After a hectic period that began with the announcement of veteran Councilmember Maudelle Shirek’s disqualification for the November ballot, the filing deadline for candidates in the fall Berkeley City Council election closed with some minor shakeups, the non-appearance of one potential major candidate, and some interesting, competitive races developing. 

Several reporters and political officeholders hung around City Hall at the close of filing on Wednesday evening to see if former mayor Shirley Dean might opt to attempt to reclaim her old District 5 City Council seat, now being vacated by Councilmember Miriam “Mim” Hawley. Dean didn’t show, ending months-long speculation that she might use the District 5 seat as a steppingstone for a rematch race against Tom Bates, the man who removed her from the mayor’s office in the 2002 elections. 

That left District 3 as the most talked about—and still somewhat uncertain—council race. 

Before Shirek failed to make the November ballot because her campaign failed to obtain the proper nominating signatures, she was being challenged by Rent Stabilization Board Chair Maxwell Anderson and jeweler and political newcomer Jeffrey Benefiel. 

On the Monday following Shirek’s Friday evening disqualification, two more candidates quickly took out nominating papers— housing developer James Peterson and neighborhood organizer Laura Menard. Peterson ran an unsuccessful race against Shirek four years ago. On Wednesday of this week, the last day for qualifying, a fifth potential candidate also took out papers—boutique owner Helen Davis. 

But between Monday and Wednesday Peterson changed his mind, opting not to turn in his nominating papers, and instead filed for the Peralta Community College District Board. Davis turned in her papers to the City Clerk’s office just at close of business on Wednesday evening, but was disqualified herself after city workers determined that she did not have the 20 necessary nominating signatures of voters registered in the district. It was a somewhat embarrassing failure for a candidate who entered the race only after the widely publicized disqualification of the incumbent for the same offense. 

That left Anderson, Benefiel, and Menard officially in the race for the District 3 Council seat. And, unofficially, Councilmember Shirek herself. 

Berkeley political circles were rife with widespread rumors this week that Shirek was huddled with advisors, considering running for her old seat as a write-in candidate. Shirek did not return telephone calls from the Daily Planet concerning this possibility. 

State election law allows a write-in candidate to submit a candidate’s statement and nomination papers beginning 57 days before the election, which means a formal decision on a possible Shirek write-in might be held off until the first or second week in September. 

Meanwhile, with her candidacy only a few hours old, Menard was making her own political fumbles. In her candidate statement filed with the City Clerk’s office, she said that she was “endorsed by almost every neighborhood group in the district.” That would have been a remarkable coup, given that Menard had only announced her candidacy after Shirek was bounced from the ballot, and most of the neighborhood groups hadn’t even met in the few days that had passed since that stunning development. Menard later qualified her assertion, saying that several representatives of neighborhood groups (Ralph Adams of the 62nd Street Neighborhood Association, Laurie Bright of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, Robin Wright and Sam Herbert of the South Berkeley Crime Prevention Council, Karl Reeh of the LeConte Neighborhood Association, and Frankie Lee Fraser of the San Pablo Park Neighborhood Association) had signed her nomination papers, but only as individuals, not in any official capacity. Menard did say that the Alcatraz Avenue Neighborhood Association had a meeting Monday night and “they’re on board,” but she later called back and said that she’d received misinformation, and the group had not yet formally made a decision on the District 3 race. 

Menard did cite one prominent city political heavyweight in her campaign statement: former mayor Shirley Dean. With Mayor Bates listed as a reference in Max Anderson’s statement, that may set the District 3 race up as a revival of the old moderate-progressive political battles that once dominated Berkeley politics.  

Menard, who lists membership in the South Berkeley Crime Prevention Council, Budgetwatch, and the Berkeley High Safety Committee as her record of community service, said in a telephone interview that she saw three issues as the most important in the upcoming race: crime, commercial development, and school-city cooperation. “We need to follow up on the commitment from the Berkeley Police Department to implement an effective community-involved policing plan,” she said. “We need to restore the health and vitality of the commercial districts along Shattuck, Adeline, Alcatraz, and Sacramento streets. And we need to further refine the coordination of services between the school district and this community. In the after school hours, we have a lot of potential to coordinate the kinds of services kids need.” 

She said her main difference with opponent Max Anderson was that, “I’m an independent individual who’s focused on practical, doable remedies. I’m not interested in the political machinery.” 

Asked the same question, Anderson said that the difference between him and Menard was that, “I take a very comprehensive view of community building. I don’t rely exclusively on a military solution to our problems. I think there’s enough evidence around the world that strict military or police solutions only deal with the tip of the iceberg. If we don’t pay some attention to real prevention, instead of just reacting, we’ll be reacting in perpetuity.” 

A former member of the Planning Commission and the Charter Review Commission, Anderson said he couldn’t name individual issues as “most important” in this race. “Most issues are interrelated,” he explained. “Even if you’re talking about crime—with two homicides in the last couple of weeks, that’s gotten everybody’s attention. But we have to look at the underlying causes. We have the health disparities in the community. We need approaches that are inclusive to people that live in the community. We need an arts district, as well as a more vigorous economic activity in our commercial corridor. And it’s time to put something together for young people in this community, whether it’s arts or jobs or recreational activities.” 

Anderson said that he was not going to change his attitude towards the race now that Shirek—at least for the present—was not an opponent. 

“I’m going to put my best foot forward and run a very aggressive campaign,” he said. “I’m not going to proceed as if there are no opponents now. I don’t see it as a cakewalk in any way, shape or form. I’m hoping that the sad incident of the circumstances surrounding how Maudelle was not able to qualify can be converted into an opportunity for all of us to unify and work towards the goals that many of us share in South Berkeley.” 

Benefiel appeared to still be formulating his political platform. In his nominating papers, he said simply that “while my personal opinions make up my personality they are always subservient to the opinions of the residents of District 3.” Asked if he had been endorsed by any neighborhood groups—as Menard had claimed—he said that no, he hadn’t, but if any of them called him, he would ask them. 

In the remaining Berkeley races whose nomination periods closed on Wednesday evening: 

In Council District 2, Peralta Community College Board Trustee Darryl Moore will compete with political newcomer Sharon Anne Kidd—a public relations executive—for the seat being vacated by Councilmember Margaret Breland. 

Council District 5—vacated by outgoing Councilmember Miriam “Mim” Hawley—will be contested by Zoning Commissioner Laurie Capitelli, former Mayoral Aide Barbara Gilbert, and sales manager Jesse Townley. 

Eleanor Walden is the only incumbent opting to compete for four open seats on Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Board. Walden was appointed to that position in February of this year to complete the term of Matthew Jay Siegel. Four other candidates—Housing Commissioner Jesse Arreguin, attorney Jack Harris, Boalt Law School student Seth Morris, and Tenants Rights Director Jason Overman—are also running for seats on the board.

Bay Area environmental groups have teamed up with petro-giant Chevron to launch a new proposal that could spell trouble for a Berkeley developer’s plans to install a massive casino and hotel complex on Richmond’s Point Molate. 

A press conference scheduled for 10 this morning (Friday, Aug, 13) at the Point Molate Shoreline will unveil plans to buy the site from the City of Richmond and preserve it as open space and wildlife habitant in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District. 

“The idea of a casino complex that would dwarf the waterfront is the worst of all possibilities,” said Robert Cheasty, leader of Citizens for the Eastshore State Park, one of the organizers of this morning’s gathering. 

Others include the Berkeley’s Sierra Club activist Norman LaForce, Save the Bay co-founder Sylvia McLaughlin, Golden Gate Audubon Society Executive Director Arthur Feinstein, East Bay Regional Park District Assistant Regional Manager Bob Doyle and Chevron Richmond Refinery Regional Director Dean O’Hair. 

“We’re all sympathetic to the needs of the City of Richmond,” Cheasty said, “I was mayor of Albany, and I know what cities are facing these days. But we can do a lot better than a casino.” 

The Richmond City Council had planned to meet Tuesday to approve a deal with casino project developer Upstream Investments, headed by Berkeley toxic waste site cleanup expert Jim Levine, founder of Levine Fricke. 

Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt sent out an e-mail Wednesday night advising that “I have it on credible authority that the. . .council vote on the sale of Point Molate” would be delayed at least another week because of difficulties in drafting the accord. 

Cheasty said Chevron is “serious as a heart attack” about buying the property, “a jewel of a place,” with the ultimate intention of opening almost the entire western half of the peninsula for the Eastshore park and the Bayshore Trail. 

“While environmental organizations don’t usually take a position on casinos, Chevron would offer the city enough money to get out of their financial difficulties” while preserving a magnificent piece of land, Cheasty said. 

“I don’t know of a single environmental group that endorses the casino proposal,” he said. “What kind of message are we sending our children when a city sees gambling as a way out of all their problems?” 

Cheasty’s organization and the Sierra Club are sponsoring a second meeting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marine Ave. 

Besides the Point Molate Proposal, Rep. Barbara Lee, Assemblymember Loni Hancock and Albany City Council candidates will discuss Prop. 68, the statewide ballot issue scheduled for the November election that would permit up to 3,000 slot machines at each racetrack—more than can be found in any Las Vegas casino. 

Also on the agenda will be a local ballot measure that would impose a $12-a-year-tax in cities along the San Pablo corridor to support parks along the shoreline.  

The newest revolution to emerge from Berkeley may seem quieter—even geekier—than those surrounding People’s Park and the Free Speech Movement, but its architects hope its effects will prove even more enduring in reshaping the fabric of the American body politic. 

Henri Poole, the organizer of presidential contender Dennis Kucinich’s Internet campaign, and Dan Robinson, who ran the national Meet-Up list for Howard Dean’s campaign have come up with a piece of software they believe will bring political power back to the neighborhood and community. 

What’s even more revolutionary is that it’s free and open source—meaning users can modify it to suit their needs. 

Dubbed AdvoKit, Tools for a New American Politics, the software package is currently in the beta release phase, where users are field testing the program to work out the bugs before it goes into general release next month just as campaigns launch their intensive get-out-the-vote campaigns. 

The two self-confessed geeks came up with the idea last year at an emerging technologies conference attended by campaign computer specialists, including representatives of the Kerry campaign. 

“We were having the same problems in the Dean and Kucinich campaigns, and we were interested in working together on more e ffective organizing tools,” Poole said. 

“The big issue in organizing around the war was to get people to knock on doors, to talk to their neighbors, so find out if they were voters or non-voters, likely or unlikely voters, activists or non-activists,” sa id Robinson, “and then concentrating on the last 48 hours before the election—which is where the Republicans have been best at. 

“Our big concern was what’s missing, what technological piece is missing to organize an effective campaign. Resoundingly, peop le across the country told us there was a special need for software to enable neighbor-to-neighbor activity—and that, ideally, it should be freely distributed, easy to use, and free.” 

So Poole and Robinson set to work. 

A key insight came from Williamsto wn, Mass., where key property taxes carried sunset provisions, forcing activists to wage anew hard-won battles fought to maintain key community services. Activist Pat Dunleavy came up with a strategy he dubbed the Friend to Friend System. 

While tradition al campaigns have handed lists to volunteers and dispatched them to work door-to-door through blocks and neighborhoods, Dunleavy forged a system relying on the individual social networks of each volunteer. 

“There’s a much greater likelihood that people will listen to people they know, rather than some stranger who comes knocking at their door,” Robinson said. 

“He would get 30 or 40 volunteers together and show them the lists, then ask them to identify the people they knew and work on them,” Poole said. 

“His numbers went way up, and they were constantly growing and the numbers of likely voters identified went way up. Volunteer burnout went down, too, because it’s a lot easier for most people to talk to friends,” Robinson added. 

“It’s like watering root s that are already there,” said Poole. 

So it’s no surprise that Dunleavy’s become actively involved with AdvoKit. 

Poole and Robinson offered a quick demonstration for a curious reporter, who found himself amazed at the software’s ease of use and potenti al beyond the confines of electoral politics. 

“Volunteers can take specific tasks as prioritized by the campaign, and their profiles are continuously updatable. There are options, with dates and schedules, and it allows them to keep track of their contacts,” Robinson said. “You can organize functionally or geographically, and you can mix and match.” 

Managers can keep track to ensure that volunteers fulfill their tasks and submit their reports, and quickly develop a picture of the campaign as it unfolds. 

“Because you’ve got all this interaction, anyone who seriously tries to game the system is going to be easily and quickly found out,” Robinson said. “You can see who the performers are and they get immediate feedback.”  

Existing commercial software mimics the top downward organization of traditional campaigns. The lower end packages cost between $5,000 and $10,000 and the most expensive packages cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per state. 

As their work on AdvoKit progressed, Poole and Robinson began to see their software’s broader potential. 

“In the [Democratic presidential] primaries, what was completely disruptive to the democratic process was that as soon as a candidate dropped out, their organizations would disappear along with all of their too ls and networks,” Poole said. “With software that’s free and easy to use and with really cheap Internet hosting or organizations that host their own sites, we’re setting up the train tracks. 

“Come Nov. 3, people have their own systems in place, and no ma tter how the election turns out, they can use them to raise money for their PTAs, or to preserve the trees in their communities and to organize around any issue in their communities.” 

While the New York state Democratic Party has already adopted the soft ware and the Democratic National Committee is hearing AdvoKit’s pitch today [Aug. 13], Robinson and Poole are also encouraging nonprofits to adopt the package. 

Naturally, the notion of free software is greeted with some skepticism in fields where high-pr ice packages are the rule. 

“I was on the phone Wednesday with nonprofits across the country,” Robinson said, “and one woman kept asking what the hidden costs were. She asked about one thing, and I’d say, ‘No, there’s no charge,’ then she’d immediately co me back with, ‘Well how about this?’ She just kept throwing things out, and every time I’d say, no, there’s no charge.” 

With interest in AdvoKit growing nationally, the software developers said major announcements may be coming in the next two weeks. Their only hint: “A couple of organizations are thinking about rolling it out nationally,” Robinson said. 

And Robinson’s already thinking about one close-to-home application: organizing the PTA at the North Berkeley school his child attends. 

Technological activism comes easily to AdvoKit’s creators. Both have two decades in the information technology arena. Poole has deep ties with the Free Software Foundation, itself a radical movement in an era of Microsoft and Cisco, and Robinson has been active in poli tical organizing going back to the days of opposition to Ronald Reagan’s bloody covert actions in Central America. 

They earn their bread and butter through their Internet-based campaign consulting business, which specializes in strategy and project management, fundraising, get out the vote drives, website design and volunteer recruitment and other Web-based strategies and programs for progressive campaigns. 

CivicActions.com is based in Poole’s Ashby Ave. home, which once housed an earlier generation of Berkeley radicals—the Red Family commune of future state Senator Tom Hayden. y

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13 

An Evening with Paul Krugman in conversation with Larry Bensky, at 7:30 p.m. at M. L. King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Ample free parking, wheelchair access, ASL provided. Benefit for Pacifica Radio and KPFA. Tickets are $15 advance, $20 door, available at Cody’s, both locations. 848-6767, ext. 611. www.kpfa.org  

“So How’d You Become an Activist?” with Maria Gilardin, founder TUC Radio, and Pierre Labossiere, founding member, Haiti Action Committee, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 528-5403. 

Long Haul Infoshop’s 11th Birthday Join the celebration at 8 p.m. at 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org  

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

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, AUGUST 14 

“There is No Room in Albany for Las Vegas” A community forum to discuss the fate of the Albany Waterfront, with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, California State Assemblymember Loni Hancock, as well Albany City Council candidates. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., at Masonic. Sponsored by the Citizens for the East Shore State Park and the Sierra Club. 461-4665, 848-0800, ext. 312.  

Family Fun Festival at the Saturday Farmers’ Market with live music, crafts fair, story-telling, and clowns, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Civic Center Park. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Greens at Work We will assist Strawberry Creek Lodge project volunteers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lodge located at 1320 Addison St. between Acton and Bonar. We’ll be moving west along the bank, removing ivy, blackberry and elm, and doing a little clean up in the creek as needed. Bring something to drink, your work gloves, and a trowel or weeder if you have one. And please park in the street and not in the Lodge’s parking lot as it is reserved for the residents. greensatwork@yahoo.com 

Summer Bird Walk with Chris Carmichael and Dennis Wolff from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $12-$17. 643-2775. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“That's an Herb, Not a Weed!” Herbalist Patricia Kazmierowski will talk about common herbs that grow in the Bay Area and how to identify and use them. From 2 to 4 p.m. at City Slicker Farms, 16th & Center, Oakland. Free. 763-4241. cityslickerfarms@riseup.net 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Showdown at Crawford Gulch” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck and Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

Financial Education Workshops covering steps to purchasing a home, credit/debt management, retirement savings and more. Offered Sat. Aug. 14, 21, 28, Sept. 11, 18, 25 at 10 a.m. at the East Bay Community Law Center, 3122 Shattuck Ave. For more information call 548-4040, ext. 357. 

Point Richmond Music Festival from noon to 7 p.m. with performances by Masquer’s Theater Kids, Nic Bearde, Reed Fromer and Friends, David Thom, Ya Elah, The Outbacks, and many more. 117 Park Place, Richmond. 236-1401. www.pointrichmond.com/prmusic 

Osun Festival celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora, classes in batik and tie-dye, dance and drumming workshops, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the American Indian Public Charter School, 3637 Magee, Oakland. Fees vary. To register call 530-3735.  

South African Plants with Hank Jenkins at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Temescal from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Meet in front of Genova Delicatessen, 5095 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $5 for OHA members, $10 for nonmembers. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Educators Academy on Fire Ecology from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area for teachers of grades 5 to 12. Educational materials included. Fee is $45-$51. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, a group for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders over the age of 55 holds their monthly potluck at noon at San Leandro Community Church, 1395 Bancroft Ave., San Leandro. 667-9655. 

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. For further information and 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, AUGUST 15 

Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Horse and Man under the big-top at Golden Gate Fields, Tues.-Fri. at 8 p.m. Sat. at 3 and 8 p.m., Sun. at 1 and 5 p.m. extended through August 26. Tickets are $44-$79 available from 1-866-999-8111. www.cavalia.net 

Gathering to Celebrate the Life of Wendell Ralph Lips- 

comb at 1 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Way, UC Campus. Tributes by Chris Lawrence, Craig Woolridge, John Hancom. Slide presentation of the life of Dr. Lipscomb. Sponsored by the family of Dr. Lipscomb. For information call Ellen Gunther 841-4083. 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Showdown at Crawford Gulch” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck and Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

My Seedy Friends A walk for youth and families to find seeds from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. 525-2233. 

Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at the Willard Community Peace Labyrinth, on the blacktop next to the gardens at Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. between Derby and Stuart. Enter by the dirt road on Derby. Free. Wheelchair accessible. Sponsored by the East Bay Labyrinth Project. 526-7377. 

“The Case for Worker-Funded International Labor Solidarity” A presentation by Kim Scipes, labor activist, followed by questions and discussion, at 7 p.m. at SEIU Local 250, 560 20th St. Oakland. Donation $5, no one turned away. Sponsored by The Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice. 594-9575.  

Osun Festival Family Day celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora, with youth performances, community mural painting and concluding performance and ritual, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison, Oakland. Donation $5 and up. 595-1471. 

Hands-on Bike Maintenance Class Learn how to perform basic repairs on your own bike. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $85 members, $100 non-members. Advance registration required. 527-4140. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers, annual summer casting clinic, held in lieu of the monthly meeting, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Oakland Casting Ponds in McCrea Park, 4460 Shepherd St., at Carson Blvd near the 580 freeway, Oakland. Expert, beginning and “wannabe” fly fishers are all welcome. For further information, call Richard Orlando at 547-8629. 

Bike Trip to Explore Historic Oakland on the third Sunday of the month through October. Tours leave the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Fallon Sts., at 10 a.m. for a leisurely 5-mile tour on flat land. Bring bike, helmet, water and snacks. Free, but reservations required. 238-3524. 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour Laurel Neighborhood from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at Albertson’s parking lot, 4055 MacArthur Blvd. Cost is $5 for OHA members, $10 for nonmembers. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm waterproof clothes. www.cal-sailing.org 

Campfire and Sing-A-Long at 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Bring your hot dogs, buns, marshmallows, long sticks and dress for possible fog. We’ll walk uphill to the campfire circle. Call for disabled assistance. 525-2233. 

“Current Difficulties of the West Contra Costa Schools” with Patricia Player, at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Road, Kensington. 525-0302.  

“This is What Free Trade Looks Like” a film on NAFTA in Mexico, the failure of the WTO at 8:15 p.m. at Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org  

Golden State Model Railroad Museum open from noon to 5 p.m. Also open on Saturdays and Friday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. Located in the Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline Park at 900-A Dornan Drive in Pt. Richmond. Admission is $2-$3. 234-4884. www.gsmrm.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Lama Ando on “Vimalamitra and the Transmission of the Dharma in Tibet” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, AUGUST 16 

Solid Waste Management Workshop on Commercial Services: Recycling, Source Reduction, and Franchised Services at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 2180 Milvia St., 6th Flr. 981-6357. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. 524-9122. 

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. 

Iyengar Yoga on Mondays from from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $12. 528-9909. gay@yogagarden.org 

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, AUGUST 17 

Mini-Rangers An afternoon of nature study for ages 8 to 12. Dress to get dirty, bring a healthy snack to share. At Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 525-2233. 

African Affairs Benefit Brunch with Patrick Hayford, the United Nations’ Director of African Affairs in the office of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at noon at House of UNITY in Eastmont Town Center, 7200 Bancroft Ave. #209, Oakland. Minimum contribution of $25 requested for the brunch; also there will be a free 7:00 p.m. public event. Sponsored by AFSC’s African Initiative, Aseya Africa and others. www.afsc.org 

Contemporary Political Election Issues, a discussion with Millie Barsh at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

“What is Ahead for Venezuela?” with Lisa Sullivan who hosted the 2004 Marin Interfaith Task Force Delegation to Caracas, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar. 528-5403. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Sts. from 3 to 7 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

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. 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. 845-6830. 

Phone Banking to ReDefeat Bush on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Bring your cell phones. Please RSVP if you can join us. 415-336 8736. dan@redefeatbush.com 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18 

An Evening with Arundhati Roy, David Barsamian, Amy Goodman and Boots Riley, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way at Milvia. (wheelchair access, ASL provided). Supported by Global Exchange & Mother Jones Magazine. Tickets are $21, available from Cody’s or www.cityboxoffice.com 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday, rain or shine, at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat. 548-9840. 

Walking Tour of Oakland Chinatown Meet at 10 a.m. at the courtyard fountain in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza at 388 Ninth St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/wallkingtours 

“Dr. Strangelove” a film adaptation of Peter George’s thriller “Red Alert” at 7:30 p.m. at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, donations are welcome. 393-5685. 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7:15 a.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. For information call Robert Flammia 524-3765. 

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

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 

“Who Owns Water?” Protecting the world’s water from corporate takeover. Join us for a discussion with Juliette Beck and John Gibler of Public Citizen’s Water for All Campaign, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Safe Boating Class on “Boating Skills and Seamanship” offered by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary begins today and runs for 13 weeks, on Thurs evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the US Coast Guard Air Station, San Francisco International Airport. A $50 fee covers textbook and certificate. For reservations please contact Wayne Wattson at 650-755-9739. 

Circlesinging Workshop with David Worm of SoVoSó from 7 to 9 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison, Oakland. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale, no one turned away. Resevations suggested. 444-8511, ext. 15. www.artsfirstoakland.org 

Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, a group for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders over the age of 55, catered lunch at 12:30 p.m. at Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue, Oakland. 667-9655. 

Mills College Open House for the graduate program in Interdisciplinary Computer Science from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Program open to women and men with a talent and interest in computing, and a bachelor's degree in another field. Financial assistance available. Mills College is located on the MacArthur exit of 580 East. 415-336-4466. http://ics.mills.edu 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 

“Oscar in the Wild: Camping with Cal Shakes” from 5 p.m. to Sat. 10 a.m. at the Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. Cost is $28-$35. Performance tickets sold separately. To register call 548-9666. 

Old Oakland Outdoor Cinema on Washington St., between 9th and 10th Sts. Music at 5 p.m., and film, “Tootsie” at 8 p.m. Bring your own chairs and blankets. Sponsored by the City of Oakland and the Old Oakland Historic District. 238-4734. www.filmoakland.com 

“Manhattan” A Woody Allen film at 8:30 p.m. at the Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org  

ONGOING 

Free Summer Lunch Programs are offered to youth age 18 and under at various sites in Berkeley, Mon. - Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. until Aug. 20. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Health Dept. 981-5351.  

This Land is Your Land Day Camp Weekly sessions to Aug. 27 for children ages 5-12, at Roberts Regional Park in Oakland and at Tilden Park in Berkeley. Science and nature studies with art, music, hiking, swimming, and outdoor games. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $245 per week. 581-3739. www.sarahscience.com 

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon. Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Citizens Humane Commission meets Wed., Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Katherine O’Connor, 981-6601. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/humane 

Commission on Labor meets Wed., Aug. 18, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Delfina M. Geiken, 644-6085. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/labor 

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Anne Burns, 981-7415. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/designreview  

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., Aug. 19, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Peter Hillier, 981-7000. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/transportationª

South Berkeley residents who live near the Ashby Bart Station gathered Wednesday night to view the latest plans for the Ed Roberts Campus, the two-story center for disability rights, education, training and advocacy named after the founder of the city’s internationally known Center for Independent Living. 

Area residents have expressed dissatisfaction with designs and potential neighborhood impacts during earlier meetings, and architect William Leddy spent most of the 90-minute session explaining the latest site model and how it differed from earlier designs. 

The earliest version, floated before Leddy’s involvement, called for a 130,000-square-foot, three-story structure that would have towered over neighboring homes. 

The latest version is a floor shorter—“to fit the neighborhood,” he said—and the overall size is reduced to 80,000 square feet. 

The architect also added additional trees to reduce sounds to neighbors to the ambient level along Adeline and reduce the building’s visual impact. 

Resident Dale Smith said she worried that the clearly 21st century building would conflict with the largely Colonial Revival style of many of the existing buildings on Adeline. 

“The city has dumped a lot of institutions in the neighborhood,” many of them now “ugly, vacant, and dirty,” and leveled a section of homes for low-cost housing that was never built, she said. 

“When you have a big institution with the help of the city coming into the neighbor, you’ve got to understand our concern,” she emphasized. She also worried that the building’s “international airport style doesn’t really fit” the neighborhood. 

Ron Good, who lives near the corner of Adeline and Woolsey streets, said that “right now, it’s an ugly space,” and he finds the building, with its curved transit plaza in the front “an extremely pleasant and lively space.” 

Dmitri Belser, an ERC activist and executive director for the Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley, praised the design, especially the copper-clad spiral ramp leading up to the second floor that will feature displays of key moments and people in the history of the disabled rights movement. 

Leddy said the ramp was inspired by the unique design of Manhattan’s Guggenheim museum. 

Belser, who is visually impaired, said that in the past, “the disabled community was housed in two types of buildings—either dumps or institutions. The ramp is very exciting.” 

Erica Cleary, a neighborhood organizer for the 2300 block of Prince Street on the immediate east side of the project, said “My neighbors agree that the design has greatly improved, but I keep hearing concerns that it still has that airplane hangar look.” 

Caleb Dardick, the professional consultant hired to handle community relations for the project, said the campus has slated a preview presentation to the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

The organization has been able to muster about half the needed funds, and Dardick said the rest should come more easily after they win their use permit. “because philanthropists want to see the permit issued before they will fund a project.” 

Also in the audience for the first half of the meeting was the peripatetic Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington. 

The session ended on a largely upbeat note, with plenty of smiles and handshakes. 

President Hugo Chávez seems almost certain to win the recall referendum called for this coming Sunday in Venezuela.  

Chávez’s lead in nonpartisan polls is increasing; his government is awash in oil money that is being put into social projects; more than a million new voters from traditionally marginalized segments of the population have been registered; and, most important, the U.S. government has begun to soften its public stance toward Chavez.  

A telling sign of the situation is the meeting that Venezuela’s media magnate Gustavo Cisneros and President Chávez held last month. Cisneros has been the main power behind the relentless communications campaign against the president; the conspirators that deposed Chávez for two days in April 2002 met at Cisneros’ home before going over to overthrow the government. He has been the embodiment of anti-government feelings in Venezuela. His meeting with Chávez, brokered by Jimmy Carter, was an acknowledgment of failure and an effort to protect his vast interests in the country. It was a psychological blow to the opposition.  

Carlos Andrés Pérez, the former Venezuelan president who was removed from office for corruption in 1993 and convicted of mismanaging $17 million of government money, has just issued a statement in Miami accepting that Chávez will win the recall vote on Aug. 15, and calling for his assassination. “He must be killed like a dog,” Pérez said of the Venezuela president. Perez, like Cisneros, knows which way the wind is blowing.  

The softening of the American position toward Chávez was reported in detail recently by the Financial Times of London. It requires explanation, however, because Washington’s policy for Venezuela has been running on two tracks, not one.  

The United States has two primary interests in Venezuela: oil, and the containment of the war in next-door Colombia.  

Venezuela supplies the United States with approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. It is the fourth largest foreign supplier of the American energy market after Saudi Arabia, Canada and Mexico. In May 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney authored a report of the National Energy Policy Group on U.S. oil needs in the next 25 years and identified Venezuela as a critical energy source. Since then, the uncertainties of the available oil supply, for political as well as technical reasons, have only risen.  

Washington’s second concern is to contain the Colombian conflict, where guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug dealers and a beleaguered and corrupt army compete for land, money and power. Political instability in Venezuela, which shares a long and open border with Colombia, has the potential to significantly increase the intensity and scope of the struggle in its neighbor’s territory. Political necessity mandates that American administrations be able to claim success in the war against drugs while avoiding direct military entanglement. A deterioration of the situation in Colombia would force the United States to pour more money and political capital, even troops, into that country.  

Oil and Colombia underlie the American desire for stability in Venezuela. The Chávez administration has not been oblivious to this. The supply of oil to America has never been threatened; the agent representing the Venezuelan government in the sale of oil to the U.S. strategic reserve is Jack Kemp, 1996 vice-presidential running mate of Bob Dole and distinguished member of the Republican Party’s conservative leadership. In addition, the Venezuela government has kept its hands out of the Colombian conflict.  

Washington has been faced with two less-than-ideal options concerning Venezuela: 1) live with a rhetorical enemy who guarantees the supply of oil and keeps clear of Colombian involvement; or 2) encourage the return to power of the divided and corrupt politicians who made the present situation possible and who, having forced Chávez out of office, would in all probability have to deal with an unstable internal situation that in turn could jeopardize the oil supply and spill into Colombia.  

The ambivalence of the U.S. position with regard to Venezuela has been manifest in the anti-Chavez pronouncements of Otto Reich and Roger Noriega, former and present assistant secretaries of state for inter-American affairs, and of Secretary of State Colin Powell. On the other hand, the work of Jack Kemp and the assessment of Venezuela’s oil importance by Dick Cheney represent a pragmatic willingness within the present administration to accept Chávez as the lesser of two evils.  

The present softening of the formal Washington position on Chávez is the reconciliation of what has been a double track approach. Ironically, a Chávez victory may be beneficial to American policymakers, who may then enjoy more freedom to pursue U.S. interests without being tied down to the defense of an inept and potentially troublesome local Venezuelan opposition.  

Francisco Jose Moreno is president of Strategic Assessments Institute, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm, and former vice president of Philip Morris International for Iberia and Latin America.  

›

Berkeley Heist Leads to Serial Robber Bust 

Things went badly wrong for the armed robber who flashed his pistol at a clerk at the Mail & More at 1476 University Ave. just after 1:15 p.m. Monday. Not only did he fail to collect any loot, but Berkeley police developed information linking the gunman to an address in the 1400 block of West 12th Street in West Oakland. 

What made the case especially interesting to Berkeley and Oakland Police was that the robber’s description matches that of the man who had staged a series of 13 or more other heists in recent weeks—most of them in Berkeley. 

BPD spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said Berkeley set up a stakeout at the residence, and were spelled by Oakland officers who made the arrest after 27-year-old Billy Carter left the house later that night to enter his car. 

Carter was arrested without incident, and detectives in both venues are preparing cases to hand to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. 

Father Orders Son To Return Stolen Cash 

When a Berkeley father learned that his son had robbed a man at gunpoint Monday, he ordered the youth to return the cash. 

The minor youth still had to deal with police, who booked him on charges of armed robbery. 

Neighborhood Spat Takes Violent Turn 

A disagreement between two neighbors who lived near Hearst and Sixth Street took a violent turn Monday afternoon. One neighbor used a fist, while the other resorted to a bat. Yet when officers arrived, no one wanted to press charges. 

Octogenarian Arrested for Spousal Abuse 

An 80-year-old South Berkeley man was arrested for spousal abuse and threatening great bodily injury on his mate after police were summoned to the couple’s home. The case is still under investigation, and Officer Okies said that “to say that circumstances are unclear is an understatement.” 

High Noon Scissors Attack 

Officers rushed to the corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue at two minutes ‘til noon Tuesday, where they found a man bleeding for a scissors assault by another man, apparently known to the victim. 

Police are seeking a bald African American man in his twenties who stands about 6’2” and weighs about 150 pounds. 

Blotter Writer’s Plate Boosted 

It was, appropriately, Berkeley Police Officer Marty Heist who answered the call of a certain police blotter writer just after 10 a.m. Monday to take his report of the theft of the rear license plate from his Plymouth Neon, plus a batch of CDs and a flashlight.

Just as the Democratic Convention was wrapping up in Boston, President Bush’s handlers announced that he’d be hitting the campaign trail with an amped-up stump speech. 

Bush’s new speech would have two new phrases—“turning the corner” and “results matter.” He’d say America is “turning the corner” on the economy and the Iraq War. And he’d show how he had gotten things done as president, pointing out that Kerry hadn’t done much as senator, and conclude with “results matter.” 

One week later, Bush’s speech hasn’t transformed the campaign. At least not in the ways he wanted. Bush’s catch-phrases have made headlines—mostly, when Kerry has used them to counterpunch against Bush. 

When both candidates were campaigning a few blocks away from each other in Davenport, Iowa on Aug. 4, Kerry joked that Bush could attend the Democrats’ economic forum “if he were just willing to turn the corner.” More seriously, in an address on Thursday at the UNITY 2004 Journalists of Color Conference in Washington, D.C., Kerry declared: “Just saying we’re turning the corner on the war, on terror, on jobs, on opportunity, and on one America doesn’t make it so.” 

Meanwhile, Bush and his handlers have yet to craft a stump speech that uses the “turning the corner” and “results matter”—or any other catch-phrases—to make a compelling case for his re-election. 

For all the hype announcing his new stump speech, those two phrases only appear towards the middle of the remarks he delivered, virtually word-for-word, at rallies last weekend in the swing states of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Reciting a litany of issues where he says he’ll continue to “make progress” during a second term, Bush says: “We are turning the corner, and we’re not turning back.” He says this about “improving public schools,” “giving Americans more choices about their health care,” and—halfway through the speech—“creating jobs for America’s workers,” but not about several other issues that he mentions, including energy, the environment, and job training. As for “results matter,” Bush only uses that phrase towards the end of the speech, about jobs, education, and the war on terrorism. 

Why does Bush’s speech bury the very points his spinners told the news media that he was going to make? The problem isn’t Bush’s rhetoric; it’s his record. 

Presidents in trouble tend to blame their speechwriters, and, if he continues to trail Kerry, he may fire some current staffers and hire some new ones. (Veteran Republican writer Peggy Noonan announced Thursday that she is taking a leave from her career as a pundit to help her party, adding that she doesn’t think Bush needs her help.) But Bush already has a talented team of wordsmiths who rely on the short words and simple sentences that he is most comfortable using—and that make for the most effective oratory, anyway. 

Instead, the problem is that Bush has presided over an economy where 1.8 million private-sector jobs have vanished, 3.7 million Americans have lost their health coverage, and wage increases have fallen behind the rising the cost of living. After rallying Americans in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and defeating the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Bush led the nation into the war in Iraq without an exit strategy or even a plausible explanation. 

Thus, he can’t make the classic case for re-electing a president: The country is in better shape than when I took office, and I’ll make things even better if you give me another four years. For all the simplicity that appeals to Bush and his media adviser Karen Hughes, slogans such as “We’re turning the corner, and we’re not turning back” can boomerang on Bush, just as they did this week. His opponents can ask “Why not turn back” to the country’s condition before Bush took office—peace, prosperity, and a nation that was at least a little less polarized? And what are we turning the corner on? The problems Bush inherited? Or those he himself presided over, such as the growing federal deficit and rising unemployment? 

These realities—and not rhetorical shortcomings—explain why Bush’s new stump speech is so scattershot. Among other techniques, he tries: 

Cultural populism: Bush begins by praising the places where he’s campaigning—for the past week, they’ve mostly been in the Midwest—as “the heart and soul of the country.” Then, he slyly suggests, “The other folks believe the heart and soul can be found in Hollywood. Soon, afterwards, he says, half in jest, that he should be re-elected so that his wife, Laura Bush, can continue as First Lady—a subtle reminder that Teresa Heinz Kerry is foreign-born and can be caricatured as elitist. 

Laundry lists: Then Bush segues into a list of the issues that he’d on if re-elected—education, health care, job training, and job creation. While he boasts later, that, unlike Kerry, he’s achieved “results,” the accomplishments he mentions are meager indeed—the controversial “No Child Left Behind” education law and prescription drug programs. But, just by mentioning a slue of domestic issues, Bush implies that he is in touch with working families’ problems and hard at work on their behalf. 

Not-so-subtle attacks: Having presented himself as a president who’s trying to make life better for most Americans, Bush then proceeds to bash his opponents. During his discussion of health care, Bush emphasizes his efforts against what he calls “frivolous lawsuits that raise health care costs”—a not-so-subtle swipe at Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards, a trial lawyer by profession. To clinch the point, he adds: “You cannot be pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-trial lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket.” 

Scatter-shots against Kerry: While his attack against Edwards is cleverly worded, his criticisms of Kerry aren’t coherent. Faced with the choice of branding Kerry as a Massachusetts liberal or an unprincipled waffler, a Washington insider or an ineffective back-bencher, Bush and his handlers choose “all of the above.” Thus, he attacks Kerry as a backer of big government, as a straddler who has been on both sides of major issues, as “an experienced Washington, D.C.-type Senator,” and also one with “few signature achievements.” 

Tax cuts for whom? When it comes to tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the very wealthy, Bush uses the same rhetorical techniques he’s perfected for four years: confusing who gets most of the money. Instead of calling them “tax cuts,” he calls them “tax relief.” He equates taxation based on the ability to pay with social engineering or political favoritism, declaring: “We didn’t pick winners or losers when it came to tax relief. We had a fair view that said, if you pay taxes, you ought to get relief.” Listing the beneficiaries, he mentions everyone but those with the largest incomes, listing instead “families with children,” “married couples,” and “small businesses.” 

A “war president”: When he finally turns to national security, Bush uses a similar technique: embedding the Iraq War in a series of more successful and less controversial endeavors. First, he mentions the 9/11 attacks, then the war in Afghanistan, then cooperation with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in pursuing terrorists, then Libya’s “abandonment of the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction,” and, only then, the Iraq War. Understandably, he takes pride in the ouster of Saddam, and, then, he rattles off a list of justifications for or benefits from the war. From Iraq, he segues into efforts to promote security here in the United States and a tribute to Americans’ strength of character, as revealed by the response to the 9/11 attacks. 

Intriguingly, Bush does not repeat a point that he made in a speech before the Democratic convention but has since stopped: that, while he is a “war president,” he would prefer to be a “peace president.” Writing in the Wall Street Journal’s online edition, Noonan advised Bush to make this point, warning him that voters are concluding that he enjoys war too much. Now that she’s on leave from her column and is available to help her fellow Republicans, Bush soon may be reading her words again—this time at podiums across the country.  



John LeConte Jory died Aug. 8, 2004. He was born in Berkeley on Sept. 3, 1924 and missed his 80th birthday by only one month. He grew up in Berkeley, spent World War II as a pharmacist’s mate in the Navy in the South Pacific, studied business administration at Cal, worked for the City of Berkeley as a recreation supervisor for 15 years, took care of his handicapped wife, Cathy, until she died in 1988 and after that, took care of other elderly people.  

He was once told by a grandmother psychic that his karma in life was to give to others and he followed that all his life. He was active in the Friends Meeting, the Berkeley Interfaith Council, the Bay Area Funeral Society and the Gray Panthers. If there was a charity around, John was giving to it even when his own income was depleted. He is survived by five nieces and nephews, one brother, who is writing this and too many friends to mention here. He will be missed. 

—Stephen Jory, brother, four years younger›

SAN FRANCISCO—Ratana Som, 24, is trying to turn his life around. The ex-drug dealer works at a nonprofit in the city’s Tenderloin district, a high-crime neighborhood where his family and many other Cambodian refugees first arrived in the early 1980s. But along with 1,400 other young Cambodian Americans convicted of aggravated felonies, Som faces deportation.  

While non-citizens have always been at risk for deportation, Congress passed an amendment to immigration law in 1996 mandating that non-citizens convicted of aggravated felonies and sentenced to at least one year of prison be deported, regardless of the length of their residences. The law also expanded the definition of an aggravated felony to include petty crimes such as shoplifting.  

The law hinges on whether countries are willing to take back their nationals; post-9/11, the United States convinced Cambodia to do so. Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba are among the few remaining countries that still refuse to enter into such agreements with the United States.  

Since July 22, 2002, about 100 Cambodians have been deported, and 11 more were deported in July, mainly from California, says Porthira Chhim, advocate at Cambodian Community Development, Inc., an Oakland-based nonprofit. Approximately 172,000 Cambodians lived in the United States in 2000, according to the U.S. Census. In California, the community numbers around 75,000.  

The last time Som was in jail, in 2002, his family was able to bail him out. Just a few months later, the law changed: no bail for non-citizens.  

A heavy-set young man with a youthful face, Som has been off the streets ever since. In soft-spoken slang, he says he no longer wants to make money the fast way, because the cost of lawyers and bail always offset the amount of money he was making from dealing narcotics. “After awhile,” Som says, “the money just got recycled.”  

Som sits slouched in shorts and sandals and says he wishes he had stayed in school and off of drugs. He dropped out in high school, lured by the amount of money he could make selling drugs. He needed to help his parents feed and clothe the other six children in the family, he says, as well as an older sister left behind in Cambodia.  

Som wants to stay in America. “In Cambodia,” he says, “there is no [rule of law]. If someone kills you, no one is going to investigate why.” He plans to complete his G.E.D., get off of parole and turn his life around.  

Advocates for Cambodian Americans call the laws racist. Many Cambodian youth in America were born in refugee camps in Thailand. Technically, they are not Cambodian citizens. The United States, advocates say, took these children in as refugees. Though they are not U.S. citizens in the legal sense, their experience in America calls into question the meaning of such limited definitions of citizenship.  

“They are products of America more than they are of Cambodia,” says Chhim. These youths got involved in crime on crime-filled, American streets, just as many American-born youths do. Citizenship, advocates say, is not just a piece of paper; it is also an experience.  

Chhim responds to Representative Lamar Smith’s (R-Texas) idea that non-citizens who are criminals “terrorize” American communities, as reported in AsianWeek on November 21, 2003: “If this [the deportation] is really about safety, let’s designate an island for all ex-criminals. I’ll bet you’ll see a lot of white people.” Smith co-authored the 1996 law that currently deports Cambodian Americans.  

Recalling the whole history behind why Cambodians are even in America, Chhim says, “America landed on us.”  

Nixon and Kissinger’s administration terrorized the Cambodian people in America’s campaign against communism. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the countryside was completely carpet-bombed, destroying whole villages. In the erupting civil war, the United States supported Lon Nol’s democratic government, but not enough to prevent Communist Pol Pot’s rise to power. In April 1976, the Killing Fields began. When the Vietnamese intervened in 1979, a third of the country’s population was dead, and genocide survivors spilled into Thai refugee camps. The United States welcomed more than 100,000 of them into its poor, urban communities.  

“What kind of opportunities were [Cambodian refugees] given?” Chhim asks. In a poor, urban environment, he says, it’s no surprise that people “will do what they need to do to get by.”  

Katherine Sear, 22, is a student at the University of California at Berkeley and a Cambodian American.

We come across an article in this Wednesday’s San Francisco Chronicle, headlined “Community Buys Into Cleaning Up Its Streets.” An awful idea emerges. 

“A community anti-crime group has come to the aid of the cash-strapped Oakland Police Department and made it easier to contact officers by buying a special cell phone for a police team in North Oakland,” it reads, in part. “The purchase, which comes with an unlimited-use plan, is believed to be the first time that private citizens have purchased such items for the city’s police department, which recently eliminated mobile phones for most beat officers for budget reasons. … The community group [which was unnamed in the article] represents residential neighborhoods near the city’s Auto Row on Broadway. … The cell phone is not designed to replace 911 calls or traditional non-emergency calls but instead will make it easier for residents to update officers about crime problems near their homes… The phone number will not be released to the general public but will be shared with community groups or crime victims who are on the lookout for specific suspects or activities, said Lt. Lawrence Green, who oversees patrols and crime reduction teams in North Oakland.” 

Like any institution put together by humans, the Oakland Police Department plays favorites in whom it responds to, and how (see the response to the Barzaghi domestic problems, for recent reference). But up until now, they have at least made the pretense of doing this unofficially, and not with newspaper announcements. But we’re crossing into new territory, even for this odd land which we’ve come to call “community policing.” 

I know this is really old school, but my idea of community policing has always come from those old ‘40s and ‘50s black-and-white RKO movies where the beat cops patrolled the neighborhoods on foot—never in patrol cars. They knew everybody they passed, and spoke. “Good morning, Mrs. Conners.” “Good morning, Officer Bradley. How’s Mrs. Bradley?” If they saw a crowd of kids hanging out on a stoop skipping school, they could call each one by name, pick out the ringleaders, and know which button to push to get their attention. “You’ll break your mother’s heart, you don’t graduate this year, son.” Coming across another crowd of older men on a corner, they knew the real bad-asses from the guys who just look like bad-asses. These beat cops knew the neighborhood because they were from the neighborhood, or else had worked it so long, that they might as well have been from it. They learned the neighborhood on their feet. They kept down crime as much by their knowledge as by any threat of force of arms. They thought of the neighborhood as a whole—a community—and so they could properly be called “community police.” 

I’m not sure if this ideal world of policing ever existed in Oakland. If it did, it got itself subverted, long ago. Instead of walking neighborhood patrols, we have what you might call a mobile strike force approach to policing—the police roam the neighborhoods in cars, staring expressionless as they pass, shining their spotlights on suspicious characters, responding either to observed trouble or 911 calls. Some of the more street-smart residents can recognize the most infamous of the police—calling them usually by combat- or professional wrestler-type nicknames—but for the rest of us, the Oakland Police are generally merely uniformed authority: faceless, nameless, endlessly interchangeable. Make a call, a who knows who will show up. 

This was recognized by John Cascio, the neighborhood resident credited with spearheading the effort, as reported in the Chronicle article: “He said it made more sense for citizens to be able to contact the same officers who were already familiar with a neighborhood problem than trying to explain everything all over again to an unfamiliar cop.” 

Anyhow, somewhere along the way, the term “community policing” in Oakland began to get applied solely to police liaison to neighborhood groups, rather than entire communities. 

Sometimes these were official Neighborhood Watch groups, formed specifically to monitor crime and other suspicious activity, and to act as a liaison with the police. Other times, they were existing organizations formed for general community betterment, safety being one of their many issues. In either event, they became convenient, mini-communities for the police officers, making their jobs infinitely easier. Instead of having to study, understand, and get to know an entire community, the police only had to get to know 25-30 people in a single group, people who were thoughtful enough to put their names and phone numbers and addresses on a list, and who came out once a month to a church or neighborhood center to voice their concerns to the police. Much more convenient for the cops than stopping to chat on the street with every interested soul they passed. And going one better, most patrol officers didn’t even have to attend these police-community meetings. Instead, the department designated a regular liaison officer—someone like Lt. Green of North Oakland—articulate, personable representatives who could stand up before groups and make presentations, note down community concerns on a yellow pad, and then take them back to the squad for implementation. 

These community groups were not exclusionary—anyone could come if they wanted and had the time—but neither were they necessarily representative of the communities in which they functioned. There was no election, and no provision for reporting back to the remaining citizens of their neighborhoods. 25 to 50 people whose concerns were made primary over hundreds, sometimes thousands. 

No one should take this as a criticism of these community organizations. They are made up—for the most part—of citizens with legitimate community concerns, good people who often volunteer time and money to benefit their neighborhoods-and they deserve to be responded to by the police. The problem is, so do the rest of us. A taxpaying citizen should not have to attend 12 four-hour meetings a year so that their names become known, and they can, therefore, qualify for special attention and service. 

And so we have crossed a line here, with these good folks in that unnamed community group around Auto Row in North Oakland. A private group collects money and buys cell phone service for the police, giving them a direct line to police officers that none of the rest of us have. We are descending—now officially—into a system of two tiers of police service: one for people who buy the police a phone, another for people who rely on the regular office numbers. Am I the only one who sees a problem with that? 

“I hope other neighborhood groups follow our lead,” says Mr. Cascio. 

I hope not. We already bought the police telephones. Every single one they use down at the police station.

POLICE BLOTTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Hyberbole can be an amusing form of getting a point across but I take offense at Stacy Taylor’s use of it in such a hurtful manner. She might not like Richard Brenneman’s Police Blotter but I wish she had stated that fact in a gentler manner. I, for one, find Brenneman’s levity to be an effective tool in reporting uncomfortable situations and I hope he keeps up the good work. 

Joan Trenholm Herbertson 

• 

MAUDELLE SHIREK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Where is the justice in not permitting Berkeley citizens to vote for Councilmember Shirek due to misunderstandings, paperwork snafus, sneaky legislation and who knows what underhanded manipulations? This is an outrage. 

Terry Cochrell 

• 

DAVID TEECE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Richard Brenneman’s article on David Teece (Daily Planet, Aug. 6-9) was superlative investigative reporting. Bahraini petrodollars from an Islamic bank, Russian business school, Tony Blair’s economic policies, the Republican Party. Sounds like The Manchurian Candidate. 

Nancy Ward 

• 

THREE-TON LIMIT 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The city has recently put signs up on some streets banning vehicles over three tons. (“Three-Ton Limit,” Daily Planet, Aug. 10-12).  

According to a recent article in Slate magazine, many California cities that have imposed three-ton limits on their streets have banned some SUVs without realizing it. SUVs weighing over 6,000 pounds include the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, the Range Rover, the GMC Yukon, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Sequoia, the Lincoln Navigator, the Mercedes M Class, the Porsche Cayenne S, the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup with optional Hemi, and (of course) the Hummer.  

The current Berkeley ordinance is limited to vehicles with commercial license plates, but it should be rewritten to apply to all heavy vehicles.  

SUVs benefit from being trucks by being exempted from automobile fuel economy rules. They should also pay the penalty for being trucks by being ticketed if they drive on streets where vehicles over 6,000 pounds are not allowed.  

Let’s rewrite our ordinance so we can ticket the governor if he tries driving one of his Hummers in Berkeley.  

Charles Siegel  

• 

FIRE STATION 7 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a neighbor of Fire Station 7 currently under construction who has lived near the location on Shasta Road for 25 years I can assure your readers and Russ Henke (Letters, Daily Planet, Aug. 6-9) that the changes to the hillside near the water tank and the location of the station itself is a welcome addition to our community. Despite Mr. Henke’s remarkable reported sighting of a steam shovel on the job, modern equipment and massive steel girders are being used to reinforce a hillside which has always been prone to slides. The non-indigenous trees removed to accomplish this purpose were near the end (or past) their life cycle and actually represented an additional safety threat perched as they were on the steep slope. 

For the last 25 years I can attest that the site has been used by construction crews to stage equipment, gravel, pipes and debris, even on one occasion hazardous waste! The replacement of this eyesore by a pleasant fire station design that every neighbor had the opportunity to help shape is more then wonderful! Thanks to the City of Berkeley, my neighbors, Betty Olds and the firefighters who fought so long and hard to get this station built! 

Vic Kley 

• 

CASINO PROJECT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A July 30 Contra Costa Times article, “Point Molate project pending,” wrongly states that environmental groups favor this casino project. 

That is absolutely incorrect.  

We know of no environmental group that favors this project. Our organization, Citizens for the Eastshore State Park, is composed of individuals and environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, Save the Bay, Golden Gate Audubon Society, and multiple others; none has come out in favor of this project. 

Point Molate is public land and should remain in public ownership.  

What message does this send to our children, that we solve our financial problems with casinos?  

On the drawing boards are the two in Richmond, one in San Pablo, the casino gambling on the ballot for Golden Gate Fields, plus the card rooms. 

How many casinos will gamblers frequent? Does anyone believe that casinos deliver their promised panacea?  

We can do better than to finance our future with casinos. 

This land can be a mix of parkland, Bay Trail and compatible other uses. This is a precious shoreline resource, as are Breuner Marsh and the shoreline at the Zeneca site. 

Richmond and the surrounding community have an historic opportunity to protect this legacy for future generations.  

Robert Cheasty  

President, Citizens for the  

Eastshore State park  

• 

ONE-ON-ONE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Twelve weeks from today we’ll know, God willing, whether or not the world’s only super power will have a forty-fourth president. Between now and then we’ll witness a fight between two dull and evenly matched contestants sparing with one another on minor issues of little difference to the rest of the world. They’ll give the same speech over and over in a few “battleground states” hoping to win over a very few undecided voters. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us, Democrat or Republican, having made up our minds long ago, can look forward to 84 days of mind numbing boredom.  

And those who do not yet know who they want in the White House are, ipso facto, not qualified to vote. 

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

• 

CHRONICLE CRACKDOWN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

One thing I found puzzling about Sarah Norr’s piece (“SF Chronicle Cracks Down on Liberal Staffers,” Daily Planet, Aug. 10) is her failure to mention the union. Why haven’t Rosen, Norr, Pates et al. filed grievances? If they sought union help and were denied they ought to file a joint NRLB complaint against the union, their legally certified representative, for failure to represent them. It would be a great way to expose the Chronicle and, if necessary, the union.  

Ernie Haberkern 

• 

STOP THE NONSENSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks for the excellent article by Sarah Norr on the “conflict of interest” policy at the San Francisco Chronicle, which has now cost several progressive journalists their jobs. Norr correctly identifies the bias against workers (owners pursue their politics as they damned well please) and the left (since no one could recall a conservative voice being silenced). I would add that the policy is intellectually vapid, since it presumes that fairness and honesty correlate with having no meaningful opinions about the world. I know many Berkeleyites turn up their nose at the Chronicle and cling to the New York Times—a more conservative and biased paper, if you ask me—but they are missing the fact that the old Chron is the Bay Area’s newspaper of record and has gotten much better in recent years. Which is why the current trend is more disturbing. Ms. Norr is right to say we had all best keep hounding the editors there to stop the nonsense. 

Dick Walker 

• 

NO CREDIBILITY 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

As a writer who has lived in the Bay Area for better than three decades, I’ve come to know enough Chronicle staffers to state that they would be amused/appalled to read Sarah Norr’s contention that there is a present crackdown on “liberal staffers.” Indeed, most reporters and columnists at the Chron are liberal and a good percentage of the staff would be fired if Norr’s allegation had any credibility. 

Let’s look at the recent changes Norr has cited. The firings and movement of personnel came as a result of both a breach of the newspaper’s ethics and downright poor journalism. The Chron is neither a polemic like the Bay Guardian nor a print version of KPFA-like propaganda such as the Daily Planet. Rather, it 

attempts to inform it’s readers without a semblance of overt bias. And to that end, its staff must eschew mantle of extremism or prejudice in their life away 

from the newspaper. 

Norr’s father, Henry Norr, violated those ethics by journeying to the Palestinian territories as a member of the ISM, an organization which has both supported terrorists by hiding them or trying to keep the Israeli army from stopping the smuggling of munitions from Egypt. Understandably, many staffers were distraught with Norr’s extremism and he truly merited his severance from the publication. 

Ruth Rosen, best known before her hiring at the Chron as the most facile of feminists, continued her simplistic worldview as a columnist. Not only was she so predictable that most of us who consider ourselves progressives stopped reading her, she failed to check her research in making allegations which proved to be false. This was journalism at its worst and she, too, deserved her walking papers. 

For several years, William Pates riled fairminded readers in printing a plurality of letters which adhered to his political prejudices. He was particularly fond of publishing a preponderance of correspondence which made the Chron letters page a font of pro-Palestinian propaganda. But as editor of letters, Pates went over the line in giving money to a political candidate when the appearance of non-bias is paramount to the Chron’s choice of recitation from its readers. Violating a code he knew full well, Pates was justly reassigned. 

In sum, the Chronicle rightfully enforced strictures necessary to assure the public that it is a publication sans the polemics of political prejudice. And when it comes to good journalism, one could say that the firing of Norr and Rosen, along with the reassignment of Pates, was addition by subtraction. The Chron is a better paper for it. 

Dan Spitzer 

• 

MISSING THE PLANET 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I recently moved from Berkeley to Hawaii, and I’m already beginning to miss certain things—including your paper. Even the “big city” newspapers here are really just poorly disguised local papers—and even at that, they can’t compare with the Planet. 

I look back with fond memories to those Tuesday and Friday mornings when I’d stumble down sleepily from my Shattuck Avenue apartment to pick up your paper. I particularly enjoyed the work of your cartoonist and would always flip to that page first. The cartoons were consistently intelligent and well drawn, and captured issues in a clear and thought-provoking way. The cartoonists around here don’t seem quite as capable or willing to take on important issues—their cartoons are more likely to elicit a groan rather than a laugh or a nod in liberal solidarity. 

So thank you, Daily Planet, for several years of good work. Who knows, your great articles and cartoons might just help lead me back home. 

Robin Shaw 

Honolulu 

• 

ONLY TWO OUT OF NINE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s outrageous that only two out of nine councilmembers have enough common sense to understand that giving city employees free parking as a “perk” is wrong. Only two out of nine had the guts to vote against ripping off the taxpayer. 

Giving parking enforcement officers (of all employees) this perk—free on-street parking is a direct violation of Berkeley City Charter Article VII, Sec. 32 This action by Wozinak, Olds, Hawley, Maio, Bates, Shirek and Breland is a direct slap in the face of every taxpaying citizen in the City of Berkeley.  

Making matters worse is our city attorney’s twisted interpretation of the city charter. The council can give away whatever perk or bonus it wants to employees. But as soon as council passes a “resolution” giving it away, no longer is it considered a “perk” it’s now “compensation.” According to her, passing the item as a “resolution” means—like it or not— there is nothing tax payers can do. We don’t even have the right to do a “referendum” as allowed under the city charter. 

This is another case of Berkeley city government screwing over the tax payer to get what they want. Interpreting the laws for their benefit and interests. 

Every tax paying citizen in Berkeley should be outraged at the seven councilmembers, the city attorney and city manager for another one of their crooked backroom deals.  

Some people know what side of the plate their bread is buttered on... Kriss and Donna—Thanks for standing up for the citizens and tax payers of Berkeley. 

Jim Hultman 

• 

BERKELEY BOWL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing in response to Robert Kavaler’s letter (Daily Planet, Aug. 10-12), wherein he takes issue with Jakob Schiller’s use of the word “win.” I, too, take issue with the headline “Berkeley Bowl Employees Win Right to Unionize” in that the right to organize a union is in fact guaranteed by federal law under 1935’s Wagner Act. This right, however, is constantly violated by employers. Indeed, Berkeley Bowl management violated these rights nearly every day of the union drive, from unlawful interrogation of union supporters to actually threatening termination for union activities.  

While Mr. Kavaler is correct that employees voted against unionization last October, I fear his judgment is less than critical. The employees voted against the union under the context of coercion, intimidation, and the promise of a better Bowl without the union. Shortly following the election, some employees got a better Bowl. For example, many cashiers received raises of $4-6, while a number of produce clerks were given a mere .25-50 cents, only to have their overtime cutback. Slight disparity? Perhaps their increased wages went instead to Littler Mendelson, a notorious union-busting law firm currently retained by Berkeley Bowl.  

Mr. Kalaver may not know that, long before the election, a strong majority of employees had already authorized the union to represent them for sake of collective bargaining. This changed only after management began their illegal counter-campaign. What employees- yes employees- did in fact win, then, is actual recognition of their union and the company’s agreement to bargain in good faith.  

He seems also to forget the role of the NLRB in his list of parties involved in the settlement. The National Labor Relations Board, a branch of the federal government, found the evidence regarding management’s illegal actions severe enough to mandate a bargaining order. A trial was scheduled this month, but the Berkeley Bowl chose to settle as opposed to facing this trial.  

This is a complex matter involving many people with a multitude of opinions. As an employee of four years, and someone most sensitive to the views of my co-workers, this decision is a rallying point. Not so much a “win,” perhaps, but certainly a step closer to the ultimate goal: a contract between management and workers.  

Kevin Meyer 

• 

LET THEM KNOW 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have enjoyed reading the Planet’s interesting articles and editorials about the Democratic National Convention. One important point raised by the Planet’s coverage is that some voters don’t want four more years of President Bush and Republican rule, but feel that John Kerry and the Democrats are not differentiating themselves enough. (Medea Benjamin’s protest at the convention was one example of that sentiment.) 

To those voters, I offer the following suggestion: send e-mails and letters to Kerry and the Democratic National Committee ASAP and let them know your feelings as a voter. Tell them that it’s not enough to say “anybody but Bush.” Tell them what issues you care about and what stands they should publicly and firmly take on those issues if they want your vote in November. (Examples include removing the troops from Iraq, providing more reconstruction assistance to the Iraqi people, and overturning the Patriot Act.) You can even threaten to vote for Nader—or to abstain from voting altogether—if they don’t. (The sincerity of this threat, or lack thereof, is up to you.) If enough voters put pressure on Kerry and the Democrats, they might listen; after all, they need your votes to win in November. I can’t guarantee that this will help, but it can’t hurt. I’ve done it myself, and at least I can say I’ve made my feelings clear. 

David B. Mitchell 

• 

McNALLY KICKED OUT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was standing in line, ordering pizza in Berkeley Bowl, at roughly 6:30 p.m. Monday, when I noticed the individual from the front cover of the Aug. 6 Berkeley Daily Planet. I introduced myself, shook his hand, and thanked him for his efforts on behalf of the working class. Chuck responded amicably, announcing that he was back for the first time, and then added that he felt a little nervous. As he went on shopping, I couldn’t understand why he’d feel nervous after the settlement. Five minutes later, I discovered why. 

Feeling that I had big news, I told a friend of mine, a Berkeley Bowl employee, that Chuck McNally was in the store. The friend responded that he knew, and that management had already kicked him out. Demanding answers as to why, the friend regurgitated the hocus-pocus that he previously threatened an employee, as mentioned in your article. 

I cannot understand why Chuck McNally is still not allowed in the store. I thought his gesture to spend his money at Berkeley Bowl after the settlement both courageous and kind. Obviously, he still poses some kind of threat. Clearly, he was not there to provoke someone who no longer works there. Perhaps it has something to do with the union still not having a contract.  

Whatever the case, once again, I find myself at odds with wanting to spend money at a private enterprise that not only spends outrageous resources union-busting, but that also tries to pick and choose who is allowed to shop in their store. 

Corey Wade 

• 

DOGS IN GREECE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was appalled to learn that the Greek government has supported the poisoning of an estimated 30-50,000 stray dogs in an effort to “clean up” the streets of Greece in preparation for the Olympic Games. What an extreme tragedy this is and a shameful stain on Greece and the games. Greece, like most other countries, struggles with uncontrolled canine and feline overpopulation. It is more than unfortunate that Greek officials did nothing to mitigate this problem (through education of citizens, ordinances regarding spaying/neutering of pets, and “catch and release” programs) before the eyes of the world turned toward them as host to the Olympic Games. Despite that poisoning animals is a criminal offense in Greece, it is a traditional method of controlling the stray population. According to Welfare for Animals in Greece, a NYC advocacy and lobby group that just traveled to Greece to investigate, 80 percent of the abandoned street dogs of Athens and the greater Attika area, including the Olympic sites, have already been exterminated. 

In Greek mythology, the Sibyl didn’t poison Cerberus (the hound of Hades), she merely placed him in a temporary sleep. Hercules himself returned the mighty guard dog to Hades at the end of his final Labor. Surely, an ancient and creative society such as Greece can find a way to save these abandoned animals and shine as host of the Olympic Games. I urge readers to contact officials at the Greek Embassy at Greece@greekembassy.org and call for an end to the poisonings immediately!  

Mrs. Terri Cordrey 

?

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Sunday, Aug. 8, issue of the Contra Costa Times has a letter to the editor from a man who claims he received a parking citation from San Francisco on a day that his FASTrack record shows he was not in The City that day. 

How could this happen? I believe I have the answer. Last year the use of a quota system was made legal by the California Vehicle Code section 41600 et seq. A quota may be used as long as it is not the sole principal to be used for judging an officer’s performance. 

Berkeley used a quota system starting in 1993 when parking violations were changed from criminal to ccvil. The receipt of a citation is proof of guilt. And the citing officer may not be called into court to be cross examined. 

A parking citation is supposed to include the VIN number recorded off the vehicle (at the lower left corner of the windshield) but it is available from the DMV for local police if a license plate number is given. 

So officers under pressure invent citations, using all the data from their computers. Many persons do not challenge citations and pay them without hesitation. 

Many cities have made parking citations into a form of revenue to subsidize their General Fund, collecting far beyond the cost of enforcement. All in violation of Prop. 13 which requires a two-thirds vote of the voters. 

Other citations have been sent by mail after an officer has seen a person wait for a driver to pull out of a parking space; let out their child at school; leave a package at a friend’s house, for blocking traffic in front of a truck that was stopped the whole time, all in violation of different sections of the Vehicle Code. 

Some citations are issued when there is still time on a meter. Other short-time meters are left unrepaired for long periods, etc. 

The whole process is based on collecting as much money as possible. The three-step process to challenge citations deliberately made to be as cumbersome as possible, with penalties added up for missing deadlines. 

ADA protests by elderly or disabled are deliberately ignored so far with impunity by Berkeley. 

Lawyers seldom help with parking citations, so citizens, especially the poor, are caught in a web of high costs and wasted time that is very difficult to live with. 

Many merchants are very aware of the problem which hurts business. 

I suggest that a widely-used program by all persons using parking spaces to report out-of-order parking meters would be an effective way to correct this government fraud. All drivers should still pay whatever the cost is to rent the space to park because it is a legitimate way to encourage short-time use of the street parking. 

Charles L. Smith

Zoning Adjustments Boardmember Laurie Capitelli wishes that “people would get their facts straight” about ZAB’s unanimous approval of La Farine’s application for a use permit for a retail bakery with incidental seating at 1820 Solano Ave. (Letters, Daily Planet, Aug. 6-9).  

Capitelli should get his own facts straight.  

It’s true, as he states, that he helped write the zoning ordinance for Solano Avenue commerce. It’s also true, as he further states, that Section 23E.60.090 of the ordinance lists the circumstances under which a use permit may be granted to exceed the legal quotas on food services on Solano.  

What’s untrue is that ZAB granted La Farine’s use permit in accordance with those circumstances. Left uncited by Capitelli, those circumstances are as follows:  

“The board, following a public hearing, may grant a use permit which authorizes a use which exceeds a numerical limitation set forth in section 23E.60.040, only if all of the following conditions and findings are met:  

1. There are circumstances or conditions which apply to the proposed location which do not generally apply to other examples of the same use in the district;  

2. Granting an exception will, in the specific instance, maintain the purposes of the district; and  

3. Adverse parking transportation impacts of the proposed use are negligible or have been mitigated so as not to adversely affect circulation or parking capacity on adjacent streets or in the immediate neighborhood.”  

Capitelli writes: “My colleagues on the board take their charges very seriously…”  

Without questioning the general validity of that claim, I suggest that anyone who listens to the tape of ZAB’s May 13 public hearing and discussion of the La Farine application will likely conclude that in this particular matter, the board’s gravitas was unequal to the task at hand. Drawing laughter, one ZAB member—not Capitelli—repeatedly inquired after La Farine’s recipe for morning buns. (I half expected to find the recipe attached to the notice of decision.)  

More to the point, nobody at the ZAB meeting mentioned the three findings that, as section 23E.60.040 stipulates, must be met in order to grant a use permit for a new food service on Solano Avenue.  

Had ZAB done its duty and considered whether La Farine’s application met the requirements of section 23E.60.040, it would have found it very difficult—indeed, I believe, impossible—to make the first finding. Which is to say, the board could not have identified conditions or circumstances that apply to La Farine’s application at 1820 Solano Ave. that do not generally apply to other examples of the same use in the district.  

I invite Capitelli to describe such unique conditions, and I ask him to offer something other than the bogus claim made by the city’s zoning staff—that the incidental nature of the food service proposed by La Farine meets the bill. That argument is explicitly precluded by section 23E.60.060, which states that “all food service uses shall be subject to the numerical limitations listed in table 23E.60.040.”  

In short, the only way ZAB could have legally allowed La Farine to have food service of any kind at 1820 Solano would have been to grant the business a variance, an action even more difficult to take (legally) than the granting of a use permit for a new food service on the street.  

In this context, it’s off-putting to find Capitelli, in his letter, characterizing critics of ZAB’s decision on La Farine as “a small minority of disgruntled individuals who will misrepresent and manipulate the rules to their own end,” and who “show little respect for the public process[,] impugning others [sic] motivations in order to deflect attention from their own duplicitous behavior.”  

Whom is he talking about? Capitelli names no names, but one person he has in mind must be Jesse Townley. In a letter published in the previous edition of the Daily Planet, Townley, citing the zoning ordinance, assailed the La Farine decision as a sell-out to developers and realtors.  

But since Capitelli writes of “individuals,” he must also be thinking of the three District 5 residents who appealed the La Farine decision to the City Council.  

It beats me how appealing a ZAB decision could be construed as showing disrespect for public process. If anything, citizens who go to the trouble and expense of filing an appeal—it costs $60—are showing that they care deeply about the responsible administration of our city’s laws.  

Capitelli bemoans the “protracted and costly proceedings that strain the resources of both the staff and community volunteers” brought on by allegedly duplicitous and manipulative individuals who question ZAB actions.  

Again, what’s he talking about? Instead of sweeping allegations, Capitelli needs to point to specific cases. Above all, he needs to point to cases where legally defensible ZAB decisions were needlessly appealed to the City Council. Clearly, the La Farine case doesn’t fall into that category: it should have been appealed, and it was. Disgracefully, the council approved the ZAB decision on consent, meaning there was no discussion of the matter.  

As for duplicity and manipulativeness: certainly, the appellants made their objections to the La Farine application publicly known, as did Townley.  

What Townley didn’t say in his letter is that he’s running against Capitelli for the District 5 Council seat. Is Capitelli implying, then, that political self-aggrandizement is Townley’s real motivation for criticizing the La Farine decision? If that’s the case, why doesn’t Capitelli say so?  

In fact, Capitelli’s letter makes no mention of his own candidacy. Instead, he ends by “urg[ing] voters to support candidates this November who will respect the process created by a neighborhood-created plan.” If Capitelli wants us to conclude that this means voting for him, he has a lot of explaining to do.  

Zelda Bronstein, a former chair of the Planning Commission, is president of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association. The views expressed here are her own.›

The ongoing battle between neighborhood preservationists and the developer who plans a pair of duplexes in the recently landmarked Oceanview Sisterna Historic District flared anew this week during a three-hour-plus hearing before the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

Developer Gary Feiner wants to demolish an existing Victorian cottage at 2108 Sixth St. and raise the adjoining cottage at 2104 Sixth St. and transform both into duplexes. 

On March 1, the LPC landmarked both the home and property at 2104, but only the land at 2108 because the structure itself had been significantly altered from its original Victorian features. 

Feiner appealed the decision on May 12, and LPC hearings followed on June 7 and July 12, drawing substantial turnouts from preser vationists and neighbors who spearheaded the landmarking on one side and architects and development-related partisans on the other. 

Neighborhood advocates charged that Feiner’s plans significantly altered both the appearance and feel of the structures to a point where they no longer fit in with the character of the surrounding houses—a sentiment echoed by commissioners. 

Feiner and his architect had already modified their plans after the earlier hearings, but neighbors Monday insisted they hadn’t gone fa r enough. 

Even the new plans “would change the feeling of the whole district,” said Lori Pesavento, a licensed clinical social worker whose practice is located in the restored Victorian at 2110 Sixth. “It’s bulky. . .it doesn’t fit in with the original footprint.”  

“It’s shameful what is going on here,” said Jano Bogg, a resident of the landmarked home at 816 Addison St., who said Feiner’s project would make the neighborhood “look like a development in Concord.” 

Another sore point for Bogg, echoed by others in the audience, was the proposal’s inclusion of trees on a neighbor’s property as noise mitigations for the Feiner projects. 

“I would like to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood,” Feiner replied. “I want to keep as much integrity in the ne ighborhood as possible.” 

Curt Manning, whose landmarked home at 2107 Fifth St. lies with the landmarked Sisterna Tract district, charged that the plans for 2108 were at such variance with the other homes as to require a full environmental impact report—a point echoed by many of the other speakers, but not by most commissioners. 

Neal Blumenfeld, a psychotherapist who practices at 2110 Sixth with his spouse Lise, had planned to attend Monday night’s session, but remained in New York, where Lise has been u ndergoing radiation therapy. 

In a prepared statement read by Manning, he told commissioners that he believed that the project’s impact would produce cumulatively considerable impact on the district when weighed with other large apartment buildings already constructed to the south in the same block and thus mandated a full EIR, rather than the simpler impact statement city staff had drafted. 

Feiner attorney John Gutierrez disagreed, offering “my condolences” to the neighbors and charging that Blumenfeld had cherry-picked terms for the document to arrive at conclusions that were “kind of meaningless.”  

LPC member Carrie Olson volunteered to write up the comments of her fellow commissioners to send on to the Zoning Adjustment Board, which will take an i nformal look at the proposal during its Aug. 26 meeting. Though the presentation falls short of a public hearing, foes and proponents will be able to speak during the general public comment session early in the meeting. 

Commissioners also found fault wit h the formal Impact Statement prepared by city planning staff—which led them to issue a proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) on the site which most agreed underplayed the project’s impact on the newly created historic district. 

While he said the problems fell short of requiring a full environmental impact report, Commissioner Aran Kaufer said he had particular problems with the architectural renderings of the duplex at 2108 Sixth St. 

He singled out gables, a dormer window, a skylight in front “like a Cyclops,” and an overall design that mirrored 2104 in a neighborhood where the other houses didn’t mirror their immediate neighbors. 

“I don’t like the way any of these drawings look,” said Commissioner Adam Weiss, singling out both the size and th e sheer mass of their appearance from the street. 

“We’ll sit here and take as long as it takes to get this thing right,” Kaufer added. 

LPC Chair Jill Korte called the design for 2108 “the intruder in the district.” 

“The visual degradation of the surrounding area requires mitigation,” said Commissioner Steven Winkel. 

Addressing Feiner and his attorney John Gutierrez, Korte said, “We feel we need mitigation that’s agreeable to the applicant, the neighbors and this commission,” complete with landscaping and street elevation plans. 

Winkel then moved that the LPC make a formal comment on item I c. in the staff report—which had found that the project did not “substantially degrade the existing visual character or quality of the site and its surroundings”—a nd calling for the visual element to be resolved by mapping and discussion with the developer, neighbors and the commission. The motion also called for Korte’s suggested landscaping plan, streetscape elevation and neighborhood map. 

The motion carried una nimously, save for an abstention by John McBride, who was sitting in for Commissioner Becky O’Malley, and had not attended the earlier session. 

After unanimous approvals of other items on their agenda, Korte then raised the issue of Gov. Arnold Schwarzen egger’s California Performance Review, in which a panel of 275 volunteers looked at all aspects of state government and proposed “streamlining” changes. 

Much to the disfavor of the commission, the panel called for elimination of the state Historic Preser vation Commission, which among other tasks administers the federal historic preservation funds. 

Commissioner Olson said she had just received an e-mail which indicated that the governor might not be able to eliminate the office because federal law mandates the agency. 

Korte said that while the law provides an exception if the functions are transferred to another state office, the commission should actively support the office. 

In the motion of Commissioner Emmington the LPC unanimously chose to draft a letter to the governor “stating our concern over the recommendation to dissolve” the office and the supervising commission “which are vital parts of our economic development.”et

One of the first uses of the phrase “world music” was in 1974, when the Center for World Music opened its doors at what is now the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts on College Avenue in Berkeley. The Oxford English Dictionary lists it first in 1977, apparently missing all the previous uses in the Bay Area press coverage of the period. Today, a Google search on “world music,” brings up a list of 13,500,000 references within a half second.  

How did 45 performers from Asia, Africa, and Western traditions, medieval and modern, burst upon the scene that summer of 1974? A few of the now famous alumni from that era are Vincent Delgado, Richard (Baba Ram Dass) Alpert, Ingram Marshall, Joshua Redman (at the age of 9), Sandy Bull, Perry Lederman, Julie Taymor, Lou Harrison, and Steve Reich. This weekend there is a reunion to celebrate four decades of the American Society for Eastern Arts and the Center for World Music, and in commemoration of the first Berkeley World Music Festival in the summer of 1974. 

It all began 1963, when Samuel and Luise Scripps founded the American Society for Eastern Arts (ASEA) “to foster and encourage education in the performing arts of the various Asian countries.” The previous year, she had seen the legendary Indian bharata natyam dancer T. Balasaraswati dancing in the U.S. and wanted to start an organization to bring her back here to teach. Luise moved to Madras to study with Balasaraswati, and then after ASEA was started, the Scrippses joined Balasaraswati on a European tour, with performances at the India Festival at the Edinburgh Festival. Other Indians there were Ali Akbar Khan, his brother-in-law Ravi Shankar, and M.S. Subbalakshmi, a renowned South Indian vocalist. 

ASEA opened with an advisory board which was a small “who’s who” in ethnomusicology, including Mantle Hood, Charles Seeger, Robert E. Brown, and Robert Garfias.  

The first summer program opened in 1965 at Mills College in Oakland with Balasaraswati and Ali Akbar Khan—he taught classes in North Indian music and her dance class was complemented by the music taught by her brothers, the flautist T. Viswanathan, and drummer, T. Ranganathan. There were local concerts, and in the fall national tours. These performances attracted great critical acclaim and drew many to study at ASEA the following year. 

In 1966, the sound of the sitar could be heard in the background of the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.” LPs of Indian music were being recorded and released in the U.S., and the 1966 ASEA summer program moved to Berkeley. By 1967, many things Indian—not only music—were in the air, especially on Haight Street, and the summer school moved to a fraternity house on Durant. The brilliant sitar player, Nikhil Banerjee, and Ali Akbar’s son, Aashish Khan, joined to teach the growing number of students. Japanese music was added with shakuhachi player Kodo Araki, and koto musician Keiji Yagi. 

KQED’s Bill Triest was a major supporter. Arrangements were simple: ASEA provided artists at no cost and paid for recording tape, while KQED produced and distributed the programs via the old Educational Television System, pre-runner to PBS. Half a dozen programs were seen nation-wide. After taking lessons from Ravi Shankar, George Harrison with the other Beatles left London to stay with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. India was in. 

In 1968, the first of the many ASEA spin-offs appeared, when Ali Akbar Khan decided he wanted a permanent California branch of his Calcutta college. The Ali Akbar College of Music was established and thrives to this day in San Rafael, now in its twenty-sixth year. At the age of 82, he will perform at Marin Center this Saturday. 

Telegraph Avenue was hectic that summer, so when ASEA moved back to Mills College the faculty and students appreciated the peaceful surroundings. Now classes were fully accredited. Sarangi player Ram Narayan joined the Indian faculty while Benedictus Suharto and his wife, Senik, started Indonesian dance classes. In August, KFPA in cooperation with ASEA held an Indian Festival including 18 radio programs, many being interviews and performances by ASEA artists. The festival included two concerts at the Berkeley Little Theatre, the first by Banerjee being broadcast live. Kanai Dutta joined Banerjee on tabla for the fall tour and then returned to teach for the next three summers. In 1969, the Indonesian program included gamelan and shadow puppet master Oemartopo, who gave an all-night outdoor performance at Mills in 1969. A summer program started in Bali in 1971. 

In 1974 an opportunity arose. Old St. John’s Presbyterian Church on College Avenue, designed by Julia Morgan, was threatened with demolition after the congregation moved to a new church, so Sam Scripps stepped in and bought the building. A stage was built, space was arranged for classrooms, and ASEA opened the Center for World Music (CWM).  

Bob Brown assembled a large cast, first for a spring session and for the summer a faculty of 45 including master Indonesian dancers Maridi, Nugraha, Irawati, Nyoman and Nanik Wenten, and other dancers, musicians and puppeteers from Java, Sunda, and Bali.Balasaraswati returned with her daughter Lakshmi to teach dance, and Lakshmi made her U.S. debut on the newly built stage. 

The South India music faculty also included the finest musicians available including vocalist K.V. Narayanaswamy, violinist T.N. Krishnan, drummer Palgut Raghu, and the ghatam clay pot drummer Vinayakram. C.K. Ladzekpo taught African dance and music. Medieval European music classes by Music for a While provided counter-point to Steve Reich’s New American Music, and Laura Dean offered new ideas for dancers. Composer Lou Harrison joined the faculty for the Chinese and World Music courses. During that year sixty concerts were presented, culminating with the First Berkeley World Music Festival in August. But by year’s end funds were running out. 

During 1975 there were many benefit concerts and a smaller faculty, and there was a Second World Music Festival. Ultimately the old church building had to be sold, the ASEA organization became the Center for World Music, and Sam Scripps donated the Javanese gamelan, with a fund for Wasitodipuro to continuing teaching, to the University of California at Berkeley’s Music Department where it is still played today. It was only due to the perseverance of Robert Brown that the Center survived, first with summer programs at various venues, finally settling in San Diego in 1979. The summer program in Bali has continued over the past three decades.  

Balasaraswati and many of her fellow musicians from India and performers from Indonesia are no longer with us. However, on Friday, August 20, the Julia Morgan Center stage will see dancing by Balasaraswati’s grandson Aniruddha, accompanied by his father Doug Knight on mridangam and musicians from India. The next day, Saturday, Aug. 21, there is a reunion of students, faculty, and staff at the new St. John’s Presbyterian Church, across the street from the old church, now the Julia Morgan Center. It is fitting that later the same day, Ali Akbar Khan and his son Alam will perform at Marin Center in San Rafael. The two artists who inspired the first major programs at ASEA, Balasaraswati in the form of her grandson, and Ali Akbar Khan, will thus provide the beginning and the end of the reunion. 

Graeme Vanderstoel was director of programs at ASEA 1966-1970, and concert manager for CWM in 1974. 

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 13 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “A Delicate Balance” by Edward Albee. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman, through Aug 14. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Alameda Civic Light Opera “Bye Bye Birdie,” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 2 p.m. to Aug. 22. Kofman Auditorium, 2220 Central Ave. in Alameda. Tickets are $23-$25. 864-2256. www.aclo.com 

Berkeley Russian School, “Mademoiselle Nitouche” at 5 p.m. at Thousand Oaks Baptist Church, 1821 Catalina Ave. at Colusa. Tickets are $5. 526-8892. 

California Shakespeare Theater, “The Importance of Being Ernest” Tues.-Fri. at 7:30 p.m., Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. at the Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, through Sept. 3. Tickets are $13-$32. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “My Fair Lady,” directed by Michael Manley, through Aug. 14, Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2 p.m. Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave, El Cerrito. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Shotgun Players “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. in John Hinkel Park, Southampton Ave., until Aug 29. 841-6500. wwwshotgunplayers.org 

Stage Door Conservatory, “Annie” performed by local teenagers, at 7 p.m. Fri. and Sat, 5:30 p.m. Sun at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$20 available at the door. www.juliamorgan.org 

Woodminster Summer Musicals, “The Will Rogers Follies” at 8 p.m., Thurs.-Sun. in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland. Tickets are $19-$31 available from 531-9597. www.woodminster.com 

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “Ossessoine” at 7 p.m. and “The Witch Burned Alive” at 9:35 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Osun Festival, honoring the Nigerian River Goddess and celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora. Nigerian dances and drummers at 7 p.m. at the Malong Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 14th and Alice Sts., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 595-1471. 

Dave Ellis at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Ballet Counterpointe Rep of Berkeley presents “Works in Motion” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at ODC Theater; 3153 17th St. at Shotwell, SF. Tickets are $15-$18. 415-863-9834. www.odctheater.org 

Steve Smulian, past performer with Bread and Roses, will give an acoustic guitar benefit concert, 7:30 p.m. at 5951 College Ave., College Ave. Presbyterian Church. Donation taken for community meal. 658-3665.  

Kami Nixon and Friends at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Jack Williams, original and traditional southern American folk music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

How Salsa Arrived in Cuba a dance performance by Salsa Rueda Cuba at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Tap Roots & New Growth with Jaojoby. Lecture and demonstration with Emmanuel Nado and Jaojoby at 8 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenez. Cost is $15 for lecture and concert, $5 for concert only. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

The People, Sacred Journey at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

East West Quintet at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Cost is $8-$15. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Kapunik, The Cables, Secret Synthi at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com  

Joshi Marshall at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Beth Robinson, singer, songwriter at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

Modern Life is War, One Up, Still Crossed, At Risk at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Elaine Elias Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 

CHILDREN 

“Wild About Books” storytime at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Encaustic Exposed” featuring works by Ann Baldwin, Paula De Joie, Hylla Evans, Gera Hasse, Sandi Miot, Ricki Mountain, and Heather Patterson. Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Fourth Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600. www.fourthstreetstudio.com  

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “The Leopord” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“African Cultural Diaspora” with Luisah Teish at 4 p.m. at the American Indian Public Charter School, 3637 Magee, Oakland. $10 donation requested. 595-1471. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Osun Festival, honoring the Nigerian River Goddess and celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora. Nigerian dances and drummers at 7 p.m. at the Malongs Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 14th and Alice Sts., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 595-1471. 

Bill Ortiz: A Tribute to Miles at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Point Richmond Music Festival from noon to 7 p.m. with performances by Masquer’s Theater Kids, Nic Bearde, Reed Fromer and Friends, David Thom, Ya Elah, The Outbacks, and many more. 117 Park Place, Richmond. 236-1401.  

www.pointrichmond.com/prmusic 

Sistahs Strong an evening of music, spoken word and dance to benefit the 2005 National Black Lesbian Conference Scholarship Fund, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Tap Roots & New Growth with Near East Far West at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance lesson with Amel Tafout at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. Discount if you bring your receipt from the Aug. 12 lecture. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Angel Magik at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $20. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Gris, Gris, Eddie Gale, Mushroom at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Shana Morrison & Caledonia, Celtic and r&b fusion, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nick Luca Trio 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 

Mel Sharpe Big Money in Jazz Band at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Sky Nelson, singer, songwriter at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Mandrake, acoustic quartet at 8 p.m. at Ego Park Gallery, 492 23rd St., Oakland. For all ages. Cost is $3-$5.  

Ponticello, a violin, bass, drums trio from L.A. at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Barbary Coast by Night Join maestro Omar for an evening of authentic music and food from Algeria. Every Sat. at 7 p.m. at Cafe Raphael’s, 10064 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito. 525-4227. 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 15 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley Art Center Juried Exhibition opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “The Job” at 4:15 p.m., “The Witch Burned Alive” at 5:30 p.m. and “Ossessione” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Invincible” at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Suggested donation $2. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

East Bay Chamber Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. 

www.berkeleyartcenter.org  

Americana Unplugged: The Thompson String Ticklers with Suzy and Eric Thompson, vintage hillbilly and ragtime, at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Fely at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Lost Trio, CD release party, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Admission is free, donations encouraged.  

www.thejazzhouse.org 

Faruk & Ali Erdemesel, traditional music from Turkey, 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 

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

MONDAY, AUGUST 16 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Elements of the Garden” sculpture by Trent Burkett, opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 1111 Broadway.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Express featuring Ross Cantalupo from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Rebecca Parris with the Larry Dunlop Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 17 

FILM 

Time’s Shadow: “Ruins” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Black Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival opens at 6 p.m. at the Parkway Speakeasy, 1834 Park Blvd. and runs through Aug. 22. 814-2400. www.apeb.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Hamsa Lila at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Richard M. Krawczyk discusses his new book “Financial Aerobics” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

King David String Ensemble, comprised of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union, at 7:30 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $15-$20 available from 925-798-1300.  

Dick Conte Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jazz House Jam, hosted by Darrell Green and Geechy Taylor, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5.  

www.thejazzhouse.com 

George Cables with Gary Bartz, Eric Revis and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Also on Wed. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

school at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18 

THEATER 

“John Muir’s Mountain Days,” a musical, to Aug. 29 at the Alhambra Performing Arts Center, 150 E St., Martinez. Call for show times and reservations, 925-798-1300.  

www.willowstheatre.org  

FILM 

Exploit-O-Scope: “Dementia 13” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oakland Open Stage with poets and playwrites including Marc Bathmuthi Joseph, Aya De Leon, and Hanifah Walidah at 8 p.m. at The Oakland Box. Cost is $10. 

www.openstagefest.com 

Café Poetry hosted by Paradise Freejahlove at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Zydeco Flames at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Zydeco dance lesson with Diana Castillo at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ben Adams Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Bearfoot, youthful bluegrass ensemble from Colorado, 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 

Whiskey Brothers at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Ducksan Distones play straight ahead jazz at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Cost is $8-$15 sliding scale.  

www.thejazzhouse.org 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Past and Present Connection” an exhibition featuring local print artists and selected artists with disabilities. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Niad Art Center, 551 23rd St., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niadart.org 

“Pieces of Cloth, Pieces of Culture” An exhibition of Tapa from Tonga and the Pacific Islands. Gallery tour at 5 p.m. and documentary screening at 6:30 p.m. Through Sept. 7 at the Craft and Cultural Art Gallery, State of California Office Building, 1515 Clay St., Oakland. 

“Elements of the Garden” sculpture by Trent Burkett. Reception from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1111 Broadway.  

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “The Leopard” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Ulin discusses earthquakes in “The Myth of Solid Ground” 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 Bert Glick and Randy Fingland at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Open Stage with the new music of Hanifah Walidah, Tim’m West and Nonameka at 8 p.m. at Oaklandish, Jack London Square. Cost is $10. www.openstagefest.com  

The Dunes at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Phil Marsh, original and traditional folk, 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 

7th Direction, Saul Kaye Band at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Brian Kane at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Aaron Novick plays jazz originals at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Cost is $8-$15 sliding scale. www.thejazzhouse.com 

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

Ron Carter Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazz Mine, string swing jazz quartet, at 6:30 p.m. at King Tsin Chinese Restaurant, 1699 Solano Ave. www.jazzmine.net 

Circlesinging Workshop with David Worm of SoVoSó from 7 to 9 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison, Oakland. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale, no one turned away. Resevations suggested. 444-8511, ext. 15. www.artsfirstoakland.org 

One of the most satisfying and relaxing rides you can take in the Bay Area is a tour of local artisan cheese producers in Sonoma and Marin counties. Starting with Vella’s Cheese in Sonoma and ending at Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, the trip is about 100 miles roundtrip from Berkeley.  

The late summer Sonoma and Marin rural terrain radiates a golden Wild West feeling that makes you want to abandon city life for the dirt and dust of cowboy movies. Just turning east off Highway 101 onto Highway 37 north of Terra Linda evokes a sigh of relief. It’s the beginning of my cheese tour.  

Following the signs to Sonoma, find Vella’s Cheese on Second Street East, a block east and a block north of the northeast corner of Sonoma Plaza and Mission San Francisco de Solano. Located in a stone building that once housed a brewery, the tiny cheese producer wins medals all over the world, particularly for its Dry Jack.  

Vella’s Cheese proprietor Ignazio (Ig) Vella served as a Sonoma Country supervisor and director of the Sonoma County Fair. With cheesemaker Roger Ranniker, Vella makes sensational lightly salted butter, a creamy blue cheese, a Toma soft ripened Piedmontese-style cheese, and a perfect Asiago. Vella’s high moisture Monterey Jack comes au naturel, and is also available in spicy flavors, all of which are achieved with natural ingredients such as Mezzetta peppers and garlic from the Sacramento Valley. The Vella partially dry jack and cheddars are mouthwatering. The company shop also sells Laura Chenel’s goat cheeses (since she isn’t open to the public), as well as crackers and sausages. The proprietor is usually around to answer questions. 

Vella gets all of its milk from Mertens Dairy about three miles south in Schellville, where cows ingest no growth hormones or animal products. All Vella cheeses are made with vegetable coagulant, not animal rennet. Orange colorings come from annatto seed, and all cheeses include a maximum salt content of one percent by volume. 

While you are in Sonoma, be sure to visit Ig Vella’s daughter’s cheese shop, appropriately called The Cheesemaker’s Daughter, on East Napa Street just a half block east of the Plaza. Ditty Vella and partner Gary Edwards carry the finest imported cheeses anywhere, Nan McAvoy olive oils, divine natural Greek yoghurt with honey, local breads, and the best gelatos and coffees. Ditty encourages tasting as part of your educational and cultural experience! 

The Sonoma Cheese Factory on Spain Street on the north side of Sonoma Plaza offers cheeses and decent sandwiches and hamburgers, but no longer makes cheese here. 

To get to Spring Hill Jersey Cheese west of Petaluma, take Hwy. 116 to Hwy. 101. From 101 take the Washington Street exit and go west. Washington Street’s name becomes Bodega Avenue (some places called Bodega Highway). Follow it eight miles and turn left onto Spring Hill Road at Two Rock Church. After one mile you arrive at 4235 Spring Hill Road, with pumpkin and potato patches in front and a long, straight dusty driveway back to the barns, cheese “factory,” tasting room, milking station, and calf hutches. Owner Larry Peter lives in the main house, a classic 1876 Sears Catalog relic.  

Spring Hill is a rare find: it makes estate grown cheeses. Peter sold his car and got around Petaluma for five years on a bike to save money, buy a house, fix it up and sell it—all to start this farm and make cheese. 

He keeps only Jersey cows, because their milk contains higher butter fat content, although they produce less milk than Holsteins. They are milked right outside the cheesemaking building, and the milk goes directly into the pasteurizer and cheese vats. Spring Hill produces delectable quark, ricotta, cheddars and jacks, fresh curd, Gianna (like Taleggio), Dry Jack (his just beat mentor Vella’s at the International Cheese Competition), Old World Portuguese, a brie, and a dry brie, all with no antibiotics, additives, or preservatives. 

If you have time to venture out to Sebastopol, visit a real Portuguese-American cheesemaker, Joe Matos, at his Jose Matos Cheese Factory, at 3669 Llano Road. From the Azores, Joe makes just one fabulous cheese: white, called St. George. 

Otherwise, turn right as you leave Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, then turn right on Chilean Valley Road, and right (west) on the Petaluma-Pt. Reyes Station Road, which will take you quickly to Marin French Cheese Co., formerly known as Rouge et Noir, just southwest of Novato Boulevard, and then on to Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes Station. Marin French Cheese Co. majors in bries and camemberts, some with flavorings, but also makes Schloss and Breakfast cheeses. Try samples of Triple Crème Brie, Quark, and Crème Fraiche. They also use non-animal rennet and Jersey milk. Here you can buy soft drinks, sandwiches (romaine lettuce in separate bag), Marin and Sonoma wines, shirts, and even pot holders. Kids can fish in the pond, while loads of people enjoy picnic tables, Frisbee, and a generally delightful atmosphere. Great place to stop on your bike. 

Continue out westward to Point Reyes’ Cowgirl Creamery and Tomales Bay Foods, both located in a redone Giacomini family barn. Chefs Sue Conley and Peggy Smith started Tomales Bay Foods, a much-needed assemblage of fine local produce, wines, deli, espresso drinks, and Strauss Family Ice Cream. With friend and cheese director Maureen Cunnie, Cowgirl cheeses are made exclusively with Strauss Family Dairy organic milk, which comes from the dairy a few miles north in Marshall, also the home of Hog Island Oysters. You can usually watch cheesemaking in progress in the tiny tidy glassed-in factory.  

Be sure to try Cowgirl’s Red Hawk, Mt. Tam, St. Pat, clabbered cottage cheese, fromage blanc, and crème fraiche. They also offer the best of other producers’ cheeses from around the world, including Point Reyes Original Blue by the Giacomini family, Joe Matos’ St. George, a special selection from famed Neal’s Yard in London, and Redwood Hill Camellia. Top it off with a memorable Strauss Family Farm ice cream cone, and you are equipped for the drive back to Berkeley. Enjoy! 

Kathleen Hill is co-author with husband Gerald Hill of Sonoma Valley-The Secret Wine Country. 

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In what one prominent Berkeley progressive—Jaqueline DeBose—angrily said “appears to be a gentrified left-wing conspiracy,” the 20-year City Council career of Berkeley legend Maudelle Shirek may have come to an abrupt end last week when her campaign for re-election was disqualified by the Berkeley city clerk’s office. 

The decision came around 7:30 p.m. last Friday night, two and a half hours after Shirek’s nominating petition had been turned in at the close of filing for the District 3 seat. City Clerk Sherry Kelly said she immediately telephoned longtime Shirek aide Mike Berkowitz to inform him that Shirek would not be placed on November’s ballot because only nine of the signatures on the petition were valid, 11 short of the 20 needed. 

Fourteen of the 25 signatures on Shirek’s petition were from Berkeley citizens who lived outside District 3. Last March, Berkeley voters passed a City Council-sponsored ballot measure mandating that council nominating petitions be gathered only inside the district in which the candidate was running. Prior to this year, candidates could gather petitions from registered voters living anywhere in the city. 

By late Monday afternoon, Berkowitz said that Shirek’s office was considering challenging Kelly’s ruling, and that he was consulting with the law office of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell of San Leandro. 

Attorney and former City Councilmember Don Jelinek—one of the petition signators—said, however, that “I don’t think it can be challenged—they had a whole weekend to be calling around for legal help." 

Meanwhile, using the state election code procedures when an incumbent fails to qualify for re-election, the city clerk’s office extended the District 3 filing until 5 p.m. Wednesday for any possible new challengers. Outgoing Rent Stabilization Board Chair Maxwell Anderson and political newcomer Jeffrey Benefiel had already filed for the District 3 seat. Following the announcement of the Shirek disqualification, consultant James Peterson—who lost to Shirek in 2000—picked up nomination papers from the clerk’s office, saying at press time that he had not decided whether or not he would run. 

Berkowitz released the following statement on the situation: “My job is to check all of the registration materials before they go in and I failed to check all of the signatures against the requirements of the new law. I’ve heard people blame the signature gatherers, the law, the city clerk, and even Maudelle. That’s wrong. I had the final responsibility, as I’ve had the last 20 years. I was totally wrong.” 

In addition to being Shirek’s aide, Berkowitz is the chief of Information Services and Neighborhood Planning in the City of San Francisco Planning Department. 

Shirek did not return telephone calls in connection with this article. Another long-time aide, Dale Bartlett, declined to make a statement on Monday afternoon, saying it was “too crazy around here to talk today.” 

Ninth District Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a longtime Shirek supporter, said that “it’s tragic that a staff mistake would end a great and brilliant career in this way. Maudelle Shirek should make her own decision based on whatever options are available to her, and we will support her in whatever her decision is.” 

DeBose did not elaborate on her charges of a conspiracy against Shirek, but asked if she didn’t think the petition failure might have been inadvertent, she said “Mike [Berkowitz] has been [Shirek’s] campaign manager from the beginning. How many times has she run? Five times? That’s your answer.” DeBose said that Shirek was “probably the last person on City Council who votes consistently with compassion and conviction on progressive issues. She’s a mosquito on the collar. She’s ‘too left’ for the gentrified left in Berkeley.” 

DeBose also took a swipe at Mayor Tom Bates, who was quoted in a local paper as saying that Shirek’s disqualification might have been a “blessing in disguise” for the long-term councilmember, since she was headed for a “difficult election” against “a formidable opponent.” 

In a reference to Bates’ infamous newspaper-trashing incident during his 2002 election, DeBose said “Yes, maybe it would be a difficult campaign for Maudelle if she has to go out in the middle of the night and steal 5,000 newspapers. You need a younger person to do that.”  

Shirek’s office took out the nominating petition papers from the clerk’s office on July 30. City Clerk Kelly said that—as is done with all city office candidates, whether or not they are incumbents—her office conducted a half-hour briefing of Shirek and Bartlett at the time the petitions were picked up, informing them of all of the pertinent election laws. Kelly said that the briefing included the information that signatures had to be gathered from voters living within the district. In addition, the information with the new signature law is readily available to the public, both on the city’s website and on a candidate pamphlet handout which is on the public information racks in the clerk’s office at City Hall. Kelly said that Berkowitz was not present at that briefing, but said that it was her understanding that the responsibility for the petitions was passed on from Bartlett to Berkowitz. 

Kelly said that she “encourage[s] candidates to file their petitions early” because of the possibilities of nominating petition problems surfacing at the last minute. Kelly said that the petitions of three other City Council candidates were returned to the candidates “early on Friday” because of signature problems. Because those individuals were candidates in districts whose nominations did not close until Wednesday, they will be allowed to resubmit the petitions. 

Shirek’s office did not begin gathering signatures until Thursday afternoon of last week, the day before the deadline. Berkowitz obtained as many as six signatures on the petition that afternoon, including those of Police Review Commission member Jacqueline DeBose and her husband, Charles, who live in District 3. The DeBoses said they did not fill in their addresses on the petition. Those addresses were later added to the petition when it was turned in, but—because the addresses were incorrect and did not match the DeBoses’ address on their registration certificates—the DeBoses’ signatures were also disqualified by the city clerk’s office. 

On Thursday evening, during a Shirek campaign committee meeting, Berkowitz turned the signatures over to campaign volunteer Jae Scharlin, asking her to complete the petition. Scharlin, who expressed anguish over the situation, said that she received a list of suggested signators from Berkowitz, which included citizens from both inside and outside District 3. Scharlin said “at least two” of the petition signers questioned whether outsiders could sign the petitions, but she did not pay attention because she was working from Berkowitz’ list, and assumed he knew what he was doing. 

Jelinek said, "The irony is that I was on a long distance call when Jaye Scharlin came with the petition, and she had flipped it to the second page, so I thought it was to get the filing fee waived. It’s the first time Mike didn’t do it himself. I was just stunned when I got the call [telling me that the petition had been disqualified], and I feel very sad for the pain I know Maudelle is feeling now.” 

Scharlin obtained the rest of the 25 signatures on Friday, and returned the nominating petition to Berkowitz on Friday afternoon. Berkowitz turned the nominating petition in to the clerk’s office on Friday a few moments before the 5 p.m. deadline, after signing an affidavit certifying that he had circulated the petition himself, and that he had “witnessed the appended sponsor’s signatures being written in [his] presence.” 

Berkowitz said later that turning in nominating petitions near the deadline was standard political procedure in Berkeley, and was done to keep potential opponents off balance. 

“It hurts,” he said. “She’s the one I love. She’s the godmother of my child. She’s someone I’ve worked and struggled with for more than 30 years.”?

Three challengers will be taking on two incumbents for two seats on the school board for the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) in the November elections. Norine Smith, a San Francisco native and 33-year-resident of Berkeley, will repeat her 2000 challenge to longtime incumbent Councilmember Betty Olds for the District 6 Berkeley City Council seat. Filing remains open until Wednesday evening for council districts 2, 3, and 5, and for four seats on the nine-member Rent Stabilization Board. 

These were the preliminary results after the initial round of filing closed last Friday evening for City of Berkeley elected positions. 

John Selawsky and Joaquin Rivera are the two school board incumbents running for re-election. 

Selawsky, a Brooklyn native, presently serves as president of the school board. In his official campaign statement, he says that while the district has been forced to make cutbacks “in this era of shrinking resources...during my term...we have restored fiscal integrity and rebuilt budget, payroll, and personnel systems, successfully preventing a state takeover.” Selawsky pledged to “continue to ensure fiscal and instructional accountability and improvement (and) advance legal and community defenses of our District integration plan...” 

Rivera, a San Juan, Puerto Rico native, also took credit for “significant progress during [his] last term; we adopted a fiscal recovery plan, balancing our budget without State intervention; [and] improved student achievement with several schools gaining recognition...” He said that during the next four years, “I want to lead our district as we develop and implement a strategic plan to: further improve accountability, restructure Berkeley High School; and adopt new strategies to close the achievement gap while improving the academic performance of all students.” 

Challenging Selawsky and Rivera are Social Policy Director Kalima Rose, City Clerk/Administrator Karen Hemphill, and community volunteer Merrilie Mitchell. Rose and Hemphill have listed each other as supporters in the election. 

Sacramento native Rose, who has served on the BUSD Healthy Start Collaborative and the BHS Small Schools Transition Team, cites her qualifications as 15 years of “nonprofit policy experience in low-income housing, community development and civil rights; my strong fiscal analysis skills; and my deep commitment to the success of all youth in this community.” Rose lists her goal as “to secure ... promising reforms and spread their successes to the other schools in the district.” 

Washington, D.C. native Hemphill has served on the District Advisory Committee and BSEP Planning and Oversight Committee. A parent of two sons in the district, she says she supports “creating a safe nurturing environment, facilitating parent and student leadership, and raising the level of accountability.” She says that “I believe my long involvement in various school and BUSD committees, my experience in public policy, public finance and organizational development...and coming from a family of teachers prepares and qualifies me...” 

Oceanside, New York, native Mitchell has served on the Berkeley Safe Neighborhood Association and the Council of Neighborhood Associations. She says “we need serious change on the school board—less politics, and more possibilities.” She wants to reduce class size (which she says is critical in order to retain our fine teachers) and “ to improve the quality of life in our school neighborhoods especially in South and West Berkeley where conditions may be scary, stressful, violent, and where polluted air causes asthma in youngsters.” 

Five challengers (Jesse Arreguin, Jon Crowder, Jack Harrison, Seth Morris, and Jason Overman) have already filed for the four open rent board seats, along with incumbent rent board commissioner Eleanor Walden.

Following howls of protest from libraries across the nation, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has rescinded a controversial order demanding that libraries destroy copies of a federal statute and accompanying regulations and documents. 

The mandate in question was sent to libraries designated by Washington as official depositories, where federal statutes, regulations and other documents are routinely shipped in order to make them available to the general public. 

“You don’t want to mess with the public documents librarians. They are the pit bulls of democracy,” said Patricia Ianuzzi, director of the Moffitt and Doe Libraries at UC Berkeley—the latter a designated federal depository. 

Ianuzzi said she had never heard of the feds trying to recall copies of legislation enacted by Congress, as Ashcroft attempted to do with the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, which had been shipped off to depositories four years ago. 

“I can only assume that the person who issued the order didn’t know what they were doing,” she said. 

The other documents on the recall list, sent to librarians on July 20 by federal Superintendent of Documents Judith C. Russell, included Civil and Criminal Forfeiture Procedure, Select Criminal Forfeiture Forms, Select Federal Asset Forfeiture Statutes, and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Resource Directory. 

The reason for Russell’s action? “The Department of Justice has determined that these materials are for internal use only,” she wrote. 

Under federal law, Russell is obliged to withdraw publications when requested by the agencies which had initially issued them, according to an article posted on LISNews.com, the website of Librarian & Information Science News. 

Michael Gorman, president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA), blasted the Justice Department move. 

“The topics addressed in the named documents include information on how citizens can retrieve items that may have been confiscated by the government during an investigation,” he wrote in an official statement issued on July 30. 

On learning of the mandatory withdrawal, the ALA filed a Freedom on Information Act request for the documents to force Ashcroft’s agency into issuing a statement on the “unusual action.” 

David Dodd, an executive with the San Francisco Public Library and chair of the California Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, said “the major effect on libraries by Mr. Ashcroft has been a raised awareness of potential threats to personal privacy, primarily via the portions of the PATRIOT Act (section 215 in particular) that give broad and unprecedented powers to the federal government. 

“Many librarians are increasingly conscious of our roles as guardians of our users’ privacy as an aspect of intellectual freedom—that is, the freedom to think and learn without fear of reprisal. This freedom is essential to the existence of a functioning, healthy democracy. And that’s what libraries are all about.” 

Dodd said the initial destruction order was sent via e-mail, and “several depository were holding off on compliance with the order to destroy the docs while they waited for the (official) paper notification.” 

The ALA’s Michael Gorman noted in his July 30 statement that written notification had not yet been issued. The written order never came before the Justice Department capitulated. 

Ianuzzi said previous orders to withdraw federal documents generally applied “to misinformation and in particular to misinformation that could lead to safety issues. Several years ago they recalled a geological CD-ROM because they feared the mapping system it used could be employed by terrorists for targeting attacks.”  

Dodd praised Bernie Margolis at the Boston Public Library as “foremost among those speaking out and questioning the order.” 

Ianuzzi said that the public doesn’t grasp the importance of free access to information, “and Republicans keep wanting to pull away from it.” 

While the Berkeley Public Library isn’t an official depository, Director of Library Services Jackie Griffin, a member of Dodd’s Intellectual Freedom committee, hailed the victory. 

“Once more, the librarian was mightier than the Ashcroft,” she quipped. “The American Library Association was all over it, and they capitulated.” 

Griffin said “Librarians have been more politically active under John Ashcroft. In a way, you have to thank the man.” 

›

Why are progressive staffers disappearing from San Francisco’s leading paper? In the past month, two staffers at the San Francisco Chronicle have quietly disappeared from their posts. Ruth Rosen, a progressive opinion columnist, was suspended without pay after she wrote a column criticizing the CEO of Curves for Women for supporting anti-abortion groups. Her supervisors accused her of spreading misinformation and of “disloyalty,” and Rosen eventually agreed to leave the paper. Two weeks later, William Pa tes was taken off his job as editor of the letters page after management learned that he had donated $400 to John Kerry. 

Taken alone, each of these cases might seem like an ordinary workplace dispute. But they are part of a larger pattern that has emerge d at the Chronicle in the last two years: heavy-handed enforcement of an ethics policy that strips workers of nearly all political rights, with particular scrutiny and hostility directed at progressives. There has been no open purge of liberal staffers, and little of the public outcry that such a measure might bring. But since 2002, at least six Chronicle employees have been fired, disciplined, or reassigned because they were suspected of bias toward progressive causes. 

The cumulative effect has been t o remove some of the most visible progressive voices from the paper’s pages—and, inevitably, to send a chilling message to media workers at the Chron and throughout the area. 

Conflict of interest? 

Several weeks ago, Grade the News, a media watchdog grou p, began a study of local media workers’ political contributions. The group found that Chronicle letters page editor William Pates had contributed $400 to John Kerry, and contacted him for comment. When Pates forwarded the voicemail to his boss, he was imme diately taken off his job and sent home on paid leave until a new assignment could be found for him. 

The problem—according to Pates’ boss, Editorial Page Editor John Diaz—was that Pates had violated the Chronicle’s ethics policy. The policy prohibit s employees from doing anything that would “create the appearance of a conflict of interest.” In Diaz’s interpretation, this means that virtually any political act or statement, except voting, is out of bounds. “A bumper sticker would definitely be a conc er n,” said Diaz. “Voting is a private act, but putting a bumper sticker on your car is a public statement.” 

Diaz emphasizes that the reassignment was “not a disciplinary measure—we’re not suggesting that [Pates] has been anything but professional.” Inst ead, t he move was intended to protect the paper from public suspicion of bias. “As letters page editor, Pates was in a gatekeeper role,” said Diaz. “It’s the nature of the job that your fairness is always questioned.” 

Doug Cuthbertson, executive officer of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, which represents Chronicle staff, says that Pates “acknowledges management’s right to determine his assignment.” But Pates, who has edited the letters page for decades, told the Associated Press that he was su rpri sed to be taken off his job. Since he worked for the editorial page—which publishes opinion articles, not “objective” news—he did not think the ethics policy applied to him. 

“Disloyal and embarrassing” 

On April 29, editorial columnist Ruth Rose n wr ote a column accusing Gary Heavin, CEO of the exercise chain Curves for Women, of donating $5 million to anti-abortion groups. Two weeks later, the Chronicle printed a lengthy correction that denied most of the information in the original column. 

The dis pute centered around the nature of three organizations that Heavin had supported. Rosen characterized them as “some of the most militant anti-abortion groups in the country.” In fact, the groups are religiously affiliated health agencies. While one of the m cou nsels pregnant women to avoid abortion, and another promotes abstinence for teens, none are directly involved in militant actions. The confusion seems to have stemmed from a letter posted on the website of Operation Save America, a truly mili tant pr o-life outfit. In the letter, the group’s assistant director claimed that Heavin donated to the health agencies at OSA’s request, as part of a conspiracy to destroy Planned Parenthood. 

More to the point, Rosen told Salon Magazine that a Curves public relations officer had confirmed all the facts in her column. But the person Rosen spoke with turned out to be a young relative of the CEO, filling in for the regular publicist. When the column was published, Heavin issued a press release denying any support of militant pro-life groups—and, rumor has it, threatened the Chronicle with legal action. 

The Chronicle then printed its correction, which disavowed most of the facts in Rosen’s column, but did not mention that they had been confirmed by a compa ny publi cist. In private responses to readers’ e-mails, Rosen explained the incident with the substitute publicist. When one such e-mail reached Rosen’s bosses, they got “very upset,” according to Cuthbertson, the union rep. “They thought the message was embarras sing a nd disloyal, since [Rosen] was publicly appearing to disagree with their position. She thought she was simply telling the truth.” 

Although Cuthbertson says that the Chronicle has no rule against publicly disagreeing with management, Rosen was suspended for three weeks, one of them without pay. The union filed a grievance, but Rosen eventually settled with the management and agreed to leave the paper. 

A pattern emerges 

Pates’ and Rosen’s cases are only the latest in a string of similar incidents: 

• In August 2002, the Chronicle canceled a regular column written by progressive feminist Stephanie Salter; the Chronicle’s publisher said that the column “didn’t resonate” with him. In protest, local activists organized two rallies, a letter-writing ca mpaign that generated 1,500 messages, and a “girlcott” of the paper. But the Chronicle was unmoved—Salter was reassigned as a features writer, and her column never appeared again. 

• In March 2003, technology reporter Henry Norr was suspended a nd then fir ed afte r he participated in civil disobedience at an anti-war rally. In a statement printed in the paper, managers claimed that Norr had violated the ethics policy, since “any journalist who assumes a prominent public role in any political is sue inevitab ly creat es the appearance of that conflict [of interest].” Norr argued that his activism created no conflict of interest, since he wrote about computers, not politics and war. He claimed that the true motive for his firing was retaliation fo r his opposit ion to th e Iraq war and the occupation of Palestine. Again, an outpouring of public support failed to move the Chronicle. Norr filed a union grievance and a criminal complaint, but the parties eventually settled out of court, and Norr never returned to h is job. (F ull disclosure: the author of this article is the daughter of Henry Norr.) 

• In March 2004, reporter Rachel Gordon and photographer Liz Mangelsdorf were barred from covering San Francisco’s same-sex marriages after they married each other. So me observer s compared the Chronicle’s actions to prohibiting black journalists from covering civil rights protests. Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty organized a support rally for Gordon and Mangelsdorf, and the National Association of Gay and Lesb ian Journali sts denounced the Chronicle’s move. Once again, managers did not respond. In this case, the Chronicle’s arguments about journalistic objectivity were rendered all the more bizarre by the paper’s enthusiastic support of gay marriage. It was an official spo nsor of this year’s marriage-themed Gay Pride Parade, ran pink advertisements proclaiming “We come out every day,” and posted an album of same-sex wedding pictures on its website. 

Credibility and ethics 

Chronicle managers justified most of these inciden ts by arguing that the paper must protect its credibility and avoid accusations of bias. But restricting workers’ political rights is not a standard component of respectable journalism. Ted Glasser, director of Stanford’s g raduate program in journalism, says that the ethics policy is “inappropriate, although unfortunately it’s not peculiar to the Chronicle.” 

First of all, reporters are human beings, and their biases won’t disappear simply because they’re not allowed to put bumper stickers on their cars. “The policy doesn’t prevent conflicts of interest, it just encourages employees to hide their interests,” said Glasser. This makes it more difficult for readers to critically evaluate what they read. 

Furthermore, “conflict of interest” usu ally refers to a situation where a reporter has a financial or personal stake in the subject she’s covering—like a business reporter who writes about a company she owns stock in. Chronicle managers have never explained how expressing a p olitical opinion c onstitutes a conflict of interest. “You can have interests and act professionally,” said Glasser. “In Pates’ case, the individual didn’t benefit in any way from his contribution, and there’s no evidence that he was biased.” 

But apart f rom the policy’s et hical problems, it’s patently illegal. California State Labor Code Section 1101 bars employers from “forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics.” Section 1102 reads, “No employer shall coerce or influence or attempt to c oerce or influe nce his employees through or by means of threat of discharge or loss of employment to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or following any particular course or line of political action or political activity.” The law allows up to year of jail time fo r bosses who violate these provisions—and it offers no exceptions for journalists or any other class of workers. 

Finally, the Chronicle’s stated commitment to neutrality conflicts rather glaringly with the behavior o f its top executives. While Pates’ $40 0 donation was labeled an ethical violation, George Hearst—chairman of the board of the Chronicle’s parent company—has donated $30,000 to Republican candidates and committees over the past three election years. (Info rmation on Hearst’s d onations is availa ble at the campaign finance website www.opensecrets.org). 

“This is one of the great hypocrisies of American journalism,” said Glasser. “These policies apply to rank-and-file reporters, not to managers. If you want to talk about conflicts of interest, let’s talk about it where it really matters.” 

John Diaz, the editorial page editor, would not comment on Hearst’s donations or their implications for Pates. “I address ethics in terms of my staff,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. You have to be true to yourself.” 

But Hearst’s contributions certainly create “the appearance of a conflict of interest”—especially since the ethics policy seems to be used mainly to silence employees who sympathize w ith progressive causes. Cuthbertson, the union rep, dismissed rumors of discrimination against liberals as “highly speculative.” But he could not name a single case in which a staffer was transferred, suspended or fired under suspicion of bias toward cons ervative causes. 

Look ing forward 

The si tuation at the Chronicle looks grim. The ethics policy is so far-reaching, and applied so aggressively—even to opinion writers—that it stifles critical political dialogue in the Chronicle’s pages. While top execu tives are free to suppo rt conservative caus es, writers may be afraid to voice opinions that diverge from those of their bosses. And it’s hard to imagine how any serious political analyst could be hired under the policy—people with original political ins ights tend to have opinions and to express th em publicly. 

While it can’t be pleasant for staffers to work under a McCarthy-style climate of suspicion toward progressive ideas, it’s the Chronicle’s readers who are hurt most by the policy. Anyone who reli es on the Chronicle for daily news will miss i mportant critical perspectives on local and national politics—an extraordinary loss in a mostly liberal community. 

As long as the San Francisco Chronicle continues to dominate local print media, it’s crucial for local activists to fight its repressive po licies. But it won’t be easy. While the ethics code is in clear violation of state law, employees who have been affected by it have so far chosen to settle privately instead of pursuing legal action. And the paper barely acknowledged the public outcry that Salter’s and Norr’s cases generated. Readers and activists will need to apply serious pressure to the Chronicle—or develop real, accessible alternatives—in order to bring diverse and progressive voices back into the local media. 

›

OWERRI, Nigeria—All summer long I’ve been a celebrity. Schoolboys clamor to greet me. Housewives invite me to their homes. Teenage girls scoop up and kiss my children. Burly security guards open doors for me. Thin roadside hawkers, confidently balancing on their heads baskets of eggs or consumer electronics, cluster excitedly around my car window. Everyone smiles, waves, shouts, “Oyibo! (Foreigner!) Welcome!”  

I’m not famous; I’m white. Better yet: American. This isn’t my country; it’s my husband’s. But in most parts of it, the red carpet so eagerly unrolled for me is swiftly jerked out from under his feet.  

My husband, Osy, is Igbo. And obviously so, with the round face, broad nose, stocky, muscular body and Southeastern accent that distinguish Igbos from Nigeria’s other major ethnic groups.  

It’s been said that the Igbos are the Jews of Africa. Like Jews, they were victims of a genocide attempt in a mid-20th century war (Biafran War, 1967-1970). They are deeply loyal, markedly religious, and famousl y hard working—and thus characterized as money-grubbing. They are marginalized and persecuted by fellow citizens, including the Yorba and Hausa/Fulani, who have dominated the mostly dictatorial government since Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, gained independence from Britain 44 years ago.  

What has surprised me, as a white (non-Jewish) middle-class American, is the overt nature of the discrimination. In the few weeks we’ve been in Nigeria, Osy has been denied access to public buildings, harassed by police and given shabby service at businesses, even as I’ve been granted boundless hospitality.  

Complicating matters: We aren’t here for fun and aren’t free to leave. Ours is a U.S. State Department-mandated, involuntary summer vacation. The U.S. imm igration system is requiring Osy, who entered the U.S. legally and has lived in California for eight years—gainfully employed, happily married, paying taxes, raising children—to apply for a new U.S. visa in Nigeria. In addition to a giant financial burden, the visa quest entails a tremendous amount of hoop jumping, made trickier by the mistreatment Osy gets.  

It started early in the trip. After a maddening experience at the San Francisco airport, during which we learned that Osy needed a “direct airside transit visa” to sit in Heathrow during the layover—but can’t get one without a U.S. green card—Osy flew on an African airline and met us in Lagos. Sans baggage. When Osy’s brother and nephew took us to the Lagos airport to retrieve the luggage days later, the Nigerian airport security guard refused to let the men into the building, even after seeing Osy’s baggage claim tickets, which bore Osy’s distinctly Igbo name.  

It was then that I spoke up and discovered the three magic words: “He’s with me.” The g uard stepped aside for all of us and said, “Welcome to Nigeria.”  

The scenario repeated at the uncannily Emerald City-like front gate to the Japanese Embassy, where Osy had to collect, as a U.S. visa requirement, a preordered police clearance for the fiv e years he lived years in Japan. The Nigerian guards denied him entry and shouted: “This is not a post office!” So I whipped out my passport, Old West style, and said, “He’s with me.” We were in. “Welcome to Nigeria.” The police report, vital to Osy’s vis a application, was waiting and would have collected dust there, had Osy gone alone. We snapped it up.  

This is how our trip has gone. Like an A-lister clubbing in Manhattan, I can get past all the bouncers. I just flash my pasty-white skin or my enchante d U.S. passport, and I’m past the velvet ropes with my previously rejected posse. It has worked for getting a parking space, entering the U.S. consulate, requesting medical forms and ordering breakfast.  

Only once did hostility toward Igbos outweigh hosp itality toward foreigners. We were returning to Lagos from a beach near the Benin Republic border with Osy’s brother Martin and our combined seven children, ages 4 to 8. Armed border guards and customs agents stopped the van literally a dozen times and th en, seeing me riding shotgun, quickly waved us on with a “Welcome to Nigeria.” But at the last roadblock, a Nigerian police officer demanded to see Martin’s license, confirmed aloud that Martin was from the Igbo region, and said he’d have to pay a fine fo r driving with an Anambra state license in Lagos. Then the officer climbed in the van, ordered Martin to drive, and extorted a “bribe.”  

After that, we left Lagos and headed east to Igboland, where Osy is regularly congratulated for snagging a young, childbearing foreigner; I’m still popular. Here, Southeastern-state governors convene to nominate an Igbo presidential candidate for Nigeria. Local rebels meet secretly to plan for a sovereign nation of seceding Southeastern states: a new Biafra. And I wait with my family for notice of Osy’s visa interview so that all of us, Igbo and oyibo alike, can go home to San Francisco.  

Karen Pojmann is a Bay Area freelance writer who is currently living in Nigeria.›e

Mayor Tom Bates, Councilmember Kriss Worthington, LeConte neighborhood resident Paul Rabinow and two city employees toast the new sign on Derby advertising the City of Berkeley’s ban on heavy vehicles, which applies to more than three dozen small residential streets.

Gunshots Hit Homes, Cars on Ashby  

A volley of 20 to 30 gunshots struck two dwellings and three cars Friday night shortly before 10:30 along the 1200 block of Ashby Avenue—just a block away from the scene where Mario “Tiptoe” Jackson became Berkeley’s first 2004 homicide victim. 

No one was injured in the attack. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said detectives are investigating the potentially lethal attack to see how it may be connected to the July 19 murder. 

Police also received reports of gunshots fired into a dwelling in that same block shortly before 2 a.m. that morning. 

Officer Injured in Assault by Runaway Driver  

A Berkeley Police officer sustained minor injuries while struggling with a driver who crashed a stolen Lexus sedan after Berkeley police tried to stop him for failure to yield the right of way Sunday afternoon. 

Officers had initially given chase, then abandoned it after the Lexus took off at high speed through city streets. 

Moments later the Lexus was spotted at 61st and Market Street, where it had come to a stop after crashing into a light standard. 

A BPD officer arriving at the scene soon found himself engaged in a struggle with the driver, and during the fracas sustained an arm cut that required stitches. 

A foot pursuit followed, and when officers captured the 30-year-old driver they discovered he was wanted for parole violations. 

Lark Q. Shivers was charged with a full suite of criminal violations, and if convicted may spend a considerable time in the custody of the State of California. 

The injured officer was treated and released. 

Swastika Scrawled on Berkeley Alternative School  

Vandals spray-painted a five-by-five-foot swastika on the wall of the Berkeley Alternative School at 2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Way sometime before noon on July 31. 

A Public Works Department crew was summoned to the scene and covered the offensive symbol with a coat of fresh paint. 

Police Log Multiple Robberies 

Berkeley officers have investigated a variety of robberies during the past two weeks, including: 

• A strongarm purse snatching at San Pablo Avenue and Channing Way on July 29 in which a woman purse-snatcher battered her victim. 

• An attempted purse snatch at Dwight Way and Etna Street later that same day. 

• A 3 a.m. Aug. 1 attempted armed robbery at Benvenue Avenue and Stuart Street where a gunman clad all in black, topped by a three-quarter-length black leather jacket and a black ski mask, backed off an attempt to rob a male victim. 

Less than 15 minutes later the same bandit accosted a couple at College Avenue and Parker Street and stole a camera after first trying to force them into their residence. 

• An older man shoved a pedestrian outside the Barnes and Noble store on Shattuck Avenue later in the day and made off with his books. 

• Two victims were robbed at Channing Way and Fourth Street shortly after midnight on Aug. 2. One victim lost cash and the other his car. 

• A pair of cyclists attempted to grab a woman’s groceries as she walked near Fifth and Delaware streets. 

• A Fourth Street pedestrian reluctantly handed over his iPod to a gang of four or five juveniles who threatened him with a beating should he have failed to comply. A police search of the area nabbed four suspects, including one they charged with receiving stolen property. 

• Confronted early Sunday by a bandit who approached him from behind, jammed something hard against his skull and demanded money, a pedestrian strolling Ashby Avenue near the corner of Ellsworth Street complied. The suspect fled, sight unseen. 

• Three juveniles jumped a man around 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Ohlone Park, making off with his cash. 

Brawler Swings, Hits Cop 

When a Berkeley officer attempted to break up fisticuffs on Telegraph Avenue at Durant Street on July 31, one of the brawlers mistakenly landed a punch on the officer, earning himself a more serious charge. 

Diners Greeted by Disgusting Sight 

Saturday night diners at a Shattuck Avenue restaurant may have lost their appetites after a 59-year-old Berkeley man stood outside the front window and proceeded to expose and gratify himself. 

Police booked him for indecent exposure and probation violation.

I received an e-mail about a column I wrote several weeks ago. The writer said, “Tell your friends, the Scrabblettes, that they’re not following Scrabble rules. The first player must start with a four-letter word. Unless my ability to count is off, kea, a word your co-player Louise used, does not have four letters. Plus, you left out an important part of the definition of a kea. It is a green New Zealand parrot that kills sheep by TEARING AT THEIR BACKS TO EAT THE FAT THERE (Webster’s New Universal Unabr idged Dictionary, page 996). If you want to lead off with an acceptable parrot, try the kakapo, also green, and also from New Zealand. It does not have a breastbone and so it is the only bird of the parrot species (psittaciformes) that cannot fly. It is o ften misidentified as an owl, eats only at night, and stays in holes in the ground during the day.” 

I thanked the e-mail writer for his input, but pointed out to him that Scrabble websites including www.hasbro.com/scrabble, www.scrabble-assoc.com, and www.scrabblelinks.com clearly state that the first move can be made with two or more letters. Furthermore, there is only one K in a Scrabble set, (worth a whopping five points), and therefore kakapo cannot be used in the game, unless one employs a blank. A Scrabblette would never use a blank during the first move except to make “bingo”, the use of seven letters, resulting in 50 points, plus the score of the word, plus doubled because it is the lead-off word. Scrabblette’s hoard their blanks, of which there are only two. And one more thing, I added. According to the website www.earthlife.net/birds/psittaciformes.html, keas are misunderstood. They do not rip off the backs of sheep and eat their flesh. They are simply trying to get at blowfly larvae, which live within sheep wool. Blowfly, by the way, is a great Scrabble word because one can add the word fly to blow, which would provide an additional nine points, 18 if it’s on a double word score.  

The Scrabblettes are lax about some rules, but firm on others. They were stricter before the recent death of Elizabeth Hansen, one of the founding members of the Scrabblettes and the official rule keeper. Bipsi (as she was known by close friends) insisted that the Scrabblettes start on time (during dessert, not afte r), and complained when someone took too long to make a move. She forbade looking up a word in the dictionary until after it was played. Although the Scrabblettes are too polite for hardcore challenging, Bipsi made sure that fake words did not appear on t he board. Now that Bipsi is gone, the Scrabblettes tend to linger longer over lunch and are constantly looking up words in the dictionary before playing them. Bipsi would be very unhappy about this turn of events.  

Like the rest of the Scrabblettes, Bips i was a remarkable woman. A 1949 graduate of the University of Colorado, she grew up in New Orleans. From strong Norwegian stock, she loved to hike, ski, swim, and bike. She was a patron of the arts, volunteering at the SFMOMA library, attending local the ater productions, and seeing all the latest foreign films. Single and independent, Bipsi adopted a child in 1969, and raised her to be a responsible member of society; a wife, a mother, and a Democrat. 

After retiring from teaching English at Castro Valle y High School, Bipsi was a volunteer for Reading Partners at Piedmont Elementary School, an Oakland public school located a block from her home. The program offers students in grades K through 5 a chance to read for pleasure with an adult partner. Volunteers read once a week, one-on-one with two students for 30 minutes each. Since its inception 10 years ago, the program has grown to include 30 volunteers and 60 students. But there’s a waitlist of students who want a reading partner. For more information, to make a cash donation for books in Bipsi’s name, or to volunteer, call Ruby Long at 595-9514. Bipsi, ever impatient to move things along, and to spell words correctly, would be grateful.  

›t

NATURE ARTICLES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Just wanted to say how much I’ve been enjoying the articles by Ron Sullivan and Joe Eaton about the various trees, birds, etc. in our region. I find the articles on trees especially rewarding; I love all the trees I see as I walk around town year after year, but don’t always know what to call them....and guidebooks are usually of limited value. 

Anyway, I hope you keep the series coming. I expect it’s much appreciated by many. 

Kerry McDaniel 

• 

HARMING THE COUNTRY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Maybe for once Bush spoke the truth with his classical Freudian slip when he said that he and his administration never stop thinking of new ways to harm our country and our people. Maybe he is cracking up a little under the undoubtedly tremendous strain of having to continually lie about his many awful policies. Maybe his repressed conscience is finally breaking through his corporate persona and he is feeling guilty about the years of misery that he has visited upon the peoples of Afghanistan, Iraq and America. Maybe his thinking has become clouded since he has been on heavy-duty anti-depressant prescription drugs since his July 9 outburst and stomping off the stage when he was questioned about his long-term relationship with Kenneth “Kenny Boy” Lay, the indicted former CEO of Enron Corporation. Maybe.  

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

• 

SHOW AND TELL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I would love an opportunity to sincerely apologize to the Berkeley Unified School District, if I’m mistaken. This is in response to BUSD’s Aug. 6 letter on the new BHS building’s energy use. My information came from Chevron, which had written up an energy audit proposal at BUSD’s request. If there’s been another energy audit, please show the public. As another writer wrote earlier, please show us your power bills for the high school for six months before and six months after the new building. Show and tell is a hallowed school tradition. 

Yolanda Huang 

• 

DAVID BROWER MEMORIAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley does not need a massive memorial to David Brower on its waterfront, something that Brower himself would doubtless object to. As a former Waterfront Commissioner, I remember how fervently Berkeleyans fought to keep our waterfront free of objects that would only diminish its magnificence. 

Alan Goldfarb 

• 

BERKELEY BOWL UNION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In his article “Berkeley Bowl Employees Win Right to Unionize” (Daily Planet, Aug. 6-9), Mr. Schiller misuses the word “win.” In fact, the employees voted AGAINST unionization, but are now being forced to unionize because of a settlement among three parties: the union, the bowl, and a couple of ex-employees. The “winner” was the union, not the employees. 

Robert Kavaler 

›

We have read the report of the external review of the collaborative research agreement between Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute, Inc. (NADI) and the Regents of the University of California. We were pleased to learn the history of the “bidding approach” suggested for selecting corporate partners for the university. We were also pleased to receive assurance from the reviewers that the UCB agreement (the UCB-N deal) had minimal direct impacts on the university, but not excluding the College of Natural Resources (CNR). This conclusion was reached without asking the question “what would have happen if the UBC-N deal had not been brought to light?” by a courageous CNR Executive Committee (EXCOM) ably chaired by a vulnerable untenured Assistant Professor Ignacio Chapela. EXCOM (one of us was a member, APG) enabled a faculty review despite excessive pressure from the dean’s office to rapidly ratify the agreement. The report also assumes at Berkeley that the rise of biotechnology and the fall of applied agricultural fields such as biological control, plant pathology, soils and others is just part of the natural progress of science; a mere part of the process of modernization. In fact, according to the review, the “deal” appears consistent with the universities adjusting to the emerging norms of university-based economic development” and gives the impression that science at Berkeley is protected from the influence of politics and corporate power.  

Although the reviewers identified the divide between faculty engaged in research in conventional agriculture and those who research alternative forms such as agroecology, sustainable agriculture and biological control, the report doesn’t emphasize the clear fact that researchers working on alternative agriculture identify with goals congruent with the public mission of the university’s Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) (e.g. protecting farmers, farm workers, the public and safeguarding the environment). This places them at odds with dominant forces in the university harnessed by the influences of big money. This is what happened to Professor Chapela, whose findings on the genetic pollution of maize landraces threatened the biotechnology industry and we believe his tenure at the university.  

The intrusion of private capital and its influence on shaping the research agenda and faculty composition is a major factor in the erosion of the “public good” mission of the AES from which CNR faculty receive most of their salary. The imposition of financial interests on the scientific process in CNR have begun to limit specific “public good” research (e.g. closing the Division of Biological Control and the use the full-time equivalent salary of retired faculty involved in applied agricultural research for biotechnology oriented positions), but also it changed the paths of inquiry in favor of private interests rather than in favor of the public. Just in California, we experience hundreds of millions in losses from invasive pest species, yet biocontrol and integrated pest managment positions in the agricultural experiment station are being closed down. Why is Berkeley so eager to develop the Gill Track in Albany into housing and commercial spaces—its only piece of land for agricultural research? Is it doing this without providing faculty; students and the general public involved in urban agriculture an alternative accessible site? Furthermore, not one cent of the $25 million from the UBC-N deal was spent on examining the ecological impacts of transgenic crops, this despite a growing number of scientists advocating the adoption of the precautionary principle on genetically modified organism (GMO) adoption and despite the fact that the general public in California shows increasing mistrust of GMOs as indicated by the recent anti-GMO bills passed in Mendocino and Trinity counties. Similar anti-GMO bills are expected in at least five more counties by November of this year. Clearly, the public (“kept”) university is so over-stretched by expanding into new research areas that corporate interests are willing to fund, that in the process it has forgotten its first mission is to serve the public good. So, when one looks deeply into the legacy of the UCB-N deal, some of the critic’s worst fears did occur at Berkeley despite the reviewer’s assertion to the contrary. Possibly such outcomes would have still occurred had the UBC-N deal never existed. 

What is also interesting in the review is that the UCB-N deal did not produce any tangible benefit—overall nothing useful for California society at large came out. No option to negotiate an exclusive license that could have yielded patent rights or income to the Campus is active. So other than money for biotech researchers, post docs and graduate students, the returns on investment from Novartis were disastrous, but then $25 million is small compared to the public’s investment in CNR infrastructure or the university and for NADI the money was likely pocket change. So what did Novartis really expect from such a deal, aside from obtaining an implied Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, by associating itself with UBC? 

Although we welcome the recommendation from the review team that UBC should avoid entering into such agreements in the future, we suggest that there is much more at stake than simply revealing and monitoring corporate ties to science at Berkeley. The public mission of the agricultural experiment station at Berkeley needs to be protected, revived and supported on behalf of the public, irrespective of private sector pressures and calculations of value added to profitability made by administrators in times of budget cuts. This is the only way that the principles of creativity, autonomy and diversity that the reviewers perceive as central to the ethical framework of the university can be restored at Berkeley. 

Andrew Paul Gutierrez and Miguel A. Altieri are professors of agroecology at UC Berkeley.f

On Aug. 3, about 120 staff from the remaining three county community medical clinics in Newark, Hayward and Oakland walked off the job and confronted the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors were holding a retreat in an off-site location and the workers let them know what they think of planned new and deep cuts in staffing and services for the public. At that event I handed the following letter to each member of the board individually. 

An Open Letter to Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson: 

I have worked intermittently as a physician in Alameda County’s community clinics since 1988. I currently work one to two days a week in those clinics. I have known both of you off and on since before you became members of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. My contacts with each of you have occurred both before and during my tenure as medical director of the Center for Elders’ Independence (1992-2001). I have observed that during the time that you both have been active in local politics, calling yourselves liberals and representatives of the community’s interests, you have not done enough to prevent the decay and destruction of the public health and public medical care system in this county. The survival of Highland Hospital, which both of you have on paper supported, has consistently been jeopardized by your ongoing failure to remove Health Director David Kears, a brilliant man who has protected his own position to sacrifice the public—from the time of the Two Plan to the formation of the Hospital Board to the separation of the Community Clinics from the Public Health Department. I know Mr. Kears. He is talented, but disingenuous. He has never been a sufficiently strong advocate for the public’s health interests to have held this position for so many years. He has maneuvered successfully and weakened this county’s health care system. 

When ACMC Board decided to close Central Health Center and Fairmont’s clinics last year I warned anyone who would listen that if you cut off your strong arms, you will never be able to defend yourself from wolves. I predicted the closing of Highland Hospital in three years if there was not a sufficiently strong fight to prevent clinic closures and cutbacks. SEIU did not take that fight seriously enough then. The public should be thankful that SEIU and its members now seem to be taking the fight more seriously. The earlier closures led only to an increase in the deficit which any 9th grade mathematician could have predicted. Now you are on the verge of permitting an action—the layoff of hundreds of staff—that will decimate what remains of the system. Morale and functionality, already problems, will worsen and nothing will be accomplished on the financial side until you have limited the public’s access to care so severely that immense suffering will be engendered. Cuts in services are not acceptable in a time of economic crisis.  

I am not a fan of capitalism, but I will tell you something about it that you may not remember. During the Great Depression a Democrat who believed in capitalism named Franklin Roosevelt faced extreme economic conditions with little resources for government and a looming war. He did not shun the challenge to the public and welfare role of government. Instead of shrinking public government, he dramatically and successfully expanded it. With the backing of millions of organized Americans he put into place almost all of the government support programs we take for granted over the past 60 years. Yes, the federal government has the power to borrow and print money that local governments do not have. That is significant. The current Washington regime and even the Democrats in the national picture also are obstacles to expansion of public government in the interests of people who need care, housing, supportive services. But the buck on ACMC stops with you not with Washington. If you are going to play the role of disciplining the public, the workers, the poor for the sins of this system, for the wars, depredations and expansionism of the market system then you had best stop thinking of yourselves as advocates for the people who elect you. If you can not stand firm and hold the line on at least minimum services in health care, then get out of the way and let people who will fight take your places. Caring isn’t enough. You have to take your stand. We all worked with you to pass Measure A for the board and for the public. And we are being repaid with more of the same crap. Enough blood is on the floor. 

Marc Sapir MD, MPH is a practicing physician, a former health officer, and the executive director of www.retropoll.org.?

While Bay Area folks often claim that California is two states, with a virtual political border crossing the state on an East/West line somewhere south of San Jose, perhaps the real second state begins north of Marin County—dividing the sparsely settled rural California of decades past from today’s postmodern urban landscape. 

Vast stretches of the northland simply don’t exist for cell phone addicts, and forget about DSL lines and cable TV—though they’re beginning to metastasize into parts of the hinterlands. 

Two icons of California’s past may be found along one of the most pleasant drives in the state, traveling through stretches of old growth forest and along ever-changing expanses of rugged shoreline. 

Point Arena, 129 miles north of Berkeley on Highway 1, offers an intimate look at the only lighthouse currently open to the public. (Department of Homeland Security orders have closed tours of other lighthouses, and Point Arena is open only because it is currently awaiting a major retrofit.) 

Originally built of brick in 1870 and rebuilt in concrete following the 1906 earthquake, the tower’s 19th century sodium glass Fresnel lenses—made according to a now lost secret formula—need replacement, affording visitors a chance to see the lighthouse firsthand. 

Volunteers from the non-profit Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers offer informative tours of the museum and lighthouse tower—reached by a six-story spiral staircase well worth the climb for a glimpse of the magnificent lenses and equally spectacular balcony views. 

For more information, see www.mcn.org/1/palight/gallery.html. 

Another 168 miles to the north is one of California’s most astonishing small towns. Ferndale residents have preserved the community’s delightful Victorian structures, making the hamlet a favored stop for architecture buffs, antique shoppers and bed and breakfast devotees. 

Hollywood location scouts have also picked the town as an icon of a long-vanished America. Among the titles filmed there have been: The Majestic, a 2001 Jim Carrey film set in the McCarthy era; Outbreak, a 1995 Dustin Hoffman medical thriller filmed; and Salem’s Lot, a 1978 adaptation of a Stephen King novel. 

For a full 360 degree panoramic of Ferndale’s Main Street see http://virtualguidebooks.com/NorthCalif/RedwoodHwyEureka/ScotiaFerndale/MainStreetFerndale.html. A more detailed account of the individual buildings is available at http://ebeltz.net/fieldtrips/mainstreetwalk.html.3

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10 

FILM 

Time’s Shadow: “Existing on Its Ruins” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson with Diana Castillo at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

The Jim Hurst Band, contemporary bluegrass at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Dick Conte Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Mulgrew Miller and Wingspan at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Also on Wed. Cost is $10-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11 

CHILDREN 

Puppet Show on Bacteria at 2 p.m. at the Hall of Health, 2230 Shatuck Ave., lower level. Suggested donation $3. Free for children under 3. 549-1564. 

FILM 

Exploit-O-Scope: “Polyester” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Café Poetry hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Jethro Jeremiah Band at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Colcannon, Irish music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Rio Thing plays Brazilian jazz at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Ducksan Distones with Donald Duck Bailey playing straight ahead jazz at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Charanson with salsa lessons at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

THURSDAY, AUGUST 12 

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “Senso” at 7 p.m. and “Bellissima” at 9:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with q. r. hand jr. and Reginal Lockett, followed by an open mic at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Taproots & New Growth Part of the Cultivating World Music Series. Lecture and demonstration of the music and dance of Armenia, Turkey and Greece with members of Near East Far West with Souren Baronian at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Leslie Helpert at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “A Delicate Balance” by Edward Albee. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman, through Aug 14. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Alameda Civic Light Opera “Bye Bye Birdie,” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 2 p.m. to Aug. 22. Kofman Auditorium, 2220 Central Ave. in Alameda. Tickets are $23-$25. 864-2256. www.aclo.com 

California Shakespeare Theater, “The Importance of Being Ernest” Tues.-Fri. at 7:30 p.m., Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m. at the Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, through Sept. 3. Tickets are $13-$32. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “My Fair Lady,” directed by Michael Manley, through Aug. 14, Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. at 2 p.m. Contra Costa Civic Theatre, 951 Pomona Ave, El Cerrito. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Shotgun Players “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. in John Hinkel Park, Southampton Ave., until Aug 29. 841-6500. wwwshotgunplayers.org 

Stage Door Conservatory, “Annie” performed by local teenagers, at 7 p.m. Fri. and Sat, 5:30 p.m. Sun at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$20 available at the door. www.juliamorgan.org 

Woodminster Summer Musicals, “The Will Rogers Follies” at 8 p.m., Thurs.-Sun. in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland. Tickets are $19-$31 available from 531-9597. www.woodminster.com 

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “Ossessoine” at 7 p.m. and “The Witch Burned Alive” at 9:35 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Osun Festival, honoring the Nigerian River Goddess and celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora. Nigerian dances and drummers at 7 p.m. at the Malong Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 14th and Alice Sts., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 595-1471. 

Dave Ellis at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Ballet Counterpointe Rep of Berkeley presents “Works in Motion” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at ODC Theater; 3153 17th St. at Shotwell, SF. Tickets are $15-$18. 415-863-9834. www.odctheater.org 

Steve Smulian, past performer with Bread and Roses, will give an acoustic guitar benefit concert, 7:30 p.m. at 5951 College Ave., College Ave. Presbyterian Church. Donation taken for community meal. 658-3665.  

Kami Nixon and Friends at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Jack Williams, original and traditional southern American folk music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

How Salsa Arrived in Cuba a dance performance by Salsa Rueda Cuba at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Tap Roots & New Growth with Jaojoby. Lecture and demonstration with Emmanuel Nado and Jaojoby at 8 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenez. Cost is $15 for lecture and concert, $5 for concert only. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

The People, Sacred Journey at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

East West Quintet at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Cost is $8-$15. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Kapunik, The Cables, Secret Synthi at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com  

Joshi Marshall at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Beth Robinson, singer, songwriter at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

Modern Life is War, One Up, Still Crossed, At Risk at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Elaine Elias Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 

CHILDREN 

“Wild About Books” storytime at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Encaustic Exposed” featuring works by Ann Baldwin, Paula De Joie, Hylla Evans, Gera Hasse, Sandi Miot, Ricki Mountain, and Heather Patterson. Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Fourth Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600. www.fourthstreetstudio.com  

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “The Leopord” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“African Cultural Diaspora” with Luisah Teish at 4 p.m. at the American Indian Public Charter School, 3637 Magee, Oakland. $10 donation requested. 595-1471. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Osun Festival, honoring the Nigerian River Goddess and celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora. Nigerian dances and drummers at 7 p.m. at the Malongs Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 14th and Alice Sts., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 595-1471. 

Bill Ortiz: A Tribute to Miles at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Point Richmond Music Festival from noon to 7 p.m. with performances by Masquer’s Theater Kids, Nic Bearde, Reed Fromer and Friends, David Thom, Ya Elah, The Outbacks, and many more. 117 Park Place, Richmond. 236-1401. www.pointrichmond. 

com/prmusic 

Sistahs Strong an evening of music, spoken word and dance to benefit the 2005 National Black Lesbian Conference Scholarship Fund, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Tap Roots & New Growth with Near East Far West at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance lesson with Amel Tafout at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. Discount if you bring your receipt from the Aug. 12 lecture. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Angel Magik at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $20. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Gris, Gris, Eddie Gale, Mushroom at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Shana Morrison & Caledonia, Celtic and r&b fusion, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nick Luca Trio 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 

Mel Sharpe Big Money in Jazz Band at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Sky Nelson, singer, songwriter at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Mandrake, acoustic quartet at 8 p.m. at Ego Park Gallery, 492 23rd St., Oakland. For all ages. Cost is $3-$5.  

Ponticello, a violin, bass, drums trio from L.A. at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 15 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley Art Center Juried Exhibition opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

FILM 

Luchino Visconti: “The Job” at 4:15 p.m., “The Witch Burned Alive” at 5:30 p.m. and “Ossessione” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Invincible” at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Suggested donation $2. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

East Bay Chamber Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. 

www.berkeleyartcenter.org  

Americana Unplugged: The Thompson String Ticklers with Suzy and Eric Thompson at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Fely at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Lost Trio, CD release party, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Admission is free, donations encouraged. www.thejazz- 

house.org 

Faruk & Ali Erdemesel, traditional music from Turkey, 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 

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

MONDAY, AUGUST 16 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Elements of the Garden” sculpture by Trent Burkett, opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 1111 Broadway.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Express featuring Ross Cantalupo from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Rebecca Parris with the Larry Dunlop Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 17 

FILM 

Time’s Shadow: “Ruins” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Black Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival opens at 6 p.m. at the Parkway Speakeasy, 1834 Park Blvd. and runs through Aug. 22. 814-2400. www.apeb.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Hamsa Lila at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Richard M. Krawczyk discusses his new book “Financial Aerobics” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

King David String Ensemble, comprised of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union, at 7:30 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $15-$20 available from 925-798-1300.  

Dick Conte Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Jazz House Jam, hosted by Darrell Green and Geechy Taylor, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5.  

www.thejazzhouse.com 

George Cables with Gary Bartz, Eric Revis and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Also on Wed. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

school at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18 

THEATER 

“John Muir’s Mountain Days,” a musical, to Aug. 29 at the Alhambra Performing Arts Center, 150 E St., Martinez. Call for show times and reservations, 925-798-1300.  

www.willowstheatre.org  

FILM 

Exploit-O-Scope: “Dementia 13” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oakland Open Stage with poets and playwrites including Marc Bathmuthi Joseph, Aya De leon, and Hanifah Walidah at 8 p.m. at The Oakland Box. Cost is $10. 

www.openstagefest.com 

Café Poetry hosted by Paradise Freejahlove at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Zydeco Flames at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Zydeco dance lesson with Diana Castillo at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ben Adams Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Bearfoot, youthful bluegrass ensemble from Colorado, 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 

Whiskey Brothers at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Ducksan Distones play straight ahead jazz at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Cost is $8-$15 sliding scale. www.thejazz- 

house.org

If you’ve been on the UC campus lately, you may have noticed the oval blue plaques warning against dumping waste into Strawberry Creek, and their logo: a truculent-looking fish with three spines along its back. That’s a three-spined stickleback, part of the creek’s original fauna, and maybe still there. I’ve found conflicting sources on that point. A Strawberry Creek walking tour guide says the sticklebacks were reintroduced during restoration efforts, but were flushed downstream and now congregate where the creek enters the bay, near the Berkeley Marina; another site, though, suggests that some remain. 

Three-spined sticklebacks occur through most of the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere. But this broad distribution conceals a protean variety of form and behavior. Some northern lakes have bottom-feeding (benthic) and surface-feeding (limnetic) sticklebacks that look and act like separate species. Here in California, there are resident forms that spend their entire lives in freshwater streams and anadromous forms that migrate from saltwater to fresh to spawn, like steelhead and salmon. Some, in addition to their dorsal spines, have armor plates along their sides; saltwater sticklebacks have heavier armor, as do freshwater forms that coexist with predatory trout and garter snakes. UC Davis ichthyologist Peter Moyle says each of the variants could be considered a distinct species but “no one…appears willing to name the hundreds of forms, for good practical reasons.” 

These small (up to four inches) fish have been favorite lab subjects for a long time. They’re famous for their courtship behavior. Males turn bright red during the breeding season, and will attack any red object, fishlike or not. The Dutch biologist Niko Tinbergen described in his classic book Curious Naturalists an incident in his Leiden laboratory in which “all the Stickleback males in a row of tanks dashed to the window as far as their tanks allowed them and ‘attacked’ a red Royal Mail van as it passed a hundred yards from the lab.” 

I’ve been told that Norman Mailer says something in The Prisoner of Sex about the female stickleback responding with awe to the male’s display, but I haven’t had the heart, or stomach, to verify this by rereading that book. However, recent studies indicate females have definite criteria for evaluating potential mates.  

Females prefer males with the greatest diversity in the major histocompatibility complex, a part of the genome dedicated to fighting disease. They can detect this by smell, and possibly by other cues like the brightness of the male’s color or the vigor of his display. Females also favor males with larger pectoral fins, the better to oxygenate the eggs they deposit in the nest he builds. And they seem to have a preference for neatly constructed and brightly decorated nests. Awe doesn’t seem to have much to do with it. 

All interesting stuff, but the cutting-edge work in stickleback research involves genetics, and is being done across the bay by David Kingsley at Stanford and by John Postlethwait at the University of Oregon. Sticklebacks, being small and easy to breed in the lab, are handy for that kind of thing. Recent research from the Kingsley and Postlethwait labs has fascinating implications for the tempo of evolutionary change and the origin of major anatomical novelties. 

By comparing heavily armored freshwater sticklebacks with their lightly armored freshwater relatives, the two teams were able to pinpoint the area of the genome that controls armor formation. One stretch of stickleback DNA accounts for 75 percent of the variance in the number and distribution of armor plates. It’s possible that a single gene may be involved. And it can work with what amounts, in evolutionary terms, to lightning speed. Armor is expensive to grow, and sticklebacks that move permanently from saltwater to fresh tend to lose it. Sticklebacks recolonized a fish-free Alaskan lake sometime in the late 80s. In 1990, 96 percent had a full complement of armor; by 2001, only a quarter did. 

In addition to the standard dorsal spines, marine sticklebacks also have pelvic spines that make them a more awkward mouthful for predators. Kingsley’s team found that a gene called Pitx1 controls pelvic spine development. The same gene determines hindlimb formation in mice. It turns out that both freshwater and saltwater sticklebacks have the Pitx1 gene, but that it’s regulated differently in the spineless freshwater fish. The gene continues to code for other body parts, like olfactory pits and caudal fins, but the process of making pelvic spines is shut down. 

To students of macroevolution, this is a big deal. Biologists have puzzled for years about the evolution of vertebrate limbs—the loss of legs in snakes and whales, the reduction of digits in the wings of birds and the feet of horses. The Stanford researchers seem to have found the key to introducing such major changes in one body part without compromising the function of other parts, or the animal’s overall viability. This may even point toward an explanation of the major alterations in body plan that ignited the Cambrian Explosion 550 million years ago, transforming animals from amorphous blobs into the ancestors of worms, clams, starfish, insects, and ourselves. 

Heady stuff, coming from a dinky little fish. And there may be more in store: the three-spined stickleback will soon join the elite group of creatures that have had their genomes sequenced. God only knows what else is in there. ?

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10 

“Wilderness Canoeing: An Expedition in Northern Canada” a slide show and talk with Peter Kazaks at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

Writers Workshop on Writing True Crime with Aphrodite Jones at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-0861. 

Phone Banking to ReDefeat Bush on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Bring your cell phones. Please RSVP if you can join us. 415-336 8736. dan@redefeatbush.com 

Tales of Your Amazing Body at 2 p.m. at the Hall of Health, 2230 Shatuck Ave., lower level. For ages 3-10. Suggested donation $3. 549-1564. 

”The Etiquette of Illness: What to Say When You Can’t Find the Words” with Susan Halpern, social worker, psychotherapist at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. Free. 526-7512.  

Locate Hidden Causes of Pain with Dr. Jay Bunker, chiropractor, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, 1744 Solano Ave. Please call ahead to sign up. 442-2304. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Blood pressure checks at 10:30 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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.  

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11 

Update on Brazil with Rameo Aldo da Silva, a visiting leader of Brazil’s Landless Workers, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Twilight Tour “Glorious Grasses” Tour will cover cultural requirements and design uses of grasses from all over the world. Wear comfortable walking shoes. At 5:30 p.m. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $12-$17. Registration required. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wed. rain or shine, at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat. 548-9840. 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

“Catch-22” a film by Mike Nichols based on Joseph Heller’s novel, at 7:30 p.m. at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, donations are welcome. 393-5685. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Sta- 

tion, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Alison Seevak, an Albany poet and teacher, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

Berkeley CopWatch open office hours 7 to 9 p.m. Drop in to file complaints, assistance available. For information call 548-0425. 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 12 

UC Botanical Garden Volunteer Information Session Learn about the Garden and the world of plants. Please join us if you like meeting people and sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm with others. An eighteen-week, fee-based training course is required. From 4 to 5 p.m. at at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. For more information, call Candice Schott at 643-1924. 

Twilight Tour “Habitats and Humanity in California” Learn about the fascinating and ingenious ways the California Indians use native plants to obtain the necessities of life, including food, clothing, and shelter, medicine, and tools, at 5:30 p.m. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $12-$17. Registration required. 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

WomenFirst Youth Extravaganza Come get to know the organizations serving young people here in East Oakland. Meet over 20 agencies in our neighborhood that provide teen services and enjoy music, free food, free raffle prizes, and a drop-in health clinic! From 3 to 5 p.m. at the Eastmont Mall, inside the mall near the Planned Parenthood health center, 2nd floor, suite 201, 7200 Bancroft Ave., Oakland. Sponsored by Planned Parenthood’s WomenFirst program. 729-6236.  

Tales of Your Amazing Body at 2 p.m. at the Hall of Health, 2230 Shatuck Ave., lower level. For ages 3-10. Suggested donation $3. 549-1564. 

East Bay Mac User Group meets the 2nd Thursday of every month, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. http://ebmug.org, www.expression.edu 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13 

An Evening with Paul Krugman in conversation with Larry Bensky, at 7:30 p.m. at M. L. King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. (ample free parking, wheelchair access, ASL provided) Benefit for Pacifica Radio & KPFA. Tickets are $15 advance, $20 door, available at Cody’s, both locations. 848-6767, ext. 611. www.kpfa.org  

“So How’d You Become an Activist?” with Maria Gilardin, founder TUC Radio, and Pierre Labossiere, founding member, Haiti Action Committee, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 528-5403. 

Long Haul Infoshop’s 11th Birthday. Join the celebration at 8 p.m. at 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org  

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

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, AUGUST 14 

Family Fun Festival at the Saturday Farmers’ Market with live music, crafts fair, story-telling, and clowns, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Civic Center Park. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Greens at Work We will assist Strawberry Creek Lodge project volunteers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lodge located at 1320 Addison St. between Acton and Bonar. We’ll be moving west along the bank, removing ivy, blackberry and elm, and doing a little clean up in the creek as needed. Bring something to drink, your work gloves, and a trowel or weeder if you have one. And please park in the street and not in the Lodge’s parking lot as it is reserved for the residents. greensatwork@yahoo.com 

Summer Bird Walk with Chris Carmichael and Dennis Wolff from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $12-$17. 643-2775. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“That's an Herb, Not a Weed!” Herbalist Patricia Kazmierowski will talk about common herbs that grow in the Bay Area and how to identify and use them. From 2 to 4 p.m. at City Slicker Farms, 16th & Center, Oakland. Free. 763-4241. cityslickerfarms@riseup.net 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Showdown at Crawford Gulch” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck and Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

Point Richmond Music Festival from noon to 7 p.m. with performances by Masquer’s Theater Kids, Nic Bearde, Reed Fromer and Friends, David Thom, Ya Elah, The Outbacks, and many more. 117 Park Place, Richmond. 236-1401. www.pointrichmond. 

com/prmusic 

Osun Festival celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora, classes in batik and tie-dye, dance and drumming workshops, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the American Indian Public Charter School, 3637 Magee, Oakland. Fees vary. To register call 530-3735.  

South African Plants with Hank Jenkins at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursey, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Temescal from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Meet in front of Genova Delicatessen, 5095 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $5 for OHA members, $10 for nonmembers. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

Educators Academy on Fire Ecology from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area for teachers of grades 5 to 12. Educational materials included. Fee is $45-$51. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, a group for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders over the age of 55 holds their monthly potluck at noon at San Leandro Community Church, 1395 Bancroft Ave., San Leandro. 667-9655. 

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. For further information and 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, AUGUST 15 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Showdown at Crawford Gulch” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck and Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

My Seedy Friends A walk for youth and families to find seeds from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. 525-2233. 

Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at the Willard Community Peace Labyrinth, on the blacktop next to the gardens at Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. between Derby and Stuart. Enter by the dirt road on Derby. Free. Wheelchair accessible. Sponsored by the East Bay Labyrinth Project. 526-7377. 

Osun Festival Family Day celebrating Mother Africa and the African Diaspora, with youth performances, community mural painting and concluding performance and ritual, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison, Oakland. Donation $5 and up. 595-1471. 

Hands-on Bike Maintenance Class Learn how to perform basic repairs on your own bike. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $85 members, $100 non-members. Advance registration required. 527-4140. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers, annual summer casting clinic, held in lieu of the monthly meeting, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Oakland Casting Ponds in McCrea Park, 4460 Shepherd St., at Carson Blvd near the 580 freeway, Oakland. Expert, beginning and “wannabe” fly fishers are all welcome. For further information, call Richard Orlando at 547-8629. 

Bike Trip to Explore Historic Oakland on the third Sunday of the month through October. Tours leave the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Fallon Sts., at 10 a.m. for a leisurely 5-mile tour on flat land. Bring bike, helmet, water and snacks. Free, but reservations required. 238-3524. 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour Laurel neighborhood from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at Albertson’s parking lot, 4055 MacArthur Blvd. Cost is $5 for OHA members, $10 for nonmembers. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm waterproof clothes. www.cal-sailing.org 

Campfire and Sing-A-Long at 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Bring your hot dogs, buns, marshmallows, long sticks and dress for possible fog. We’ll walk uphill to the campfire circle. Call for disabled assistance. 525-2233. 

“Current Difficulties of the West Contra Costa Schools” with Patricia Player, at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Road, Kensington. 525-0302.  

“This is What Free Trade Looks Like” a film on the NAFTA fraud in Mexico, the failure of the WTO at 8:15 p.m. at Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org  

Golden State Model Railroad Museum open from noon to 5 p.m. Also open on Saturdays and Friday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. Located in the Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline Park at 900-A Dornan Drive in Pt. Richmond. Admission is $2-$3. 234-4884. www.gsmrm.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Lama Ando on “Vimalamitra and the Transmission of the Dharma in Tibet” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

“Eckhart Tolle Talks on Video,” gatherings at 6:30 p.m. to hear the words of the author of “The Power of Now” at the Feldenkrais Ctr., 830 Bancroft Way. Donation $3. 526-9117. 

MONDAY, AUGUST 16 

Solid Waste Management Workshop on Commercial Services: Recycling, Source Reduction, and Franchised Services at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 2180 Milvia St., 6th Flr. 981-6357. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 10:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. 524-9122. 

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. 

Iyengar Yoga on Mondays from from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $12. 528-9909. gay@yogagarden.org 

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, AUGUST 17 

Mini-Rangers An afternoon of nature study for ages 8 to 12. Dress to get dirty, bring a healthy snack to share. At Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Contemporary Political Election Issues, a discussion with Millie Barsh at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

“What is Ahead for Venezuela?” with Lisa Sullivan who hosted the 2004 Marin Interfaith Task Force Delegation to Caracas, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar. 528-5403. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Sts. from 3 to 7 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

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. 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. 845-6830. 

Phone Banking to ReDefeat Bush on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Bring your cell phones. Please RSVP if you can join us. 415-336 8736. dan@redefeatbush.com 

ONGOING 

Free Summer Lunch Programs are offered to youth age 18 and under at various sites in Berkeley, Mon. - Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. until Aug. 20. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Health Dept. 981-5351.  

This Land is Your Land Day Camp Weekly sessions to Aug. 27 for children ages 5-12, at Roberts Regional Park in Oakland and at Tilden Park in Berkeley. Science and nature studies with art, music, hiking, swimming, and outdoor games. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $245 per week. 581-3739. www.sarahscience.com 

CITY MEETINGS 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed., Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. at 1901 Russell St. Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/library  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Aug. 11, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti. 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/waterfront 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Aug. 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Marianne Graham, 981-5416. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/earlychildhoodeducation  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Aug. 12, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning?

Chalabys in the news again. Treason, espionage, murder…who knows where it will end? And who’s surprised? Evidently, yet again, the people in Washington who are supposed to be running the country. It’s scary. What I still fail to understand (and I’m sorry to keep coming back to this point, but it haunts me) is how many of us here in little Berkeley, not to mention our friends in New York and Boston and even in Illinois, West Virginia and Indiana, knew from day one that Chalabys I and II were bad apples, and Bush’s guys didn’t. It’s been all over the Internet, in letters to the editor in hundreds of papers, and the subject of conversation in probably thousands of cafes around the world. 

One image from Fahrenheit 9/11 that sticks with me is a little clip from the opening scenes: top presidential advisor Paul Wolfowitz, spitting on his comb and combing his hair with saliva. In front of the camera. How could he not have known (a) that the camera was running and (b) that most people do not comb their hair with saliva, and in fact find it deeply disgusting. Or if he knew these things, why didn’t he care?  

The same analysis could be applied to his championing of the Chalabys and their ilk. What he lacks, in common with evidently the whole of the Bush administration, is the decent respect for the opinions of mankind which was cited as the basis for the Declaration of Independence. Politicians are accused of relying too much on polls, of playing too much to the gallery, and yet this crowd seems to pride itself on ignorance of what “everyone knows.” They make much of their connection to higher powers, but something seems to have gotten lost in the transmission from their sources, and they don’t hear the voices from the streets. 

Even locally, it’s possible to discern that many active in electoral politics don’t seem to know what everyone else knows, or to care much about what everyone else thinks. It’s inconceivable that a councilmember’s aide, a 20-year veteran in the job, could have missed the change to Berkeley’s election law which requires nominating signatures to be collected within the district, but it happened. Hours of council meeting time were devoted to this topic, but somehow he missed it. Go figure. 

A very quick glance at the campaign contribution forms for November City Council candidates which were turned in on July 30 suggests that other candidates are not paying attention to the zeitgeist. In a city that’s clearly tired of over-development, at least one candidate lists multiple “maxed-out” gifts from well-known proponents of controversial up-zoning schemes. You’d think he would at least have had the decency to wait, as is traditional in Berkeley, for the last post-election filing to report these donors, so that the November voters wouldn’t hear about it. But no, it’s right there now on the city’s website for all to see. And it will be in the Daily Planet. Some will say that this candidate should get extra credit for honesty, I suppose, but others will say that he’s just clueless, or simply doesn’t care what others think. 

Another candidate, who filed on the last day, claims in her ballot statement to be endorsed by almost all of the neighborhood groups in her district. Since she has just announced her candidacy, that would be impossible, since they have to meet and vote to endorse. Oh well. Facts. 

Our little local elections don’t compete with the national ones for gravitas, of course. Our local schemers don’t rise to the level of a Wolfowitz or a Rumsfeld. Our dumb-seeming candidates couldn’t be as dumb as Dubya.  

Still, it is certainly boring now, and will be boring during future local campaigns, to hear officials and candidates say, for example, that they had NO IDEA there was anything wrong with the Gaia Building, and that they fully expected to find a lovely bookstore on the ground floor by now. I hate to say it, but we told you so, and we-the-people (now there’s a much-abused slogan) will continue to tell you what’s going on, whether or not you want to hear it. Candidates and councilmembers should listen more and talk less. But perhaps that’s asking too much. 

—Becky O’Malley 

The ongoing plans to turn the Richmond area into Vegas-by-the-Bay last appeared in this space around the middle of June. This was right after our intrepid reporter had uncovered a hither-to-secret scheme to put a massive tribal gaming complex right smack in the middle of Point Molate, a former Navy fuel depot with gorgeous bay views, charming historic buildings, and lots of open space. The property was transferred to the City of Richmond a few years ago, with Navy promises to clean up serious on-site toxic waste problems. 

For our pains, we got a complaining letter from one Don Gosney, co-chair of the Regional Advisory Board (RAB), which is supposed to be advising the Navy on whether their clean-up efforts are proceeding as desired. (He just happens to be an official of a big construction union as well.) The piece was published over the objections of developer Jim Levine, doing business as Upstream Development LLC, who wanted us to wait until he was ready to make the announcement himself. Last Wednesday, Levine presented The Full Powerpoint Version to the RAB. We were reminded of the Music Man talking to the folks in River City about how great it’s gonna be.  

FOUR hotels! A CONVENTION CENTER! Parking, Parking, Parking! The historic brick winery gutted and converted to a casino! Linked by glass bridges to the hotels (“approved by preservationists”)! Historic winery workers’ cottages turned into a spa village! A paved walk by the bay! A great big shopping mall! Jobs for every one! Money for natives! Money(“in the high eight figures”) for the City of Richmond, which badly needs it ! More money (much much more money) for the lucky winner, one of three gambling conglomerates currently fighting for the deal! 

Something for almost everyone, in fact. Nothing new, nothing that wasn’t in the Planet article in June, but the Photoshopped conceptual drawings were magnificent, if you like that kind of thing. 

Mr. Gosney, who chaired the board meeting, preceded Levine’s talk with a report on the terrific show the Navy put on last month in Salt Lake City for all of the chairs of boards like his from all over the country. He allowed as how their main problem was that people just didn’t trust their government anymore, and what a shame. A board member afterwards commented, perhaps a touch acidly, that Gosney had used the word “faith” seven times in his short talk, and wondered if there was any significance in that. Yes, Virginia, there probably is. 

The West County Times offshoot of Knight-Ridder’s Contra Costa Times finally published a full report on Levine’s plans last Friday, which appeared to have been taken directly from his Power Point file. Levine has been coy about revealing the name of the lucky gaming company, or the name of the native tribe who will be the front partner. The official announcement of the latter fact, he said at the RAB meeting, won’t be made until Wednesday of this week, so it wasn’t in the CoCo Times. 

Our intrepid reporter, however, figured it out the old-fashioned way: He asked the right person. Sacramento BIA spokesperson Kevin Bearquiver told him that the developer had teamed up with Guidiville Rancheria band of Pomos—which then made the initial approach to the BIA to start the approval process rolling for the Point Molate site. 

So what’s wrong with all this? Some environmental groups seem to be climbing on board already, perhaps thinking that the gravy train is almost out of the station and they’ll miss it if they don’t rush to endorse the project. Construction unions are salivating, and non-union workers are being promised training programs as their part of the pie. But before you make up your mind, you should try to get out to Point Molate and see what’s there now. It’s one of the last relatively unspoiled bits of bay shoreline, even with its problems of underground toxic petroleum waste and remaining tanks. All kinds of birds still live there—a Baird’s sandpiper was spotted in 2001. If anyone cares. 

While you’re there, close your eyes and imagine the sky blazing with the lights from a gigantic casino, a convention center, four hotels and a great big mall. Not much room for sandpipers, of course. If you like Vegas, you might be pleased with the vision. But if you don’t, you might want to contact your favorite environmental organization to see what can still be done to derail the project. It won’t be easy, because Levine has every possible kind of political juice in his development engine.