bananas, today in Iraq it’s oil. I don’t like to speak in such broad strokes but let’s be honest with ourselves.” 

After testifying as one of the witnesses for the human rights case, Becker and the surviving people of Rio Negro are pushing for a trial in Guatemala. They want the court to hear the case in their country instead of the Hague. 

“They want more than a judgment,” said McConahay. “They want to use [the case] to build the justice system.” 

“Discovering Dominga” will be screened at St. Joseph the Worker this Saturday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. The church is located at 1640 Addison St. and the event is free. For more information call 482-1062. The film’s first theatrical release will be at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael on April 14. For more information about the film, contact Mary Jo McConahay at mcconahay@pacificnews.org. For more information about the legal case against the Guatemalan government, visit www.justiceforgenocide.org.

Traditional country music is played on acoustic instruments like mandolins, not wailing pedal steel guitars. That fact alone puts its practitioners so far outside the genre’s mainstream Nashville stronghold that they might as well live in, well, the Bay Area. That’s just fine with Berkeley’s very own home grown country music legend Laurie Lewis—she’s been an outsider most of her life. “Even though I’ve grown up in a city, I’m a country girl,” says Lewis. “Farms in Berkeley? You bet!” 

A musical jack of all trades, the 1968 graduate of Berkeley High and a member of the school’s Hall of Fame sings and writes songs and plays the guitar and violin. A fixture on the Bay Area roots music scene since the late ‘70s, in 1986 she hooked up with mandolinist Tom Rozum. Together they’ve recorded three albums including their latest, Guest House. The duo will roll out the new offering with concerts tonight (Friday, March 26) and Saturday, March 27 at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage at 8 p.m. Joining Lewis and Rozum will be bassist Todd Sickafoose, guitarist Scott Huffman and surprise special guests. 

The key to Lewis and Rozum’s sound is the acoustic instruments. In addition to the guitar, mandolin and violin, the ensemble’s members strum a banjo and string bass to give their songs an authentic flavor. “We really love the sound of the acoustic instruments and the fact that you don’t need to take people’s heads off with huge volume. You can just take out an instrument and sing your songs.” 

Guest House, while paying homage to the pair’s bluegrass and early country influences, also throws in a little social commentary on songs such as Bad Seed. A song about reaping what you sow, Lewis interprets it as a lament about some of the more questionable genetic experiments being done on the world’s food supply. “That’s my personal take,” she says. “Once you put a song out into the world it’s going to mean whatever it’s going to whoever hears it and that’s what it means to me.” 

The rest of the album includes loves songs and freewheeling classic ditties such as Old Dan Tucker, the heartfelt saga of a man too late for dinner who proceeded to wash his face in a frying pan and comb his hair with a wagon wheel. 

Lewis started playing in bluegrass bands during the burgeoning traditional country scene in the late ‘70s with bands such as the Good Ole Persons, one of the first all-women bluegrass groups. She thinks the music may be experiencing another wave of popularity. 

Traveling across the country and abroad half the year to perform to sold out audiences, Lewis credits public radio stations for introducing many to her style of country—one not found on commercial radio. “The music that I play is not palatable to advertisers,” she says. “It doesn’t sell whatever it’s supposed to sell. And yet, what is really great is that we’ve been able to travel around and make a living.” Adds Lewis, who closed up her violin shop at age 36 and became a full-time musician, “I feel so incredibly lucky.” 

While Lewis is grateful for the airplay she gets on stations like KPFA, she realizes non-commercial radio can’t carry the entire music education burden. Since Lewis benefited from the Berkeley Unified School District’s outstanding music programs during her years as a student, she’s more than a little concerned about the present decline of music education, and not just because it might hamper the career of someone like herself.  

“I think it’s very important to have kids exposed to music,” says Lewis. “There’s a great empowerment in the ability to entertain yourself. That’s what playing music is first and foremost about. The less that becomes a part of everyday life the more we’ll just turn to pre-packaged entertainment from the outside which is going to stifle our creativity as a people.”

Most home buyers know they should get a mortgage pre-approval letter from a lender before they begin seriously shopping for a home. But the reasons for this advice aren’t always clear, and buyers sometimes are dismayed by the amount of paperwork involved. Here is some of the reasoning behind the advice:  

1. A pre-approval letter is more reliable than a pre-qualification letter. Getting a pre-qualification letter is easy. Ask your real estate agent to put you in touch with a mortgage broker or lender. You must provide some basic financial information, then wait a few minutes for the letter to come through your fax machine. Getting a “pre-qual” from a website is just as easy. Enter some information, click “submit” and voilà. A pre-approval letter, on the other hand, involves verification of the information. Rather than taking your word on faith, the lender will ask for documentation to confirm your employment, the source of your down payment and other aspects of your financial circumstances. Granted, a pre-approval is more time-consuming (and possibly more stressful) than a pre-qualification The additional due diligence is exactly why the pre-approval carries more weight.  

2. You’ll know how much money you can qualify to borrow. Most home buyers have a rough idea of how much they would feel comfortable paying every month on their mortgage. However, there’s no quick-and-dirty way to translate that monthly payment into a specific maximum mortgage amount because other factors—down payment percentage, mortgage insurance, property taxes, adjustable interest rates and so on—are part of the calculation. And, you might not be qualified to borrow as much as you think you should be able to borrow, depending on your income, your debts and your credit history.   

3. You’ll have more leverage in negotiations with the seller. Sellers prefer to negotiate with pre-approved buyers because the sellers know such buyers are financially qualified to obtain the financing they need to close the transaction. A pre-approval letter is an especially favorable point in a close multiple offer situation. And, you might feel more confident about making an offer with a pre-approval letter in hand and the knowledge that you'll be able to obtain a mortgage.   

4. Your real estate agent will work harder on your behalf. A pre-approval letter signals to your real estate agent that you’re a well-qualified buyer who is serious about purchasing a home. The increased likelihood of a closed sale—and a commission—will naturally motivate your agent to devote more time and energy to you.  

5. A few caveats: Pre-approval letters aren’t binding on the lender, are subject to an appraisal of the home you want to purchase, and are time-sensitive. If your financial situation changes (e.g., you lose your job, lease a car or run up credit-card bills), interest rates rise or a specified expiration date passes, the lender will review your situation and recalculate your maximum mortgage amount accordingly.  

Russ Cohn is president of CohnsLoans in Albany and Berkeley.›

Pour one or more tablespoons of olive oil into a microwavable glass bowl. Peel and slice several garlic cloves into the bowl, cover with a plate, and microwave until soft, two or three minutes. Meanwhile, toast thick slices of sourdough bread. Spread the toast with the garlic-oil mixture. Top with slices of ripe and juicy beefsteak tomatoes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and start the day feeling very well pleased with life. 

One can get away with planting garlic in early spring in Berkeley if one has no desire for any part of it besides green tips, not a bad idea at all. Green tips are speedily grown in March, just when we crave spring greens, and make a pleasant change from green onions, adding sparkle to salads and sauces with less strength than the mature bulb. Simply separate a bulb into cloves and set a dozen of them into a one-gallon pot of potting soil. Because the bulbs will not mature, little space is needed. Water if the earth becomes dry. In a week green shoots will appear, and harvesting can begin soon after.  

For bulbs, buy a red or white garlic bulb, preferably organic. Separate it as above into cloves. A fat bulb will yield about thirty cloves. Set these into the ground in mid October, in rich soil if you can, pointy end up, just below the surface and about three inches apart. Cover them with a light mulch. Then forget about them. Do not, ever, water them. Winter rains take care of juvenile needs, and they will ripen while Berkeley’s two seasons change from wet to dry. Dig them in June. Keep them in a dry place until their tops have completely withered. This takes about two weeks. Now they are ready to use. What vegetable could be easier, or more rewarding? 

If anyone is new to garlic, peel and cut a clove in half and drag the cut ends around the inside of a glass bowl. The garlic will impart its addictive aroma to any leaves tossed therein. For aficionados, recipes are numerous. Practically anything becomes edible when mixed with olive oil, garlic and salt. The following recipe, one of my summer favorites, is terrific for hungry breakfasters. 

ˇ

FRIDAY, MARCH 26 

CHILDREN 

Cat in the Hat will be at Barnes and Noble at 10:30 a.m. 644-3635. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Crimes of the Heart” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. 558-2500, ext. 2579. 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen, at 8 p.m. and runs through April 11. 647-2917. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works, “The Duel” a new play adapted from Chekhov’s novella, at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Runs Thurs. - Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. through March 27. Tickets are $8-$20. 558-1381. www.centralworks.org 

Everyday Theater, “The Bright River,” a show by Tim Barsky, at 8 p.m. at the Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. Also Sat. March 27, and April 1-3. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 644-2204. 

Hillside Players “Tangled Tales Three: It’s Not Easy Being Smee” a comic journey into The Enchanted Forest for the whole family at 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $7, $4 for children, students and seniors. 384-6418. 

Traveling Jewish Theater “Fall Down Get Up” by Naomi Newman, directed by Ben Yalom at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $18-$28 available from 415-285-8080. www.atjt.com 

Un-Scripted Theater “Imrov Survivor” at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, and runs to April 3. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.un-scripted.com 

FILM 

Chantal Akerman: “The Captive” at 7 p.m. and “Night and Day” at 9:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed discusses “Behind the War on Terror: Western Secret Strategy and the Struggle for Iraq” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

8th Annual Teen Poetry Slam East Bay Semi-Finals at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Open to any teen between 13-19 years old. Tickets are $10 general. To register call 415-255-9035, ext. 21 or email slam@youthspeaks.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

pickPocket at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum perform roots Americana at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Vision Walker CD Release Party at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenez. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Zigaboo Modeliste and the New Aahkesstra at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10, $8 with student i.d. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Mystic Roots, Inna Heights at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

“Thieves in the Temple: The Reclaiming of Hip Hop,” written and performed by Aya de León, at 8 p.m. at Oakland Box Theater, 1928 Telegraph. Tickets are $10. 451-1932. 

Crater, Good for Crows at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com  

Anton Schwartz, jazz saxophone quartet, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Reorchestra, modern dance grooves, at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Sterling Dervish at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

The Fleshies, The Restarts, Born/Dead, Monster Squad, Strung Up at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Harris Eisenstadt Ahimsa Orchestra at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $8-$10. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

SATURDAY, MARCH 27 

CHILDREN 

“Chantecleer and the Fox” at 2 p.m. at Calvary Church, 1940 Virginia St. Tickets are $25 general, $20 senior/student, $65 family special including activities for ages 4-12, refreshments and show. 415-491-0818. www.chaucertheatre.org 

“Wild About Books” storytime at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña Creative Movement Together at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Building Experimental Musical Instruments Workshop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Cost is $5-$15 sliding scale. 644-6893. www.berkleyartcenter.org 

Asheba, Caribbean music, at 3 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $3-$5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Parent/Child Dance Class and Open House from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Haas Pavilion, Mills College, Oakland. 644-3629. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Crimes of the Heart” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. 558-2500, ext. 2579. 

Traveling Jewish Theater “Fall Down Get Up” by Naomi Newman, directed by Ben Yalom at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $18-$28. 415-285-8080. www.atjt.com 

EXHIBITIONS OPENINGS 

“Breeder's Choice,” a visual inquiry into the world of pedigree dog breeding, with Lauren Davies at the Kala Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. 

“It’s All About Location” with Sherrod Blankner, Patrick Marquis, and Ed Monroe. Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Fourth St. Studio. Exhibition runs to April 15. 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600. 

FILM 

The Case for Pavel Jurácek: “The End of August in the Hotel Ozone” at 7 p.m. and “A Case for the Young Hangman” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

8th Annual Teen Poetry Slam East Bay Semi-Finals at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Open to any teen between 13-19 years old. Tickets are $10. To register call 415-255-9035, ext. 21 or email slam@youthspeaks.org 

“Chaucer’s Stories Simply Retold for the Children” with Velma Bourgeois Richmond, Prof. of English, Holy Names College, at 2 p.m. at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St. Followed by a slide show. For ticket information call 415-491-0818. www.chaucertheatre.org 

Berkeley Youth Art Festival with Rhythm and Muse Young Poets at 7 p.m., open mic sign up at 6:30 p.m., at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkleyartcenter.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Nederlands Dans Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$64 available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort, interpretations of Rennaissance music at 8 p.m. at St John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-25, available from 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

“Twin Harps” with Cheryl Ann Fulton and Diana Stork at 7:30 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. Tickets are $12 at the door. 526-9146. 

Berkeley Youth Art Festival with Flute Fest at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkleyartcenter.org 

Jewish Music Festival “ Philly Klezmer Swing Dance Party” at 8 p.m. with a dance lesson by Steven Weintraub at 6:30 p.m. at The Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $15-$20. 848-0237. 

“Chanticleer and the Fox,” a musical at 4 p.m. at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St. For ticket information call 415-491-0818. www.chaucertheatre.org 

Rhiannon with Bowl Full of Sound featuring Frank Martin, Jami Sieber, Joey Blake and David Worm at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373.  

Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Misturada, Latin jazz quartet at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

East Coast Swing/Lindy Hop with Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Maya Azucena performs soul and funk at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10, $8 with student i.d. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

“Thieves in the Temple: The Reclaiming of Hip Hop,” written and performed by Aya de León, at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at Oakland Box Theater, 1928 Telegraph. Tickets are $10. 451-1932. 

ACME Observatory’s Contemporary Composer’s Series with Toshi Makihara with Steve Adams and Jon Raskin, and Wade Matthews at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Admission free, donations suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Candlebone, Shaken at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Mark Growden, Whore, Three Piece Combo at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Joey Keithley, punk pioneer, at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, roots Americana at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Feisty Females in the Round at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Collective Amnesia at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Bekka’s Frogland Orchestra, tribal avant funk, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Le Scrawl, Voetsek, Jewdriver, Lux Nova, Slit Wrist at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

CV1, reggae and jazz-improv, at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Chemystry Set with special guests Sunfire Pleasure at 9:30 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $8. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

SUNDAY, MARCH 28 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Roberta Almerez, works in an eclectic mix of media. Reception from 1 to 4 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Crimes of the Heart” at 5 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10 at the door. 558-2500, ext. 2579. 

Traveling Jewish Theater “Fall Down Get Up” by Naomi Newman, directed by Ben Yalom at 2 and 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $18-$28 available from 415-285-8080. www.atjt.com 

Hillside Players “Tangled Tales Three: It’s Not Easy Being Smee” a comic journey into The Enchanted Forest for the whole family at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $7, $4 for children, students and seniors. 384-6418. 

FILM 

The Case for Pavel Jurácek: “Jester’s Tale” at 3:40 p.m. and “Ikarie XB-1” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Ant Farm 1968-1978” Guided Tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Kirk Lumpkin reads from his new book of poetry, “In Deep,” at 4 p.m. at the Ecology Center Bookstore, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220. www.ecologycenter.org 

“A Walking Tour of the Arts” at 2 p.m. at the Christian Science Church, 801 Magnolia Ave., Piedmont. Part of Alameda County’s “Art is Education” initiative. 594-2643. 

Poetry Flash a celebration for “Appetite: Food as Metaphor, An Anthology of Women Poets” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Nederlands Dans Theater at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $38-$64 available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Schools Performing Arts Showcase from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Community Theater at Berkeley High School. 644-8772. 

Berkeley Broadway Singers “Pennies From Heaven” at 4 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Church, 400 Alcatraz Ave. Free admission, donations accepted. 604-5732. www.berkeleybroadwaysingers.org 

The Dunes perform North African music at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mary Black and Ledisi in a benefit concert for Parental Stress Service, at 6:30 p.m. at Oakland’s Paramount Theater. Tickets available through Ticketmaster. www.MaryBlackAt 

TheParamount.com 

Left Turn No Signal, creative jazz improvisers, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Brian Joseph, contemporary folkster, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Schott and Ben Goldberg at 4 p.m. at Spasso Cafe, 6021 College Ave. at Claremont.  

MONDAY, MARCH 29 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jeffrey Hollender, one of the leaders of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement, introduces “What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express Theme Night: Women in Your Life, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

Ana Maria Spagna introduces her new book of essays, “Now Go Home: Wilderness, Belonging and the Crosscut Saw” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Julian and Jonathan Khuner perform songs by Schubert, Schumann and Barber at 1:15 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 30 

FILM 

Chantal Akerman: “With Sonia Wieder-Atherton” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kala Fellowship Artists Paul Catanese and Cynthia Innis at 7 p.m. at Kala Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

Dawn Prince-Hughes discusses “Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Spanning the Strait: Building the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge” a slide show and lecture by John V. Robinson at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Kate Wenner reads from her new novel, “Dancing with Einstein” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

R. Larry Wilson, author of “Silk and Steel: Women at Arms” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bandworks Recital at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“All The World Is In It: The Musical Universe of East-European Jews” at 7 p.m. at the Dinner Boardroom, in GTU’s Hewlett Library. 649-2482. 

Mimi Fox, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Maryann Price & Naomi Ruth Eisenberg at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

school at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.›

“Here comes the big scream,” said Kate Obenour. Just outside the garden at Arts Magnet, Rupert Lopez, the reading teacher, stood on one side of the fence holding a long hose. On the other side was a large crowd of students, almost everyone in the yard. Mr. Lopez flipped the nozzle and a fan of water sprayed over the kids. The scream rose. “Yesterday, I heard that scream three blocks away while I was home for lunch,” said Kate. The kids were now waving their arms, and jumping up and down, begging for more. “Are we having fun or what?” asked Kate. 

The big scream has been happening at Arts Magnet since Kate revived the garden at Arts Magnet Elementary School, some seven years ago. “Before we revived the garden, there weren’t hoses or anything out here,” she said. Kate Obenour is a lawyer with the firm Miller, Clark, Calvert & Obenour, located across from Berkeley High School. Starting when her daughter was in third grade at Arts Magnet, Kate has been volunteering every Wednesday, working with students to build the garden, island by island. On many a Wednesday, she’s joined by another parent, Kim Shaefer, who is head of Arts Magnet’s PTA.  

Each garden island is surrounded by concrete or asphalt. There are the day lilies and the bird bath right in front of the school. Three foot strips of irises, fruit trees, and flowering bulbs line both sides of the walkway along the east side. Across the asphalt yard, in a corner next to the jungle gym, are a dozen small raised beds with carrots, chard, cabbage, kale, peas, lettuce, and other vegetables. Kate grows enough pumpkins in the fall to make pumpkin pie for the whole school. Once a year, she makes salad fixings for 300 kids. All of it comes from the garden, except for the dressing. 

The school calls these gardens “Kate’s Gardens,” but Kate titles herself “Chief Weeder.” Dressed in jeans, a purple “Dirt First” T-shirt, a big straw hat and boots, Kate says that when she comes she’s dressed for survival. “Got to keep up with the kids when I’m here.” On Wednesday morning, she fills her wheelbarrow with tools and supplies. On the very top, she puts two chickens into a cat carrying case, and wheels all of it three blocks to school. The two chickens, Queenie, a crested polish bantam, and Sultan, a bantam originating from Iran, roam free on Wednesdays. When the first group of students come out, they receive a chicken anatomy talk. They see Queenie’s blue ears and her brown eyes. They pat her feet. They touch her nails. When it’s time to weed, Kate plops Queenie into a garden bed, and urges the students to dig up the weeds and look for worms. The students, with great gusto, dig up the entire bed, hand feeding roly polys and earthworms to Queenie. Soon, the entire bed has been weeded. For a snack, they pull and eat carrots from the garden. While washing off the dirt, they loudly complain about how disgusting the dirty carrots are and then eat every carrot and ask for more. 

The next group of students move into the Poetry Garden, a garden built with a grant from the City of Berkeley to honor Alan Ginsburg who lived on Milvia Street, across from the school, once upon a time. In one corner stands a pond with goldfish and mosquito fish. Kate deftly hands the students plastic cups and asks them to see if they can catch a fish. While they’re at it, she asks each student to scoop out one handful of leaves or garbage that may have drifted into the pond. So, students practice catch and release without realizing they just did a chore.  

Six years ago, Kate and students hand dug the hole for the pond. “Those students are now sophomores at Berkeley High,” she said.  

Over by a large piece of granite, Kavanedeep, a fourth grader says, “We planted this last year, me, Jamail, Elliott and Rashaad,” and carefully tip-toed around the still baby plants. Other students are quietly listening for lizards or checking the passion vine for Red Checker butterfly eggs. 

Kate’s daughter is at Berkeley High, and her son’s in college. When asked what motivates her to continue as the chief weeder at Arts Magnet, Kate said, “I love gardening with kids... Can you imagine what Berkeley will look like in 20 years, all the beautiful gardens from the kids we’re teaching?” 

Back in the vegetable garden, two kindergartners have come in to pet the chickens. “Look,” Kate says, “Sultan has five toes. Can you count to five?” And they both count loudly and vigorously. “Is she ready to lay an egg?” they ask. “Looks like she’s thinking about it,” Kate answered. In the meantime, another lunch shift of students have arrived in the yard. Rupert Lopez turns on the hose. The big scream rises into the warm air.  

Berkeley Man Dies in Police Custody 

A 45-year-old Berkeley man—believed to be the relative of a Berkeley minister and former City Council candidate—died in police custody early Monday morning while he was being booked at the police station. Berkeley Police spokesperson Ken Schofield said that Tyrone Hughes “appeared to suffer from a medical problem and became non-responsive” during the booking process. 

Paramedics say they found a small plastic object lodged in Hughes’ throat. 

Hughes is believed to be related to Carol Hughes Willoughby, pastor and founder of the NewLife For Christ Community Ministries and an unsuccessful candidate in the 2000 District 2 City Council race. Willoughby could not be reached for comment. 

Hughes was arrested after a routine traffic stop turned up an arrest warrant on a drug violation, Schofield said, adding that during a booking search, officers found pieces of what they believe is rock cocaine in Hughes’ pocket. 

“To my knowledge, there was no fight or struggle at any time,” Schofield said. 

Booze Sting  

Teamed with officers from the Berkeley and UC police departments and two underage decoys, agents of the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control have been running stings on Berkeley booze sellers since January—most recently in a March 19 sweep that found 14 of the 26 targeted stores willing to sell to minors. 

Drinking Binge Kills UC Student 

A drinking binge last week apparently ended in the death by alcohol poisoning of a UC Berkeley student, according to Berkeley Police. The body of Steve Saucedo, 21, was found in his Regent Street apartment Friday morning. He had engaged in a drinking contest the night before with a small group of friends.›

Our opinion pages have received a number of letters regarding Israel’s recent assassination of a Hamas leader. They’re from all over Northern California, written in a variety of styles by obviously concerned citizens, but they have a common outline and theme: what’s wrong with assassination in self-defense? Since most of the writers don’t seem to be Daily Planet readers, we’ve sent this stock response: 

“Thanks for your submission. We probably won’t print it, since we usually publish only letters from our local readership area, or occasionally responses to our editorials from other places. We haven’t written an editorial about the morality of assassination yet, but your letter convinces us that we have been  

derelict in not doing so, an omission we hope to rectify soon.”  

One or two of these letters have been from our circulation area, and we do plan to print those. But the interesting thing, as our stock response letter points out, is that the letters themselves are pre-emptive strikes. Even though the Planet has yet to speak on this topic, counter-arguments are being organized and launched. Could it be that some of the writers have a deeply suppressed perception that something is indeed wrong with assassination as a tool of national policy? 

Discussions of the moral issues around self defense have played a prominent part in the evolution of the Anglo-American legal system. The criminal codes in various jurisdictions attempt to define precisely when killing another human constitutes legitimate self defense. Though I’m not familiar with Jewish law, I expect that similar discussions are central there too. 

I do not know of many instances in American law where pre-emptive killing is justified. Historic Christian discussions of what constitutes a just war have left very little room for pre-emptive killing on a national scale. We would be interested in comments from additional letter writers on what mainstream Jewish ethical thinkers have to say on this topic.  

Among the letters we’ve already received, which appear to be part of an organized campaign, is one from David Meir-Levi of Menlo Park which is reprinted in this issue. He says, in part: “…..appeasement emboldens the aggressor. Hypocritical and shortsighted Israel-bashing appeases the aggressor, condemns the victim, and gives succor and support to those who seek to finish what Hitler started.”  

But is it Israel-bashing to suggest that killing an elderly, almost blind quadriplegic, along with a number of bystanders, was both immoral and impractical? To suggest that it would have been relatively easy and much more ethical to capture the man, using tear gas if needed, and try him under Israeli law for any crimes he might have committed? It’s true that Palestinian activists, including some who were part of Hamas, have also carried out assassinations and killed innocent bystanders, but does that make it right for Israelis to do the same thing? In simple everyday ethical terms, familiar to most people in most cultures, do two wrongs make a right? And even, to put this on the level of what almost all parents tell their children, just because “everyone does it”, should you do it too? 

In the eyes of many thoughtful people, the true defenders of Israel, and of Israel’s reputation, are those like my many Israeli friends who have voluntarily exiled themselves from the country where their families still live, because they do not want to be associated with what they consider a war conducted with immoral tactics. They’re like the 19-year-old girl I know who went to jail as a conscientious objector to serving in the Israeli army. They’re Berkeley people from Jewish backgrounds like Henry Norr and Barbara Lubin, who go to Israel to find out for themselves what is being done to Palestinians in the name of Israel.  

Many sincere and ethically conscious people, both Israelis and others, have of course concluded that sometimes assassination is ethical, and if they have thought carefully about that decision one must respect it. But it does not illuminate what should be a sober consideration of the moral issues involved when people who come down on the other side are accused of giving “succor and support to those who seek to finish what Hitler started.”  

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Berkeley Daily Planet.