More than half a million dollars later, campaign weary incumbent mayoral and council candidates Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Gordon Wozniak, Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Linda Maio will retake their familiar seats on the council dais. 

With the exception of a tight District 7 race in which the business community’s candidate George Beier outspent Worthington by more than three times, the incumbents won their races in landslide victories.  

Absentee ballots received by the Alameda County Registrar by mail Tuesday and absentee ballots hand-delivered to polling places Tuesday, as well as provisional ballots—those where the integrity must be verified—will not be counted until the end of the week, according to Guy Ashley spokesperson for the Alameda County Registrar’s Office.  

Mayor Tom Bates outdid former Planning Commission Chair Zelda Bronstein 63-to-31 percent. Zachary Running Wolf picked up about 5 percent of the vote and Christian Pecaut took 1 percent.  

Popular District 4 Councilmember Dona Spring won her district with 70 percent of the vote, knocking bank manager Raudel Wilson, with 28.43 percent, out of the race; District 8 incumbent Councilmember Gordon Wozniak beat student Jason Overman 64-to-36 percent; and incumbent Councilmember Linda Maio won District 1 with 76 percent of the vote, over Merrilie Mitchell’s 23 percent. 

In Dristrict 7, Worthington was hanging on by a slim lead of 131 votes over Beier, who garnered 47.7 percent of the vote, with only provisional and election day absentee ballots still left to count. 

Measures 

Measure J, the landmarks preservation ballot initiative opposed by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce PAC, lost with 57 percent opposing it and 43 percent in support. 

Measure I, which would have gutted tenant protections when rental units were converted to condominiums, lost 73-to-27 percent. 

On the other hand, Measure H, an advisory measure to impeach the president and vice president won 69-to-31 percent. 

The measure grabbing more votes than any other citywide race—23,083—was Measure G, aimed at reducing Berkeley’s greenhouse gases. It won with 81-to-19 percent of the vote. 

Incumbents Nancy Riddle and Shirley Issel and challenger Karen Hemphill have won the three open seats on the five-member Berkeley Board of Education. 

Leading the pack was current school board director Nancy Riddle, who captured 29.56 percent of the total votes. Karen Hemphill came in at second place with 28.10 percent of the total votes. School board director Shirley Issel finished third with 24.56 percent. 

Riddle, CFO of Monster Cable Products, is currently finishing her first term with the School Board. A strong supporter of Measure A—the school parcel tax which won by a landslide in the Nov. 7 elections—Riddle has been involved in the process of rewriting it since 2003. 

Her campaign highlights included working toward removing barriers in education and to encourage a transparent and open budget process that reflects the values of the Berkeley community. 

Hemphill’s victory has made her Berkeley’s first African-American school board director in years. An assistant to the city manager in Emeryville, Hemphill has previously held posts in the Berkeley’s Civic Arts Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women. 

In an earlier interview to the Planet, Hemphill, who has two sons in Berkeley schools, said that she wanted to see BUSD grow into a model urban district that uses community resources to prepare its students for the 21st century.  

Hemphill said she wants to focus on a district wide student achievement plan which is tied to a sound fiscal plan that partners with government, private foundations and other such organizations. 

Issel, a clinical social worker, has served on the school board for the last eight years. She will continue to use her skills as a professional social worker and educational reformer to improve teaching and learning in BUSD. Issel also wants to improve support for students with learning barriers and to train staff to measure student progress. 

First time candidates David Baggins and Norma Harrison came in at fourth and fifth positions with 11.24 percent and 6.26 percent of the total votes, respectively. 

Baggins, a professor of Political Science at California State University, East Bay, had made school registration one of the main issues of his campaign.  

Harrison, 71, is a self-employed realtor and former public school teacher and has never run for public office before. During her campaign, Harrison had stressed on creating a forum for discussion which would help students in Berkeley enjoy school. 

Victory for Measure A 

Measure A, the school parcel tax which renews two existing school measures—Berkeley School Excellence Project (BSEP) and Measure B—won a decisive victory by gaining 79.05 percent of the total votes on Tuesday.  

Both BSEP and Measure B, which expire in June, provide the Berkeley Unified School District with $19.6 million annually, which primarily pays for 30 percent of Berkeley’s classroom teachers, all elementary and middle school libraries and music programs as well as school site funds.  

With Measure A passing, the current budget level will now continue.  

Ninety percent of Measure A will fund the class size reduction, school library, music and art, and site enrichment programs which have been authorized and reaffirmed by Berkeley voters since 1986. 

In the case Measure A had failed, the schools would have lost 25 percent of their budget, which would have resulted in the elimination of 30 percent of the teachers, libraries, the music program and a lot more. 

Although Measure A had been supported by every major organization, elected official and candidate for office in Berkeley, it received opposition from neighborhood groups such as Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA), Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes (BASTA!) and Berkeleyans for School Management Access Accountability Responsiveness and Transparency (BeSMAART). 

In Richmond they call it the Iron Triangle, a hard-core, high-crime neighborhood bound by railroad tracks and—to outsiders, at least—long abandoned of hope. 

In the midst of the triangle, housed at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in the city’s historic Winter Building, they call themselves the Iron Triangle Theater. They are a resident company of youth performers, and they have nothing but hope for the city in which they live. 

Last week, five veteran members of the theater company performed monologue sketches on Richmond history—sketches that the performers had written themselves based upon interviews with older relatives, residents, and local business owners. 

Many of the older audience members in the packed upstairs theater—most of whom had lived through the times the performers were recounting—smiled and nodded and murmured, “Oh, yes, you remember that?” as the night’s memories rolled out. 

One young man portrayed an elderly barber shop owner who came onstage with a shuffling, Fred Sanford-type walk, and recalled the time during the second world war when clocks were made of cardboard. 

Another talked of the petting zoo at Richmond’s Nicholas Park—“Nickles Park,” in the popular local name for it—naming off the animals she used to go there to see as a child, lamenting that they were gone, hoping they would return. 

Another actor remembered a time before the rash of Richmond murders, when fights were settled with fists. People had guns, yes, “but no-one respected you if you took the easy way out.” 

The night’s most poignant moment came following the sketches when the actors were asked to name the people they were portraying. One of the actors, Ferron Griffon, said he “didn’t get the pleasure of meeting Joanne,” the woman in his sketch. “I wanted to, but it was so hectic this week, getting ready for the program.” Instead, he had developed his monologue from an interview conducted by another cast member. 

At the side of the room, a woman in the audience called out, “Well, that’s Joanne right there, if you want to meet her.” The shopkeeper had been sitting in the audience. The monologue subject and the young actor hugged. 

The live sketches were preceded by presentation of a rough cut of “Talking About Macdonald,” a video edited by East Bay Center For the Performing Arts students based upon videotaped interviews with local residents. 

The interviews most often recalled a long ago time, the World War II boom years when thousands of newly arrived workers filled up the Kaiser shipyards, and the city’s Macdonald Avenue main street was alive with movie theaters and moving cars and shoppers finding spaces to spend their time and money. 

Residents talked of the carnival—complete with ferris wheel—coming to Atchison Village in the city, one of the housing projects built during the war to accommodate the shipyard workers. 

“There was no such thing as malls at the time,” one woman said. “You could get everything downtown.” 

Another man said that Macdonald “just exploded overnight. Day and night, there were people there. People would walk up one side of the street and down the other, just to look in the shops.” A woman described the different method of dress at the time, with women normally wearing hats and gloves to go shopping. 

The interviews did not gloss over the city’s racial problems, a sometimes-explosive mixture of African-Americans, Southern whites, and Mexican Americans. 

“I got a job as a stock clerk at Macy’s,” one African-American man said in one segment. “We could work in the back room, but African-Americans weren’t allowed on the floor of the store at the time.” 

Even then in the ‘40s, he said, Richmond was plagued with gangs and racial problems. “Everybody was afraid of Gordo,” he said, talking of one of the city’s infamous residents who might have been African-American or Mexican-American. “He had a low-riding car, and he’d ride around town with his buddies. And whenever he came around, everybody would say ‘Gordo’s coming, Gordo’s coming,’ and get out the way.” 

One white resident in the video described the slow crossover of cultures that resulted. “There was a record store called Arts Music that had what they called ‘race music,’” he said. “That was black music. You couldn’t get it at any other store. You could get racy records, too, like that fellow named Foxx—I can’t remember his first name.” 

His African-American interviewer, some 40 years younger, said, helpfully, “Redd Foxx?” 

“That’s right,” the white resident said, smiling.  

Other interviewees recalled the turbulent days of the ‘60s, when the Black Panther Party organized residents against charges of police brutality, and several downtown landmark shops were burned in the city’s race riots. 

The monologue sketches and video presentation were part of, Memories of Macdonald, a six-month project sponsored by several Richmond-based agencies and organizations which are in the midst of a six month-long project to reclaim the city’s past. The groups have been collecting oral and visual history of the city’s once-bustling main drive, using a corps of local youth volunteers to help do the gathering. According to organizers, the project “invites area residents, and especially community youth, to explore and share their memories, concerns and hopes for Macdonald Avenue.”  

Co-sponsored by the Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency, the Rosie The Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, the East Bay Center For The Performing Arts, the Richmond Main Street Initiative, the Richmond Arts And Culture Commission, and the Richmond Museum Of History, the project will culminate with a series of historical markers to be placed along Macdonald. The markers will contain historical photographs and quotes from residents who lived through Macdonald’s glory times, and will be similar to the widely-acclaimed markers along the city’s waterfront. 

The project is being coordinated by Berkeley historian Donna Graves. 

This Saturday, Nov. 11, the project’s public events will end with a Dance Swap at the historic Winters Building on the corner of 11th Street and Macdonald, where old and young Richmond residents are invited to gather for a closing celebration where they can teach each other dances from different eras and latitudes reflecting Richmond’s diverse peoples: the jitterbug of the ‘30s and the jerk of the ‘60s, today’s hip hop, norteño from Mexico, and mien from Laos. 

Some of the participants plan to attend in period dress, including 40’s era zoot suits. 

The Dance Swap event will be led by nationally-recognized choreographer Joanna Haigood of San Francisco, who has been working on several projects in Richmond, including an upcoming site-specific performance at the USS Red Oak Victory on Richmond’s waterfront. 

The Winters Building was the site of the popular World War II-era dance venue.  

Berkeley Mayor: Zelda Bronstein. Berkeley City Council: District 1: no endorsement, District 4: Dona Spring, District 6: Kriss Worthington, District 8: Jason Overman 

Berkeley Measures 

Measure A: yes 

Measure I: no 

Measure J: yes 

State Propositions 

1A: no endorsement 

1B: no 

1C: yes 

1D: yes 

1E: yes 

83: no 

84: no 

85: no 

86: yes 

87: yes 

88: no 

89: yes 

90: no 

Voters who’ve forgotten or misplaced the location of their local polling place can turn to the telephone or the Internet, reports the Berkeley City Clerk’s office. 

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters can learn their polling location by calling the Alameda County Registrar of Voters at 267-8683 or by filling in the blanks at the registrar’s on-line poll locator, www.smartvoter.org/ca/alm/. 

After plugging in an address and ZIP code, visitors to the web site will be rewarded not only with the location of their voting booth, but a list of the specific candidates and measures they’ll be allowed to vote on. 

Anyone registered to vote in Alameda County can also cast their ballot at City Hall in the City Clerk’s office at 2180 Milvia St. during polling hours.  

For the latest results after polls close, the Alameda County Registrar will be posting results on the web at www.acgov.org/rov starting at 8 p.m. Results will also be available by phone at 272-6933 starting at the same time. 

Posted results on election eve won’t include all the absentee and provisional ballot totals, which will be counted over a period of weeks. 

The final results for Alameda County have to be certified by Dec. 5, with the Berkeley City Council scheduled to certify results of city contests at their council meeting that evening.

With the latest loan to his campaign of $26,000, District 7 challenger George Beier has broken Berkeley’s record for financing a City Council campaign.  

Also raking in the funds, in the Oct. 21-Nov. 6 campaign reporting period, the local Chamber of Commerce PAC reports raising $17,000 on top of the $60,000 it had spent before Oct. 21. 

Having raised more than $100,000, Beier tops Gordon Wozniak’s 2002 record spending of $72,619, according to Jesse Townley, Berkeley Progressive Alliance member who researched campaign spending extensively while preparing for a ballot measure to fund campaigns with public dollars. 

In the District 7 race, the independently wealthy Beier has now put $45,000 of his own money into the campaign to unseat incumbent Kriss Worthington. Another 37 individuals contributed a total of $4,000 to Beier’s campaign during this period, including a $250 contribution from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, $250 from Real Estate broker John Gordon, and $250 each from venture capitalists Margaret Alafi and Moshe Alafi. 

Beier had raised $55,000 and spent $72,000 in the period leading up to Oct. 21.  

As of Nov. 6—the Daily Planet is using information from filings up to 2 p.m. on Monday—Worthington had added $7,750 from 48 contributions to the $28,000 he had raised by Oct. 21. Several unions gave Worthington contributions of $250 during this period, the maximum allowed under Berkeley election law. They included Service Employees International Union 535, SEIU 616, Sprinklers, Fitters and Apprentices Local 483, Public Employees Union Local 1. Supervisor Keith Carson also kicked in $250. 

Chamber of Commerce PAC 

The Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee, which had spent $61,000 by Oct. 21 on mailers to defeat Measure J and Councilmembers Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington, took in $17,350 from six businesses and individuals during this period.  

Chamber PAC contributors in the days leading up the election include Read Investments, which gave $10,000 to the effort; Douglas Herst, former Peerless Lighting owner who is planning a major West Berkeley development, gave $5,000. Oakland-based EMG Properties, Inc and Norheim & Yost each gave $1,000.  

The University of California gave the PAC $250, which surprised Irene Hegarty, who heads the university’s community relations department. Hegarty confirmed that the university, as a public institution, cannot make political contributions. 

She said she would track down the person who wrote the check. “Probably the individual will have to replace the check,” Hegarty said. 

District 8 race 

District 8 incumbent Councilmember Gordon Wozniak added $3,800 to the $51,000 he had raised by Oct. 21, picking up donations from 28 contributors, including $250 contributions from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, Fourth Street developer Denny Abrams and John DeClercq of EMG Properties. 

His challenger, UC Berkeley student Jason Overman, reported $1,400 in contributions from 11 sources, including a $250 donation from SEIU 535, $100 donations from Councilmembers Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington, $100 from Panoramic Hill neighborhood activist Janice Thomas and $200 from rent board member Howard Chong. Overman had raised about $17,000 by Oct. 21 and spent $21,000. 

District 4 race 

In District 4, challenger Raudel Wilson reported $1,250 in contributions post-Oct. 21, including $250 contributions from Christopher Hudson and Evan McDonald, both of Hudson McDonald LLC and one each from Carolyn Herst and Douglas Herst. 

Incumbent Dona Spring reported no contributions during this period. 

Mayor race 

Mayor Tom Bates collected $6,150 from 33 contributors after Oct. 21, including a mix of realtors /developers and trade unions. He had raised $100,000 by Oct. 21. 

Among the realtors/developer contributors to the mayor during this period are: Colleen Larkins of Thornwall Properties, Barbara Marienthal of Coldwell Banker, Roy Nee of Property Profiles, and Phil Tagami of California Commercial Investments. Trade union contributions come from Operating Engineers Local 3, SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, SEIU 535, Teamsters Local 853.  

Challenger Zelda Bronstein picked up $700 from four contributors that included $200 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee and $250 from retired UC Berkeley professor Phyllis Dolhinow. Bronstein had raised $35,000 by Oct. 21. 

The Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee outdid itself with a last-minute mailer that hit District 7 mailboxes Monday.  

On one side of the glossy oversized postcard, a George Beier head sits atop a flowing caped and tights-clad Superman body; on the other, claims of huge crime increases — 322 percent — are apparently intended to make the average District 7 resident rush to the safety of virile hero Beier. 

The postcard, funded by the elusive Chamber of Commerce PAC, fails to say where crime is up 322 percent—Iraq? Afghanistan?—or what time frame is referenced—is it 1700 to 1903?  

It’s questionable exactly who is paying for the onslaught of Chamber PAC pieces attacking Worthington. The Daily Planet has published the names of a number of big donors to the PAC, including San Rafael-based Wareham Development, which gave the PAC $10,000, Read Investments, which also contributed $10,000, Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests, which gave $5,000, Douglas Herst, former Peerless Lighting owner, who also gave $5,000 and a gaggle of others who contributed $250 to $1,000 to the effort. 

While the public knows how much money each contributor gave to the Chamber PAC, Business for Better Government, it still hasn’t learned specifically who is paying to defeat Worthington and Spring. 

For example, Miriam Ng, who chairs the Chamber PAC, and Jonathan DeYoe, who previously told the Daily Planet that he is not a member of the PAC, both signed a Nov. 2 letter written to the Daily Planet on Business for Better Government letterhead that says “100 percent of the Wareham Development donation to Business for Better Government was intended for and was subsequently used in our efforts to defeat Measure J. None of it was used, as was indicated [in a recent Daily Planet article], in the council or mayoral races.”  

No such segregation of funds is indicated on the Chamber PAC’s mandatory reports, however. The letter says nothing about how funds from other donors were used. It is therefore impossible to know to whom to attribute this mailer or other efforts to defeat Worthington and Councilmember Dona Spring. 

Repeated calls requesting clarification, to Chamber Chair Roland Peterson, PAC Chair Miriam Ng and Jonathan DeYoe, were not returned. 

In the last days of the contentious Berkeley City Council District 7 race, challenger George Beier has won praise and attracted criticism for his innovative attempts to tap into the student vote.  

He has held a rally in aTelegraph bar with free alcohol and has campaigned through popular students networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. His latest cyberspace effort to unseat incumbent Kriss Worthington has likewise drawn its share of praise and scorn. 

Beier’s video on YouTube.com highlights problems on Telegraph Avenue and promises residents freedom from crime, empty storefronts and an unsafe and unkempt People’s Park if he is elected in today’s (Tuesday) election. 

The Beier video is primarily targeted at students, claiming that District 7 has the highest crime rate in Berkeley and that UC Berkeley has the seventh highest number of violent crimes out of more than 500 campuses surveyed nationwide. 

It also emphasizes the number of failing businesses on Telegraph and the 20 vacant storefronts south of the UC Berkeley campus. 

“I want to empower students, to reduce crime and to bring back the magic to Telegraph Avenue,” Beier announces in a shot that shows him sitting in an armchair in his living room. 

Although Beier says the video has been effective, some have said it’s all glitz and no substance. It has drawn some strong criticism from Worthington and his supporters for its inaccuracies. 

“Both the Chamber of Commerce PAC and George Beier need to do their homework. Using inaccurate information while campaigning is not helpful to them or the city,” Worthington said.  

Nicholas Smith, a UC Berkeley senior and chairman of the City of Berkeley’s Commission on Labor, said that most of the proposals coming out of Beier’s “slick and glitzy campaign” have already been carried out by the incumbent. 

“Beier seems not to know anything about Worthington’s real record, and this engages in a campaign of distortion,” Smith said. “Beier says that he wants to increase drug and alcohol outreach on Telegraph, as if Kriss Worthington hasn’t already done it and isn’t committed to it. Kriss fought Beier’s allies to restore funding for social services on Telegraph when others cut them. He secured millions of dollars which built the regional detox facility.” 

Beier said that students were smart enough to make their own decisions and that the video was his way of reaching out to them. 

“Telegraph is the face Berkeley presents to the world, and crime is the main concern in the area today,” he said. “I wanted people to look at the video carefully and think about the different problems it talks about. It wasn’t meant just for entertainment but also to inform and educate.” 

Worthington gave credit to Beier for trying to package his “corporate message” through different channels. 

“But the truth is, no matter how you send your message across—whether it be through e-mails or hit pieces—a closer look will tell people that it’s meant for lobbying the landlords and the realtors. It’s all about the big people,” Worthington said. “There’s no room for smaller businesses or smaller people in Beier’s campaign.” 

Beier, though, says he has done a better job of reaching out to students and listening to their needs.  

“Students comprise 35 percent of the voting population and their opinion counts a lot,” he said. “I get e-mails from students telling me they are tired of seeing Telegraph go to waste. They think it’s time for a change. The video reflects that.” 

Rio Bauce, a Berkeley High student (and occasional Planet contributor) who is working on Worthington’s election campaign, said the video was “impressive but incredibly inaccurate.” 

“For those of us who know Kriss, we know that he is a strong advocate for increasing police on Telegraph Avenue, revitalizing the business area on Telegraph, and cleaning up People’s Park,” Bauce said. “This is obviously a last minute gimmick intended to confuse students and other voters into thinking that this multimillionaire will look out for them and District 7. Nothing could be further from the truth.”  

Even some who support Beier said the YouTube video could have included more substance. 

Nathan Danielsen, a UC Berkeley student who voted for Beier this year, said that the YouTube video was well produced, but it didn’t offer much information to entice student voters. 

“It is not very funny, not ridiculous and doesn’t push the limits of anything,” he said. “It is really safe. Thinking as a typical consumer of entertainment, I was most entertained by the passionate music.” 

In their final meeting before voters decide on their future role in city government, Berkeley commissioners added two new landmarks to the city’s legacy. 

The future role of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)—seen by some as a bulwark of neighborhood and historical preservation and by others as a last resort for the NIMBY-minded—will be decided in Tuesday’s election. 

The battle over Measure J, the target of an expensive developer-financed opposition campaign by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, dominated the campaign in the runup to the election. 

Yet one of Thursday night’s landmarkings—carried out under the old law, which is the basis for Measure J, the initiative that developers want to torpedo—was endorsed by a prospective owner who is also a major donor to the chamber’s war chest. 

Panoramic Interests, headed by Patrick Kennedy, is buying the building on Center Street that until earlier this year housed the Act I & Act II Theater. 

John English filed a petition to initiative the building as a city landmark—technically, a structure of merit, the designation for less pristine but still noteworthy structures. 

Begun as the Ennor’s Restaurant Building, the structure at 2128-2130 Center St., was extensively resurfaced in its incarnation as a theater, with the addition of a marquee and the front windows filled in and covered with tile. 

During last month’s commission meeting, Panoramic representative Cara Houfer said the developer plans to restore the building, and another Panoramic representative, Patrick Walker, told commissioners Thursday that “Panoramic Interests thanks John for all his efforts and work and supports his application for landmarking status.” 

Walker said that after escrow closes—presumably in January—Panoramic would enter a Mills Act agreement with the city, which gives owners of landmarked buildings a tax break on repairs and restoration. 

While LPC member Burton Edwards (listed as a No on J endorser on Chamber postcards) wanted to retain the option of preserving facade left from the structure’s post-restaurant and pre-movie incarnation as a Breuner’s Furniture store, other commissioners seemed to favor the original 1920’s incarnation. 

The commission voted unanimously to add the building to the city’s roster of landmarks. 

Reluctant owner 

Though homeowner Horst Bansner would seem the obvious candidate to delight in landmarking—he has lovingly resorted his historic dwelling and even hosted a gathering two years ago by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association to celebrate the home’s 100th year—he urged LPC members not to landmark his dwelling. 

The application to designate the striking 1905 Craftsman-style dwelling at 1340 Arch St. was filed by two neighbors, a move they made when they learned of Bansner’s application to build a small by-right dwelling unit in his front yard. 

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs), as they are termed by city code, don’t have to go through the usual permitting process for additions if they enclose fewer than 500 square feet of space. 

Neighbors Yael and Gavriel Moses filed the initiation petition, pleading with the commission to spare the home’s large front garden area where the ADU was planned. 

The home is notable both for its design and because it’s one of the few—if only—examples of a residence designed by John White to have survived the city’s disastrous 1923 hills fire.  

White was the brother-in-law of legendary Berkeley architect Bernard Maybeck, and is primarily recognized for two landmark designs, the Le Conte Memorial Lodge, a National Historic Landmark in Yosemite Valley, and the Hillside Club in Berkeley. 

The home also witnessed the visits of internationally known figures such as photographers Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, anthropologist A.L. Kroeber and his spouse, Theodora, and others drawn by long-time owner Carl Sauer, an internationally renowned geographer. 

Because the front garden was integral to the design, the Moseses asked that it be specifically called out for preservation, but Bansner said he wanted to build the small dwelling for his 88-year-old father so he wouldn’t have to negotiate the uphill walk, and later use the dwelling for himself as he grew older. 

Bansner said he was also concerned because his application to build the ADU had been pending for almost a year before his neighbors acted. 

“I have spent a significant amount of money restoring the home, and I have opened it for fundraisers for BAHA and political candidates, but no good deed goes unpunished,” he said. 

But Lesley Emmington, after initial reservations, joined the rest of the commission in approving a landmarking that didn’t call for preserving the garden, allowing Bansner to build an addition so long as it respected the design of the home. 

“I’ve always though of it as an amazing house,” said LPC commissioner Robert Johnson, who walks by the home frequently on walks from his own house in the hills. 

BHS gymnasium 

When it came time to comment on a draft environmental impact report on planned construction at Berkeley High School, LPC members urged Berkeley Unified School District board members to reconsider their plans to demolish the old gymnasium building that houses the warm water pool. 

The building houses the only the East Bay’s only warm water pool, which is used by the disabled and people recovering from injuries. Berkeley voters passed a never-funded $3.5 million bond measure in 2000 to rehabilitate the structure, which is rated as seismically unsafe. 

Carrie Olson faulted the district for failing to seek out wider community input for their construction plans. “I was supposed to be appointed the preservation community’s representative to the process, but I was not notified at all,” she said. 

“We were not properly informed,” said Johnson, and Commission Jill Korte, a project neighbor, agreed, nothing that she had received no notice of the plans. 

“This is a resource of record potentially eligible for the National register of Historic Places,” said Emmington, referring to the Beaux Arts building designed by a team of architects headed by Walter Ratcliff. 

Olson and Emmington noted that the building has spaces upstairs that at one time were used for classrooms and which could be used for that purpose again, meeting one of the district’s objectives. 

“They seriously have to consider the alternatives, and we think the preferred alternation is to preserve the building,” said Johnson. 

The deadline for submitting comments to the school board is Thursday, said Commission Secretary Janet Homrighausen.  

Disabled community activists, including City Councilmember Dona Spring, have called for preservation of the pool, which she says meets a critical need for the disabled.

Citizens charged with guiding the creation of a new downtown plan called a halt to discussions last week, deciding instead to tackle “the vision thing.” 

Members of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) acted Wednesday after Victoria Eisen interrupted a discussion of planning scenarios with the remark, “Something feels very backward about what we’re doing.” 

Matt Taecker, the planner hired by the city with UC Berkeley funds to help draft the new plan, had been laying out two scenarios for development of the area surrounding the intersection of Shattuck and University avenues. 

One was dubbed the “Preservation Emphasis” alternative, while the other featured a new mid-rise development along Hearst and Shattuck avenues. 

But Eisen, a planner with a private consulting practice, said she wasn’t ready to make decisions about building heights and uses in specific neighborhoods.  

“It seems to me that if we can’t agree on what you’re calling a vision, then we can’t make these decisions anyway,” she said. 

“I agree,” said Linda Jewell, one of the university’s ex-officio representatives on the panel. 

The concept of a vision statement is reflected in the existing downtown plan, created in 1990, which lays out three goals and offers a one-paragraph vision statement. 

Others quickly joined in the discussion, focusing on the need to decide on an overall vision for what members wanted to see happen in the new, expanded downtown area. 

Preparation of a new plan was mandated in the settlement of a city lawsuit challenging the university’s Long Range Development Plan through 2020. That document calls for adding a million square feet of new university uses in the city center. 

“We gave some very big visions, but almost no sense of the land uses that will get us there,” said DAPAC member Dorothy Walker earlier in the meeting. “What kind of population do we need that will make this kind of vital, 24-hour place happen?” 

“A vital downtown ties into all these other issues,” said Rob Wrenn, a member of the city’s transportation commission. “Sustainability has direct impacts on other things, and if we want green buildings, that has an impact on height, and so on.” 

“One of my problems is that I wasn’t prepared to make choices tonight” about different scenarios involving building heights and other issues, he said. 

“I’d like to go adjourn now and go home and start writing my own vision statement,” said former City Councilmember Mim Hawley. “We all have to write it down, so when we come back it would be the first time we came to a meeting as a group totally prepared.” 

Juliet Lamont, an environmentalist and creeks activist, agreed, adding that “one of the philosophical issues we have to confront to resolve these issues is what constitutes function versus form.” 

Carole Kennerly, who works for the Alameda County Health Department, said members should also come back with a statement “of what the downtown means to us.” 

Patti Dacey, who described herself as probably the panel’s most ardent preservationist, said she wasn’t entirely opposed to altering landmark buildings. 

“There are a lot of beautiful examples of buildings downtown that are at least twice as big as they used to be,” she said. “Just because they’re landmarks doesn’t mean they can’t be changed.” 

Her remarks followed earlier comments from Walker that DAPAC might consider replacing some smaller historical structures in the downtown. 

“A lot of what seem to be tensions may not prove to be,” Dacey said. 

Subcommittees 

Members voted to cut short the discussion of alternatives and to go home and focus on their visions—but not before hearing reports from two subcommittees. 

The first, which is focusing on development in the one-block stretch of Center Street between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street, didn’t have anything to report because of another failure of vision. 

It seems that no one from the city had the vision to be on hand to welcome the subcommittee when they arrived at the closed doors of the North Berkeley Senior Center last Thursday evening. 

Locked out, the small group couldn’t adjourn to a restaurant as one member suggested because the meeting was covered by the Brown Act and had to take place—or not—where the previous public notices had declared it would be. 

The subcommittee will try again Monday night in Room C of the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

The other subcommittee, comprised of members of DAPAC and the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), is charged with preparing a survey of the downtown’s historic structures. 

Though city staff originally issued a contract calling for a detailed examination of 30 selected properties, Dacey—a former LPC member who sits on DAPAC—said the group had decided to use the funds to prepare a more thorough survey of the whole range of historic buildings downtown. 

“Unfortunately we weren’t asked beforehand, but I think it’s working out really well,” she said.

The schedule of election night parties traditonally provides clues for alert observers about shifting alliances among candidates. All festivities are scheduled to start after the polls close, around 8 o’clock tonight (Tuesday). 

Mayor Tom Bates will be hosting his party at Cafe De La Paz, 1600 Shattuck Av. Berkeley City Council District 1 candidate Linda Maio’s supporters will join the Bates gathering, as will those of candidate Raudel Wilson, who has challenged progressive Councilmember Dona Spring in District 4.  

Mayoral candidate Zelda Bronstein’s supporters will gather at her campaign headquarters at 1644 MLK, at Virginia. 

Berkeley mayoral candidate Zachary Runningwolf has not yet announced the location of his post-election venue. A campaign spokesperson told the Planet that in keeping with his Native American background, it will be held in the open. 

Berkeley City Council District 7 Councilmember candidate Kriss Worthington and District 8 candidate Jason Overman are holding their post-election party at their joint south-of-campus campaign headquarters at 2502 Telegraph. District 4 Councilmember and candidate Dona Spring is also inviting her supporters to party at the Worthington-Overman headquarters.  

Berkeley City Council District 8 candidate Gordon Wozniak will hold his election night party in a Claremont district home at 141 Parkside Dr. Berkeley City Council District 7 candidate George Beier, who shared an office with Wozniak, has yet to announce a venue for a post-election party. 

Oakland City Council District 2 candidate Pat Kernighan will hold a Volunteer Appreciation Party at the Sushi Zone at 388 9th St., Suite 268. 

Oakland City Council District 2 candidate Aimee Allison will be having her post-election party at Maxwell’s Lounge at 341 13th St. 

Albany City Council candidates Margie Atkinson and Joanne Willie will hold their election night party at 1127 Garfield Ave.  

Albany City Council candidate Caryl O’Keefe has told the Planet she hasn’t yet decided if she will be having a party since her husband is scheduled for surgery tomorrow evening. 

The Planet was not able to get information about post-election parties for the following candidates by press-time: 

• Berkeley mayoral candidate Christian Pecaut. 

• Berkeley City Council District 1 candidate Merillie Mitchell. 

•Albany City Council candidate Francesco Papalia. 

—Riya Bhattacharjee, Mason Cohen and Richard Brenneman

Should the Berkeley Police Department be held accountable to the public when its actions are called into question? 

The city will answer in the affirmative in Alameda County Superior Court Department 31 at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14. 

At stake is the Police Review Commission’s more than 30-year public process, in which individuals who have complaints against Berkeley Police Officers have been able to air the complaint in a public setting.  

Berkeley attorney Jim Chanin, who helped write the initiative that created Berkeley’s Police Review Commission and was a member of the city’s first PRC, said the possibility of losing open complaint hearings is part of a “march toward a police state, where the police get to do what they want and nobody knows about it.” 

This is happening on a national, state and now local level, he warned.  

In an Oct. 31 brief to the court, Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque underscored that the need for the public to have the ability to scrutinize its police force grows out of the nature of police work itself. 

“Within constitutional limits, [police] can detain and question members of the public, subject them to intrusive searches of their persons and property, jail them based on probable cause alone and apply force to effectuate any of these powers,” she wrote. “For the most part these activities occur outside public view.” 

In mid-September, the city’s Police Review Commission halted its public inquiries into complaints against the police, in response to a Superior Court decision, Copley Press vs. San Diego, and to a Berkeley Police Association lawsuit, first filed 2002.  

While the city argues that Copley does not apply to Berkeley because its Police Review Commission is not responsible for disciplining officers—that falls to the city manager and police chief—the BPA contends that the Copley decision and the Police Officers Bill of Rights make it unlawful for the city to compel police officers to testify publicly in response to complaints. 

“The PRC investigation, hearings, findings and decisions violate the statutory and contractual rights of the officers who are subject to these inquiries,” says a brief filed with the court Oct. 13 by Alison Berry Wilkinson of Pleasant Hill-based Rains, Lucia & Wilkinson LLP on behalf of the BPA, citing a legal requirement that “the records related to peace officer misconduct complaints, investigation, and hearings are confidential.”  

While the city manager’s records and the police Internal Affairs Bureau records are confidential, PRC records are not. 

A Nov. 14 judgment in Berkeley’s favor will mean the city can immediately re-open its complaint hearings, even if the BPA decides to appeal, City Attorney Albuquerque said in a phone interview Monday. 

If the judgment is in favor of the BPA, the City Council will decide whether to appeal, Albuquerque said. 

Chanin said a ruling in the BPA’s favor would be “a sad day in Berkeley.” He pointed out that the public can find discipline records against attorneys or doctors or contractors on the internet, and argued that the public should have the right to scrutinize its police officers. “The public is paying 100 percent of their salaries,” he said. 

If the hearings are closed, Chanin said, “it will be a march away from democracy, mirroring what is happening on the federal and state level.”  

The Zoning Adjustments Board will review the Kragen/Trader Joe’s project at 1885 University Ave. on Thursday. 

Berkeley-based developers Evan McDonald and Chris Hudson will request the board to give preliminary consideration to a modified design that will allow construction of a mixed-use development with 148 dwelling units, 14,390 square feet of retail, and 157 parking spaces in a two-level parking garage  

The current plan also calls for the existing commercial building at 1885 University Ave. to be demolished. The site, which is located on a one-acre lot bounded by University, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Berkeley Way, borders commercial space and residences. 

In the past, community members have raised concerns over how the city would apply the state’s affordable housing density bonus statute toward the project and also over issues related to traffic, building mass and height. 

The staff has recommended that the board open the issue for public hearing, take testimony and then continue it to a future ZAB meeting. 

The ZAB will also hear a request for a use permit modification for 2076 Ashby Ave., which would change the east side of an existing three-story mixed-use building from stucco to horizontal siding. 

Currently, the attorney for U.S. Smog and Gas, next door, is refusing to let the applicant do any further construction on the property, claiming that it would encroach on the public right of way. 

At the Oct. 26 ZAB meeting, the board asked the applicant to conform to his original plans or rework them so that the insulation of the water meter and the gas meter is aesthetically pleasing. 

The board will also hear a use permit modification request to allow the expansion of the South Berkeley Police Substation at 3192 Adeline St. for employee lockers and vehicle storage.  

At the Oct. 26 board meeting the applicant had told the board that they required more time to meet with the neighbors. The matter had first come up at the ZAB on Sept. 14. 

Other agenda items include: 

• Request by Oxford Street Development for a use permit modification to reduce the number of parking spaces in the underground garage of an approved mixed-use project on 2200 Oxford St. 

• Request by A. Ali Eslami for a use permit to expand the kitchen and interior seating area of the Missouri Lounge, add outdoor seating, reconfigure and reduce the required parking, and expand alcohol service to new seating areas on 2600 San Pablo Ave. 

• Request by Jamal Fares for a use permit to establish a 500-square-foot carry-out food service store in existing commercial space with no off-street parking at 1842 Euclid Ave.  

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers in the Maudelle Shirek Building (Old City Hall) at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  

The Berkeley school board passed a resolution last week supporting Brown v. Board of Education and the Seattle, Wash., and Louisville, Ky., public school integration plans, both of which have been challenged by Sacramento-based non-profit Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). 

PLF also sued BUSD for the second time in October for allegedly violating California’s Proposition 209 by racially discriminating among students during placements at elementary schools and at programs at Berkeley High. 

The board maintained in its resolution that BUSD would “continue to support, defend, and affirm the fundamental right, legality, and morality of school integration.” 

The resolution also supports the Dec. 4, 2006, march in Washington (when the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to start hearing the Seattle and Louisville cases). These cases could make it more difficult to maintain desegregated and diverse schools and programs in Berkeley as well as the rest of the United States.  

The Berkeley board on Wednesday also approved an out-of-state travel request for B-Tech (Berkeley Technology Academy) which would allow 16 students to participate in the 18th Annual Fall Black College Tour, scheduled to take place in Alabama and Georgia from Nov. 15 to 19, 2006. 

Organized by Della Tours, the tour includes visits to five colleges in the South: Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia; Oakland College in Huntsville, Alabama; and Alabama A&M University in Normal, Alabama. Students will also attend the Alabama A&M University vs. Prairie View A&M University football game. 

The trip is a major step towards changing the culture at B-Tech and will help to turn the possibility of attending college into a reality, administrators say. B-Tech students are currently tutoring with the intention of preparing for the Scholastic Aptitude Test and college. Twenty B-Tech students have registered for the Preliminary SAT and SAT tests this month.  

Some of the requirements for attending this tour include at least 80 percent attendance with no unexcused absences, no referrals or suspensions, a 2.5 or higher G.P.A. and registration for the SAT. 

The cost of the tour is $985 per student and the cost of the total event is $15,760.  

B-Tech students have raised $5,600 through fundraising activities, which have included a car wash, a raffle and a student store, and the school is continuing to accept funds from the local community. The Berkeley Public Education Foundation has also approved a grant for $6,500 and principal Victor Diaz has contributed $1,000. No student will be denied access to the tour because of lack of funds. 

Planning commissioners will decide regulations rather than specific projects when they meet Wednesday. 

One item listed on the official agenda won’t be discussed, however—an amendment to the zoning ordinance governing pet adoption facilities. 

Deputy Planning Director Wendy Cosin said the proposed ordinance is an effort to resolve an ongoing dispute over the number of dogs allowed to be kept overnight at the Milo Foundation, but the planning staff won’t have the proposal ready to discuss Wednesday even though it’s on the agenda. 

The Berkeley animal adoption non-profit has been the center of a controversy with neighbors of its facilities at 1575 Solano Ave. 

The battle lines were revealed during meetings of the Zoning Adjustments Board, with some neighbors saying the foundation kept more animals than allowed by current laws and violated city codes by washing feces down the driveway and into street gutters and storm drains. 

Milo officials offered a compromise that would allow the Solano facility to keep no more than four dogs overnight, while adding soundproofing and a sewer connection. But the facility wouldn’t be able to continue functioning as currently operated without a change in the zoning ordinance, and both sides will have to wait until staff planners are able to study the issue more thoroughly and prepare a report, Cosin said. 

Ordinances changes that will be up for consideration Wednesday include: 

• A review of draft policy language for the city’s Pedestrian Master Plan; 

• A decision to set a public hearing on a new ordinance to clarify the role of the city’s Design Review Committee (DRC) and limit appeals of finally approved designs; 

• A decision to set a public hearing on another new ordinance that would spell out the DRC’s membership. 

Members will also hear a staff report on the Association of Bay Area Governments housing projections for 2007 and the group’s survey of regional housing needs. 

The meeting beings at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Hooded bandit 

A menacing man robbed a 21-year-old at the Cloyne Court student co-op Friday night, then returned later to threaten him with a knife during the predawn hours Saturday, according to a crime alert issued by UC Berkeley Police Chief Victoria L. Harrison. 

The suspect, wearing the de rigeur Berkeley bandit fashion accessory—a dark-colored hoodie—did not injure the young man. 

Another hoodie, another heist 

Another hoodie-clad hold-up artist, this one accompanied by a companion, used a punch to the face to convince a young UC Berkeley student to hand over his valuables. 

The young man told campus police he was approached by the pair as he was walking near Evans Hall just before 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The punch and the ensuing demand came after they’d stopped him to ask for directions. 

Once he’d been decked, the young man handed over his valuables and the bandits departed.

SAN FRANCISCO—Many ethnic voters will troop to the polling booths on Tuesday with one thing in mind: immigration. And there are indications from ethnic journalists that their communities are leaning toward the Democratic ticket to get the kind of comprehensive immigration reform law they want. Some fear that the issue will get swept under the rug until the new Congress starts in January. 

Alberto Vourvoulias, executive editor of El Diario/La Prensa, the country’s oldest Spanish-language newspaper, says immigration is the core issue driving voters in New Jersey to vote for incumbent Democrat Senator Bob Menendez. Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, has been “pro-immigrant, supporting comprehensive immigration reform and voting against the construction of the 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border,” Vourvoulias explains.  

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s vote in favor of that border wall is why his readers are unhappy with her, according to Vourvoulias. Protests led by immigrant rights groups criticized Clinton’s vote for the wall. Despite this, El Diario/La Prensa is endorsing Clinton, although, Vourvoulias says, “We do have a caveat for her, and that is we urge her to support immigrants, whether undocumented or not, and we are also very worried about her position on the Iraq war.” 

The newspaper is supporting both New York Democratic candidates Clinton and gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer, based on what Vourvoulias calls “the small party-line basis.” The paper, Vourvoulias explains, is supporting candidates based on issues that are closest to the hearts of Latinos. “It’s an innovative approach, it’s the first time it’s been done in New York, and we’re the only publication to have done it,” Vourvoulias says. The paper wants Spitzer to be aware of the importance of affordable housing, to support fairer health care for the poor and to stand up for immigrants. 

Joe Wei, national desk editor for World Journal, one of the largest Chinese-language dailies in the United States, predicts that most Chinese voters might favor Democrats, hoping for the passage of a comprehensive immigration law that will benefit the community. 

Wei predicts a generally lower turnout than the last elections in 2004, except where Asians are running for office. He points out that the only Asian-American in a national campaign is incumbent Congressman David Wu, running for re-election in Oregon. Most are running for state and local slots. If elected, Democrat Ellen Young will be the first Asian female State Assembly person in New York. “In California,” Wei says, “we have Democrats John Chiang running for state controller and Judy Chu running for state tax commissioner.” According to Wei, “here in New York, the Asian American Legal Defense League for the first time will send out an elections monitor to at least eight states where there are [many] Asian voters.” Wei assumes the extra monitoring of bilingual election services will encourage more Asian voters. 

South Asians are worried about immigration reform, says India Currents editor Ashok Jethanandani, but few realize “just how many undocumented workers there are from the community and how much the issue affects us.” There are about 280,000 undocumented Indian Americans, Jethanandani says, a number which has doubled in the past five years. “It’s a fast-growing population that doesn’t have much representation,” Jethanandani says, and “the South Asian response to the problem has been along their party affiliations.” 

The California-based monthly magazine has also been monitoring Indian American candidates running this year. Jethanandani says the number of Indian candidates increases each election cycle. “This year, about 30-40 candidates nationwide are seeking office and will drive more voters to the polling precincts,” he says. 

The most politically engaged ethnic population, African-Americans, won’t be focused on immigration reform. One of the country’s biggest African-American newspapers, The Washington Afro, has been reporting extensively on key races, that could increase black representation in Congress. Senior reporter James Wright is keeping a close eye on Maryland, where Republican candidate Michael Steele is running for U.S. Senate. “There’s also Anthony Brown, the black candidate running for Lt. Governor on the Democratic ticket with Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley running for Governor,” Wright adds. It’s hoped that Brown, being African-American, will deliver black votes for O’Malley. Wright points out, “the problem is the black vote is no longer just squarely into the Democratic column...the question is turn-out,” Wright says. 

“The black vote is a swing vote in a lot of these statewide elections,” Wright says. He believes that if even one house of Congress changes hands, it will be due to the black vote. 

Even if most political pundits see this election as a referendum on the Bush administration and the Iraq war, Wright believes that for the black community it’s actually a referendum “on Hurricane Katrina, and the way black people were mistreated.” Victims are still waiting for their money from FEMA, and many residents want to go back home but have nothing left to return to in Louisiana. Among African-American voters, Wright says, “Mr. Bush’s response to Katrina destroyed him.” 

1. Where were you born and where did you grow up, and how does that affect how you regard the issues in Berkeley and in your district? 

I was born in Decatur, Ill. It was a medium size town of about 80 to 100,000 in central Illinois. My father was an employee of the AE Stanley Manufacturing Company, a grain manufacturing company in the city, a big employer. My father was also a staunch member of Allied Industrial Union, which was the union that represented the workers there. He was a laborer, worked there for close to 30 years.  

I have two sisters, one older and one younger, and one younger brother. We had a good childhood growing up there. We had issues that most African-Americans had growing up in the mid ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s. All of my siblings went to Eisenhower High School, a relatively new high school. It was built in 1959, and I think we received a pretty good education. The city was, by and large, pretty integrated, although we still had some issues such as drug store and soda fountain segregation issues, but the schools were all integrated. 

I was a student athlete, played football, basketball and some track while I was there. I think it contributed to my future outlook by, first of all, providing me with a good education. Secondly, I grew up with a lot of friends and family and had a close-knit community there. In 1963, upon graduation, I and some friends, enlisted in the Marine Corps. I spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps in California and Hawaii. Then I spent a year in Philadelphia. And a year in Vietnam. I was discharged in Philadelphia, got married and later had a daughter in 1969. She lives out here in the Bay Area. My second wife and I were married almost 25 years ago and have been living in Berkeley since 1985. I Immediately fell in love with Berkeley when we moved out here, California in general, but Berkeley in particular. We had friends out here that helped us make a decision to move out here a year or so before we actually did move here. They showed us around a bit and introduced us to the culture and the people out here. One of the kind of underhanded things that they did was they would call us when we lived in Philadelphia. They would call from Berkeley in January when it was 70 degrees here and tell us how nice the weather was. So we finally came out to visit here in 1984. Sure enough, it was 70 degrees. And we visited Yosemite, made the rounds, rekindled some acquaintances that we had with people who lived out here that we had known. So in 1985 we decided to move out here—my wife, my daughter and myself—and have enjoyed being here ever since.  

2. What is your educational background, and how did that help prepare you for being a councilmember? 

I went to community college in Philadelphia and studied to become a respiratory therapist. I became a respiratory therapist earning an associate degree in applied science. Later I went to nursing school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor’s degree and became a critical care nurse in the early ‘80s and have been so ever since. When I came to Berkeley in the mid ‘80s, I went to graduate school in city planning and public health at UC Berkeley. The training and education in public health and in city planning certainly contributed to my understanding and educational underpinnings for later political activity. I actually became interested in going to graduate school in those two disciplines while serving on the Planning Commission in Berkeley from 1989-1996.  

3. What are the top three most pressing issues facing your district? 

I think the pressing issues have to do with providing opportunities for our youth. That’s one category. Insuring that we have opportunities in terms of education and for developing life skills, back-to-school programs and also things like financial literacy. And to that end I’ve been working with councilmembers Moore and Capitelli to explore the possibility of creating a youth center for the youth in South and West Berkeley. I’m meeting with some county officials to pursue that even further. 

We are all interested in crime and crime prevention and efforts to make South Berkeley a safer place to raise a family and live and work as we all can. And I’m a strong supporter of neighborhood organizations that dedicate themselves not only to prevention but to building a sense of community in our town. 

The other important issue is this on going problem with health disparities in the city between the African-American and Latinos and more affluent areas of the city. Four or five years ago reports came out from our health department that highlighted those disparities. The city has responded over the years to try and create programs that deal with some of those health disparities. For instance, we have a program to help reduce the disparities in low birth weight babies that were being born in our community and in the hills and the flatlands. Life expectancy is a continuing gap between the hills and the flatlands and we will continue to work on those issues. So that’s probably the three top issues: youth, crime prevention and health disparities.  

4. Do you agree with the direction the city is heading in? Why or why not? I agree that the city is making some efforts to improve its financial base and create affordable housing to make this a more livable city for all of its residents and pursue development that is environmentally friendly and creates jobs for young people in this city. I agree with the general direction the city is going in. I think we need more affordable housing but it should be housing that can house families. Also, I’m a very staunch supporter of building houses at the transit village to reduce our dependency on automobiles and promote a healthier environment in the city. 

5. What is your opinion of the proposal to develop a new downtown plan and the settlement with the University of California over its LRDP? 

The state constitution gives the university extraordinary powers and exempts them from compliance with our local land use regulations. It’s a harsh fact to deal with. It’s in the constitution so it’s very difficult to get around it. I think the settlement that the university and the city hammered out was a reflection of those harsh realities. I think it represents an opportunity for the city and the university to work together in a mutually beneficial way to improve the pace and substance of the development in the downtown area, especially where the city and the university share common space and interests.  

6. How do you think the mayor is doing at his position? Are you considering running for mayor, and if so, what changes would you try to make? 

I’m not interested in running for mayor for now or the foreseeable future. I’m more interested in working closely with the council and with the community to try and improve conditions in my community. I think the mayor is doing a very good job. I don’t always agree with him on every issue. He makes an effort to reach out to people on the council to get their opinions and their input, and I think he is head and shoulders above the last mayor we had.  

7. Has Berkeley’s recent development boom been beneficial for the city? What new direction, if any, should the city’s development take over the next decade? 

Well. I think development of a city is part of its ongoing life. Cities that don’t engage in some kind of appropriate development tend to wither. Certainly we don’t want that fate for Berkeley. We have a big enough problem operating this regional economic environment that favors places like Emeryville, which dedicated a great deal of its resources to retail development. The realities of big box shopping areas like Costco and others detract from our economic well-being in the city. The city, I think, needs to and is beginning to develop strategies especially around bringing industries that are favorable to the environment. I think we ought to look more at training a cadre, especially young people, in an environmentally friendly realm. And I’m willing to do whatever I can to help promote that. 

8. How would you characterize the political climate in Berkeley these days? 

I think that the political climate here in Berkeley is not unlike the political climate in other communities, much of which is dictated by soaring housing prices, by the continuing and escalating effects, I think, of Prop 13 that was passed in the mid ‘70s that has had quite a detrimental effect on public funding of essential services and schools. I think we are increasingly finding a very difficult environment in which to work, when you combine that with the direction of the national government, which seems to be in the firm control of corporate America. The national government has participated in the undermining of affordable housing by reducing HUD funding. We still have a serious problem with health care in this country that’s not being addressed as it should be with an effort to institute a single payer system that would insure that everybody in this country receives health care coverage. So these all contribute to a political climate where there is a lot of distrust of government. There is apprehension about the future. We have to forge a future that everybody can feel that they can participate in and have a stake in and we have a lot of work to do. 

9. What is your favorite thing about Berkeley? 

I like its diversity. It’s a struggle that we have to continue to wage. It’s being mitigated with rising housing costs, and the failure to produce the kinds of living wage jobs in the city that can afford people an opportunity to buy a home and raise a family here. But these things are worth fighting for. The good thing about Berkeley, I think, is the ongoing and deep reservoir of compassion and concerns and egalitarianism in this city that has stood up over the years and makes Berkeley a continuing center for guidance for the rest of the country in terms of initiatives we take and stands that we take. And I hope we continue to be the cutting edge for ideas and actions.  

10. What is your least favorite thing about Berkeley? 

The traffic. When I first moved here in the mid ‘80s there wasn’t really a rush- hour traffic jam. But for the last 10 or 12 years it’s been escalating and there’s many more cars on the streets. Many people are not taking full advantage of public transportation. And to that extent that we can work on the macro environment in terms of reducing pollutants is very important. But we also have to work on the micro environment in terms of how we live our lives in this small city on this small planet in this solar system.

We have met the enemy and it is us. 

—Walt Kelly 

Last year my friend from Berkeley, Dwayne, called me on a cell phone and said, “Winston, I’m on a business trip in Philadelphia for the first time, where should I go?” 

“Where are you?” I asked.  

“I’m driving past Broad Street and Ogontz Avenue,” he replied. 

“Oh, you’re in North Philly, near Germantown,” I responded. 

After a long pause he said, “I don’t see any Germans around here.” 

“I know! The Germans left a long time ago and so should you.” 

“Why?” he asked. 

I told him, “Because you don’t know anyone, and there’s a war going on in that neighborhood!” 

“What war” he wanted to know.  

“The war on ourselves and it’s been going on for years!” 

Several weeks ago I went to the Solano Stroll on a beautiful sunny day. The theme of this year’s mile-long block party and festival was “Send in the Clowns.” There were thousands of people at this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic all-generations gathering. There must have been 20 different bands, arts, crafts, games and a wide variety of foods to choose from along a 10-block stretch. The fun went on long past sundown, and when it was over there were no “sideshows,” riots or folks getting mugged on their way home. 

One of the reasons the Solano Stroll is such a success every year is the dedication of the organizers. But it’s also owing to the civility of the participants. When people unavoidably bumped into each other and scrambled to get into long lines, they said, “Excuse me, please,” or “I’m sorry.” It reminded me of how the Festival of the Lake in Oakland used to be before gangs and the war on ourselves took over. 

Last month I went to an event in West Oakland on a beautiful sunny day at Shoreline Park. It was called the Healthy Neighborhood Festival. There were several bands, good food, arts, crafts and information booths. The several hundred people who attended, instead of the thousand expected, seemed to enjoy themselves and each other. There was no pushing, shoving or long lines. There were no “sideshows, riots or muggings at this gathering either. One of the major themes for this event was the need for “Organ donors in the Black Community!”  

There is definitely a need and unfortunately a supply of healthy organs in the black community. Drive-bys, gang violence, muggings, petty arguments, and perceived disrespect have led to deadly disagreements and a steady stream of young corpses. On the other side, heavy drinking, smoking, drug use and poor eating habits, practiced by an older generation, have created a whole crop of people that may need a liver, kidney, gall bladder, lung or heart. I myself am not above it—I could probably use a few organs myself in the coming years. 

The war on ourselves is not just about bullets and drugs. It’s an attack on our language. The conjugation of the verb to be is not I be, you be, we be! It’s an attack on education when honor students are ridiculed for being smart. It’s an attack on the family structure when teenage girls introduce their ex-boyfriend as their baby’s daddy and not by name. It’s about being fatalistic, “I might not live tomorrow, but I’m going to live today.” 

The Oakland Tribune printed a story on Sept. 30 that an anti-violence rally was cancelled over fears of violence and safety concerns. It’s pretty disturbing when you’re scared to have an anti-violence rally. As of that day, from the beginning of the year, there had been 115 people killed in Oakland and 287 in Philadelphia, almost nine a week! I wonder how people have died in New York, New Jersey, Las Angeles, Detroit and Miami.  

At the Healthy Neighborhood Festival some speakers talked about how they benefited from healthy organs being harvested and receiving a transplant. Others spoke, sad but proud, of how their family member’s donated organs had contributed to the well-being of someone else. One paradox that struck me was that most of the organ recipients were old and the donors were young. 

When I left the Healthy Neighborhood Festival, I didn’t feel festive as I had at the Solano Stroll. It was more like I had attended a wake. I was glad to see the people I knew so that we could give each other support, but in the end it was a sad occasion. We were watching a community mourn the deadly harvest of the war on ourselves.  

Slamming what they called the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce’s Karl Rove approach to local elections, some 125 people demonstrated Wednesday on the steps of Old City Hall to “say no to big money and big lies.”  

Followed by a march to the University Avenue Chamber of Commerce office, the protest targeted the Chamber political action committee’s “hit pieces” attacking incumbent council-members Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington and the Yes on Measure J campaign. 

A recent filing with Alameda County shows that the Chamber PAC spent at least $61,793.58 on the effort.  

Addressing the hastily called noontime gathering, Worthington said people in Berkeley want “integrity and democracy,” not the “big lies” the Chamber PAC is delivering. 

“Thousands of dollars were spent by vested interests,” Spring added, pointing specifically to Chamber PAC contributions of $5,000 by Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests, and $10,000 contributed by Wareham Development to the effort. 

“The community will not put up with the distortions and lies,” Spring said, “We’re fighting for our community standards. I’ve never seen the elections sink this low.”  

While the Chamber pieces paint Worthington and Spring as anti-business, claiming, among other things, that they opposed the West Berkeley Bowl, Spring underscored that she, Worthing-ton and Councilmember Max Anderson abstained on a Bowl vote, holding out for a resolution in support of a union at the market. All three voted their support on the second reading of the resolution before the council after the pro-union resolution was prepared, she said. 

Moreover, Spring said, contrary to statements in the chamber mailer, “We did vote for more police officers and outreach workers” for Telegraph Avenue and downtown. “Business left Telegraph because of high rents and Internet sales,” she added. 

Worthington said he would have no problem if the Chamber sent out mailers about the true issues that divide him from them, such as his strong support for the Honda strikers and Claremont Hotel workers. 

“We can’t ask what’s the matter with Kansas without asking what’s the matter with Berkeley,” said former Landmarks Commissioner Patti Dacey, speaking for the Yes on J ballot measure. 

“The lies against Measure J are a degradation of the democratic process,” Dacey said, pointing to the mailer’s assertion that the measure is a “violation of state law” and blasting the mailer’s contention that the measure would remove the state historic standard of integrity.  

Correcting the record, Dacey said, in fact, the ballot measure would “integrate the standard of integrity into local law.” (The standard of integrity relates to the degree that changes are made in a structure over time.) 

At the close of the rally—which included District 8 challenger Jason Overman, representatives of the No on Measure I campaign and mayoral candidate Zelda Bronstein, and a representative from the Yes on Prop. 89 committee—protesters marched the several blocks from Old City Hall to the Chamber of Commerce office a few blocks away on University Avenue. There, Worthington delivered a letter, calling on the Chamber to “issue an immediate correction to the inaccurate information that your organization has disseminated to my constituents.” 

From behind a locked metal gate at the Chamber office on University Avenue, Chamber President Roland Peterson read a prepared statement, which distanced the Chamber from its political action arm, Business for Better Government. 

“It is …important for all to realize that the Chamber of Commerce is separate and distinct from the Business for Better Government PAC,” he read. “There is only a casual affiliation among the two, such as a shared address.” 

Peterson’s statement describes the Chamber PAC as a “grass roots movement of different local coalitions from West Berkeley and throughout the city, concerned citizens and small businesses alike, from the flatlands to the hills, who want to make Berkeley great again … This is not, we want to stress not, big business interests, but local interests, committed small business and the community fighting for positive change.”  

The statement goes on to argue, “We need to keep our tax dollars in Berkeley.” 

A look at the 34 Chamber PAC contributors filed with Alameda county on Oct. 26 for the period of July 1 to Oct. 21, however, indicates that the bulk of the $38,000 raised (the rest is in loans to the PAC) came from large businesses, almost half of them located outside Berkeley. In addition to San Rafael-based Wareham Development and Panoramic Interests, large contributions came from San Rafael-based Seagate Properties, Inc., which contributed $5,250, Emeryville-based Teece Family Foundation, which contributed $4,000, and Berkeley-based Ruegg & Ellsworth, which contributed $3,000.  

Among other contributions from outside Berkeley was a $1,000 donation from Oakland-based Bisno Development Co., $500 from the president of San Francisco-based Pacific Property Asset Management and six $250 contributions. 

While the Chamber’s filings did not indicate where the money was spent, the mailers were posted from Carlsbad. Daily Planet calls to Peterson on Thursday for further explanation were not returned by deadline. 

BATES ON DEVELOPMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Re Mayor Bates's 11/3 commentary, "Let’s Talk About Development," if he's as green as he makes out in his campaign literature, why did he fail to discuss the fundamental ecological issue of limits to growth? 

The East Bay's existing population is already making such demands on the water supply that EBMUD is seriously considering building desalinization plants. Do we really want to build ourselves into a perpetual drought? 

As for Bates's argument that we need to line the major traffic corridors with five-story apartment buildings in order to provide housing for Berkeley workers, the ones built in recent years always seem to have vacancies. Why aren't Berkeley workers snapping them up? My guess is they'd rather commute as far as necessary to give their kids the benefit of growing up in a single-family house with a yard--just like Bates's kids did. 

Robert Lauriston 

South Berkeley, District 3 

ANTI-MEASURE A POSTCARD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last night I received a postcard from anti-Measure A folk whining about the state of Berkeley Unified School District's pools and other recreational facilities. I'd like to remind them that the primary mandate of BUSD is to educate children, not provide recreation to adults. Starving the District of resources by defeating Measure A will make this already-challenging mandate nearly impossible. And if you think the facilities are poorly maintained now, sending the District into bankruptcy would only make the current situation much, much worse. 

I hope ten years from now when this measure is up for renewal, we try to make it permanent so this kind of nonsense no longer arrives in my mailbox. 

Brenda Buxton 

VOTING FOR BATES, MAIO OR WOZNIAK WILL LOWER THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley homeowners should be cognizant of the current real estate market when voting on November 7. 

The strong real estate market is over, and home prices are dropping. Yet massive apartment and condominium projects keep getting approved and built. Now that the real estate market is weakening, land use decisions will effect property values more and more. A glut of apartments and condo units will lower property values through the economic law of supply 

and demand.  

Berkeley is already the third most densely populated city in northern California, after San Francisco and Daly City. As Berkeley continues to rapidly develop, traffic will keep getting worse, historic buildings and views will be lost, and our city will become more dense, noisier, and more polluted. All of this will make Berkeley a less desirable place in which to buy a home, and in which to make a long-termcommitment to live. 

Mayor Tom Bates, and City Council Members Linda Maio (District 1) and Gordon Wozniak (District 8) have voted for nearly every development project that has come to the Berkeley City Council in the last several years. They have consistently refused to hold public hearings on the appeal of large-scale development projects approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board, and they have consistently refused to require environmental impact reports (EIRs) for these large-scale projects. 

Bates, Maio and Wozniak also voted last year to approve the secret deal with UC to double the size of downtown Berkeley and to hand development decisions for our downtown over to the university. If the secret deal with UC is not overturned, neighborhoods to the north and south of downtown Berkeley could soon be overrun with high-rise apartments, condos, and office buildings. 

Berkeley home owners should realize that a vote for Mayor Bates, for Council Member Maio, or for Council Member Wozniak is a vote to worsen the quality of life in Berkeley, and a vote to lower the value of your home. 

Clifford Fred, member of the Berkeley Planning Commission from 1988-1996 

BATES HAS CHANGED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

After I heard Tom Bates speak at Berkeley City College on Wednesday night I wondered about how the man had changed so much from the mid seventies when I knew him as a legislature in who helped us in the State Health Department in Sacramento battle for the needs of all citizens.  

In contrast Wednesday he announced to us that there are plans to build a 900-unit, nine story condimunium on Center Street, across the street from Berkeley City College as well as a 200-unit hotel on Center and Shattuck where the Bank of America is.When one of the students asked what is this going to do for the downtown parking for students he answered, "It will be a little bit of inconvenience."  

As it is many people avoid shopping in downtown Berkeley because parking is so hard. We have a wonderful community college smack in the middle of the downtown,where will students park? What will a nine story condo do to the character of the downtown? Bates obviously has more than the interests of Berkeley's citizens in mind, specifically the developers. 

Pauline Bondonno Cross 

FINANCIAL ENDORSEMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The endorsement of Tom Bates by the SF Chronicle is less political than financial. 

Given the paper's declining circulation they simply can't afford to have Tom stealing bundles of the Chronicle. 

F. Greenspan 

PERALTA RACE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why should Berkeley residents care about a race for an Oakland seat on the board of the Peralta Community College District? 

Because the board in its entirety controls Berkeley City College (formerly Vista College). 

Because Berkeley citizens are eligible to take courses at Laney, Merritt, and the College of Alameda. 

Because Berkeley and Oakland are very closely linked. The fate of Oakland youth could hardly. be more important to us. No institution offers more hope for them than the community colleges. 

Because the District has just passed a $390 million–dollar bond issue, and we need to make sure the money is spent to best effect. 

Because there is a first-class candidate running for the seat. 

His name is Abel Guillen. Abel is young, and the first in his own family to go to college. He works hard. He cares deeply, He knows a lot about how to run college districts, He wants to make sure that every high school student in the district learns well in advance of graduation about opportunities through Peralta. He knows how to listen to the faculty, students and staff rather than outside contractors when it comes to making key decisions. 

To find out how to support Abel go to http://www.abelforperalta.com.  

Michael H. Goldhaber 

FAKE DEMOCRATIC PARTY MAILER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As five members of the California Democratic Party State Central Committee, we are disgusted that political consultants from southern California recently mailed a fake Democratic Party slate card to Oakland voters. It is bad enough that this fake mailer disguised itself as coming from the Democratic Party, but it also misrepresented several of the official positions of the Democratic Party.  

The Alameda County Democratic Party strongly supports Measure O (instant runoff voting in Oakland) (see http://www.acdems.org/endorsements.html for proof). And the California Democratic Party supports instant runoff voting (see http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.1193757/k.A452/Political_Reform.htm for proof).  

Yet this fake slate card told Oakland voters to vote "no" on this measure. That kind of sleazy, underhanded tactic is what really turns off voters to politics. And ironically, it's that kind of mudslinging that Measure O/instant runoff voting is trying to stop. As San Francisco's experience with instant runoff voting has shown, IRV decreases negative campaigning because candidates may need the second or third ranking from the supporters of other candidates to win. So you have to be more careful what you say about those candidates in order to attract their voters' support. 

Setting the record straight: the Democratic Party, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and over 20 Democratic elected officials from Oakland and Alameda County all strongly support Measure O.  

Suzi Goldmacher, Chair, 16th Assembly District, Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Steve Chessin, Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee and Member, California Democratic Party Executive Board 

Rob Dickinson, Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee, Alternate Member, California Democratic Party Executive Board, Founding Member, San Mateo County Democracy for America 

Donald Goldmacher, Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Sherry Reson, Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee, Founding Member, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club 

HAVES AND HAVE NOTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The 7th district city council race is about haves and have nots. Kriss Worthington the incumbent survives on considerable less than the national average on a city council salary of about $24,000 a year so he can spend more time directly helping his constituents. George Beier his opponent is a multi-millionaire...and he wants Kriss's job. Nothing is ever enough for some people. 

There is a line in a play "Look Back in Anger" by John Osborne-"It is always the wrong people who go hungry". Kriss has the compassion to respond to a call from a constituent like myself in distress by getting on his bike and meeting with me in 15 minutes. He helped my neighbor a fragile professor who had been locked out of his apartment by his landlord who trashed this tenant's place, putting his stuff in the garbage after not paying an illegal rent. In my own Section 8 case and the professor's case Kriss advocated for us with this landlord and with the city's Housing Authority. 

I am an award winning photographer who has been sufferring from illness. I have helped host crime watch meetings when I was living at Russell St.. I object to the Chamber of Commerce's hit piece about Kriss not helping with crime. Kriss helped us become more safe from drug dealers who were assaulting, robbing and threatening the lifes of Section 8 tenants in my complex. 

Kriss is a proven supporter of affordable housing. I have been quite sickened by the lies and slander George Beier has posted in front of his campaign headquarters basically calling Kriss worthless. Kriss confronted the "politically incorrrect" problem of drug dealing in my neighborhood and building when no one in the local city government did. Kriss is deservedly respected for his devotion to La Causa the cause of progressive politics. I feel George Beier is trying to buy this election with his money. It has been hard for me to write this but it is my hope it can get in the paper for election day.  

Diane Villanueva Arsanis 

A GUIDE FOR THE UNCONVINCED VOTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Make no mistake: this article is an attempt to convince you how to vote on Tuesday. 

I produce the majority of Kriss Worthington's literature. This election season I've also written for Dona Spring, against Measure I, and for Measure J. Over the years I've produced literature for numerous candidates and for Berkeley funding bonds, among them disability bonds, library bonds, and parks bonds. I am schooled in the art of convincing. 

There was one overriding message I took away from the '60s, from the struggle against the Vietnam War, from the Civil Rights struggle, and from the women's movement, and that was that the end doesn't justify the means, but is, rather, simply determined by the means. Any movement which succeeds by imposing the will of an elite instead of realizing the will of the people it claims to act on behalf of is corrupt. 

The opposing sides in a contest look superficially alike because they have in common the determination to convince those who will decide the outcome to act on their argument instead of their opponent's. But it's possible, even surprisingly simple, to sift your way productively through the literature of a bitterly fought electoral contest. Just apply the following test: 

Reread the literature with an eye to the structure of its argument rather than its content. There are only two ways to make an argument: you can be guided by your end or you can be guided by your means. If the former, you will use all material at your disposal, no matter how relevant, to convince: if the latter, you will only be satisfied if you inform, and in informing convince. If as a reader you come away from an election piece with new understanding, that's the direct result of the author's attempt to inform you. If you come away with doubt and fear, it's the direct result of the author's attempt to manipulate you. 

Here's two productive examples from this election season. 

The Chamber of Commerce's anti-Measure J piece warns that if you vote for Measure J you will be allowing as few as 25 people to designate a new Historical District. In fact, a Council majority has already stated it will put into effect a substitute law if J should fail, a law that also will allow 25 people to designate a new Historical District. Both proposals use that number because it's the one recommended by the State Office of Historical Resources. The Chamber wasn't lying: it was just attempting to convince by misinforming. 

Two letters from Beier supporters in Tuesday's Planet: In "Real Progress vs. a Progressive Label" Charles Banks-Altekruse writes that "George seems capable of working respectfully and maturely with other City Council members to advance an agenda of constructive change and real progress." David Cottle writes for "Beier Progressives in the Bateman, Halcyon, LeConte and Willard neighborhoods" that "Beier has, in addition to genuine progressive credentials, the intelligence, creativity and temperament we need in Berkeley's elected leadership." They're either two people who happened simultaneously to realize that the most important thing to hammer into a letter to the editor this week is that George is every bit as progressive as Kriss, or they are part of an orchestrated Beier letter-writing effort echoing on-message talking points. If you have the time, go back and read these polished and perfectly meshing letters. (www.BerkeleyDailyPlanet.com, click on 'Search Archives', then "Tue Oct 31', then "Letters to the Editor' in the lower right column.) 

If you feel you've learned something from this article, I hope you'll vote for Measure J and for Kriss Worthington. 

Thanks. 

Dave Blake 

MONEY AND POLITICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When it comes to politics, it's essential to understand how money works. I agreed to serve as Kriss's volunteer treasurer because as a community activist I appreciate his phenomenal work for our neighborhood and the progressive issues I care about. My position as treasurer has given me a window into what it costs to wage a campaign that communicates a candidate's record and vision to voters. Since powerful interests have targeted Kriss in past campaigns, I knew that we'd have to spend substantial money on our efforts, and indeed we have spent around $27,000 as of 10/21 (the last reporting period). 

But our expenditures, normal for a hard-fought campaign, have been dwarfed by the money Kriss's multimillionaire opponent has thrown into the race. George Beier has now won the dubious distinction of spending more than anyone has before on a Berkeley City Council race. As of the 10/26 campaign filing statement (which covers expenditures through 10/21 and which can be found at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/elections), Beier has already spent over $72,000 (more than the mayor in a citywide race), including $27,000 of his own money, and he will be the first Council candidate in Berkeley history to surpass $100,000. Beier's also benefiting from the Chamber of Commerce PAC, which has spent over $15,000 already against Kriss, as well as a soft-money mailing from the conservative Berkeley Democratic Club (which deliberately tried to mislead voters by picturing Beier with Barbara Lee, even though she is an early and enthusiastic supporter of Kriss's), meaning that all told Kriss is being outspent by around three to one. 

It's worth asking what all this money is buying; if this is what we want politics in Berkeley to be about; and whether, in the end, we can truly afford it. 

Nancy Carleton 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HIT PIECES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I haven't written to the Daily Planet before, but I was moved to do so when a friend showed me a campaign hit piece she received in the mail. This Chamber of Commerce PAC mailer is really over the top! It accuses Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring of being responsible for the closing of Radston's and a few stores on Telegraph Avenue. It's so ludicrous that one tends to believe it will affect voters in a way opposite to that intended. 

For starters, I don't think either of these Councilmembers were responsible for the growth of stores like Office Max or Office Depot. Nor did they encourage property owners to charge the high rents that make it difficult for small businesses to survive. In addition, I don't believe Spring or Worthington own stock in Emeryville shopping centers. 

I live in District One and often walk to Fourth Street, a nice half hour stroll. There are several empty storefronts there, victims to some economic exigency or other. Yet, the Chamber is not blaming that Councilperson for those closings, nor would I want them to. (I happen to be a repeat voter for Linda Maio, my Councilperson.) In addition, the Chamber has not blamed the Mayor for the various stores that close (and then open under new owners), throughout the city. And, I wouldn't want them to assign blame there, either, because clearly it would be misplaced. 

Those of us who live in Berkeley like to think that our forward thinking city is fueled by the energy of intelligent, thoughtful individuals. The Chamber is trying to tell us otherwise. Hopefully, voters won't be fooled by this pathetic attempt to tarnish two hardworking, responsive and responsible Councilmembers. 

Sharon Maldonado 

UC Regents will be asked this month to approve the first of a major series of projects at Berkeley’s Southeast Campus. 

According to the environmental impact report for all the southeast campus projects the regents will be asked to greenlight a 132,500-square-foot 365-days-a-year strength conditioning and sports medicine high performance center to be constructed along the western base of Memorial Stadium. 

That structure is just the first of a series of major projects that will change the face of the campus around the stadium and will add height and lights to the stadium. 

Disgruntled Berkeleyans looking for dirt on the university will find it by the thousands of truckloads in an environmental impact report (EIR) released this week by the school. The document, almost a truckload in itself, examines the impacts of all the projects while largely dismissing worries of city officials and other critics. 

The dirt in question is literal. Excavation of a new 911-space, largely underground parking structure near Memorial Stadium will cause 20,000 truck trips down city streets over a four-month period—averaging 167 trips a day, seven days a week. 

That parade of heavily laden trucks is a major concern to city officials and neighbors, along with other traffic impacts that would result from projects drawing ever more people to the area. 

And the 20,000-trip figure represents just the traffic generated by the disposition of earth from the garage, which in turn is just one of many new building efforts planned by UC Berkeley in the years ahead, according to the EIR.  

The total doesn’t include simultaneous trips from other campus projects taking place nearby or elsewhere on the campus. Nor does it include the additional daily trips that would come from installing new academic facilities, a major parking lot and the training facility that will draw athletes from around the campus, as well as a week’s worth of new near-capacity events at Memorial Stadium. 

Those problems would add further congestion to already crowded neighborhood streets, slow emergency response times, especially during high-attendance events, and necessitate installation of new traffic signals, critics said. 

Concerns about traffic problems formed just a small part of the criticism leveled at the university’s plans by the city and neighborhood and other advocacy groups. 

Another major concern repeatedly stressed is the Hayward Fault, which runs directly beneath the stadium and immediately adjacent to the planned garage. See the accompanying story for more on this issue. 

But in the end none of the comments or the many petitions deflected the university’s determination to do as they first intended. 

SCIP to my U 

The EIR released this week focuses on the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP), which compromises just one component of the massive building program planned by California’s premier public university in the next 14 years. 

Major projects included in the SCIP in addition to the training center include: 

• A retrofit to the landmark Memorial Stadium, which sits directly astride the Bay Area fault federal scientists say is the most likely to rupture in the decades ahead. 

• A $140 million to $160 million stadium retrofit and upgrade, including luxury sky boxes and a press gallery to be built above the structure’s western rim. 

• The 911-space parking structure northwest of the stadium.  

• A 186,000-square-foot “connection building” that would join offices and functions of the university’s law and business schools. 

All funds for the projects, estimated to cost more than a quarter-billion dollars, are to be raised from private sources. 

The massive report makes no substantial changes from the original draft document that attracted stinging criticism from city officials and has raised the threat of yet another city lawsuit against the university. 

“The writer’s comment is noted” is a phrase that runs like a mantra throughout the university’s official responses to criticisms, questions and comments submitted from organizations—both official and private—and from citizens ranging from preservationists to a multinational collection of players of pick-up soccer games. 

Can’t comment 

City Planning and Development Director Dan Marks wrote the City Council’s response, an acerbic 58-page broadside sent to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau in response to the draft EIR. He said city staff would be busy examining the several-thousand-page document released Tuesday in order to prepare a response in time for the UC Regents meeting at UCLA on Nov. 15-16. 

The regents are expected to vote approval of the EIR and SCIP buildings at that session. 

“I can’t comment on the document, and I won’t be able to until I have had the time to thoroughly read it and prepare our response. We want to have something ready before the regents meet,” he said. 

The EIR—prepared by Berkeley consulting firm Design Community & Environment (DCE)—largely dismisses criticisms, many because they refer to items cited in a previously approved EIR prepared for the 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), which was the subject of a city lawsuit that was settled in a controversial agreement that subsequently became the subject of a citizen lawsuit. 

That EIR was also prepared by DCE. 

While the city charged that the draft SCIP EIR only set up the legally required project alternatives as “straw-men,” designed to be easily dismissed so that the university could do what it intended, the EIR dismisses the allegation, declaring that the regents have yet to review the alternatives, which “may yet be selected.” 

Other critics 

Among the critics who filed written reports were: 

• The Panoramic Hill Association,  

• Friends of Piedmont Way, which expressed concerns over proposed changes to the landmarked streetscape designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.  

• The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, which expressed concern about changes to the recently landmarked stadium, Piedmont Way and other nearby historic and landmark structures and their grounds. 

• Berkeleyans for a Livable University Environment. 

• The Willard Neighborhood Association. 

• The Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association. 

The final EIR acknowledges that the stadium expansion “would cause a significant adverse change in the historical significance” of the stadium, but says the new plan represents a solution of extraordinary quality meriting departure” from the campus’s own guidelines and the historical character of the stadium.  

The document is available on the Internet at www.cp.berkeley.edu/SCIP/EIR.html  

Tightwads worried 

Another group of critics comes from the habitués of Tightwad Hill, the UC Berkeley Bears fans who hike up Strawberry Canyon to plant themselves on the pleasant hillside slope that offers panoramic—and free—views of home football games. 

Don Sicular launched a website to protest the university’s plans for an 18-row expansion of the stadium’s eastern rim that would cut off views from the best hillside turf. The site, which features petition forms, is at www.tightwadhill.org. 

Sicular said the free seating tradition dates back to the first Cal game in the stadium played against Stanford on Nov. 24, 1923. 

Other critics have focused on the press box and luxury sky boxes for big bucks corporate and private donors planned on the western rim, as well as the eastern seats, charging they detract from the stadium’s internationally renowned esthetics.

THE DAILY PLANET ENDORSES 

Berkeley Mayor  

Zelda Bronstein 

Berkeley City Council 

District 1: no endorsement 

District 4: Dona Spring 

District 6: Kriss Worthington 

District 8: Jason Overman 

Berkeley Measures 

Measure A: yes 

Measure I: no 

Measure J: yes 

Oakland City Council  

District 2: Aimee Allison 

State Propositions 

1A: no endorsement 

1B: no 

1C: yes 

1D: yes 

1E: yes 

83: no 

84: no 

85: no 

86: yes 

87: yes 

88: no 

89: yes 

90: no 

Do UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium area development plans violate a state law created to save lives in major earthquakes by limiting new construction? 

That’s the contention of neighbors from the Panoramic Hill Association (PHA), who have raised the issue in a letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgenau—and it’s also the basis of a possible lawsuit by city officials. 

The UC Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on approving plans for a 132,500-square-foot athletic training center immediately west of the stadium when they meet at UCLA Nov. 15-16.  

While the city raised the question of valuation in discussions prior to voting to hire outside counsel to prepare possible litigation over the university’s stadium retrofit and expansion plans, neighbors took an additional step. 

PHA took the unusual tack of hiring a professional assessor to challenge the university’s claim that the stadium is exempt from the Alquist-Priolo Act because the planned retrofit would cost less than half the current value of the landmark structure. 

In its environmental impact report (EIR) on the quarter-billion-dollar stadium area projects, the university claims exemption of the stadium retrofit from the Alquist-Priolo Act—legislation passed following the disastrous Sylmar Earthquake of Feb. 9, 1971, that killed 58 people, most in the collapse of the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in San Fernando. 

In the aftermath of the San Fernando Valley quake that measured 6.6 on the Richter Scale—compared to the 6.9 magnitude of the Oct. 17, 1989 Loma Prieta temblor—state legislators passed the law regulating development on and adjacent to major faults. 

Memorial Stadium sits directly over the Hayward Fault, the seismic rift federal geologists predict is the most likely site in Bay Area for a 6.7 quake by the year 2032, with odds set at 27 percent. 

But Alquist-Priolo allows replacement of structures that were built before 1975—a standard the stadium meets by more than a half-century—so long as costs don’t run to more than half of the structure’s existing value. 

Michael Kelly, PHA vice president for university relations, wrote that the association had received no response from two requests to the university for additional information supporting their claim of exemption from Alquist-Priolo. 

One aspect of the law is the exemption—embodied in Section 2621.8 of the California Public Resources Code—excluding “alterations or additions to any structure within a special studies zone the value of which does not exceed 50 percent of the value of the structure.” 

With the university in the midst of raising funds from alumni and other donors for a project estimated to cost more than $100 million. PHA decided to see how much Memorial Stadium is worth by hiring Charles B. Warren, a San Francisco appraiser. 

Warren concluded that by the accepted standards of his profession, the proposed seismic retrofit and additions were “greater that 50 percent of any probable value of the structure.” 

He estimated the undepreciated value of the current structure at between $27 million at the low end at $110 million at the upper end. The lower figure comes from factoring the historic cost of $1,021,500 into contemporary dollars, while the high-end figure calculates the price of building a new, replacement structure. 

By figuring in depreciation as well, the actual value of the structure as it standards today would be zero, Warren wrote. 

In the final EIR released Tuesday, the university dismissed the criticisms as outside the scope of consideration for the document. 

Because the Alquist-Priolo Act doesn’t define value, the university said it might rely on Section 823 of the California Evidence Code, which “provides that the value of property for which there is no relevant, comparable market may be determined by any method of valuation that is just and equitable.” 

But the university did declare that it would make certain that the resulting construction would amount to no more than the allowable 50 percent—though just what basis it would use for determining the numbers wasn’t cited. 

The EIR likened the university’s decision to undertake a major building program on the fault to the fact that “Individuals decide to raise families, entertain and hold meetings at homes subject to disaster and catastrophe. This decision itself does not increase or exacerbate the likelihood that a disaster will occur, but increases individual exposure to risk.” 

“The university takes reasonable steps to reduce risks,” said the report, “including employing design work from reputable civil and structural engineers and engaging a seismic review committee to review and advise on structure design.” 

The university’s website features both the EIR and a collection of seismic reports prepared on the stadium area and the nearby site of a planned 911-slot parking lot which would be built, largely underground, adjacent to the Hayward Fault. 

The report on the proposed Student Athlete High Performance Center treats the proposed 132,500-square-foot structure adjacent to the stadium’s western wall as a separate structure sufficiently distant from the main active fault, which runs through the center of the stadium. 

However, the building would be structurally linked to the stadium, which led one city official—who declined to be identified in print—to wonder at the wisdom of considering the two buildings as separate. 

The report concluded that the training center is west of the active fault, and the potential for the soil beneath the building to drop in the event of a quake was “very low.”

While speakers at a noontime rally at Old City Hall were protesting a spate of Chamber of Commerce hit pieces received by voters over the past week, new mailers containing what Councilmember Dona Spring called “more brazen lies” were appearing in District 4 and District 7 mailboxes. 

The most recent piece put out by the Chamber PAC implies that Worthington and Spring are anti-business and responsible for the closure of Cody’s and the Act 1 & Act 2 Theatre on Bancroft Way, due to their support for “doorway camping on Telegraph,” voting against more downtown parking and not supporting the West Berkeley Bowl. 

Worthington argues that the parking issue is a red herring, and that for 20 hours every day, from downtown to the Telegraph Avenue area, there are 1,000 spaces available. The problem, he said, is letting people know where the spaces are located. He said that due to his advocacy, the city is meeting with the university and private parking-lot owners to talk about how new signage indicating available parking can be funded.  

Worthington said he is responsible for insisting that the 22 parking spaces on Telegraph Avenue removed by a city bureaucrat be replaced; this was funded at Worthington’s behest in the budget approved in July.  

Worthington points to “a dramatic reduction” in downtown parking with the removal of “Hink’s Parking” on Kitredge St. by the Transaction Corp. Library Gardens project. Along with others, Worthington said he fought for and got the replacement of some of that parking. He added that he does not want to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on building a new parking structure. 

Spring, who had been a strong advocate of parking under new sections of the high school and under the new library, said the Chamber would rather blame her for business leaving Berkeley than the property owners who raise rents beyond what small business owners can pay.  

Correcting the record, Spring said both she and Worthington voted to approve the West Berkeley Bowl after there were assurances that the council would be able to vote separately on urging the Bowl to unionize, if the workers wanted a union. 

“They have set the bar at a new low,” Spring said of the distortions in the mailers. 

Chamber of Commerce President Roland Peterson did not return several calls for comment on Thursday.  

In a call to the Daily Planet on Wednesday, George Beier, challenging Worthington for the District 7 seat, distanced himself from the Chamber mailers, which support him. “I don’t like the tactics,” he said. “I find it distasteful.”

Reaction to a Peralta Area 7 trustee candidates debate has raised questions about what local voters committed themselves to in last June’s Peralta Measure A bond vote. 

In that June election, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure A, giving the district the authority to issue $390 million in bonds to pay for upgrades to facilities in the four-college community college district. 

The question is: Did the June vote commit the district to a specific, line-item list of projects on which the $390 million must be spent, and did Peralta trustees authorize a plan for the district to be able to prioritize that spending? 

In an Oct. 24 article entitled “Peralta Candidates Get Facts Wrong on Key Issues,” the Planet reported that Area 7 challenger Abel Guillen said at an Oct. 17 Laney College candidates forum that Peralta “doesn’t have a plan for the spending of [the Measure A] bond money, just a laundry list of projects.”  

In the article, the Planet reported that contrary to Guillen’s assertion, the district included an itemized, budgeted list of projects on the ballot, committing the bond money to those projects. 

In response, Peralta Community College District trustee Nicky Gonzalez Yuen said by telephone last week, “I think [the Planet] got it wrong” in reporting that Peralta was committed to spending Measure A money only from an itemized list. 

The list of projects included on the Measure A ballot “is just a hodgepodge list, a wish list,” Yuen said. “There’s no budget attached to it. We don’t have enough bond money to accomplish it all. It’s kind of like a slush fund for the district. I think Abel’s contention is absolutely right. There’s only the most vague delineation of catchall projects. I almost didn’t vote for it when it came before the trustees [for approval last spring], it was so sloppily put together. There’s no way we can do everything on this list.” 

Yuen was correct in saying that only a broad summary of projects—not an itemized list—appeared on the ballot last June under Measure A. 

But the confusion comes from the fact that two lists were under consideration and circulated to the public during the February 28, 2006 board meeting in which Peralta trustees authorized the bond measure. 

One list, the broad, unbudgeted outline of projects to which Yuen referred, was included on the ballot as the “bond project list” legally required under the Proposition 39 guidelines under which Measure A passed. 

But a second list of projects, with estimated costs included next to each project, was part of the executive summary that was included for consideration by the board for the bond measure. Entitled “Estimated Cost Proposal for Capital Outlay Projects and Facilities Improvements District-Wide 2006-2021,” the items in the second list totaled $451.4 million. 

The executive summary explained that this list was generated after “the district … conducted a comprehensive facilities need inventory which identifies approximately $452 million in additional facilities repair, upgrade, renovation, and replacement needs for the next 15 years. … $390 million of this is being proposed for new local bond measure, while the remaining $62 million is expected to be contributed [by other sources].” 

An updated version of this list, keeping the same projects but adding more dollar figures, has been posted to the district’s Dept. of General Services webpage under the link “Measure A Capital Projects.” 

Does this mean that the district is committed to these projects under Measure A? Peralta Chief Financial Officer Tom Smith was out of the office this week and Peralta General Counsel Thuy Nguyen was out on maternity leave, but another trustee, Cy Gulassa, seems to think it the district is committed. 

“My understanding is that we were endorsing that [itemized list] as a requirement of the bond referendum” during the Feb. 28 trustee meeting, Gulassa said this week in a telephone interview. “That’s what I thought we voted on.” 

Gulassa added that several trustees, including himself and Yuen, “had expressed concern that the district did not have such a list” in the days immediately preceding the Feb. 28 meeting. “I wasn’t happy with everything that was on the list. But I was happy that they came up with a list.” 

Gulassa said that he wished that Peralta had come up with “an itemized list with comprehensive guidelines on how the money was to be spent and how it fit into the district priorities” such as he said was produced by the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District for a recent Proposition 39 bond measure. 

Gulassa formerly taught in the Foothill-DeAnza district. Yuen still teaches there. 

In addition, both Gulassa and Yuen have endorsed challenger Guillen over incumbent Alona Clifton in the Area 7 trustee race. 

If trustees did, indeed, approve the itemized construction bond list at the Feb. 28 meeting, California court rulings would suggest that the district is committed to following that list, even if the list itself did not appear on the June ballot. 

In a 1979 ruling concerning North Peralta Community College (the college that was housed in the building that originally housed Merritt College), the California Court of Appeals ruled that a bond measure is essentially a contract between a government agency and the voters, with “the resolution by which the bonding entity resolves to submit the issue to [its] electors” being one portion of that contract. 

Citing the North Peralta ruling in a recent bond measure case involving the Southern California school district of Hermosa Beach, the Appeals Court ruled that under Prop 39, “neither the state Constitution nor the Education Code requires that the list of specific school facilities projects to be funded through a bond measure be included on the ballot. … The School District satisfied the Constitution’s accountability requirements by preparing and making available the required list of projects.” 

There is still confusion whether Peralta trustees actually passed the itemized list at the Feb. 28 meeting, as Gulassa contends, or whether it only approved the more generalized list that later appeared on the June ballot. 

Board minutes from the meeting only refer to passage of Resolution 05/06-45. That resolution, as passed out at the meeting on Feb. 28, included an exhibit page for the bond project list which read “the specific college facilities projects to be funded are as follows:” The remainder of the page was left blank. 

Student votes could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the District 7 and 8 Berkeley City Council races, according to UC Berkeley students who attended a local elections forum at Dwinelle Hall Wednesday. 

The forum, organized to allow students to mingle with the City Council and mayoral candidates, was organized by Activists’ Commission for the Creation and Engagement of Services to Students (ACCESS) and the Cal Votes Coalition. 

“We decided to hold this one-time catch-all event to give students a chance to know the candidates and the different issues that are important this year before they go out and vote on Nov. 7,” said Igor Tregub, a UC Berkeley undergrad and ACCESS member. “Our main aim is to increase voter education and turnout.” 

Freshman Sarah Stoller, one of the about two dozen students who came to the event, said she cast her vote on Wednesday. 

“I voted for Jason Overman in District 8,” she said. “I live in that district and I think it’s important to have a student in the City Council who will actually pay attention to students’ woes. I think a vast majority of students would like to see a fellow student on the board. Students votes are definitely going to make or break election decisions this year.” 

Although Stoller said she finds mayoral candidate Zelda Bronstein’s ideas and opinions interesting, she voted for incumbent Tom Bates. “His environmental track record is incredible,” she said. “I have attended quite a few of Bronstein’s talks and she seems like an angry person.” 

Stoller also voted against Measure I—the Condo Conversion Initiative—because she is against rising housing costs.  

Alex Ghenis, another freshman, said he found the discussion on the ballot measures helpful. “I have decided to vote yes on H (Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney) and no on I.” 

Ghenis said that he was leaning towards Mayor Tom Bates because he seemed more composed. “He is able to cite figures for different issues which is not the case with his opponents,” Ghenis said. 

The District 7 race between George Beier and incumbent Kriss Worthington sparked the most interest.  

“It’s difficult to decide,” said student Amanda Purcell. “Both Beier and Worthington are well informed on all the issues affecting students such as safety and affordable housing.” 

While Beier repeatedly stressed the immediate need to address crime on Telegraph Avenue, Worthington said that being obsessed with Telegraph alone was not the solution to the problem. 

“What are your actual views on affordable housing?” Purcell asked the candidates. 

“One thing I have not done is take away affordable housing such as the Chateau Coop, which has been attacked by my opponent in the past,” Worthington said. “Affordable housing for students lies in rent control. I want to keep landlords from doing dreadful things.” 

Beier said he supported affordable housing development in the city. “There are so many one-story buildings on Telegraph that can be turned into four- and five-story buildings,” Beier said. “Take the one story-buildings that housed the GAP and Berkeley Market for example. Commuter traffic will improve drastically if people in Berkeley can live and work in the same place.” 

When asked about what the candidates would do to increase student involvement in local politics, Beier said that he was reaching out to students through mediums they understood best. 

“I am trying to get students involved in politics in the campus, at the UCB Dining Commons, on Facebook, My Space and most recently through election videos on YouTube. Interacting with students makes me realize how fresh and interesting their ideas can be,” he said.  

Worthington emphasized that he had appointed more students to elected and appointed posts in the city than any other City Council member and would continue to do so if reelected. 

“Both of them have such good ideas that I will have a tough time deciding,” said Anne Chmilewski, a 2006 UC Berkeley graduate. 

Nicholos Smith, a senior and Chair of the Commission on Labor, said that he would be voting for Worthington. 

“Kriss has elected the most student council members,” he said. “I was elected as a student commissioner by him. He has tackled crime on Telegraph and has helped raise millions of dollars for affordable student housing. His track record is impeccable.” 

Berkeley’s first landmark has proved the Bay Area’s most popular—at least of the 25 structures Internet voters could pick to receive preservation funds. 

The winner after voting ended at midnight Tuesday was the First Church of Christ, Scientist at 2619 Dwight Way. 

The contest, sponsored by American Express Partners in Preservation, will award a total of $1 million to the top vote-getters in the contest that was heavily promoted by television and print advertising. 

“First Church won,” said Jennifer Bennett, a San Francisco publicist who has been working on the contest. 

The names of the other vote-getters and the amount of cash that will go to each will be announced on Nov. 14, she said. 

With 18 percent of the votes, the church edged out the second place Angel Island by two percentage points. 

The announcement comes as an updated version of the municipal ordinance that landmarked the church has emerged as the hottest, most-contested issue on the Berkeley ballot for Nov. 7. 

And the winner is  

Built in 1910 from a design by Bernard Maybeck with Julia Morgan, one of the city’s two preeminent architects, First Church of Christ, Scientists is located just across the street from the city’s other famous landmark, People’s Park. 

Maybeck is considered one of the exemplars of the Arts and Crafts school, which emphasized the use of handcrafted wood. 

One other Berkeley landmark was among the 25 candidates—the Berkeley City Club, formerly the Berkeley Women’s Club. A Julia Morgan design, the club was the fifth city landmark designation in a vote taken on the same evening as the First Church designation. 

Bennett declined to reveal the contest voting totals, and said how much money is allotted for church restoration will be decided next week when the panel meets. 

The awards are administered by an advisory committee that includes business owners, non-profit officials and public officials, most from San Francisco. 

All of the participating sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the caretakers of each had to provide a a restoration plan that could be completed by the middle of 2008.

The turn-of-the-century battle cry “Whose station? Our station!” echoed through Berkeley streets as KPFA listener-supporters fought in daily demonstrations for control of the left-leaning flagship Pacifica radio station. The resistance to an attempted takeover by the national board was won in the courts where, among other guarantees, local listeners got the right to elect local station boards. 

With nine of 18 listener board seats up for grabs this year (there are also three openings for the six staff spots elected by paid and volunteer staff) only 1,499 of some 26,000 eligible listener-supporters had cast mail-in ballots by mid-week; 2,603 members or 10 percent of the ballots must be returned by Nov. 15 to validate the election. 

Many of the candidates are divided into two distinct slates: the Alliance for a Democratic KPFA (http://www.allianceforademocratickpfa.org) and the Concerned Listeners for KPFA (http://KPFAlisteners.org). Eight candidates are running as independents. 

Each slate has lined up an impressive list of endorsers spanning the left political spectrum; both slates are demanding more extensive outreach and better programming. Each underscores the importance of hiring a long-term general manager and program director. 

The Concerned slate grew out of a Media Reform Committee of the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, though none of the candidates are Wellstone members. 

The Alliance grew, in part, out of People’s Radio (http://peoplesradio.net), a group under whose banner a number of current board members ran in the last elections. People’s radio is supporting some, but not all, Alliance slate candidates and two independents. 

Staff vs. listeners 

Part of the difference between the two slates is the extent to which listeners or staff have a voice in control of the station. 

“There’s a clique of people running the station,” said Alliance candidate Sasha Futran in a phone interview with the Daily Planet.  

Alliance candidate Henry Norr, an occasional contributor to the Daily Planet and former S.F. Chronicle columnist, points to the short tenure of the last two general managers: “The staff, especially senior staff, drove out the last two general managers,” he said. “That’s not to say they didn’t have their faults, but staff seized on their mistakes. Staff didn’t want to be managed.” 

Norr said he isn’t “calling for anyone’s head,” but working at KPFA “is not a lifetime appointment.” 

“People don’t want to give up air time,” Futran said. “They don’t want new programming.” 

But Conn Hallinan, a member of the Concerned slate and a Daily Planet columnist, condemns what he calls the Alliance slate’s “relentless assault on the staff.” While the Alliance slate often speaks of an “entrenched staff,” many new staff have been hired over the last few years, he said. 

In defense of the staff, Concerned slate candidate Phoebe Anne Sorgen called the staff “underpaid and overworked.” While the Alliance calls the staff “entrenched,” Sorgen points to new programming since 2000 that includes Hard Knock Radio, Against the Grain, Saturday Morning Talkies, Voices of the Middle East, Pushing Limits, Countdown 2006, Guns and Butter, and Rock and Rebellion. 

The board and programming 

The Alliance slate is highly critical of KPFA programming. “There are a few very good programs and a lot of dead air-space,” Futran said. (The Alliance slate has supported freelance labor programmer Steve Zeltzer, first in his attempt to get more air time for Labor Collective programming and second when he was denied the status of a listener in his attempt to run for the board in that capacity.) 

Norr said he wants to hear more debate of controversial subjects, such as “the 9/11 business.” 

But Sorgen of the Concerned slate slammed the Alliance for getting into the “nitty gritty details,” contending they “think the board’s job is to determine programming.” 

However, she continued, “The board’s job is not to determine programming. That’s part of the reason we haven’t hired a program director—all the infighting about Democracy Now!” 

The Democracy Now! fight has dragged on for several years and is related to the Program Council decision (the Program Council is made up of listeners and staff) to move the popular public affairs magazine Democracy Now! from a 9 a.m. to a 7 a.m. slot. Instead it airs at 6 a.m. and at 9 a.m. Alliance slate members find this unsatisfactory. 

“The program council approved the change; senior staff at the Morning Show did not want change,” Norr said. The General Manager was not able to make the program change happen. “This is not a way to run a radio station,” Norr added.  

Outreach 

The Alliance platform demands more programming reflecting the diversity and changing demographics of the listening area, focusing more on young people and immigrant communities. 

Norr says the current programming is driving listeners away. “If we’re not reaching people, something is wrong,” he said, calling for more listener input into programming and rigorous program evaluation. 

Hallinan argues that while overall radio listenership has dropped 14-15 percent, KPFA has been steady, which, he said, shows the station is doing well. 

Still, national programming should be rejuvenated, Hallinan said, and outreach should be directed to people who don’t agree with KPFA. “The station is talking too much to itself. Sometimes I think it is preaching to the ministers,” he said.  

Further, he said the station needs to expand coverage geographically. The South Bay is growing, but KPFA has little coverage there. “And most of the listeners think that the Coastal Range is a wall that beats back barbarians,” he said. 

Both slates have lined up impressive lists of endorsers. The Concerned slate is backed by activist and UC Santa Cruz professor Angela Davis, Peter Olney, organizing director for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Norman Solomon, media critic, Larry Bensky, Sunday Salon host, David Bacon, labor journalist and KPFA programmer, Darryl Moore, Berkeley City Council member, as well as the Alameda County Central Labor Council. 

Backers for the Alliance for a Democratic KPFA include Renee Saucedo, attorney and civil rights activist; Gray Brechin, historian; Dennis Bernstein, KPFA staff and host of Flashpoints; Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet; Krissy Keefer, Green party Candidate for Congress; Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10 and Roy Campanella II, former general manager. 

In addition to Hallinan, retired UC Santa Cruz journalism professor and Sorgen, member of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission, the Concerned slate includes cultural worker Andrea Turner, youth advocate Ernesto “Tico” Chacin, Oakland community activist Tina Flores, Pacifica Board Vice-Chair Sarv Randhawa, environmental educator Erik “Witatakae” Oberg, and Fresno LSB member Mark Hernandez. 

And in addition to Futran, a 25-year radio journalist, and Norr, fired San Francisco Chronicle technology reporter, the Alliance slate includes: civil rights activist Regina Carey, public service worker Bob English (of Vallejo), electoral reform activist Dave Heller and 30-plus year Pacifica supporter Akio Tanaka. 

Information on the elections and candidates, including downloads of KPFA’s question and answer sessions with the candidates is at: www.kpfa.org/elections/2006/

Eight candidates are running for the board as independents. 

• A professor of linguistics at Cal State Fresno, Vida Samiian, is a KFCF listener (some local programming emanates from KFCF-Fresno and other is transmitted from KPFA). A first generation immigrant, he says immigrants can be marginalized and wants their voices heard. He is supported by People’s Radio. 

• Jim Weber, a teacher, wants to promote more democratic relationship between listeners and the station. He attends every LSB meeting. 

• Retired postal carrier and union activist with a background in journalism, Dave Welch is calling for more community programming produced in collaboration with grassroots community groups and more on-site reporting. 

• Aaron Aarons supports anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist programming and a news department that starts from the premise “that the government and the corporations are lying until proven otherwise.” His web site is: http://aarons.f-m.fm/ 

• Howard Beeman is a farmer in Yolo County, and is running for re-election to the board. He wants KPFA to have a presence at more community events to gain broader listenership. 

• Director of Prison Radio, Noelle Hanrahan, former Flashpoints co-host, wants to bring new perspectives to the air. Endorsed by civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, Hanrahan can be reached at info@prisonradio.org. 

• Running for re-election, Jane Jackson is a peace and disabilities activist and fought to get the station back from the national board in 1999-2000. She is endorsed by the People’s Radio group. 

• Born in a former British colony in South America, Nazreen Kadir is concerned with race and class issues. As the Bay Area demographics change, KPFA has to change with it, she says. With a degree in strategic management, Kadir said she wants to use her skills to help KPFA’s development. 

Cragmont Elementary students Alice Pearson Rickenbach, Emma Gordon, Katherine Gordon and parent David Adamson greet cars as they swing around the Marin Circle at a rally for Measure A on Monday.

In San Francisco and Berkeley, progressive incumbents are under siege by heavily-funded campaigns for being “soft on crime.” In San Francisco, Supervisor Chris Daly has been barraged with hit-pieces by the Police Officers Association and challenger Rob Black. In Berkeley, City Councilman Kriss Worthington is on the receiving end of the most expensive campaign in that city’s history. Like Black, Worthington’s challenger (George Beier) has blamed the incumbent for a high crime rate in the district, filthy streets and a struggling economy. By making crime and quality-of-life issues a central theme of their campaigns, Black and Beier have both attacked the incumbents on an issue where any individual supervisor or city councilmember has little control. Beier has already spent $72,000 of his own money on mail pieces and free beer for Cal students, and the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce has kicked in an extra $9,000 in independent expenditures. All of this in a race where you need just 2,000 votes to win an election.  

Berkeley’s District 7 includes the UC-Berkeley campus and the southside neighborhood—including Telegraph Avenue, People’s Park and the three largest undergraduate dorms. Like Daly’s district in San Francisco, it has consistently elected and re-elected progressive candidates who strongly support rent control. But like Daly’s district, the neighborhood also has very high turnover—and the electorate is largely disengaged from local politics. More than half of District 7 is Cal students who graduate every four years, and election day on the Berkeley campus is eerily similar to election day in the Tenderloin. You literally have to remind people that there’s an election going on and you have to make voting extremely easy for them, or else they simply won’t show up. 

Both Kriss Worthington and Chris Daly have a strong progressive record in their respective legislative bodies. They were also first elected because they engaged their district’s most disenfranchised population. In 1996, Worthington defeated an incumbent, who had only appointed one student out of 35 to Berkeley’s various city commissions, and ran an aggressive campaign that mobilized student voters. In 2000, Daly was elected with overwhelming support from the district’s residential hotel tenants—on a campaign platform that promised to make visitor fees illegal and put sprinklers in every room to prevent the rash of hotel fires.  

Both incumbents have delivered for these core constituencies—but it’s uncertain if that will make much of a difference in 2006. With Cal students graduating and leaving town, and a huge influx of new SRO tenants from San Francisco’s master-lease program, representing these districts requires an intense and repeated outreach effort by the incumbent. “Every August, I always have to go out and introduce myself to thousands of new constituents,” said Worthington.  

This dynamic allows a well-funded challenger to step in and send out hit-pieces that give the district’s new voters a highly negative impression of the incumbent. The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce has attacked Worthington for “supporting prostitution” and claims that he voted “yes” on 2004’s Measure Q—when in fact Worthington never supported the measure. Beier has blamed Worthington for the decline of small businesses on Telegraph Avenue (including Cody’s Books), although Worthington wrote the proposal to make it easier for small businesses to get permits and Pat Cody is one of his most passionate supporters.  

But the similarity is most striking when you look at the challengers’ attacks on crime. Like Black, Beier has attacked Worthington for representing a high-crime district. Worthington has been attacked for not supporting more police officers—although he sponsored an effort to double the number of bike-patrol cops on Telegraph Avenue. Daly has supported efforts to get more foot-patrol cops in the Tenderloin, but Black has criticized him for “attacking” the police. Both Worthington and Daly have strong track records on crime prevention, but you wouldn’t know it based upon what their challengers are saying—Daly was the main sponsor of Prop. A that narrowly failed on the June ballot, and Worthington has supported funding for more social workers.  

But while Black has largely ignored SRO tenants in District 6, Beier has aggressively courted Cal students in District 7. He has recycled the same attack that Berkeley moderates regurgitate every four years—that the City Council should have an all-student district so that students can elect one of their own, and has attacked Worthington for “blocking” this effort. Like Southern Republicans who support majority-black Congressional districts, it’s a cynical effort to deplete progressive votes away from other city Council districts. Most notoriously, Beier invited students to a local bar for “free beer”—where he put a $1000 tab on drinks for students to “come talk about politics.” 

Another main difference between the challengers is the background that they have with their district. Prior to running against Daly, Black had no real connection with District 6—he had previously worked as an aide to Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who represents Pacific Heights and the Marina. Meanwhile, Beier has lived in District 7 for several years—and even ran against Worthington in 1998. Of course, Beier never mentions this fact in his campaign literature, and most of the district’s constituents weren’t around back then to know about it. Now that he has retired and sold his software business, Beier has far more money to spend than he did eight years ago to get out his message. 

A few weeks ago, three Daly supporters in District 6 filed a complaint with the S.F. Ethics Commission over the number of independent expenditures waged against him. Now Berkeley progressives are waging a similar effort against the Chamber of Commerce’s hit pieces targeting Worthington. Progressives held a press conference at noon Wednedsay on the steps of Berkeley City Hall to demand a stop to the Chamber’s last-minute attacks. In Oakland, Mayor-elect Ron Dellums brokered a compromise with the local Chamber of Commerce to cut down on negative pieces. 

Reprinted with permission from BeyondChron.org

Proposition 1A—Transportation Funding Protection 

Laws and constitutional amendments locking in state and federal spending to specific areas have become popular these days, as lawmakers have taken to borrowing money from specified funds to increase the general fund. Prop 1A is one of those lock-box measures. 

Under Proposition 42 passed by California voters in 2002, most revenue from the state’s gasoline tax is limited to funding the state’s various transportation needs. Prop 42 contained a provision that allowed the state to suspend those provisions and transfer gas tax money to other parts of the budget when the state is facing fiscal problems. According to the State Legislative Analyst, “Proposition 42 is silent as to whether suspended transfer amounts are to be repaid to transportation.” 

Prop 1A would end that silence. 

The measure requires that any transfer of money to the general fund under Prop 42 suspensions would be treated as loans from the transportation fund, not outright gifts, with strict rules on how and when that money must be refunded. In addition, it limits such transfers to twice in ten years, and prohibits new transfers until the old transfer money has been paid back. 

Twice since 2002, in fact, Prop 42 was suspended during state budgetary crises. 

Proponents of Prop 1A says the measure prevents gas tax money from being a slush fund that lawmakers can raid whenever the state gets in fiscal trouble. 

Opponents say that if we continue to lock in funds out of the budget for specific projects, we limit the ability of the governor and the legislature in future times to meet unforeseen circumstances. 

Proposition 89—Political Campaigns. Public Financing. Corporate Tax Increase. Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits. 

A yes or no vote on this proposition boils down to whether the voter thinks there should be public financing for elections. 

Prop 89 is written in the standard way state and local campaign finance laws have appeared in other places around the country. The measure would provide public campaign money for candidates who do not accept private campaign donations or use their own money to finance their campaigns, and who agrees to certain other restrictions. The money provided ranges from $250,000 for a State Assembly candidate to $15 million for a candidate for Governor. 

The money to finance these campaigns would come from a 0.2 percent raise in the state income tax on corporations. 

The proposed new law would not prevent candidates from opting out of public financing, but for those who choose to continue to get private donations, it would put severely stricter limits on such donations than are now present. 

For the State Assembly races in the general election, for example, individual, group or corporate donations are allowed up to $3,300; Prop 89 would cut that limit down to $500. Small contributor committees currently are limited to $6,700 in donations per assembly candidate; Prop 89 would limit that to $2,500. And while there is currently no limit on political party donations to assembly candidates, Prop 89 would impose a $20,000 limit. Prop 89 private contribution limits would be somewhat lower in the primaries. 

While limiting private contributions from individual donors, Prop 89 would also seek to discourage candidates from spending more than the publicly funded candidates are getting. For every dollar the privately funded candidate was spending over the public limit, Prop 89 provides one more dollar for the publicly-funded opponent. The idea is that if privately funded candidates get no money advantage from raising more money, they have no reason to raise more money, and the overall cost of the campaign would be held down.  

The proposition is opposed by business associations and corporations as well as taxpayer organizations. Unions have been split on the issue with some (the California Federation of Teachers, the California State Council of Laborers, the California State Firefighters Association, and the California Teachers Association, for example) in opposition, and the California Nurses Association and the California Teamsters in favor. The proposition is supported by civic organizations such as AARP, the League of Women Voters, and California Common Cause. 

Proposition 1E—Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention 

Proposition 84—Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control. Natural Resource Protection. Park Improvements. 

Prop 1E would authorize $4.1 billion in bonds to set up a Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Fund to be administered by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR), which would establish priorities, design projects, and prepare an annual plan for the uses of federal, state, and local funds. 

$3 billion of Prop 1E would go to repair and build levees and other flood control projects, $3 billion for Central Valley Flood Control System and Delta Levees, $500 million for the state's share of federally authorized Central Valley flood control projects, $300 million for grants to local agencies not in the Central Valley for stormwater management programs, and $290 million to create, enhance, and protect flood corridors. 

Proposition 84 authorizes another $5.4 billion in water-related bonds, some of which also involve flood control. Of that money, $1,535 million would go to various water quality projects, $928 million to protection of rivers, lakes, and streams, $800 million to flood control, $ 580 million to something called “sustainable communities,” $ 540 million to beaches, bays, and coastal water, $500 million to state parks and nature education & research, $450 million to forests and wildlife conservation, and $65 million to statewide water management and planning.” 

The placement of both 1E and 84 on the November 7 ballot gives California voters a sort of mix and match on how we want to fund water-related projects in the near future. 

Voters who think that protection from floods as well as enhancing water quality is extremely important may want to vote for the spending of the full $9.5 billion in the two measures. Voters who think that this is too much indebtedness, but who are leery of breaking levees after Katrina, can opt for 1E only, which focuses on the levees and the flood plain. On the other hand, voters who don’t want to spend a full $9.5 billion, who think that flooding is a problem that needs to be addressed, but who think that the other Prop 84 projects are necessary, can vote against 1E and for 84. And, finally, for those who either think that we are already too much in state debt for anything, or who think that the projects listed in either ballot measure are necessary, can vote down both. 

Every city in California is struggling to maintain financial health after years of state takeaways. I’m most proud to have saved Richmond from the brink of financial disaster by firing management, bringing in the State Auditor, and making unpopular decisions to dramatically reduce our operating expenses to save our City from bankruptcy. Today, our City is in the black with a balanced budget and new leadership that I helped recruit, including our City Manager, our Finance Director and our Police Chief.  

The single most important issue facing Richmond today is the need to reduce crime and violence. As a former Registered Nurse, I know we must keep our young people from gangs and drugs. My Safe Streets Now! Plan increases our police force to 215 police officers and puts more officers on patrol, especially in our most vulnerable neighborhoods. To address the root causes of homicide and violence, my plan funds violence prevention programs for youth and ex-offenders. 

I’m proud to have increased opportunities for Richmond’s kids by establishing the successful “Kids First” program, where I secured outside grant and other funding for after-school programs, sending over $5 million to our neediest schools. I have revived the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which has employed over 500 Richmond youth in the last two years. And just this year, I raised $20,000 to help fund the pre-apprenticeship program at Kennedy High School, which provides job training for youth. I will expand these initiatives so that we have after-school programs at every Richmond school and double the youth we are placing in summer jobs. 

Potholes are a key concern that I hear from residents, and I agree, we need to do more to fix our streets and eliminate blight. For the first time in over a decade, we have allocated $8 million towards street and pothole repairs, and I am committed to keeping our streets in good condition. I secured that funding by working with our regional transportation agencies and I will continue to work to increase that commitment to our City’s infrastructure. 

We need to continue to revitalize our downtown, and I am excited by the upgrades that are being made to Macdonald Avenue. I have recruited new retail shops for the area, including a new Target, developed the State’s first intermodal transit station that brings BART, AMTRAK and AC Transit together to meet our public transportation needs, created the neighboring Transit Village where more than half the homes are affordable to working families and laid the groundwork to develop 12th and Macdonald as a mixed use development that will bring together small retail businesses, services and housing within the next year. It is my goal to leverage the investments made in this key area so that we may make the same kind of investment along 23rd Avenue and down Cutting Boulevard. I will continue to work to attract new employers and businesses that will hire our Richmond residents. 

It is because of these accomplishments and priorities I have the endorsement of the Democratic Party, the Central Labor Council, Senator Diane Feinstein, Congressional Representatives George Miller, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters, State Senators Don Perata and Tom Torlakson, Assemblymember Loni Hancock and Assembly candidate Sandre Swanson, County Supervisor John Gioia, County Sherriff Warren Rupf, School board members Charles Ramsey, Glenn Price, Karen Leong-Pfeiffer and Karen Leong Fenton, and local Crime Prevention and Open Space leaders. 

I respectfully ask for your support and your vote this coming Tuesday so that we can continue to move Richmond forward. 

I’ve achieved many of the things that I’ve wanted to achieve in life. I’m happily married, have a beautiful family, run a successful business, and have an amazing circle of friends. I want to give back to Richmond, the city that has given me so much. 

I list “banker” as my profession, but when I discusses my aspiration to become Mayor of the City of Richmond, I could be a mentor as well. 

In Richmond, young African-American men are at risk of death, injury, and detention due to violent crime. As a young African-American myself, I’ve had to make some of the same choices they face. What I want for Richmond is for successful African-American business people to stand up and be counted as positive role models for African-American youth, to be examples of the benefits of education and hard work. 

Neither educational or business success is a stranger to me. I earned an MBA in Management from John F. Kennedy University, in Orinda, and an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from Wichita State University, in Kansas. I own First Bankers Mortgage, using my more than 25 years of experience in financial services to make it the success it is today. Operating my business with five other licensed individuals to focus on mortgage loan production for the Richmond community, I knows a thing or two about leadership and consensus. 

My business and educational background gives me a distinct advantage over the other candidates. Drawing upon the unique skillsets of individuals to accomplish tasks with efficiency means that I must rely on inclusion and delegation. Leadership isn’t about making yourself look good. It’s about motivating a team to be its best and showcasing its talents, giving credit and kudos to everyone for being a part of the effort. Involvement is empowerment, and I see that as vital to the future of Richmond. 

My “Plan to Create a Better Richmond” maps out this vision, focussing on eight key issues. 

On responsiveness to families and neighborhoods: The current City Council is dysfunctional and fragmented. As your new Mayor, I will build a united Council, so we can move forward to better serve the needs and concerns of Richmond residents. By having this focus, I can ensure that our City government will respond to families and neighborhoods in a way that increases the quality of life for all of us. 

On attracting and retaining businesses: Richmond has developed a reputation as a difficult place in which to do business. As your new Mayor, I want to reverse this misconception. Attracting and retaining businesses is central to generating revenue for infrastructure and services, addressing quality of life needs for residents, and fighting crime through gainful employment. 

On preventing violent crime: Violent crime is out of control in Richmond, and as your new Mayor, I want current laws regarding gun free school zones enforced. I will throw my full support behind the Chief of Police and the efforts of the Richmond Police Department. Meanwhile, the City’s Department of Employment & Training and the Education Commission will see to it that high-risk youth and adults are provided positive alternatives in education and employment. 

On educational reform: As your next Mayor, I will propose the formation of a Commission on Education, which will be the official liaison between the City government and the Cabinet of the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the School Board of Trustees. This Commission will help shape policies and ensure that our students are being prepared for college and university entrance, and job readiness standards prior to high school graduation. 

On the environment: As your next Mayor, I will meet the challenge to clean up past pollution, and bring environmentally sound and ‘green’ practices to the City of Richmond. I will apply for State and Federal ‘Superfund’ cleanup funding, and work closely with businesses to help develop practices that will contain and reduce contamination into water, land, and air. At the same time, I will move for the City of Richmond itself to do likewise. My goal is to take the lead for other cities in the region to follow.” 

On neighborhoods for all: Richmond’s working-class families are central to the City’s history. However, over the past 25 years, the City government has neglected the needs of everyday citizens. Now is the time for them to be brought back to the table as equal partners and stakeholders. As your next Mayor, I will initiate a massive outreach to all 39 Neighborhood Councils, the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council, and community advocates, to hear the goals for their respective neighborhoods. 

On the promotion of arts and culture: Richmond is an old city with a long tradition in arts and culture. Many painters, photographers, actors, dancers, writers, musicians, and other creators call it their home. For this tradition to thrive, the City government must place more emphasis on the promotion of arts and culture, now and into the future. As your next Mayor, I will propose increased funding to both the Richmond Art Center and the East Bay Center for Performing Arts, so that they may continue to advance arts and culture in Richmond. 

On affordable housing: “Statistics prove that in areas of Richmond where home ownership is low, crime is high, and vice versa. Thus, home ownership—and the pride and responsibility that goes with it—may be effective in controlling crime. As your next Mayor, I will work to direct resources into communities affected by low income and high crime, to promote home ownership. Other cities that have done so have witnessed decreases in crime and boosts to educational performance, and I believe that it can do the same for Richmond. 

For more information regarding my campaign for Mayor of the City of Richmond, call (510) 612-1835, or visit my website at www.GaryBell.org. 

Richmond can be a great place … It is possible! In 2004 the City of Richmond was hit by a 35 million dollar tidal wave of a deficit that swept away over 200 city jobs and the few public services that Richmond residents could count on . In the throes of this disaster, I ran for the Richmond City Council offering a new vision and a new direction. I was elected with an overwhelming approval of the voters, and without taking a single dollar from corporate America. The people of Richmond were tired of decades of corruption, collusion, mismanagement and carelessness. 

I worked very hard on the Council these years and have had some very important accomplishments. 

First, I have made it clear to the people of Richmond that a true grassroots working representative can be both kind and firm in demanding from peers and staff the best for the families of Richmond. It is possible to have a clean, honest and independent representative who is not for sale. 

Second, I have helped to shift the thinking in my colleagues. Little by little, voting often in the minority, but presenting well the arguments for my positions and maintaining the connections with the grassroots movement, I was able to see significant shifts in the policy making of the Richmond City Council; what was inconceivable five years ago has become possible today and big industry is being called upon to be a better, more responsible neighbor and taxpayer.  

Here are some areas in which I initiated or helped to advance a Better Richmond:  

I have defended the community’s health. My March 2005 resolution demanded that one of the most toxic sites in California, the Zeneca-UC Field Station, come under the clean-up supervision of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (Cal EPA). I brought together the entire Richmond City Council for a unanimous vote. 

I protected consumers from higher taxation I was the only councilmember opposing a new sales tax hike (“Measure Q”). Voters agreed and soundly rejected this on the November 2005 ballot. Rather than leaning on consumers and hurting small businesses with regressive sales taxes, I am committed to ending special perks for big industry. I have also helped to secure a rebate for all low-income families hit hard by hikes in sewer fees. 

I helped end Chevron’s self-inspection process. I co-sponsored a directive, unanimously approved by the Richmond City Council, to repeal the 12-year-old practice of allowing Chevron to self-permit, self-inspect and self-certify its own work. 

I promoted clean, sustainable energy. I co-founded “Solar Richmond,” a not-for-profit grassroots initiative to educate and encourage more solar energy on residential, business and public properties, which will bring Richmond energy cost savings, environmental preservation and solar jobs and training for youth. I also introduced a resolution authorizing the City and the Port of Richmond to examine the use of biodiesel and biodiesel blends. It was passed unanimously. 

I worked for a new park along Richmond’s north shoreline. I championed on the City Council the East Bay Regional Park District’s plan to purchase and create a regional park on the Breuner Marsh property, next to Parchester Village. 

Today I am running for Mayor of Richmond. What this City needs most is good leadership. I can provide it. I can set a new tone for our city. 

Richmond continues to face enormous challenges. The economic implosion of our state and the outsourcing of jobs has added another layer of despair to the surplus of frustrated, unemployed young men we have in Richmond, who have given up hope and turn to crime and violence. When young men in the drug trade are confronted, countless times they tell us: “You want my gun? Give me a job!”  

That is what we need to do. As I write these lines the parents and grandparents of these young folks are mobilizing and organizing against homicides (the highest rate in the state) and Richmond’s “tent cities “ constitute both a call for an end to the fratricidal homicides and an indictment on our city for not having done enough. Richmond’s tent cities are therefore also protest statements against all those who have not responded to the deep roots of violence and have allowed it to go on for decades.  

So I will focus on giving the people of Richmond what they need and want: Priority for residents, priority on jobs, priority for the abandoned old neighborhoods, priority for our youth. I plan a Richmond Youth Corps which will employ thousands of youngsters and have educational components.  

I have been a supporter of Richmond measure T which we placed in the ballot for the voters to consider. It is passes it will generate an additional 8 million dollars in revenue from the refining of oil in Richmond. 

Measure T tells the local refining company in Richmond: Be responsible to the local communities in which you operate. Show reciprocity to the people who put up with the consequences of your operations: the flares, the toxins, the risks and shelters-in-place, the lower property values, and the kids in asthma clubs. Measure T asks for Richmond the equivalent of a few dollars for each million Chevron makes in profits. I expect and will demand that significant parts of this revenue are used to address the unemployment of youth and to prevent crime and violence.  

I’m ready for the job. I have what it takes and I think the people of Richmond are also ready. My colleague Councilmember Tom Butt says “A victory by McLaughlin in the mayor’s race would send a very loud signal that Richmond voters are truly ready for change, not just a different name on the door of an office … McLaughlin would be a good choice for mayor.” I’m running for Mayor and for a Better City: Run with me and tell every one of your friends in Richmond to vote on Nov. 7th. We are facing a time and an opportunity that we cannot waste. A Better Richmond is Possible … and in the making! 

The Zoning Adjustments Board decided last week to continue Milo Foundation’s hearing for a use permit to allow neighbors more time to mediate with the Solano Avenue pet adoption store.  

Staff also requested a continuance so that the item could be taken to the Planning Commission for guidance in applying the zoning ordinance in light of a last-minute report from the city attorney. 

The staff report indicated that the mediator who is working with about 15 neighbors and Milo representatives reported that the sides have made good progress in resolving their disputes regarding the adoption store’s operations and requested more time for discussion. 

Milo approached ZAB on Sept. 14 for a use permit to authorize existing dog/cat adoption services and create a dwelling unit in its existing two-story commercial building. 

On Thursday, City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque deemed the adoption store’s current use a “kennel” under the zoning ordinance, which is prohibited on Solano Avenue.  

Albuquerque stated that although Milo had said that many of the dogs on the premises did not stay there overnight, they were being regularly cared for on the premises, resulting in impacts on the neighborhood which were “materially indistinguishable from those of a kennel and appeared to include most elements of boarding,” which was “expressly forbidden.” 

The report further explained that even overnighting as few as four dogs as part of a commercial use was equivalent to kenneling since all boarding was forbidden in the district. 

The report stated that if city staff wanted the Planning Commission to consider amending the zoning ordinance to permit kenneling in this or other districts, the matter would have to be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission. Any changes would be subject to environmental review before they were adopted. 

Albuquerque urged that Milo and its neighbors be immediately notified of this legal opinion so that their discussions could proceed with it in mind. 

Staff will discuss with the Planning Commission whether the zoning ordinance should be amended to permit a pet adoption center at its Nov. 8 meeting. 

Iceland and other properties 

East Bay Iceland’s appeal to install a temporary outdoor refrigeration system on the southern side of 2727 Milvia St. for the existing ice skating rink was also continued at the ZAB meeting. The rink has installed a temporary cooling system with a variable speed motor that has greatly decreased the noise neighbors had been complaining about. ZAB asked for a report on the current noise level  

till the issue is brought up at the next meeting.  

The ZAB also continued the hearing for a use permit modification for 2076 Ashby Ave., which would change from stucco to horizontal siding on east side of an existing three-story mixed-use building The attorney for U.S. Smog and Gas, which operates nearby, is refusing to let the applicant build on the property because they claim that it would be encroaching on the public right of way. 

The board asked the applicant to  

conform to his original plans or rework them so that the insulation of the water meter and the gas meter is aesthetically pleasing. 

The hearing to modify the use permit to allow the expansion of the South Berkeley Police Substation for employee lockers and vehicle storage was also continued to Nov. 9. The applicant told the board that they required more time to meet with the neighbors and would be coming back to the next meeting with a report. 

The board approved a request for a use permit to expand Chester’s, a restaurant on 1508 Walnut St., into the adjacent lease space and add the sale of hard liquor to the existing sale of beer and wine.

Hands off 

Rob Browning, the 66-year-old spouse of Berkeley City Councilmember Linda Maio, found himself in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon after a parking ticket dustup. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Ed Galvan said Browning was arrested following an altercation with a city parking enforcement officer. 

Though charged with battery of a public safety employee, Galvan said, Browning did not strike the parking enforcer. 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean for the outcome to be like this,” said Officer Galvan. 

The parking enforcement officer was driving along Berkeley Way about 12:50 p.m. when she spotted a van in a driveway that was parked and blocking a sidewalk. 

“There was no one there, and she issued a citation. She had driven about a block away when Mr. Browning drove up and confronted her, demanding she take the ticket back,” Galvan said. 

The officer explained that she couldn’t take the ticket back, and that Browning should make his arguments in court if he wanted to contest the citation. 

“Then he stuffed it into the epaulette of her uniform and took off” said Galvan. 

Police were called, who handcuffed Browning and took him to the Public Safety Center, where he was booked. Because he had proper identification and no prior record, he was then released, Galvan said. 

“It’s pretty similar to what would happen if you shoplifted a bottle of booze at Albertson’s and didn’t have a prior conviction for shoplifting,” Galvan said. 

Browning was cited under Section 243 (b) of the California Penal Code for battery on a public safety officer committed while the officer is in pursuit of their duty. California law defines battery is an unwanted used of force or violence, and doesn’t require the act of striking the intended victim.

For an editorial published on election day, we have two choices. We can ignore the election, thus insuring ourselves against the embarrassment of incorrect predictions in the eyes of Wednesday and Thursday readers. The downside of this choice is that many if not most votes are cast on Tuesday, election day itself, the first day this issue is on the newsstands, which means that undecided readers who turn to the Planet for last-minute guidance will be disappointed. Alternatively, we can, one more time, re-hash the issues which became important during the campaign, getting in one last word about our take on the action. 

We will choose a third way, always the easiest. We’ll make fun of corporate media in general and the Chronicle in particular.  

One of our goals in taking over the Planet was to improve coverage of the urban East Bay, both by doing a better job ourselves and by egging competitors on to try harder. We feel that we’ve succeeded beyond our wildest expectations in both goals. Many stories have come to light in these pages in the last three years which previously were not covered or poorly covered. And the Chronicle has finally gotten off of its Beserkely kick, no longer viewing quirky behavior as the only thing worth covering in Berkeley. It has assigned a variety of reporters, some of them pretty good, to trying to make sense of the local scene. But they still have a way to go. 

First, we should note that the Chronicle has endorsed Schwarzenegger for governor and Bates for Berkeley mayor. Endorsements from big chain papers almost always reflect big corporate interests rather than reader preferences, so no one should be shocked by that, or even particularly critical. The paper’s editorial board did set up a “debate” between Bates and his opponent Zelda Bronstein, but it has yet to see the light of day. It was never posted on the paper’s website (unlike the one between Schwarzenegger and Angelides). One is tempted to suspect that their boy didn’t do as well as they’d hoped, but there’s no way to know.  

Sunday’s paper carried a game but ultimately unsuccessful attempt by the latest hapless reporter assigned to the Berkeley beat to make sense of what’s happened in this election. She’s obviously been reading the Planet, unlike some of her predecessors, but she still doesn’t quite get it, though she knows that times have changed, e.g. her comment that “in a redefinition of what it means to be left in Berkeley, home-owning progressives have joined with moderates to push for landmark preservation and to fight development.”  

Well, in some cities and in the olden days in Berkeley it might have been homeowners vs. renters, but in Berkeley recently some of the most vocal opponents of big box condo development are tenants still protected by rent control, who fear that their beloved and inexpensive old apartments are being torn down for new uncontrolled construction. Landmark preservation, once focused on the protection of glamorous historic and architectural resources, has taken on the additional job of what used to be called neighborhood preservation, conserving modest but charming rental housing in the flats as well as architect-designed masterpieces in the hills.  

Another statement that’s off the mark is this one: “The city also has a better relationship with UC than it used to, as UC prepares to undertake an extensive downtown development.” The city sued UC over the first phase of its massive expansion plan, but backed down at the last minute when Bates and his claque on the City Council lost their nerve. But the advisory committee whose majority was appointed by Bates and his city council allies has proved to be unexpectedly feisty in its discussions about the future of downtown with hired planners, so that one’s not over yet. And now the city is again threatening to sue, this time over UC’s latest plan: to build a mega-complex to serve sports fans and professional schools right on top of the Hayward fault, in a location which will cause major problems when the next earthquake or fire emergency happens, as it surely will. Town-gown relations aren’t approaching nirvana yet. 

This election is not one which holds the future of Berkeley in the balance. If Tom Bates wins one last hurrah, that doesn’t mean he’s home free two years from now, if indeed he runs again. The scuttlebutt is that he and his bride, Assemblymember Loni Hancock, will walk off into the sunset holding hands sometime before their terms officially end, making it possible for them to anoint their successors without any nasty primary elections getting in the way. But if that doesn’t work, the 2008 Berkeley election could be even more interesting than this one. And speaking of scuttlebutt, we’ve been told that both a mayor’s aide and a councilmember’s spouse have been opining around town that the Planet will be shutting its doors after this election is past. That’s wishful thinking, not true but not surprising.  

A paper which takes on an attempt by the local Chamber of Commerce to manipulate an election might be expected to face some problems in the advertising department. But oddly enough the major contributors to the Chamber’s aggressive PAC are not the owner-operated local businesses who advertise in the Planet. They’re mostly out-of-town developers who have never advertised here, even though signs now proclaim many vacancies in their big ugly buildings.  

Our loyal local advertisers are not funding the Chamber PAC—no surprise to us. Many of them are not even members of the chamber. For example, a quick check of the online list shows neither Rasputin’s nor Moe’s, two backbones of the Telegraph Avenue merchants’ community and frequent Planet advertisers, as chamber members.  

But in this slowing economy, we’re starting to think more of ways to pay the cost of publishing the paper other than advertising revenue. We’re wondering if readers would be interested in supporting the Planet by subscribing, with or without home delivery (which might be expensive). If it’s an idea which appeals, send an e-mail to subscriptions@berkeleydailyplanet.com or call us at 841-5600. Let us know what you’d be willing to pay. 

—Becky O’Malley 

P.S. I can scarcely believe it. On Monday after the above was finished, we got another lying postcard denouncing Measure J from the Chamber of Commerce PAC. On this one the picture on the face directly contradicts one of the untruthful bullet points on the back. The lie? “Gives total control over your property to UNELECTED officials.” The facts: The picture shows the roof and pediment of a historic house, home to one of Berkeley’s founders, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission did identify as a historic resource—but their designation was overruled by the elected City Council on appeal, and it was demolished, just one of the attractive older buildings which have been destroyed with council collusion in the past few years. The “Darling Flower Shop,” pictured in front of the house, was never designated a structure of merit as the caption claims. You can see for yourself the Ugly Box which replaced it, the “Touriel Building” complete with Ugly New Darling Flower Shop, on University near the corner of Milvia. Candidates Hancock, Bates, Maio and Wozniak have again allowed their names to be used on this deceitful document.

The arrival of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce’s latest Measure J hit piece in mailboxes all over town on Wednesday generated a remarkable explosion of outrage from Berkeley citizens—it’s jammed our e-mail box. We’ve printed the largest Planet ever today, but it hasn’t got room for everything. You can read last-minute contributions on the web and in Tuesday’s paper, if you’re still undecided. 

In view of the crush, I’ll keep my own remarks brief. The Chamber PAC’s choice of an ugly section of chain-link fence topped with barbed wire as this week’s Swift Boat photo selection marks them as—what? yahoos? philistines? Babbitts?—no, they probably don’t understand such fancy literary epithets. They’re ignorant, that’s for sure.  

I first encountered the Chamber’s clueless political action committee a few years ago when they came out against a ballot measure to fund emergency attendants for disabled people. The Chamber president at the time was the manager of Berkeley Honda, a nice fellow from whom my family had bought two cars. I called him up and complained, he paid attention, and within a week the Chamber had overturned the foolish action of its PAC. But they don’t seem to have learned much from that experience.  

The photo is of the backside of the old California Ink Company factory, which was designated a historic resource in 1986—the year Loni Hancock was elected mayor— because it was then the oldest continuously operating factory in Berkeley. The designation was a tribute to the old Berkeley where honest businesses employed solid decently paid working people to produce useful products—beauty had very little to do with it. Today’s Planet reprints historian Susan Cerny’s 2001 article about the history of Cal Ink, along with Daniella Thompson’s haunting pictures of the site in its current neglected state. The Landmarks Commission, according to their October 1986 minutes, designated just four of the many buildings on the site “because of their historic importance and intact physical condition” on a 5-1-1 vote. The decision could have been appealed to the City Council, but no one challenged it at the time. If the buildings have been allowed to decay in the last twenty years, it’s the fault of the city of Berkeley for not enforcing its own laws.  

The Chamber PAC has told disgraceful lies not only about Measure J, but also about the voting records of Councilmembers Spring and Worthington. A reader brought another of the Chamber’s last minute mailers to the Planet office on Thursday morning. This one features doctored photos of the 4th Street Cody’s with “Closed” superimposed on it, and of the Berkeley Bowl on Shattuck labelled “West Berkeley,” accompanied by consummate distortions of votes on those businesses.  

The politicians and others whose names are prominently featured on Chamber mailers have yet to repudiate them. Voters who don’t like this kind of politics should cast protest votes for opponents of candidates listed as endorsers, namely Bates, Hancock, Maio and Wozniak. They should also make their views known to Chamber members, who are listed on the Internet.  

CHAMBER HIT PIECES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I haven’t written to the Daily Planet before, but I was moved to do so when a friend showed me a campaign hit piece she received in the mail. This Chamber of Commerce PAC mailer is really over the top! It accuses Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring of being responsible for the closing of Radston’s and a few stores on Telegraph Avenue. It’s so ludicrous that one tends to believe it will affect voters in a way opposite to that intended. 

For starters, I don’t think either of these councilmembers were responsible for the growth of stores like Office Max or Office Depot. Nor did they encourage property owners to charge the high rents that make it difficult for small businesses to survive. In addition, I don’t believe Spring or Worthington own stock in Emeryville shopping centers. 

I live in District 1 and often walk to Fourth Street, a nice half-hour stroll. There are several empty storefronts there, victims to some economic exigency or other. Yet, the chamber is not blaming that councilmember for those closings, nor would I want them to. (I happen to be a repeat voter for Linda Maio, my councilmember.) In addition, the chamber has not blamed the mayor for the various stores that close (and then open under new owners), throughout the city. And, I wouldn’t want them to assign blame there, either, because clearly it would be misplaced. 

Those of us who live in Berkeley like to think that our forward thinking city is fueled by the energy of intelligent, thoughtful individuals. The Chamber of Commerce is trying to tell us otherwise. Hopefully, voters won’t be fooled by this pathetic attempt to tarnish two hardworking, responsive and responsible Councilmembers. 

Sharon Maldonado 

• 

FOLLOW THE MONEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When it comes to politics, it’s essential to understand how money works. I agreed to serve as Kriss Worthington’s volunteer treasurer because as a community activist I appreciate his phenomenal work for our neighborhood and the progressive issues I care about. My position as treasurer has given me a window into what it costs to wage a campaign that communicates a candidate’s record and vision to voters. Since powerful interests have targeted Kriss in past campaigns, I knew that we’d have to spend substantial money on our efforts, and indeed we have spent around $27,000 as of Oct. 21 (the last reporting period). 

But our expenditures, normal for a hard-fought campaign, have been dwarfed by the money Kriss’s multimillionaire opponent has thrown into the race. George Beier has now won the dubious distinction of spending more than anyone has before on a Berkeley City Council race. As of the 10/26 campaign filing statement (which covers expenditures through Oct. 21 and which can be found at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/elections), Beier has already spent over $72,000 (more than the mayor in a citywide race), including $27,000 of his own money, and he will be the first City Council candidate in Berkeley history to surpass $100,000. Beier’s also benefiting from the Chamber of Commerce PAC, which has spent over $15,000 already against Kriss, as well as a soft-money mailing from the conservative Berkeley Democratic Club (which deliberately tried to mislead voters by picturing Beier with Barbara Lee, even though she is an early and enthusiastic supporter of Kriss’s), meaning that all told Kriss is being outspent by around three to one. 

It’s worth asking what all this money is buying; if this is what we want politics in Berkeley to be about; and whether, in the end, we can truly afford it. 

Nancy Carleton 

• 

WHY I SUPPORT MEASURE A 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have been asked to explain how it is that I can both oppose waste in the school district in the form of mass false registration and sponsor Measure A. The question is reasonable in that the history of generosity toward the schools is a basic reason why so many people outside the tax base try to crash our district. Yet I see no contradiction in my position. Both Measure A and fixing the broken registration system are means of supporting the schools. I am in favor of good schools. Raising funds and preventing fraud are two of the basic ways a school board can work to that end. 

David Baggins 

Candidate for School Board 

• 

SCHOOL BOARD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

School Board Directors Shirley Issel and Nancy Riddle are up for re-election on next week’s ballot. My letter is to remind Berkeley voters that these women have broken faith with the community in their positions as School Directors; and so, do not deserve to be returned to office. Do not vote for Shirley Issel or Nancy Riddle. 

In March of 2003, three teachers at Jefferson Elementary School presented a letter to their school community at a PTA meeting. The letter suggested that the community reconsider the name of the school site in consideration of the idea that having a school named for a slave holder is disrespectful to those whose ancestors were enslaved as well as to all people who recognize our country’s history of slavery as shameful. I was one of those three teachers. A group of parents quickly joined us to spread a successful petition to initiate the written School Board Policy for changing a school site’s name. 

This group carefully followed every aspect of the School Board’s written policy and procedures. By May of 2005, the staff, students, and families of our school community had been through a thorough, well publicized, educational, democratic process to choose a school name. The vote showed a majority for the new name, Sequoia. This process and it’s result were submitted to the School Board for approval. 

In a completely unprecedented action, three of the School Board directors voted to refuse to recognize the results of it’s own written policy and process. These individuals, Shirley Issel, Nancy Riddle, and Joaquin Rivera, chose to vote their own opinions rather than act as elected representatives overseeing a proscribed policy. As leaders of this city’s educational community they taught the very young citizens at our school site one of their first lessons about the democratic process. These students learned that their votes, their parents’ votes, and their teachers’ votes don’t matter. 

The students were confused to return to school in September 2005 to find that their school’s name had not been changed despite the election results. A process that had been a fine lesson in democracy for our school’s students was completely undone. School Board Directors had made promises that they would come and explain to students why they overturned the results of their election. 

To date, not one has done so. What are our students left to believe about the democratic process and the importance of their votes? What are they to understand about justice and the ideal of unbiased application of our community’s written laws and policies? That these School Board Directors lack the understanding to see how inappropriate the name Jefferson is for a school supported and attended by African American citizens, is reason enough to find them unfit representatives for this diverse community. That, further, they would refuse to recognize the results of an official School Board Policy is overwhelming evidence that they are inappropriate for their positions. 

Marguerite Talley  

Kindergarten Teacher 

Sequoia (Jefferson) Elementary School 

• 

GOLDEN GATE FIELDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Golden Gate Fields is misinforming voters about the economic (and environmental) impacts of the racetrack on Albany. Here are some facts: 

1. $1,565,000 is what Golden Gate Fields pays in yearly taxes to Albany and its school district. 

2. $1,600,000 is what a modest hotel complex on the site would produce in yearly taxes for Albany and our school district. 

3. $2,000,000 is what a medium hotel complex would produce in yearly city/school taxes. (East Bay hotel builders are very eager to build in Albany—including a modest amount of retail, e.g. 25 percent of the Caruso retail plan, on 25-30 acres.) 

4. If the track closes, Magna still pays $1,065,0000 in property/parcel taxes unless it donates the land to the state park. In that case we get a free shoreline park. Or, more likely, we could get a development agreement to put a hotel complex on 30 acres and get $1.6 to $2 million in city and school taxes, while leaving over 70 acres for continuous shoreline park. 

5. Magna Corp. leads the nationwide effort to bring casino gambling to horse tracks. Magna’s chair stated he wants Las Vegas style entertainment (gambling and malls) at all horse tracks. (Time Magazine) But casino gambling and malls are illegal on the Albany waterfront and Albany does not have to change its waterfront zoning to satisfy Magna. 

6. Golden Gate Fields will choose to close or not for its own business reasons, e. g. to stop continuous economic losses or because Magna is planning a Dixon racetrack large enough to replace racing activity at GGF and Bay Meadows combined. Albany will not control whether the track closes but it can control whether it plans for the long term of the shoreline. 

7. The vision of the environmentalists for the shoreline is extremely practical, meeting the fiscal needs of Albany and protecting the environment in the process. Assertions by GGF that CESP, Sierra Club, CAS and Audubon want to build a hotel in a creek or a marsh are just 

plain silly. 

In the meantime, we should all participate in the Albany city waterfront planning process. Come and discuss our future shoreline. Everyone is needed. 

Robert Cheasty 

President, Citizens for the East Shore Park 

• 

IF WE DON’T VOTE,  

WE DON’T MATTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I think it’s important to ensure an more inclusive Berkeley, and because as a student I feel that we sometimes don’t get included in decisions that impact us all, I thought it makes sense to direct this piece to both students and all Berkeley residents. There is a crucial election coming up on Tuesday and the people we elect make policy that impacts our quality of life. That’s why it’s important to vote. 

As someone who has been involved with City of Berkeley politics for the past two-and-a-half years, as the current Chairman of the Commission on Labor and a member of the Housing Advisory Commission, I thought it’d be important to clue all residents in on the most important races and my personal recommendations for voting on Nov. 7. Among others, I’m supporting: 

• Kriss Worthington for re-election to District 7, City Council. 

• Jason Overman for election to District 8, City Council. 

• Mayor Tom Bates for re-election. 

• No on Measure I. 

From the student perspective, as I am one, Berkeley students make up approximately 25-30 percent of the city population and don’t get their fair share of resources or their collective voices heard in the process. 

Voting for Kriss Worthington will ensure that all of our voices are heard when it comes, for example, to funding affordable housing projects and reducing the city’s crime rate. 

Did you know that Kriss helped students secure more than 1,000 new beds for student housing in the last eight years at a time when students were once forced to sleep in BART stations in the late 1990s? I kid you not. This housing crisis impacted us all as a community. How about that Kriss lobbied to keep businesses around campus open later, and voting to fund social services for Telegraph? Or that Kriss has appointed some 75-plus students and a diverse array residents to city commissions, the bodies that allow us to have a direct voice in policy making? Kriss has also pushed for a living wage and minimum wage for employees and makes sure our tax dollars are spent well. I say, promise made, promise kept. 

Voting for Jason Overman will usher in a new era of politics. Jason is both a Cal student and Rent Board commissioner who’s dedicated to increasing affordable housing, increasing funding for safety services such as police, reducing traffic that hurts our environment, and making it easier for students to get involved. Simply put, voting for Jason ensures that there is another ally for progressives on the City Council, for he’s a well-qualified progressive student himself. When he ran for the Rent Board, he promised that he’d fight for affordable rents and he has. Again, promise made, promise kept. 

Voting for Mayor Tom Bates will ensure that your City Council isn’t stuck in stalemate, as it has been in previous years. 

I’m honored to have been appointed to the Housing Advisory Commission by the mayor, and as a student committed to equality and fairness, I’ll continue to work with the Mayor and other parties in ensuring that students get their fair share. The mayor is working on revitalizing Telegraph, ensuring that we have access to a safe and vibrant shopping market near campus and throughout Berkely’s shopping areas. He’s also working to ensure that housing is created for those who need it most, including the homeless population. Under his leadership, Berkeley was named one of the greenest U.S. cities. That is how it should be. 

Finally, Measure I is a dangerous proposal, speaking of housing! It claims that it will create home ownership opportunities by pushing the conversion of rental units, where students generally live, into condominiums. Many students and residents can’t cough up the $500,000 price tag required to buy the units that they currently rent. Converting these units to condos means that those who can’t afford the buy would face eviction. This proposal is too risky. Regardless of whom you vote for or against, know that your involvement is important. Be sure to make your voice heard on Nov. 7. 

Nicholas Smith 

Chairman, Commission on Labor,  

Member, Housing Advisory Commission 

• 

PROPERTY VALUES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley homeowners should be cognizant of the current real estate market when voting on Nov. 7. 

The strong real estate market is over, and home prices are dropping. Yet massive apartment and condominium projects keep getting approved and built. Now that the real estate market is weakening, land use decisions will effect property values more and more. A glut of apartments and condo units will lower property values through the economic law of supply and demand. Berkeley is already the third most densely populated city in northern California, after San Francisco and Daly City. As Berkeley continues to rapidly develop, traffic will keep getting worse, historic buildings and views will be lost, and our city will become more dense, noisier, and more polluted. All of this will make Berkeley a less desirable place in which to buy a home, and in which to make a long-term commitment to live. 

Mayor Tom Bates, and City Council Members Linda Maio (District 1) and Gordon Wozniak (District 8) have voted for nearly every development project that has come to the Berkeley City Council in the last several years. They have consistently refused to hold public hearings on the appeal of large-scale development projects approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board, and they have consistently refused to require environmental impact reports (EIRs) for these large-scale projects. 

Bates, Maio and Wozniak also voted last year to approve the secret deal with UC to double the size of downtown Berkeley and to hand development decisions for our downtown over to the university. If the secret deal with UC is not overturned, neighborhoods to the north and south of downtown Berkeley could soon be overrun with high-rise apartments, condos, and office buildings. 

Berkeley home owners should realize that a vote for Mayor Bates, for Councilmember Maio, or for Councilmember Wozniak is a vote to worsen the quality of life in Berkeley, and a vote to lower the value of your home. 

Clifford Fred 

Berkeley Planning Commissioner, from 1988-1996 

• 

FIGHTING AIDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a voter, in the final days of this fiercely contested election, I sometimes feel as though there is nothing that the parties agree on. But somehow, in the heat of it all, both the Republican and Democratic parties came together to promote the ONE Campaign’s new—ONE Vote—spot. The fact that they rose above their differences on this not only surprised me, but it reminded me what is at stake on Nov. 7. 

On election day, like every other day, there will be over 1 billion people around the world living on less than $1 a day. But unlike every other day, my vote can set in motion something that will change that. As one of the 2.4 million members of ONE, I have been working to make the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty a part of the election conversation. For the first time in history we have the resources and know-how we need to end extreme poverty. All we need now is the political will to make it happen and that means we have to vote and hold our leaders accountable for the decisions they make. 

I encourage my fellow voters to contact candidates and ask them what actions they’ll take to help fight global AIDS and extreme poverty. Beyond the attack ads and partisan sparring filling the airways are the life and death decisions that our newly elected leaders will make on our behalf. Fighting global AIDS and extreme poverty is something we can reach across party lines to do together, and it can make a better, safer world for us all. 

Lola Olson 

Oakland 

• 

A GUIDE FOR THE  

UNCONVINCED VOTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Make no mistake: this letter is an attempt to convince you how to vote on Tuesday. 

I produce the majority of Kriss Worthington’s literature. This election season I’ve also written for Dona Spring, against Measure I, and for Measure J. Over the years I’ve produced literature for numerous candidates and for Berkeley funding bonds, among them disability bonds, library bonds, and parks bonds. I am schooled in the art of convincing. 

There was one overriding message I took away from the ‘60s, from the struggle against the Vietnam War, from the Civil Rights struggle, and from the women’s movement, and that was that the end doesn’t justify the means, but is, rather, simply determined by the means. Any movement which succeeds by imposing the will of an elite instead of realizing the will of the people it claims to act on behalf of is corrupt. 

The opposing sides in a contest look superficially alike because they have in common the determination to convince those who will decide the outcome to act on their argument instead of their opponent’s. But it’s possible, even surprisingly simple, to sift your way productively through the literature of a bitterly fought electoral contest. Just apply the following test: 

Reread the literature with an eye to the structure of its argument rather than its content. There are only two ways to make an argument: you can be guided by your end or you can be guided by your means. If the former, you will use all material at your disposal, no matter how relevant, to convince: if the latter, you will only be satisfied if you inform, and in informing, convince. If as a reader you come away from an election piece with new understanding, that’s the direct result of the author’s attempt to inform you. If you come away with doubt and fear, it’s the direct result of the author’s attempt to manipulate you. 

Here’s two productive examples from this election season. 

The Chamber of Commerce’s anti-Measure J piece warns that if you vote for Measure J you will be allowing as few as 25 people to designate a new Historical District. In fact, a Council majority has already stated it will put into effect a substitute law if J should fail, a law that also will allow 25 people to designate a new Historical District. Both proposals use that number because it’s the one recommended by the State Office of Historical Resources. The Chamber wasn’t lying: it was just attempting to convince by misinforming. 

Two letters from Beier supporters in Tuesday’s Planet: In “Real Progress vs. a Progressive Label” Charles Banks-Altekruse writes that “George seems capable of working respectfully and maturely with other City Council members to advance an agenda of constructive change and real progress.” David Cottle writes for “Beier Progressives in the Bateman, Halcyon, LeConte and Willard neighborhoods” that “Beier has, in addition to genuine progressive credentials, the intelligence, creativity and temperament we need in Berkeley’s elected leadership.” They’re either two people who happened simultaneously to realize that the most important thing to hammer into a letter to the editor this week is that George is every bit as progressive as Kriss, or they are part of an orchestrated Beier letter-writing effort echoing on-message talking points. If you have the time, go back and read these polished and perfectly meshing letters.  

If you feel you’ve learned something from this letter, I hope you’ll vote for Measure J and for Kriss Worthington. 

Dave Blake 

• 

SCHWARZENEGGER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The San Francisco Chronicle’s lame editorial endorsing Schwarzenegger bugs me. My reaction comes deep into my psychic; I cringe hearing Arnold’s name. His guttural voice reminds me of German guards and interrogators experienced as a downed Eighth Air Force flyer and a prisoner of war from May 9, 1944 through April 29, 1945. I am not biased against the Germanic people per se. I grew up in a German-speaking family. 

But, Arnold’s ingrained aggressive and dominating roles as an actor, a swaggering macho body builder, a womanizer, hummer owner, and maker of sexist and racist remarks have deep roots: they are his heritage. This is not suitable for being governor; he should try Minnesota or Montana. I do not trust his recent “soft” side, while he takes corporate donations. The Luftwaffe interrogating officers tried the soft guise on us newly downed American flyers. 

Arnold is pathetically and deviously obvious, as he plays footsie with the Bushie Republicans and the Democratic Legislature—what an act. The truth will out should he become governor: a lame-duck governor we should fear. In that guise we can expect his historic characteristics to relentlessly prevail. My historic recollections still stand. 

Ken Norwood 

• 

DISTRICT 7 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The District 7 City Council race is about haves and have nots. Kriss Worthington the incumbent survives on considerable less than the national average on a City Council salary of about $24,000 a year so he can spend more time directly helping his constituents. George Beier his opponent is a multi-millionaire ... and he wants Kriss’s job. Nothing is ever enough for some people. 

There is a line in the play Look Back in Anger by John Osborne: “It is always the wrong people who go hungry.” Kriss has the compassion to respond to a call from a constituent like myself in distress by getting on his bike and meeting with me in 15 minutes. He helped my neighbor a fragile professor who had been locked out of his apartment by his landlord who trashed this tenant’s place, putting his stuff in the garbage after not paying an illegal rent. In my own Section 8 case and the professor’s case Kriss advocated for us with this landlord and with the city’s Housing Authority. 

I am an award winning photographer who has been suffering from illness. I have helped host crime watch meetings when I was living at Russell St. I object to the Chamber of Commerce’s hit piece about Kriss not helping with crime. Kriss helped us become more safe from drug dealers who were assaulting, robbing and threatening the lives of Section 8 tenants in my complex.  

Kriss is a proven supporter of affordable housing. I have been quite sickened by the lies and slander George Beier has posted in front of his campaign headquarters basically calling Kriss worthless. Kriss confronted the “politically incorrect” problem of drug dealing in my neighborhood and building when no one in the local city government did. Kriss is deservedly respected for his devotion to La Causa, the cause of progressive politics. I feel George Beier is trying to buy this election with his money. It has been hard for me to write this but it is my hope it can get in the paper for election day.  

Diane Villanueva Arsanis 

• 

CHRONICLE ENDORSES BATES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The endorsement of Tom Bates by the San Francisco Chronicle is less political than financial. Given the paper’s declining circulation they simply can’t afford to have Tom stealing bundles of the Chronicle. 

Frank Greenspan 

• 

THEOCRACY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Do Americans want a theocracy? Twenty-six years ago Ronald Reagan won big and thus began the ascendance of the religious right, church-state politics. Reagan was the man who believed that trees caused pollution and dumped the mentally ill on to the streets. 

Now we are up against another hard-line Republican administration. This one even more radical than Reagan’s. Republican conservatism has given way to religious extremism. 

The Bush-Republican answer to solving disputes is war and more war to line the pockets of corporate sponsors. 

Nov. 7 is a vote about the misuse of power and trying to be the world’s policeman. Send the GOP packing or vote for more of the same. 

Ron Lowe 

Grass Valley 

• 

PACIFICA RADIO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a veteran of the “turn-of-the-century” struggle to prevent the Pacifica National Board from destroying what was left of Lew Hill’s independent Pacifica Radio Network, I’m sick to the heart at the dysfunctional listener-board election process taking place at KPFA right now. Having won the court battle and established the right of listeners to elect their own station boards, we’re now witnessing a most un-democratic election process that is an embarrassment to progressives and a cause of near-despair in those of us who struggled so long. 

The saving grace in this complete mishugana, now that I’m at some remove here in Spokane, is seeing people like Sasha Futran running for that station board. Disclosure: I’ve known Futran for a long time, having done much grassroots organizing with her, including a short time when she was a part of Take Back KPFA. But what tells me she would be an excellent choice for the KPFA listener-board is her work on the KQED Board—not only did she bring a journalist’s passion for accuracy and larger-than-most share of personal ethics, she had an eagle eye and a pit bull’s tenacity when she saw things that didn’t add up. Having been in radio herself for a number of years, she also understands radio: listeners, programmers and program quality, funders, and regulations in addition to having a solid grounding in progressive politics. 

Having been in Spokane for the last six years, I haven’t paid my Pacifica dues for several years (busy supporting micro-radio up here), and I regret that now. I would eagerly vote Futran onto that board—KPFA needs her badly! Would that there were 10 more of her! 

Marianne Torres 

Spokane Valley, WA 

• 

DEVELOPERS IN MIND 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

After I heard Tom Bates speak at Berkeley City College on Wednesday night I wondered about how the man had changed so much from the mid-’70s when I knew him as a member of the Legislature who helped us in the state Health Department in Sacramento battle for the needs of all citizens. In contrast Wednesday he announced to us that there are plans to build a 900-unit, nine story condominium on Center Street, across the street from Berkeley City College as well as a 200-unit hotel on Center and Shattuck where the Bank of America is. When one of the students asked what is this going to do for the downtown parking for students he answered, “It will be a little bit of inconvenience.” As it is many people avoid shopping in downtown Berkeley because parking is so hard. We have a wonderful community college smack in the middle of the downtown where will students park? What will a nine story condo do to the character of the downtown? Bates obviously has more than the interests of Berkeley’s citizens in mind, specifically the developers. 

Pauline Bondonno Cross 

• 

NONSENSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last night I received a postcard from anti-Measure A folk whining about the state of Berkeley Unified School District’s pools and other recreational facilities. I’d like to remind them that the primary mandate of BUSD is to educate children, not provide recreation to adults. Starving the district of resources by defeating Measure A will make this already-challenging mandate nearly impossible. And if you think the facilities are poorly maintained now, sending the district into bankruptcy would only make the current situation much, much worse. 

I hope 10 years from now when this measure is up for renewal, we try to make it permanent so this kind of nonsense no longer arrives in my mailbox. 

Brenda Buxton 

• 

BATES AND DEVELOPMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Re Mayor Bates’s Nov. 3 commentary, “Let’s Talk About Development,” if he’s as green as he makes out in his campaign literature, why did he fail to discuss the fundamental ecological issue of limits to growth? The East Bay’s existing population is already making such demands on the water supply that EBMUD is seriously considering building desalinization plants. Do we really want to build ourselves into a perpetual drought? 

As for Bates’ argument that we need to line the major traffic corridors with five-story apartment buildings in order to provide housing for Berkeley workers, the ones built in recent years always seem to have vacancies. Why aren’t Berkeley workers snapping them up? My guess is they’d rather commute as far as necessary to give their kids the benefit of growing up in a single-family house with a yard—just like Bates’s kids did. 

Robert Lauriston 

South Berkeley, District 3 

• 

HYPOCRISY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Funny how your paper failed to cover the illegal use of city e-mail addresses by certain city council candidates (See the Daily Cal). 

It’s nice to protect your friends—even it does make you a hypocrite. 

Joseph Brooks 

• 

ANTI-GAY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

From the recent revelations about Ted Haggard, Mark Foley, and James McGreevey, back to the uncloseting of Michael Huffington and before him, J. Edgar Hoover, we see some of the loudest anti-gay bullies are themselves homosexual. Next time one hears homophobic hate-mongering, one should ask, “where is this person coming from?” 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont 

• 

ROVE-IAN TACTICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The tactics of the GOP which we abhor in Berkeley appear to have infiltrated our city. 

What a very sad few weeks it has been as Berkeley voters have been deluged with what amounts to hate-mail, filled with lies and distortions, from the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce PAC. 

And none of the people running for re-election who names are on these hit pieces—Bates, Wozniak and Maio— have denounced them. 

If they win, GOP tactics and ethics will have found a safe harbor in Berkeley. 

Anne Wagley 

• 

PROPOSITION 89 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

By the time you read this letter voters will have largely decided the fate of Proposition 89 for public funding of elections. This “Clean Money” proposal has not been doing well in the polls because, while voters agree our elective system has been taken over by big money and no longer represents the public interest, giving tax money to politicians to run their campaigns is too bitter a pill to swallow (although, in the case of Proposition 89, corporations pay). Yet, with record amounts of special interest money being spent on elections on all levels and not much of it coming from constituents, our disenfranchisement can only get worse. A just published study by MAPlight.org found an average of 78% of State legislators’ campaign funding comes from outside their districts, with some getting as much as 99% from outside sources. If Proposition 89 fails, it will show how difficult it is to overcome the cynicism that our present system has created. If we ever wish to reclaim our democracy, however, the public needs to realize that it’s much better to have public money finance campaigns than allow our fate and the fate of our community, state, country and world be determined by those who put their special interests above ours. This is one solution all of us, whether “red” or “blue", should be able to agree upon.  

Tom Miller 

• 

HOUSING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Fern Leaf claims in her Nov. 3 Daily Planet commentary that “Berkeley has thousands of market rate rental vacancies.” If true, there are three obvious conclusions: the market rate is too high; these landlords prefer to take depreciation over income; and these landlords form a large cohort who’d love to see Measure I pass because no tenants means no 2 percent pay out.  

I’d have a lot more respect for the Measure I backers if they’d just say “I’d like to sell my rental properties but the current terms for condo conversions are unfair.” 

If anyone actually cared about “affordable housing,” they’d sell their property at a discount to market rate. 

John Vinopal 

• 

CORRECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just read Judith Scherr’s Nov. 3 article “KPFA Listeners Race for Station Board Spots.” The Espanol-language program “Rock and Rebellion” is actually titled: “Rock en Rebelión.” 

Michael Manoochehri 

• 

MORE ON PROP. 86 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This letter will probably come too late for many of you to consider when casting your votes, but it’s been in the back of my mind to write for a week or so even though I didn’t quite feel right about doing so. 

I am a smoker—of some 45 years now—not proudly, but rather acknowledging the strength of my addiction in that I have yet to be able to give up cigarettes. I am also a low-income earner. In that, I am like most cigarette smokers. So those of us who are caught in the vice are also the least able to absorb further taxes on it. And who is Prop. 86 going to benefit? Surely not me and my fellow smokers! Rather, it seems it’s just a politically correct way of raking in taxes from those of who are least able to afford to pay them to fund all sorts of other “health-related” activities, including fighting obesity. 

As a smoker, Kaiser told me I couldn’t get health insurance unless I were to register as someone with “a pre-existing condition.” I’m actually blessed with great health, so I don’t know what they had in mind except pure prejudice. In the meantime, obesity rates in this country are through the roof—with the resultant implications for diabetes, etc., and the next time you’re in a Kaiser facility, take a look at the physical condition of it’s employees! I wonder if they’re charged through the roof for their health care (I can’t afford it). 

We’re all in this together, smokers, fat people, average joes. Please think about that when you vote on whether or not to hurt me with higher taxes from which I, as a smoker who intends to quit when she can, to pay for all of our sins. 

Nicola Bourne 

• 

THE YOUTH VOTE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On Nov. 7, young people will be heading to the polls across the state to cast their ballots. The value of the youth vote has never been more important. This year while we vote on local measures and candidates, it’s also said that we’re issuing a referendum on the federal government. While the urgency is not lost on young people, the main barrier to getting us registered and voting has been the sentiment that our votes don’t count. And this year, our peers may be proven right. New e-voting machines are being used across the country, regardless of their well-documented problems, including easy hacking and ballot deletion. In addition, many young people never got as far as Nov. 7, thanks to registration difficulties which made joining the ranks of voters all the more difficult. Voting should be one of the easiest things to do as a citizen of this country, yet it seems to become increasingly difficult year after year. 

If this country is serious about civic participation, we must take steps to make sure every vote counts. If not, we risk losing our democracy. 

Natasha Marsh 

California State Director 

League of Young Voters Education Fund, Oakland 

• 

ANIMAL SHELTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s gratifying to see the letters expressing concern about the failure of the City of Berkeley to move forward with the voter mandated new animal shelter. It is one of the few municipal building projects that could be providing much needed construction jobs and could also be a key component in the regeneration of the Gilman corridor. An animal shelter is not a “pound” any longer—it is a community resource providing ample opportunities for volunteering, education and inspiration. A real vision for Gilman would not center on car dealerships or outlet stores, but on an artisan district, which respects the industrial heritage of the area and encourages some of the more “industrial” arts. The animal shelter would have been a fantastic focal point for community pride and renewal. 

Instead the site at Sixth and Gilman sits bare, the Macauley Foundry remains on the market and neither the BUSD nor the animal shelter have a place—in spite of funding being in place for both. Time for new leadership in Berkeley. 

Jill Posener 

Chair, Animal Shelter Bond Campaign 2002 

Chair, Animal Shelter Sub Committee 

• 

PERALTA TRUSTEES FOR  

ABEL GUILLEN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As current members of the Peralta Board of Trustees, which governs Laney, Merritt, Alameda and Berkeley City colleges, we enthusiastically urge voters to support Abel Guillen, who is running for the Area 7 seat (Temescal, Chinatown, Lake Merritt, and West Oakland).  

Abel has distinguished himself as a civic leader, community organizer, and school finance advisor who has helped raised billions in bonds for California schools and community colleges. He brings with this set of professional skills a commitment to diversity and a strong history of community involvement, especially on behalf of under-represented and under-served students. 

As the first member of his family to attend college, he knows the value of education and the importance of making sure that young people have access to our colleges and a program for success. He has met with countless numbers of students and staff members on the Peralta campuses to learn first hand what’s working and what’s not. In the many debates held so far, he has demonstrated a command of the issues and articulated a student-centered vision far superior to his opponent. It is this vision that has earned Abel the strong endorsements of Peralta’s faculty and staff unions and that of Peralta’s two Student Trustees Marlene Hurd and Reginald James. 

Mr. Guillen’s strong history of public service, financial expertise and first-hand experience with community colleges more than qualify him for the Peralta Colleges Board—a board charged with providing quality programs for nearly 30,000 students and overseeing an annual budget of $100 million along with $390 million in new bond money the voters recently approved.  

In 2004 we were overwhelmingly elected to the Peralta Board with the solid backing of a community dissatisfied with a dysfunctional Peralta Board that had for years engaged in poorly considered and badly executed decisions. Weak planning, poor oversight, lack of transparency and accountability, even outright arrogance, led to the wasted spending of millions of dollars and years of low morale and negative press.  

For the past two years, we are happy to report, the District has greatly improved. But, there is much more that needs to be done. The same groups that supported us two years ago, among them The Peralta Federation of Teachers and SEIU 790, recognize the work ahead and the need for a progressive, responsible, and diverse board majority to accomplish our goals. They have overwhelmingly endorsed Abel Guillen, as have Oakland City Council member Nancy Nadel, most East Bay Democratic Clubs, the Alameda County Central Labor Council, the Green Party, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce PAC, the Oakland Tribune, the Bay Guardian, and our fellow Peralta Trustee, Bill Withrow. We are pleased to join in these endorsements and urge you to vote for Abel Guillen for the Peralta Colleges Board. As trustees, we need Abel’s vote to complete the reforms we have begun. 

Cy Gulassa, Peralta Trustee Area 6  

Nicky González Yuen, Peralta Trustee Area 4 

• 

SIMPLISTIC 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

As usual, J. Douglas Allen-Taylor gives a rather simplistic and one-dimensional view of the challenges in a city like Oakland and the results produced by Mayor Jerry Brown. 

I have watched the Mayor walk outside of his apartment while calling 911 in the midst of a nearby shootout. He was the first person on the scene of the gang violence, telling police what happened and, yes, even showing them where the shell casings were and where the shooters stood. 

Mr. Allen-Taylor suggests this is posturing even though he, like most people, would probably hide indoors. Despite his celebrity, the Mayor does not surround himself with guards, handlers and chauffeurs. He refuses to isolate himself from citizens on the street. 

He recently called his staff at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night to report that a dozen bulbs needed to be changed on Lake Merritt’s “Necklace of Lights.” Such interventions on the Mayor’s part are not unusual. 

According to Mr. Allen-Taylor, it’s all a show, but maybe show business is Mr. Allen-Taylor’s job. 

Even the Mayor’s most ardent critics have acknowledged that there were over 50 acres of vacant unused land in downtown Oakland eight years ago. They lay blighted for decades. Now they are all filling up—bustling with people, businesses, restaurants, art galleries and cafes. If Mr. Allen-Taylor prefers empty lots and holes in the ground, I’ve got an extra shovel for him. 

Dave Grenell 

Aide to Mayor Jerry Brown 

• 

MEASURE A 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What does it say that, throughout Berkeley, so many “Yes on A” supporters proudly display their signs in living room windows, front gardens, private cars and even on their clothing, while the “No on A” folks placed their few placards high above the ground on anonymous telephone poles? 

Is the “No on A” crew ashamed of itself? Perhaps it should be… Surely there must be a more productive way to advocate for what you want in our schools than to cut essential funding. 

Support the measure that Berkeley voters are proud to stand by.  

Vote yes on Measure A. 

Mary Patterson 

BUSD Teacher 

“The business of America,” said Calvin Coolidge, “is business.” Backers of District Four challenger Raudel Wilson reflect “Silent Cal’s” wisdom to a tee. 

Wilson hails himself as a “consensus builder.” Now we heard this six years ago from the Texan in the White House so we know that just saying something doesn’t make it so. But that isn’t the point. Wilson faults incumbent Donna Spring for being in a minority - on the losing side of votes. To quote from his interview in the Berkeley Planet of October 17 - 19: “...if you’re always voting ‘no’ when others are voting ‘yes’ it seems like you’re on the wrong side...” Never mind what you or I may think of that comment , what would a psychiatrist make of it? If you lose, you’re wrong -like Al Gore or John Kerry. If you win... 

There’s something to be said for a candidate who equates losing with being wrong - and therefore winning with being right. After all, might makes right. 

And in Wilson’s view other things make right to. For example, telling the electorate in the voter’s handbook that he has “lived and worked in the fourth district for nine years.” In fact, Wilson admits that he moved to Berkeley—not just District 4—only two years ago. Misleading? No, sir. The statement was written that way to conserve words since there was limited space in the statement. 

Let’s look at that closer. He has “worked and lived.” This is a conjunctive use. It means that he did both for nine years. It does not lend itself to any other construction. If Wilson had written that he had “worked” in District Four for nine years it would have been accurate. But then it would have led to the question where did he work and as what? 

As the manager of a downtown bank. 

Which would lead to the question of why did he move to Berkeley - District Four in particular, what is his purpose in running and in whose interest does he run? The reality is that every work day, forty hours a week, before he goes home to sleep it off, Wilson is a banker, concerned with what concerns...banks. You can study sociology at UC for four years and pick up a remarkable vocabulary of over-refined definitions of human behavior and what influences it. But when you sift through it, it all comes down to this crude historical materialist fact: “You are what you eat.” 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” 

Who are the investors in this banker’s campaign? Check the periodic “Campaign Disclosure Statements” on file with the City of Berkeley—accessible via the net. Bankers, realtors, financial planners and consultants. 

They didn’t make a campaign contribution to Raudel Wilson, they made an investment. 

Raudel Wilson—nice guy, affable manager, good family man. That’s what the glossy photographs portray. Expensive productions for a campaign seemingly so humble. Look beneath the wrapping. You may get what you vote for. 

Wayne Collins 

• 

PERALTA RACES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why should Berkeley residents care about a race for an Oakland seat on the board of the Peralta Community College District? 

Because the board in its entirety controls Berkeley City College (formerly Vista College). 

Because Berkeley citizens are eligible to take courses at Laney, Merritt, and the College of Alameda. 

Because Berkeley and Oakland are very closely linked. The fate of Oakland youth could hardly be more important to us. No institution offers more hope for them than the community colleges. 

Because the district has just passed a $390 million-dollar bond issue, and we need to make sure the money is spent to best effect. 

Because there is a first-class candidate running for the seat. 

His name is Abel Guillen. Abel is young, and the first in his own family to go to college. He works hard. He cares deeply, He knows a lot about how to run college districts. He wants to make sure that every high school student in the district learns well in advance of graduation about opportunities through Peralta. He knows how to listen to the faculty, students and staff rather than outside contractors when it comes to making key decisions. 

To find out how to support Abel go to www.abelforperalta.com.  

Michael H. Goldhaber 

• 

DOING THE OPPOSITE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read with Mayor Bates’ article titled “Let’s Talk About Development” with amazement. It is impressive that he can make such claims in public while doing the exact opposite in practice. 

For example that “any major new development must be in the downtown or along a major transit corridor” yet 2901 Otis was not on a corridor. Bates apparently defines “transit corridor” as anything within a 15 minute walk to the nearest bus stop i.e, 90 percent of the city. 

He also says “we expect and demand that all new buildings be well designed and attractive” yet no such standard was applied at MLK and University, Harrison and San Pablo, University and Sacramento, or any of the other new developments. 

This is at least consistent with Bates’ other so-called accomplishments. For example Project Build for Kids, which netted some lucky bookseller thousands of dollars, but no kid I know has heard of the program, received any books, or knows anyone who has. Don’t forget the environmental progress Bates claims, reducing city-generated landfill for example, while ignoring the cancellation of trash pickup day and the subsequent shift of that cost to residents. 

Fact is nearly everything Mayor Bates says is tailored to sell his election and hide the fact that he has been responsive only to big real estate and big developers. These special interests are, in turn, more than happy to fund the Chamber PAC and otherwise leverage their return from corporate welfare. I will say that Bates’ years in Sacramento have taught him how to sell himself, despite the voting record. It should come has no surprise that his college major was rhetoric, which he has developed into a PhD in influence peddling. 

Mickey Hayes 

• 

MEASURE J 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

One argument for Measure J, which contains the most obvious fallacy, is that designation of a Landmark is like zoning—that every property owner is subject to zoning restrictions on use, height, setbacks, size of building, lot coverage, etc. Of course, but all of those restrictions are known in advance. If I plan to buy a property, I know how it’s zoned, what the setbacks are, what the height limit is, etc., so I can make clear and definite plans for the use of that property. 

But if there is a structure on the property, it may be a booby-trap that at any time can wreck those plans and render the property useless. That’s why the Request for Determination, contained in the Council’s alternate measure, is essential. I must be able to say to the LPC, I’m planning to buy this property that includes a structure, and I need to know now, before I invest in it, if I will have the option to remove or replace that structure. In my opinion, if the LPC can not, within two and a half months, find clear and obvious reasons to designate that property, then those reasons are too obscure and trivial to matter to any reasonable person, and I should have two years (or ten years) to use it as I please. 

Jerry Landis 

• 

ANIMAL SHELTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While I certainly agree with Dr. Feldman and Ms. Van Nes (Nov. 3) that the city should use the allotted funds, and more, to improve its animal services, let’s give credit where credit is due. The Berkeley Animal Shelter on Second Street does a heroic job with its limited resources. 

Unlike private shelters that can choose which animals to accept, it takes all comers, keeps them indefinitely, works with adoption services, and only resorts to euthanasia when it is indeed “mercy killing.” Although they strive for sanitary conditions, some disease is inevitable–look at the statistics for the best human hospitals. 

Much of the work is perforce done by volunteers; managing them can be as hard as herding cats, and yes, BAS does that too; rounding up feral cats is one of its several proactive programs. These include providing special training for pit bulls, whose overpopulation and aggressive tendencies have become a societal problem. Sad indeed that BAS has to hold garage sales to provide funds for its services. 

The current facility leaves much to be desired, yet when I (as a volunteer) take dogs out for much-needed exercise, at the end of the walk they are willing, even joyful, to return “home.” They and their dedicated carers deserve a better deal from the city. 

Jeanne Pimentel 

• 

LIES, SECRETS AND  

CONSEQUENCES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Governments lie for the same reason that people do, to protect secrets. If governments and people continue lying once the secret is out they are guilty of pathological self-deception. Furthermore, where grave matters are involved the person or the body politic responsible for concealment will suffer critical self-inflected wounds from which recovery will be long and painful.  

Some of us remember how government deceit about Vietnam drove LBJ from office and how persistent lying about Watergate caused Nixon to resign. George W has done these two hapless predecessors one better. Last month W’s administration asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to keep secret something that all the world knows because, it claimed, if “alternative interrogation methods” are made public the nation’s security is at risk. 

Given that the drip-drip of information emanating from Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere have accumulated to form a bottomless lake named “Abu Graib,” the position taken by W’s administration is self-deceptive in the extreme. More importantly, those of us who remember must dread the effort it will take to mend our damaged Constitution and cringe at the prospect of yet another long and painful recovery.  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo  

• 

OFF THE MARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Oct. 31 article on Measure I by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor is accurate in some ways but off the mark in others. For example: 

1. The article implies that a building with “serious safety, health or building code violations” could be approved for conversion under Measure I. Not true. Section 21.28.110 specifically states that any defect that “adversely affects the habitability of the property” must be corrected prior to conversion. 

2. The article says that less money would be transferred to the affordable housing trust fund. Again this is not true. The current law sets an unreasonably high fee for a pitifully small number of conversions. The fee is not payable until and unless the converted unit is sold on the open market. The key fact is that after eighteen months, no condos have been converted under the current law and no one has paid anything to the trust fund. Measure I sets a lower fee (payable up-front) for a higher number of units. This is real, immediate cash to the fund. Over and above this are increased transfer taxes and property taxes, which city analyists measure at more than $200 million over the next two decades. 

3. It is said that the 5 percent cash payment to purchasing tenants is “in effect ...a five percent discount on the purchase price. It’s a lot more than that, since actual cash can be used for a down payment. A simple discount could not. 

4. It is said that Measure I gives tenants “only thirty days from the date they are notified of the proposed conversion to make up their minds.” Again, not true. Section 21.28.060 requires a detailed written notice to tenants when the owner first files an application to convert. This notice (for which there is no current equivalent) describes all of the tenant’s potential options, including the right of first refusal. When the application is granted, a second notice must be sent. Finally a third notice is required when and if the owner wants to sell to a third party. It is only after the third notice (which at the current pace of city action could be as much as two years following the first notice) that the tenant’s thirty day decision period begins. 

It would also have helped if your reporter had spoken to the major problem in Berkeley. There is a surplus of rental housing, but no home ownership opportunities left for the middle class in Berkeley. The city has bankrupted itself subsidizing developments (nearly all rental units) which please no one, but has spent nothing on affordable homes for first-time buyers. Result? Three quarters of the City’s work force commutes into town, and spends its money elsewhere. UC graduates, many of whom would like to stay, and raise their families here, have no way to do it. Property taxes go ever upward, with fewer and fewer homeowners to pay them. 

Measure I offers real hope on all these fronts, and real cash assistance that comes from the private market, not the city treasury. It is a good idea whose time has come. 

Kathy Snowden 

• 

BEIER’S BROKEN PROMISE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

During the summer, George Beier knocked on my door and told me he’d be running a clean campaign based on the issues. 

He hasn’t kept his word. His campaign literature has repeatedly distorted Councilmember Kriss Worthington’s record on Telegraph Avenue, crime, and small businesses. As a neighborhood activist, I’ve seen firsthand how hard Kriss has worked to support our Neighborhood Watch, get more funding for increased levels of police and social workers, and rally the community to work together to win more resources for Telegraph. Kriss has been an incredibly responsive councilmember when it comes to basic constituent services, in addition to his widely recognized leadership on progressive issues (George pretends to be a progressive, but his record and list of endorsers suggest the opposite). 

And now day after day my mailbox is full of expensive direct mailpieces from George that are short on his own proposals but long on negative insinuations about Kriss’s record, some of them featuring quotes taken completely out of context along with simpleminded graphics. Blaming Kriss for the closure of Cody’s was particularly egregious. If Kriss were to blame for Cody’s Telegraph closing, why would my neighbor Pat Cody (co-founder of Cody’s) be working so hard to re-elect him? 

The fact that George has already spent more than any Council candidate in Berkeley history is bad enough. (Do we really want City Council seats to come with $100,000 price tags?) But even worse is his willingness to let others provide misleading information on his behalf. Examples include the Berkeley Democratic Club’s picture of George with Barbara Lee (when Lee has not endorsed him) and the Chamber of Commerce’s unattributed and illegal mailing implying that Mayor Bates has endorsed George (he hasn’t), to say nothing of the vicious hit pieces sent by the Chamber full of blatant lies about Kriss’s votes on City Council. 

Sorry, George, that’s not a clean campaign. 

Susan Hunter 

• 

MESSAGE FOR  

OAKLAND VOTERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is bad enough that this fake mailer disguised itself as coming from the Democratic Party, but it also misrepresented several of the official positions of the Democratic Party. The Alameda County Democratic Party strongly supports Measure O (instant runoff voting in Oakland) (see www.acdems.org/endorsements.html for proof). And the California Democratic Party supports instant runoff voting (see www.cadem.org/ site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.1193757/k.A452/Political_Reform.htm for proof). Yet this fake slate card told Oakland voters to vote “no” on this measure. That kind of sleazy, underhanded tactic is what really turns off voters to politics. And ironically, it’s that kind of mudslinging that Measure O /instant runoff voting is trying to stop.  

As San Francisco’s experience with instant runoff voting has shown, IRV decreases negative campaigning because candidates may need the second or third ranking from the supporters of other candidates to win. So you have to be more careful what you say about those candidates in order to attract their voters’ support. 

Setting the record straight: the Democratic Party, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and over 20 Democratic elected officials from Oakland and Alameda County all strongly support Measure O. 

Suzi Goldmacher 

Chair, 16th Assembly District 

Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Steve Chessin 

Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee and 

Member, California Democratic Party Executive Board 

Rob Dickinson 

Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Alternate Member, California Democratic Party Executive Board 

Founding Member, San Mateo County Democracy for America 

Donald Goldmacher 

Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Sherry Reson 

Member, California Democratic Party State Central Committee 

Founding Member, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club 

• 

CERRITO THEATER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Planet’s two Oct. 31 articles will hopefully help make a good start for the new Cerrito Theater. It will be interesting to see if it helps bring some much needed “life” to our town, or turns into a white elephant. The theater owners have an interesting concept, they are mucho sympatico, and even our town’s sceptics should wish the moviehouse well. Still, in the interest of balanced reporting, missing from the commemorative plaque which thanks the City Council, staff and contributors, is the following: 

“The theater was mainly financed by 10,000 El Cerrito households, who without being consulted were required to pay over $700 each, for a “theater rent return” of $1 per household per month. The city/Redevelopment Agency should acknowledge that site acquisition, feasibility studies, design and construction costs add up to over six milllion dollars. And include interest payments on loans the agency did not repay, in order to have “the cash at hand.” So a $7 million total cost is a fair estimate, even if we forget the fact the theater is the only redevelopment project in years. From an agency that costs $500,000 a year in staff costs and another $500,000 a year for consultants. Residents can be thankful the money went into a “benign” project; the main potential damage is to worsen the area’s parking shortage, and possibly drive the AlbanyI/II theaters out of business. And of course, the promised new library is now unlikely to happen, unless residents vote to increase taxes.” 

Keep reporting, the Cerrito theater is a good experiment and learning experience, successful or not. And meanwhile enjoy the movies, they cost us plenty. 

Peter and Rosemary Loubal 

El Cerrito 

• 

SATAN’S  

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEREKELY VOTERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For pity sakes, stop being so squeamish! Lying, cheating and stealing are just the way it’s done these days. Berkeley just took a bit longer to get with my program, that’s all. Thank heavens for the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce and their PAC, Business for Better Government—they’ve made my work so much easier! Join these unimpeachable (heh, heh) community leaders and give your vote to all candidates and initiative supporters who spend huge sums of money on their campaigns; benefit from large contributions from undisclosed sources; use last-minute campaign mailers that are packed with lies; and place the needs of big developers above the needs of neighborhood residents who chronically whine about their “quality of life.” Oh please, some people just find it so difficult to cope with positive change that results in the complete destruction of their neighborhoods. Miscreants! After we brush this riff raff away, I hope I can count on you to work with me and my colleagues to build the new Berkeley—or, as I like to call it, “Berkeley at its Beastliest!” 

Yours truly, 

The Devil* 

* The Devil sometimes goes by the name of Doug Buckwald. 

• 

PROFESSOR YOO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you very much for covering the protest against Professor Yoo of Boalt school of Law. I am both horrified and disgusted by our governement’s continued support for the torure of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. I was deeply saddened by congress’s decision to perpetuate this unconstitutional activity through the passing of the Military Commisions Act. I have never been so ashamed of my governement. Your Article gave me the opportunity to learn about Professor Robert Cole’s role in the protest at UC. Thanks for reporting on this matter of such importance. Thank you also for such a plethora of coverage of local candidates.  

Nancy Braham 

• 

NO QUOTAS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Alameda County Grand Jury, in its Final Report for 2005-2006, page 48, says that “there are no quotas for ticket writing in Berkeley.: 

Quotas are prohibited by Section 41600 et seq of the California Vehicle Code.  

The Berkeley police chief, with the agreement of the city manager, city attorney, and city clerk, requires parking enforcement personnel to issue 1,200 citations a month, which they have determined to be a reasonable “goal.” 

A copy of the vehicle code is on file in the reference section, second floor of Berkeley Main Library. 

Charles Smith 

Sitting before our TV’s witnessing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the nation stunned, incredulous, in shock. Conversation, public and private, a mix of anger and disbelief. How could the flood victims—disproportionately poor and black—be treated so badly, deserted, left to fend for themselves, to die? The Bush administration went AWOL—absent without leave—revealing itself as having committed what can fairly be called malign acts of criminal negligence. This was in sharp contrast to the generous outpouring of volunteer help and contributions from around the country. A prime example: hundreds of RNs went down to New Orleans within days to respond to the horrible plight of the flood victims. 

Much attention and public commentary focused on FEMA which continues to be a disaster instead of a response to one. At present do we have faith that the people of New Orleans will be allowed to return and rebuild their homes and their lives? Do we have faith in a different outcome or the possibility of one for those hit by the next disaster? What would a different outcome look like? How do we think about and engage in open, public conversation discussing these matters in an intelligent and useful manner?  

A place to start is with these same nurses and their union, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/ NNOC), who coordinated much of the Katrina response. Their righteous action—ordinary people doing the extraordinary—gave many of us hope and needed inspiration; we seldom see such demonstrations of solidarity in our society. There is hope and broad recognition that serious change needs to be made, encouraging the possibility of a real conversation as to what direction our country should go. 

The CAN/ NNOC has recently established RNRN, the Registered Nurses Relief Network. This is an ambitious, indeed heroic effort that will bring together some 200,000 nurses from around the country organized to respond to emergencies resulting from natural (and unnatural) disasters. So we, the rest of us, that broader public, might do well to follow the lead of the nurses. (Remember, the nurses of CNA, the ones who kicked Arnold’s butt, are based in Oakland, for that we can be proud).  

We can initiate concrete action and useful conversation right here in Oakland, Berkeley and the East Bay. Namely, how we as local residents can join in with the nurses and figure out how to prepare and respond to disasters that might befall us here in our own community—like the ever present threat of an earthquake or breaks in the levee system of the Delta?  

The place to have the conversation 

A good place to have that conversation is at our community colleges, those of the Peralta Community College District (Laney, Merritt, College of Alameda and Berkeley City College). The community colleges are the place to upgrade the disaster response skills of the healthcare workforce and so train students in the RN, LVN and paraprofessional programs offered by the District. This would mean working with CNA and the other healthcare unions (i.e. the United Healthcare and Hospital Workers Union and the Social Workers Union—both of SEIU, and the Doctors and Dentists of AFSCME), to develop this skill upgrading and training capacity of the colleges. Other types of training related to disaster preparedness and response should be offered at the colleges in collaboration with locals of the International Federation of Firefighters.  

The various local, regional and State jurisdictions of government and the unions can be brought together along with others in conversation that can be the beginning of a public works planning process. To this end the Building Trades Council and the Steel Workers Union can play key roles determining necessary public works projects and address issues like how many new apprentice workers will need to be recruited and trained. The civil engineers, planners, and architects working for local governments and represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers or SEIU, would likely seize upon the opportunity to engage their fellow workers and members of the public to figure out the options involved in rebuilding our infrastructure.  

Likewise, the community colleges can provide a unique forum. Assuming a sponsorship role for these essential discussions will allow the colleges to undertake their mission as a resource center for community development. Public policy conversations, discussions and debates that more likely characterize the academic environments of liberal arts programs, can also be directed to members of the community who would not typically be so engaged by the colleges. Attracting this broader, more diverse constituency may well become an exemplary way for us, as local residents to exercise our obligations of citizenship. 

I’m encouraged by the prospect of these possibilities, having recently had a conversation about these ideas with Abel Guillen, who is running for the Peralta Community College Board. Abel is what they call a “quick study.” He immediately grasped the notion that the District can both provide opportunities for training and promote an exchange of ideas and conversations amongst the broad public and interested parties who can be served by the District’s colleges. I’m optimistic that he and the other Board members will take advantage of the opportunities before us and follow the lead of the nurses. 

Steve Kessler worked with victims of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, he is a community development planner and a Berkeley resident. 

The most diverting feature of my jail cell was the handsome stainless-steel console attached to one wall that cleverly combined the functions of washbasin, drinking fountain, and toilet. In its economy of line, its satisfying serviceability in all its functions, and its efficient and hygienic separation of those functions, it was the kind of thing one might encounter in the design galleries of the Museum of Modern Art. A very distant second place goes to the disposable toothbrush. After removing it from its sanitary package, I followed instructions to push the handle toward the brush head, which broke a seal and squeezed rather tasty toothpaste up into the bristles. My cell offered three of these. But even in the tedium of my two and a half hour confinement I used only one. 

Other diversions were slender. Nothing to read. No Gideon Bible. No Reader’s Digest. No TV. Through the plexiglass wall at the front of my cell I could observe activity in the central reception area, but alas I’d drawn a rather lethargic, crime-deprived season for my sojourn. 

I was able to watch the fingerprinting of the thirtyish woman with the wake-up fountain of hair spritzing Versailles-like from the crown of her head. She had arrived in the booking chamber a few minutes after I did, wonderfully enlivening the sociability of that grim place. Before I was taken to my cell, she and I sat near one another on a bench along one wall, each with our hands cuffed behind our backs. The ice was broken when one of her captors glanced casually at the paper showing the charge against me and asked me if I were that person. My fellow inmate seemed to approve of my achievement. I asked her what she was in for. “All kinds of shit,” she confessed. I said I hoped she’d enjoyed it all. “Very much,” she grinned. 

My crime spree began when I parked my van parallel to the street in the broad driveways of some garages that I rent. The van was slightly on the sidewalk but in no way impeded the use of the sidewalk. In a neighborhood where many of my neighbors travel in wheelchairs, I am super-sensitive to the blocking of sidewalks. In this case I had parked so that two wheelchairs could easily have sashayed past performing intertwining figure-eights. I left my van there for perhaps five minutes and when I returned found a citation on the windshield. It was for parking “on or across sidewalk.” 

Spotting the parking enforcement vehicle about a block away, I drove there. “Did you put this on my windshield?” I asked the officer. “Yes,” she said, “you were parked on the sidewalk.” I said, “I was in no way blocking the sidewalk.” “You were parked on the sidewalk,” she repeated. I asked her to take back the ticket. She refused. The stupidity and unfairness of it overcame me and I stuck the crumpled citation under the epaulet of her jacket. It was not a wise gesture. 

Driving a couple of blocks to where I had business to do, for a few minutes I enjoyed some deep sense of injustice answered. It was a fleeting satisfaction. 

I parked and was walking toward my destination when an armada of police cars appeared. In short order, I was halted by a very severe officer, who commanded me gruffly to “Give me those things,” referring to the looseleaf binder and highlighter markers I was carrying. I couldn’t imagine what might seem dangerous about them. I suggested he might say “Please” and he barked still more gruffly to “Give me those things.” I did that. He threw them on the sidewalk and stepped on the binder. I suggested no further courtesies. 

A small battalion of officers assembled, one of them wearing devil’s horns (it was Halloween). The neighbors were impressed. I was told that I was to be charged with battery on a police officer. I was frisked and handcuffed. In the course of this, several officers spoke civilly with me and asked me to describe my exchange with the traffic officer. The exception was the barking one, who at one point snarled in my face something like: “Are you a mental case? Are you on drugs?” The questions were probably rhetorical, but I answered, as honestly as I could, “no” to both. Later, as he was hustling me toward a police car, another officer said to him, “Don’t play with him. Just put him in the car.” 

I was released from jail after a very few hours. I sent a note to the traffic officer acknowledging that I knew she was just doing what she regarded as her job and apologizing for any distress I may have caused her. Judging from the magnitude of the reaction, I caused a lot. 

In retrospect I’m a little ashamed that my jailing resulted from so paltry an infraction. It rises nowhere near the stature of Henry Thoreau’s one-day incarceration for tax-refusal over the Mexican War. It lacks any of the sordid passion that put the poet Paul Verlaine in prison for shooting the provocative Arthur Rimbaud in the wrist. And Mohandas Gandhi’s life-long readiness to face imprisonment for the noblest principles brilliantly eclipses my fleeting and unanticipated acquaintance with the lockup. 

I did learn something. If you are ever handcuffed, relax your arms. Handcuffs punish resistance. But one can settle into them rather cozily if the arms and wrists just dangle. 

Rob Browning is a Berkeley resident whose court date later this month will presumably determine how the case he describes here is resolved. 

Will our votes count in this election? The short answer is yes.  

Members of the League of Women Voters in Alameda County have been observing and working closely with the Registrar of Voters Office (ROV) for more than a year an a half to make sure that our election system is working well. Guiding our work have been the LWVUS standard—SARA—voting systems should be Secure, Accurate, Recountable and Accessible, and the basic League tenet that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed. 

Four League members serve on the ROV’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee; two League members serve on the ROV’s Logic and Accuracy Board.  

Overall, League observers found the ROV conscientious and meticulous in carrying out its work. Election equipment and software are only part of an election system. Well trained staff and systematic procedures are key elements; they are essential to carry out a secure and accurate election. Acting ROV Dave Macdonald, who also heads the County’s IT Department, has expanded and improved the tracking and testing of equipment and systems, upgraded the training of the existing staff and brought with him from IT additional staff with computer expertise. An independent firm was hired to do a vulnerability assessment. The firm identified only a few weak points that the ROV needed to correct. The report is posted on the web at http://accurate-voting.org/wp content/uploads/2006/10/alameda_sequoia_vuln.pdf.  

A full report of League observations of the November 2005 election, “How Our Votes Are Counted,” is posted on the Web at www.lwvbae.org/ acc_rov.htm. Although some details of the system described in this report will change at this election, the descriptions are still relevant to citizen observers. During the canvass following the June election, the ROV posted large sheets explaining to citizen observers exactly what processes they were observing. 

This election will provide a strenuous test for the ROV since the County has brand new voting machines and a new voting system, from a new vendor, Sequoia Voting Systems. The Board of Supervisors made their purchase decision only just in time for the fall election; equipment began to arrive at the end of August. The Registrar of Voters staff had to work very quickly to learn the new system, to adapt existing training for poll workers and temporary staff, to train them and to study and test the new systems. Because of concerns raised by citizens about the security of electronic systems, the Board of Supervisors required the ROV to add extraordinary safeguards for this election—including independent testing and a full hand recount of all votes cast on touch screen machines. 

All voters will be able to review their ballots before casting them; all ballots will have a paper backup. Most votes will actually be cast on paper ballots. Disabled voters—or voters who wish to do so—will vote on new touch screen machines which will also print their vote on a paper roll; those who vote with an audio ballot will be able to listen to an audio replay.  

Voters in Alameda County can vote with confidence. 

Jinky Gardner is president of the Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville chapter of the League of Women Voters; Helen Hutchison is president of the Oakland chapter; and Susan Schroeder is presdient of the Piedmont chapter.

As a fourth year student at Cal I have never voted in a local Berkeley election. I never cared too much for the local style of sandbox politics and seemingly little action. From my perspective, and other students I’ve spoken to, Berkeley politicians don’t really do all that much. But then again, why should I care? I’m here four years and then I’ll never live in Berkeley again. However, recently a chance encounter with City Council candidate George Beier has changed my mind. 

Two weeks ago, someone broke into my apartment in the middle of the day and cleaned out all of my valuables. When the police arrived at my apartment—which is two blocks south of campus—they shrugged and I have not heard from them since. They said that there was really nothing they could do because this kind of crime happens all the time. 

It was that moment that I realized how dire the situation in Berkeley really is. All you have to do is observe the streets as you walk to class in the morning. Drug deals take place every day on my corner. Women have been raped on my block, students are mugged, property is stolen. It’s no secret that more crimes occur in the neighborhoods surrounding Telegraph Avenue than anywhere else in Berkeley. All this makes me think, does the City of Berkeley even care about us? I feel like a second class citizen. 

Walk down the once-famed Telegraph Avenue. Just going down the street, I have to hold my breath, stepping over gutter punks drinking 40s, dodging drug induced transients, and systematically avoiding other shady characters lazing on the sidewalk like it’s Miami Beach. Businesses are closing left and right and the situation looks bleak. Business revenue on Telegraph has declined 22 percent in the last 10 years. That also happens to be the same amount of time Kriss Worthington has sat on the City Council. Ironically, his campaign office sits in one of those vacant storefronts! 

The City of Berkeley needs an activist who will push for tangible goals and not simply give lip service to pressing issues that affect all of us.  

George Beier has tangible plans to transform People’s Park, creating a safe environment for students. He is calling for action. His opponent recently claimed that the Park is a safe place, but I literally walk 3 blocks out of my way to avoid the Park because several of my friends have been harassed, mugged, or violated near the Park. Mr. Worthington puts the blame on the University for telling students to stay away. It seems ridiculous, but the last time I walked through the park I saw someone with a needle shooting up, a fist fight, and men cat-calling a female student on her way to class.  

Students, it’s time for change.  

It’s about time that the City of Berkeley start cleaning up its act and realizing the importance and value of the University of California and its students. 

It’s about time students didn’t have to worry about finding the safest route home from the library, a friend’s house, or a bite to eat.  

On Tuesday, Nov. 7 we have the opportunity to start making Berkeley a safer place for students. Safety starts with a vote for George Beier. 

Evan Bloom is a UC Berkeley student and former ASUC senator. 

Many Californians dread the mass of complex propositions on every imaginable subject that confronts us every statewide election. This November, though, features a system-changing initiative that must not be allowed to get lost in the clutter, a measure that offers fundamental change to the system of legalized bribery that has too long passed in this state for representative democracy. 

What would we call it if a baseball player gave the umpire a $25,000 check before sliding into home plate? What would we call it if a lawyer offered a judge a similar payment before he announced his verdict? What do we call it when corporations give public officials such checks before they make the public policy that shapes the context of our lives?  

Proposition 89 would establish for the first time in California a statewide system of public campaign financing. Not another hodgepodge of hard-to-enforce restrictions on donations, or new “reporting requirements” for reports few read, but a system where most campaign expenses would be paid with public funds, modeled on systems working well in Maine and Arizona.  

Prop. 89 would dramatically reduce the power of corporations who have been able to shape the Sacramento political environment, using money to elect people who owe them something and will keep needing their help—whether these obligations are made explicit or not. 

Most of the political establishment will oppose this reform at first—because, if nothing else, they’re not used to it. This applies even to many politicians with a strong sense of the public interest. They’ve gotten where they are under the current system. Change is disorienting. The new law will also give unknown challengers a better chance.  

So this was never going to pass the Legislature, let alone the Governor. But this issue, so central to what our democracy is, is too important to leave to politicians any longer.  

Opponents note Prop. 89 means a slight increase in the tax on corporate profits, which will still be below its 1996 level. Corporations already spend on campaigns. Now it will be through taxes, rather than buying politicians’ good will. That will mean savings for the state’s people much greater than the system’s modest cost.  

Any proposition requires many detailed provisions, each debatable and potentially flawed. Opponents will seek to sap support through pointing out details that may seem imperfect to various voters. The comparison will be between this measure’s details and a mythical ideal rather than the grossly corrupt system now in place. The law’s details can be “fine-tuned” into the future. Let’s not let the imaginary perfect be the enemy of the good. 

Under 89, accepting public money is voluntary. Candidates for state office get allotments based on office at primary and general election stages. Primary candidates show public support to qualify by raising a specified number of five-dollar “seed money” contributions. Third parties get proportional support. Beyond seed money, “clean money” candidates get no private contributions and must agree also to debate opponents. Prop. 89 dramatically reduces maximum contributions to non-participating candidates by corporations, unions, committees, and. Candidates can reject public funds and use their own. If self-funded candidates outspend “clean money” guidelines, publicly funded opponents can get five times their normal allotment to match them. 

Similar measures in Maine and Arizona have facilitated passage of legislation long blocked by corporations, reduced rates at which incumbents are re-elected, and produced a far more diverse candidate pool.  

Passing Prop. 89 is the reform that will make other reforms possible. Perhaps most importantly, it will make the system one we don’t have to be ashamed to explain honestly to our children. It is a rare chance, in the welter of propositions, to make democracy real. 

Steve Koppman is an Oakland resident.

ANIMAL SHELTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For years, conditions at the City of Berkeley animal shelter have been appalling, causing needless suffering and disease. We have tried to find out why there is no new animal shelter. 

The bond measure allocating the money for a new animal shelter passed four years ago. That is, the money has been set aside and is available. 

Insofar as we can determine, no person or agency takes responsibility for there not being a new animal shelter four years after the voters approved the money to build one. It seems that everyone involved blames everyone else. 

As best we can tell, those involved have been embarrassingly incompetent or lacking in the political will to get the job done. 

For the animals, we ask the mayor, the city manager, the City Council and the Humane Commission to work together to carry our the will of the voters. 

Bruce Max Feldman, D.V.M. 

Annie Van Nes, Veterinary Nurse 

• 

SHELTER OVERDUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The only development project Mayor Bates doesn’t like is the new city animal shelter Berkeley voters approved in November 2002. 

Four years ago Berkeley voters passed Measure I to provide bond funds to build a new city animal shelter. This was the only local ballot bond measure to pass in the 2002 election. 

Despite an official one year joint subcommittee of City Councilmembers Spring and Olds and Citizens Humane Commissioners Posener and McCormick, who met repeatedly with the City Manager, plus representatives of local animal rescue groups, and animal humane organizations, no progress has been made in replacing the old outdated city animal shelter. No site has been selected or purchased, no shelter plans have been drawn up, and no construction start date has been set. 

Backroom ideological, personality and political clashes have dead-locked this voter mandated project. 

Four years of stalling and squabbling is enough! Vote for Zelda Bronstein for mayor, and have her get the city started on building our overdue new animal shelter. 

V.Tamaradze 

• 

A SIMPLE QUESTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As we reach the moment of decision regarding the future of Berkeley’s City Council and the District 7 representative in particular, I am convinced that the choice between George Beier and Kriss Worthington comes down to a simple question: 

Do we want more of the same with Worthington, or do we want to give Beier a chance to implement his vision for change? Becky O’Malley said on these very same pages last week, “Beier actually put his finger on the cause when he said during the debate that South of Campus’s real problem is the drug culture.” That’s what we need in Berkeley, leaders who look to the cause of the problems and propose solutions, not based on knee-jerk ideology, but on reasoned analysis. We need leaders who can work with each other, even when they respectfully disagree, to build broad consensus for building a better Berkeley. One of those leaders is George Beier and I hope voters in District 7 will join me in voting for him. 

Gregory S. Murphy 

• 

SCHOOLS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

With Measure A on the ballot next Tuesday, I want to share some of my views as a parent and an alumna of the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD). Berkeley supports its schools. Berkeley has done an incredible job of keeping alive the unique legacy that I experienced, and will never forget. So much so, that several years ago we moved back to Berkeley after four years on the East Coast because we wanted our son in the Berkeley public schools. He is in now in the fourth grade, and we have never regretted our decision. 

Is BUSD perfect? Of course not. How could it be, after a steady erosion in combined state and local funding since 1978? But because Berkeleyans have worked hard to support our schools over time, my child is having a wonderful experience, and getting a lot of the “whole child” education that I received. Words that come to mind are innovation, creativity, diversity, arts, and excellence. 

I have seen first-hand that Berkeley’s essential contribution to the schools, to be renewed in Measure A, is very carefully monitored and audited. Committees of parents sit on oversight committees (I am on the instrumental music program committee) and the precious funds are tracked by a system that is independent of the district. I am also satisfied with the way in which our superintendent, Michele Lawrence, has improved all aspects of fiscal responsibility since coming to the district in 2001. She is a strong leader and manager. I have seen first hand how the money from the Measure B supplement two years ago translated into the reversal of dire cuts that had been in place for one year at my son’s school. The instruments are back in the hands of the fourth graders, the libraries are open, and the class sizes are back to being “teachable.” 

It’s too bad the “rebuttal” in the voter information pamphlet is misguided—there is nothing wrong with Measure A. For those who missed it, one of the signers of the rebuttal Johnnie Porter, retracted his opposition in a letter printed in this paper. He explained that he had been mislead by the opposition, and supports Measure A. Measure A is good for the schools, and we all know that what is good for the schools is good for Berkeley. 

Karen Jeffrey Pertschuk 

• 

MEASURE J AND  

HOMEOWNERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If Measure J fails, homeowners will be among those who pay. Measure J is the Citizens’ Initiative that would update and continue our current Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO). If it is defeated, the mayor’s Revised Landmarks Ordinance will be read into law, and that ordinance has a provision not contained in either our current LPO or Measure J. 

The mayor’s Revised Ordinance, which repeals our 32-year-old LPO, would require that all permits for exterior repairs of buildings older than 40 years be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), as stated in Section 3.24.210. 

“An application for ordinary maintenance and repairs shall include plans and specifications showing the proposed appearance, color and texture of materials and the proposed architectural design of the structure. ... The planning director shall refer the application to the [LPC] where it shall be placed on the next regular agenda.” 

At a minimum, this means new fees for homeowners and delays in the repair process. Workers also may charge for the time to write and file permits, as well as for the delays. Homeowners lose. 

Homeowners’ losses are developers’ gains. Developers would rather demolish older homes and replace them with profitable new constructions. Demolition becomes easier under the Mayor’s Revised Ordinance. That’s why the Chamber of Commerce PAC opposes Measure J with such vehemence.  

One might ask why the Mayor’s Ordinance would contain a provision so detrimental to homeowners? While no one can know for sure what runs through the minds of the Councilmembers who voted for this abomination, the best guess is that overworking the LPC with new business will keep it from meeting the required deadlines to review requests for determination (RFD). An RFD opens a new and complicated process, which could potentially release a historic structure from landmarks review for over two years.  

Under the mayor’s ordinance, it would be possible for a developer to make an RFD without disclosing potential demolition and construction plans. The RFD would allow a property owner or agent of the owner to secure an exemption from landmarks review for two years or until a project under review may be completed. This exemption, called “Safe Harbor” by city staff, could allow a historic resource to be destroyed and redeveloped without further guidance from the LPC.  

Since the LPC would be forced to review every single permit for exterior repairs of all older buildings, this decreases the chances it might complete a thorough review of an RFD by its deadline. Once the property falls under the Safe Harbor exemption, it has no landmarks protection for at least two years, even if new information surfaces. This is what the PAC likes so much. 

So it’s no wonder that they’d produce an expensive mailer to mislead homeowners at the last minute. Among the collection of lies, the PAC’s mailer says that Measure J would “give total control” of property to “unelected officials” and “would slow even minor home owner upgrades for up to one year.” These are lies, blatant lies, from developers who have a lot to gain under the mayor’s revised ordinance. Only the mayor’s revised ordinance delays repairs and forces homeowners to go through new permitting processes. 

It may be unethical for the Chamber PAC to lie, but it is legal. Homeowners beware, because these lies hit you where you live. 

Judith Epstein 

• 

MEASURE J SMEAR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just received the latest Chamber of Commerce post card against Measure J. On its cover is a selected image of “Flint Ink: Abandoned and Toxic Site…another Landmark?” 

You bet. The former industrial site has an interesting and compelling history that began around 1900 when Flint Ink’s predecessor, Cal Ink, moved from San Francisco to Berkeley. Sensationalized smear pieces such as the one that arrived in my mail today ignore and distort Berkeley’s history as a major early 20th-century industrial city. And yes, indeed, all the industries in West Berkeley, as elsewhere, created toxic wastes and dumped them into the nearest water ways-in this case the bay.  

The landmark process helps us acknowledge our history by documenting our past and sometimes this leads to a landmark designation. That does not mean that this site will not change, but it does mean that there is a written history of the site and photos of how it looked in the past. Perhaps a plaque will be placed somewhere.  

Susan D. Cerny  

Author of Berkeley Landmarks (1994; revised 2000),  

Former chair of the LPC  

• 

LIBRARIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a library employee and Measure N campaign volunteer, I would like to respond to Ms. Zoia Horn’s letter regarding Measure N and Oakland Library’s use of “self-service options for faster check-out.” The simple use of the term “self-service options” is not code for RFID. The Oakland Public Library (OPL) has no plans to implement RFID.  

Many libraries here in the Bay area and nationwide, have implemented self check without RFID over the last two decades and it has been a successful system based on reading of barcodes, same as your grocery stores. Until recently, barcode checkout and checkin were the only options available for libraries; RFID was recently introduced and briefly, tested at one branch at Oakland Public Library. After an assessment of its implementation, its use at the branch was discontinued.  

The introduction of self-serve options is merely taking a staff-oriented practice that OPL has used since the 1980’s and moving it forward to allow the patron the option of checking out his/her own materials instead of standing in line, again, similar to the self check at groceries and other retail outlets. In libraries, this actually promotes patron privacy because the only person who sees what is being checked out is the patron. 

Gerry Garzon 

Deputy Director, Oakland Public Library 

• 

NO CREDIBILITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Barbara Gilbert has no credibility as an “advocate for Berkeley homeowners, taxpayers and neighborhoods...” (“A Disenchanted Berkeley Homeowner’s Voting Guide”, Oct. 31) when she claims that “she has not yet decided how I will vote” on Measure A, for public school funding.  

During the three paragraphs detailing her uncertainty about Measure A she never acknowledges the role that she is currently playing in the anti-Measure A campaign. Yet, as a director of the Northeast Berkeley Association (NEBA), her group has been one of the main naysayers on this measure. This is dishonest. 

C. A. Gilbert 

• 

ALBANY COUNCIL RACE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is dismaying to see the obscene amount of money being spent on the race for City Council in our little Albany. Who would have thought? Both Joanne Wile and myself were wary of Rick Caruso and the kind of money that he was throwing around Albany while trying to get his project approved. We thought that there would be opposition with money attached if we ran. Well, according to the financial reports of Golden Gate Fields and their affiliates, over $30,000 has been spent to try to defeat Joanne and I. And that’s just the reported amounts. There are flyers coming almost every day from the racetrack owners against us with ridiculous, really laughable, claims about what Joanne and I could do to the City of Albany or the Racetrack if we get elected. Wow! What power we have to make a huge, rich, multinational firm afraid of two older women who have spent their careers dedicated to public service, teaching and helping others. 

It is obvious that Magna is still involved in wanting to get its way and that they still hope to have influence to do that. Joanne and I are standing in the way of their efforts to turn Albany into one more mall town, destroy the small-town character we all love and drain the life out of our local businesses. In my heart I know that Albany voters are much too smart to allow that to happen. 

Marge Atkinson 

Albany 

• 

PROP. 1A 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The ballot argument for Proposition 1A states that “Drivers spend $20.7 billion in extra fuel each year and 500,000 hours stuck in traffic every day because of our overcrowded roads.” If you do the arithmetic, this works out to $113 per hour for extra fuel costs while stuck in traffic ($20.7 billion/year/(500,000 hours/day x 365 days/year). Pardon me for being skeptical. 

Propositions 1A through 1E are touted as being part of the “Rebuild California” plan. The bond measures all claim that they will require no new taxes. Something for nothing? No, not quite. If you look at the five measures you realize that they are not really “rebuild” measures, they are new build measures to handle growth. If we get more people then we raise more tax revenue without adding an actual new tax. Of course, more people means we need yet more infrastructure, with less space for it, so we probably will be even farther behind than before. 

Pardon me for skeptical again, but shouldn’t we be trying to build a sustainable society? At some point, that means no more population growth, and that means maintaining what we have, and not spending money to accommodate even more people. 

Robert Clear 

• 

ALBANY SCHOOL BOARDA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My thanks to Nadine Ghammache for her letter to the editor urging Albany voters to elect me to the Albany School Board.  

I would like to clarify that I am not part of any slate seeking election to the board. In fact I decided to run for the Albany School Board was when I realized there was an effort underway to stack the School Board with three candidates with a special agenda.  

We currently have some great individuals on the School Board, and I feel it would be a mistake to turn the School Board into a rubberstamp for a few individuals. I believe that the interests of our community are better served with a diverse School Board.  

With this goal of diversity in mind, I urge voters to consider voting for Dave Glasser for the Albany School Board. His professional financial background in banking will help him deal with School Board fiscal issues, and will bring a much needed in-depth knowledge of public finance to the School Board. 

Thank you to those of you that are considering to vote for me. I can be reached at kindlealbany@aol.com 

John Kindle 

Albany School Board candidate 

• 

KRISS WORTHINGTON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am urging residents of Berkeley District 7 to support Kriss Worthington’s campaign for City Council for two straightforward reasons: I think he is the best councilperson in Berkeley, and I do not like what I see in his opponent. Kriss is, to me, the ultimate public servant. He is unassuming and seeks no personal glory for the impressive work he puts into his job as our representative. He is always available for input from his constituents, and takes a common sense approach to solving our problems. He actively supports both a genuinely safe community and authentic progressive causes, and is endorsed by every progressive organization in the area who has endorsed someone. 

I met Kriss’s opponent, George Beier, at the 10th anniversary celebration of Halcyon Commons Park. While George sported a giant commercial for himself throughout the proceedings, Kriss spoke softly in support of the community’s work in creating and maintaining the park. While George campaigned aggressively for himself at this event, Kriss did not mention his own campaign. It simply would have felt inappropriate to him. 

George Beier’s campaign has barraged us with fliers on an almost daily basis. These fliers are dishonest because they contain false implications about Kriss: that he is soft on crime, that he doesn’t support local businesses, and that there is no substantive difference between the two candidates on the issues. Both are true progressives, the fliers proclaim. 

In reality, George’s campaign is heavily backed by two very deep pockets: his own vast earnings, and the Chamber of Commerce. George has spent more money on this campaign than anyone has ever spent before on a city council race in Berkeley. The Chamber of Commerce feels that they see an opening here; they are excited by their best chance in a very long time to defeat Berkeley’s most effective progressive and turn the city council around in their favor. 

Polls indicate that this election will be close. I am frankly appalled at George Beier’s self-aggrandizing and dishonesty. I do not want him and his values representing my neighborhood on the City Council. As my family and I prepare to move to New Zealand, we very much want to leave this community in supportive, caring hands. I hope you will join us in supporting Kriss for another term as our representative on the City Council. 

Joel Hildebrandt  

• 

ALAMEDA AT CROSSROADS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Alameda is at a crossroads. The question is not whether we will grow, but how we will grow. Will we have uncontrolled growth that clogs the tubes and other estuary crossings and channels traffic through our neighborhoods, impacting children, pedestrians and bicyclists? Or, will we carefully consider the proposed projects and make sure that the growth fits within the Island’s infrastructure constraints? 

If we are to make the right decisions, we need solid traffic expertise on City Council. I am a civil and traffic engineer with 30 years’ design experience throughout northern California. I bring to the council energy, a proactive approach, and proven expertise in resolving transportation challenges that would fit our island’s infrastructure, without sacrificing breathtaking panoramas, historic architecture, convenient city access, safety and sense of community.  

The City Council’s approved projects, and the vacant and other development proposals would add up to 150,000 cars a day to Alameda’s streets, yet no one has studied the impacts of these projects on our neighborhoods. With my Island Traffic Plan, the citizens would set maximum daily traffic volumes for residential streets and maximum trip times for entering and leaving the Island and Harbor Bay. Every new project would be measured against those thresholds. My plan puts the people in charge of Alameda Island’s growth, not big developers.  

We’ve seen what uncontrolled growth has done to other cities. Alameda can do better. We can have growth that preserves the unique quality of life that we all treasure and doesn’t overwhelm our neighborhoods. If elected, I will work hard to merit your confidence and achieve those goals. Vote for Pat Bail for council and Doug deHaan for mayor, together we will work towards growth that fits. 

Eugenie P. Thomson, P.E. PTOE 

Candidate for Alameda City Council 

• 

GOLDEN GATE FIELDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Over 10 years ago we chose to move to Albany and pay a high price for a small house because we liked the small town atmosphere, the good schools, and the safe neighborhood. I am very disappointed that our good neighbor, Golden Gate Fields, has chosen to spend money on glossy mailers attacking my neighbors and public servants.  

In contrast to these negative mailers, I was pleased to meet Marge Atkinson last Saturday at my door steps. I had never met Marge Atkinson before and I appreciated how she feels about her neighbors, our schools, and our city. In Albany, we need leaders from the community who care about preserving the small town atmosphere. Marge Atkinson and Joanne Wile have no plans of closing Golden Gate Fields but have a plan for serving the community including Golden Gate Fields. 

Ahmed Elbaggari 

Albany 

• 

MEASURE J 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As of today, most Berkeley households will have received two anti-Measure J hit pieces mailed on behalf of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce (a third is said to be on its way). In each one, the headline “Another landmark?” underscores an old structure photographed to look as ugly as possible. It’s no secret to anyone that the land under Celia’s Restaurant and Cal Ink represents “opportunity sites” for development, so the buildings have to be portrayed as objects of derision unworthy of preservation. 

Whether Celia’s was worthy of a Structure of Merit designation has no bearing on Measure J, since the City Council voted not to certify the designation. 

The Cal Ink industrial site has been a landmark since 1986. At the time of its designation, it was the oldest factory in Berkeley operating at its original location. Twenty years after the designation, Flint Ink is out of Berkeley, having left behind a neglected and toxic site. So who’s responsible? Naturally not Flint, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission. At least that’s what the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce would have you believe, with the mayor’s tacit approval. 

Think of all the condos that could be built on the Cal Ink site! The only thing standing in the way is that pesky Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, an inconvenient law that only the little people in the neighborhoods want, and they don’t count.  

So how do we get rid of the LPO? Easy. Just pin all of Berkeley’s ills on it. And if it doesn’t sound entirely credible, let’s throw in a handful of lies. Nobody will know the difference anyway. Let’s tell those saps that the existing LPO (and thus Measure J) “violates state law.” It sounds convincing, even if it’s a bare-faced lie. Let’s tell the fools that it will “give total control over their properties to unelected officials.” They won’t know that not only is this patently false, but that the mayor’s proposed LPO is no different in this respect. 

Let’s plant in their feeble minds that Measure J “allows designating anything built before 1966 as a landmark.” They won’t bother to investigate the truth and won’t discover that Measure J includes fairly stringent criteria for designating historic resources. 

Let’s have them believe that only Measure J will reduce the number of signatures on a landmark petition to 25. Surely they won’t check the mayor’s proposed LPO and won’t discover that it stipulates exactly the same number, because the State Office of Historic Preservation recommended it. 

While we’re at it, we’ll also tell the innocent ninnies that Measure J “removes the state historic standard of integrity from our landmarking process.” That’s a particularly good one. Everybody will fall for it. So what if it’s a shameless fib? Who’s to know that Measure J incorporates the state standard of integrity into the LPO? 

And finally, let’s hit them where it really counts—in the pocketbook. We’ll tell them that Measure J will waste tax payers’ money and slow down their home upgrades. Yes, it’s only an urban legend, but you know how many people fall for those. 

That should take care of it. Then we’ll plant some of our own on the Landmarks Preservation Commission—people smart enough to appreciate an opportunity site when they see one. 

In 10 years, no one will remember what Berkeley used to look like. 

Daniella Thompson 

• 

PRESERVATION IS  

GOOD BUSINESS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Imagine if Berkeley still had some of the historical mills, vaudeville theaters, early industry, and working small farms it once had. Imagine if it had museums of Berkeley’s early years next to those sites where the history, music, and literature of its early times was celebrated, instead of sneered at and reviled by developers eager to build profitable condominiums.  

Developers try to give voters the impression that landmark preservation inhibits profits. They are wrong. Berkeley’s square footage is finite, so landmarks do literally stand in the way of remaking the entire town from scratch. But landmarks do not stand in the way of healthy profits. Quite the opposite; landmarks can be the key to lively commercial centers, tourism, and new development. 

Politicians who don’t realize this need to travel, and see the way preservation has dovetailed with commercial goals in other cities and towns. I just returned from the mountains of West Virginia, where people travel thousands of miles to hear the distinctive music of the region and pore over the historical buildings and battlefields that represent America’s past. 

The Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to discourage people from supporting Measure J, which preserves the current landmark ordinance, is short-sighted from even a business perspective. Our past, far from burdening our future, supports and strengthens Berkeley’s efforts to build a healthy downtown. 

Carol Denney 

• 

BEIER AND MEASURE J 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is difficult to see how George Beier could be in the pocket of developers or the chamber when he was an early supporter and contributor of Measure J, the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. It is interesting to note that George’s opponent, Kriss Worthington, has failed to take a position on this controversial measure. George has replaced me on the Zoning Adjustments Board when I am away and with one exception, voted for the neighborhoods and against development that disregards the detriments out of scale projects impose on them. George voted for the flying cottage project because staff told him he had no choice. Since that time, George realizes he is an independent thinker and votes accordingly—not as staff directs. Maybe instead of being “pro-development,” George is actually “pro-neighborhood.” George is focused on reviving Telegraph Avenue but not at the expense of our historic landmarks. As President of the Willard Neighborhood Association, member of the Peoples Park Commission, and Chancellors Neighborhood Task Force, George has fought against oversized development that is inappropriate for our neighborhoods. He supports a planning process that includes all constituents. 

Dean Metzger 

• 

MEASURE A, SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND NEBA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I received the NEBA News too late to attend their Oct. 5 meeting, but feel compelled to respond publicly to the misinformation the newsletter contained. I am sorry NEBA has chosen to oppose Measure A on the Berkeley ballot. I am especially alarmed that some of the reasons cited for taking this position are stated as fact without any supporting documentation. 

On page 1, they write that the “impossibly long horizon” (10 years) of Measure A “prevents meaningful oversight and accountability.” The many Berkeley citizens and BUSD employees who have served during the past 20 years as volunteers on site BSEP (Measure A) committees as well as the district Planning and Oversight Committee, who examine and scrutinize all BSEP proposals and expenditures, deserve our thanks for their devotion to making sure the money is well spent, not NEBA’s cavalier dismissal of their service. To say this money has “no impact on the deplorable student achievement gap” shows NEBA’s lack of knowledge of school libraries and the effect library personnel and collections have on students. Studies in 16 states have proven the positive influence of all facets of school libraries on improving student achievement. In BUSD schools, all library employees are paid with this funding. In addition, we are able to build strong collections K-12 with our materials budget at a time when most districts in California and nationally are struggling to provide their libraries with a bare minimum. While California school libraries rank 51st (behind all other states and the District of Columbia) in every quantifiable category that is counted, Berkeley stands as a shining example of what can be accomplished by committed and generous citizens. NEBA’s statement that BSEP “doesn’t provide improved...programs for students...unable to achieve…in reading” further exposes their lack of knowledge and awareness. At Berkeley High, where I work as Library Media Teacher, I collaborate closely with teachers to build our library collection with titles that not only support the curriculum, but also meet the students’ need for recreational reading. For example, during the 2005-06 school year I saw the positive impact for students who entered 9th grade reading below grade level, by having appropriate titles in sufficient quantity to meet their demands. Without BSEP/Measure A funding we could not have this success with our students. 

I also question the statement on page two that the “average salary plus compensation for teachers is $80,000.” Even with a BA, masters degree in library science and dozens of credits beyond that, in addition to 25 years experience, and allowing for benefits, my salary doesn’t even approach this figure. My husband, however, wants to know where I’m hiding the extra dollars. I would appreciate NEBA’s informing me as to what steps I can take to attain this “average salary.” 

Ellie Goldstein-Erickson 

• 

ALBANY BOARD  

OF EDUCATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It was not surprising to see Nadine Gammache’s endorsement for Miriam Walden and Jaime Calloway in editorials last week. Miriam Walden orchestrated Nadine Gammache’s Board campaign in 2004, serving as her treasurer. This election, Miriam Walden is running a joint campaign with Jaime Calloway, arguing that she needs a team that she can rely on in the Albany Board of Education. I believe that the community, parents and students of Albany are best served by five independent voices on the board—voices that reflect the varied views of our fine community. My concern with maintaining independent voices on the board is why I have chosen to run this year. As a board member I will strive to maintain the kind of responsive, collegial and open minded Board that Albany has always relied on. I would appreciate your vote. 

David Glasser 

• 

ALBANY CITY COUNCIL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The mailings and literature drops concerning the Albany City Council race tell a very revealing story about the candidates. On one side we have two candidates, Marge Atkinson and Joanne Wile, stressing the currently hot topic of development on our waterfront and supported by a large environmental organization, the Sierra Club. On the other side are two candidates, Francesco Papalia and Caryl O’Keefe, who profess that there are many other issues on which to focus and who claim support only from old-line Albany insiders and vaguely named groups like Concerned Albany Neighbors (CAN). 

The largest business in the city has mailed out hit pieces fatuously claiming that Atkinson and Wile want to close the racetrack (as if the City Council could do such a thing—the racetrack’s PR firm thinks we’re stupid) while CAN, purportedly independent from the Papalia and O’Keefe campaigns but run by O’Keefe’s husband,

Those of us lucky enough to live in Berkeley celebrate its unique character—beautiful tree lined streets, craftsman houses, parks, shoreline, and much else. But the uniqueness of this place is more than just its appearance. We are all enriched by a vibrant arts and music scene, by a strong activist community, and by the diversity of people, cultures, and ideas. As this city evolves and changes with time, it is important to protect both parts of Berkeley’s heritage. 

Some people argue that we can’t have both—that protecting our quality of life requires we close the doors to Berkeley and try and stop most new housing from being built. I disagree with that view. With vision and careful choices we can expand housing opportunities for the people who work here, maintain our lovely residential neighborhoods, have the best of new building design, and create a vital urban environment. 

Berkeley is doing a remarkable job of protecting our unique architectural heritage with strong protections for historic buildings and neighborhoods. In fact, Berkeley has nearly 300 landmarks and other protected buildings and sites—more than the entire city of San Francisco. In my four years as mayor, we have added over 40 new historic designations to the list. 

Yet our other heritage, that of a diverse cultural life, is threatened. Berkeley’s housing market is among the most expensive in the nation. Only 10 percent of present Berkeley residents can afford to buy the average-priced home in our city, which is now nearly $700,000. The average one bedroom apartment rental is more than $1,000 a month. Two bedroom apartments—the minimum size for most families—are averaging $1,500 a month. 

These housing costs push many people out of the city and are challenging to Berkeley’s unique character. In addition to changes in our racial diversity, we are also losing artists, activists, and anyone not in a high-end professional job as they move to less expensive cities. This isn’t just speculation. Berkeley has actually lost population over the past few decades. Today, Berkeley has 14,000 fewer residents than it did in 1970. The percentage of African-American residents has declined by more than 30 percent in the same time period. 

What’s more, these demographic and economic changes hurt our quality of life. The lack of affordable housing in Berkeley actually contributes to our traffic congestion as more and more of the workers at UC Berkeley, Bayer, the schools, and other job centers are forced to live outside the city and commute. Census data tells us that people who actually live in Berkeley are less likely to drive themselves to work than residents of nearly any other city in the Bay Area. In fact, the percentage of Berkeley residents that get to work without driving in their car alone (57 percent) is more than double the state average. 

The good news is that with care, creativity, and high design standards, we can address all these challenges and maintain our diversity, protect existing neighborhoods, reinvigorate our downtown, and support our neighborhood shopping areas. 

I believe we are meeting this challenge. Berkeley has approved over 1,400 units of new apartments and condominiums over the past four years, 36 percent of which were set-aside as permanently affordable units. 

Of course, not every housing project that is proposed is a good one. Berkeley remains the most difficult city in the Bay Area for new development and many projects are withdrawn or turned down after opposition from neighbors, staff, the Zoning Adjustments Board, or the City Council. That is as it should be. But given all the debate in this newspaper over development, it may come as a surprise to find that many of these new projects were so widely accepted and non-controversial that they were never even appealed to the council. 

For me, there are two key threshold issues regarding any major new development. 

First, any major new development must be in the downtown or along a major transit corridor. In the 1960s, we saw a number of large ugly apartment buildings built in the middle of residential neighborhoods. Those days are over. The issue today is how best to protect those homes and neighborhoods that border major traffic corridors where higher density development is appropriate. 

In 2004 we protected neighborhoods with new zoning as outlined in the University Avenue Strategic Plan. We increased setbacks from neighboring homes, reduced shadowing, and increased the amount of required open space. We continue to review the zoning to see what changes should be made in other areas to provide the City with flexibility to ensure nearby homes are protected. 

Second, we expect and demand that all new buildings be well designed and attractive. This means buildings must provide residents with appealing units and grounds as well as a design that is attractive from the street and encourages pedestrian traffic with cafes and neighborhood serving shops. Many developers complain about multiple visits to our Design Review Commission, but I believe that is a sign our process is working. 

Without question, land use and development decisions are some of the most controversial faced by any city, especially an engaged city like Berkeley. Change is difficult and no decision is likely to please everyone. But to be a progressive and forward-thinking city does not mean closing ourselves off from the world. We should be no more afraid of change than we are of stagnation. 

Let’s embrace what we love about this town and ensure that new development respects and enhances it. Remember, Berkeley is more than just a collection of single-family homes—it is also one of the world’s most innovative and creative places. We need to protect that legacy as well. 

Tom Bates is running for re-election as mayor of Berkeley. He previously served for 20 years as a member of the state Assembly representing Berkeley. 

In November 2002, 68 percent of Berkeley voters said yes to Measure I, which authorized the city to issue $7.2 million of bonds for an urgently needed new animal shelter. Given that the other four city tax measures on the ballot failed to get the necessary two-thirds approval, Measure I’s victory was particularly impressive. Yet four years later, the city has not even secured a site, much less broken ground, for a new facility. Nothing. 

This failure is the fault of one person above all: Tom Bates. Working behind the scenes, the mayor blocked a plan to locate a new shelter at the former, two-acre Urban Ore site at Sixth and Gilman. The plan, endorsed on Nov. 4, 2003 by the joint Council/Humane Commission Animal Shelter Committee, involved a land swap. In 2000 the Sixth and Gilman site was purchased by the Berkeley Unified School District for its new bus yard. The subcommittee unanimously recommended that the city use the $1.5 million of the bond money earmarked for land acquisition to buy a portion of the 3.4-acre McCauley Foundry site at 811 Carleton, and then trade the Carleton property for the parcel at Sixth and Gilman. Notes from the committee’s November meeting indicate that School Boardmember John Selawsky “attended … and spoke strongly in favor of the swap.”  

But the city never formally approached the BUSD about the trade, in large part because of Tom Bates’ objections to siting an animal shelter—and for that matter, a bus yard—on Gilman Street. The mayor’s views were summed up by his chief of staff, Cisco de Vries, in a Sept. 29, 2003 e-mail (which I first saw only a few days ago) sent to Mal Burnstein, the mayor’s close political adviser and designated emergency stand-in as mayor. De Vries wrote: 

Mal, 

Tom’s position is that the Gilman corridor from 2nd to San Pablo is an ideal spot for retail development in the city. If we want economic development and the $$ that brings the city, here is our chance. He has been really forceful with the school district that he will do whatever he has to do to prevent a bus yard there. (Also, we have been working to find them another spot, including at AC Transit or at the Foundry location). 

He has been 100% clear that he will not support the animal shelter there either. That site can be the lynch [sic] pin of the new retail development in the area. It won’t fulfill that purpose as the animal shelter. 

Give me a call if you want to chat about this. 

Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan subsequently met with the Animal Shelter Committee and told its members that a land swap with the BUSD would be impossible, since public bonds monies from Measure I could not be used to purchase land that would then be traded for another parcel. In fact, Measure I referred only to money to be used “to acquire property, if necessary, and to construct or rehabilitate a building for an animal shelter which meets the requirements of state law.”  

Since then, efforts to site and build a new shelter have come to a standstill. Given Tom Bates’ track record, a new shelter may never be built as long as he is mayor.  

Moreover, Bates’ determination to Emeryville-ize West Berkeley has hurt Berkeley public schools. The BUSD’s plans for a bus yard at Sixth and Gilman have been stalled in the city’s Planning Department for a year and a half. Meanwhile, the district is spending $500,000 a year to rent three sites in West Berkeley to house its buses. In an Oct. 22, 2004 letter to city planner Greg Powell, BUSD Director of Facilities Lew Jones wrote: “The ongoing rental costs required to pay for the three sites is financially crippling the district.” Set that reality against Bates’ claims about all he has done for Berkeley public schools in the past four years. 

With the mayoral election less than a week away, voters would do well to ponder this episode. Tom Bates has behaved like a one-man City Council, dictating major city and school district policy from behind closed doors.  

When I’m mayor, I will ask the council to to do whatever possible to move forward with a new animal shelter. I will “liberate” the BUSD bus yard. And I will renew Berkeley’s commitment to open and accountable government. 

Zelda Bronstein is a candidate for mayor of Berkeley.

Home ownership remains a cornerstone of the American Dream. In 1993, unable to afford a San Francisco broom closet, I crossed the bay to purchase a sweet bungalow under $200,000. Today, Berkeley starter homes list at $600,000-$700,000. 

To protect ethnic and cultural diversity, Berkeley housing policy has focused on rent and eviction controls as well as prohibitions on condominium conversions for many decades. Such policies have become counterproductive to their original intent. Berkeley voters can bring current housing policy in line with reality under November’s Measure I initiative that seeks to increase the number of condominium conversions allowed per year from 100 to 500. 

Unfortunately, the ballot description suggests Measure I will reduce affordable housing stock. That could send it to defeat—instead of allowing the measure’s revenues to advance Berkeley’s diversity goals. 

It’s time to consider incentives that accommodate affordable housing for the young middle class who want to invest in Berkeley; get involved in local issues, send their kids to our schools, and use their creativity and enthusiasm to raise the social capital of all our neighborhoods, while preserving Berkeley’s historic character. 

Current Berkeley homeowner occupants are becoming quite an elderly group. Our architectural heritage is also at risk. About 50 percent of housing predates World War II. Not only do many of these properties need serious infrastructure upgrades to plumbing and wiring; years of neglect as rentals and deferred maintenance of built-in woodwork, stained glass, rock terraces and retaining walls is all too common. 

Condominiums can offer a more affordable opportunity for university employees, police, firefighters, teachers, city government employees, and other middle-income individuals and families to buy into the equity that serves as a foundation for the American Dream. Allowing unused rental stock to be transformed in this way could also serve to moderate the trend toward home hyper-valuation. 

Measure I protects tenant rights in several ways. Should citywide vacancy rates drop below 3 percent, conversions drop for that year, too. At all times, converting owners must give first right of refusal to the sitting tenant. 

Are you worrying about down payments? Don’t. Owners must give opt-in tenants 5 percent of the unit’s purchase price in cash. This will assist them to secure financing. 

Still worried about the tenant? Don’t. Their no-buy decision still gains them 2 percent of the purchase price for relocation. If the condo lists for $400,000, that translates to $8,000 the tenant receives to smooth his move. 

While we’re on the subject, Berkeley gains fiscal resources in three ways: 

1. An estimated $215 million from the 1.5 percent transfer tax on each sale. 

2. Ongoing increased property taxes from the boost in the units’ assessed values. 

3. An $8 per square foot condo conversion fee earmarked for the city’s affordable housing fund that can be used to develop additional housing for low-income residents. 

The inability of the youthful middle class to afford to raise their families in a Berkeley home of their own is a roadblock to our diversity goals. In creative desperation, many use TIC purchases of multi-unit properties to buy a home. 

TIC law is often poorly understood and puts young, financially vulnerable first time buyers at great risk. Consider this: tenants-in-common co-own their properties. If one defaults on a loan, all partners’ loans are jeopardized. If one partner wants to refinance, everyone else has to refinance, too. If one person just lost their job, that loan for all is unlikely to go through. 

Homeowners consider their equity as a partially liquid asset and often use 2nd mortgages to cover emergency health and safety expenses, pay for property improvements, and send kids to college. This flexible use of individual assets is typically not accessible to TIC owners. 

Today Berkeley has thousands of market rate rental vacancies. For years, developers have been given preferential treatment to build hundreds and hundreds of small unit rentals all over town. It’s time to shift our strategy by encouraging more middle class home ownership in Berkeley. Vote yes on Measure I. 

Fern Leaf is a Berkeley resident.

I have lived in Berkeley for over 40 years and care deeply about its future. I want my city to preserve its economic and cultural diversity and its commitment to basic fairness. For this reason, I have joined Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the Sierra Club, and many other community leaders and organizations in opposing Measure I, the eviction for condo ordinance.  

Measure I would subject many renters of modest means to displacement from their homes and, with rising rents, push them out of Berkeley completely. According to a report issued by Berkeley’s city manager, up to 500 tenant households a year could be evicted under Measure I. 

Measure I would abolish Berkeley’s current, carefully written Condominium Conversion Ordinance, which was adopted by a unanimous City Council. Real, comprehensive, protections for tenants would be eliminated and replaced with the requirement that displaced households receive a modest relocation check at the time of their eviction. The City’s ability to secure replacement affordable housing would also be dramatically reduced if Measure I is adopted. 

The City Council and mayor worked long and hard last year to pass an Ordinance that was fair and evenhanded to property owners and protected the rights of tenant families. Over 50 percent of the students in Berkeley’s public schools come from these tenant families. 

The present law allows up to 100 rental units per year to be converted to condominiums. It is working for both property owners and tenants, with more than 100 units already having begun the conversion process. It provides right of first refusal and eviction protections to sitting tenants, and includes significant restrictions on condo conversion if an owner has emptied the building of all tenants under the state’s Ellis Act.  

San Francisco and Los Angeles have each lost several thousand rental units the past few years through these “Ellis Act” evictions. Berkeley has avoided a similar fate, primarily because of the restrictions against bad faith evictions in our present City Council-passed condo conversion ordinance. The City Council ordinance also contains significant incentives for an owner to sell to their tenant, allowing long-term residents their most realistic opportunity to become a Berkeley homeowner. 

All of these carefully crafted protections and incentives, as well as other vital provisions will be eliminated if Measure I is adopted! 

The proponents of Measure I claim it is designed for “workforce housing” to allow teachers and artists an opportunity to purchase a home in Berkeley. Unfortunately, nothing in Measure I requires this use. Nothing in Measure I lists workforce housing as a priority/preference or enables it to be realized for more than a handful of current Berkeley tenants.  

School Board members and teacher representatives tell us that many more teachers and students are at risk of losing their homes (as renters) in Berkeley than could hope to afford to purchase their unit under this proposed law. This is why they have decided to oppose Measure I.  

Last year, the average condominium in Berkeley sold for just under $500,000. According to the city, in order to finance the purchase of this unit, most buyers require a household income of over $120,000 a year just to afford the monthly mortgage payments.  

The median income for non-student tenant households in Berkeley is under $30,000 a year. Starting salaries for teachers in Berkeley are well below $50,000 a year. The 5% discount Measure I requires owners to offer renters on the purchase price of their apartments will enable just a handful of relatively well-off renters to buy. The majority of renters in units being converted to condos—those of modest means, seniors, families, and the disabled—will be at risk of eviction. This is why many leaders have called Measure I “a cruel hoax.” 

I serve on the Assembly’s Housing Committee and am fully aware of the housing crunch that impacts most of our state. I am aware that the goal of home ownership eludes an increasing number of Californians. Though the hot housing market of the past several years appears to be cooling off a bit, prices are still out of reach for a majority of first-time homebuyers, especially in the Bay Area. Rents also remain excessive for too many families.  

Under these circumstances, the proponents of Measure I seek to tempt us with proposals that promise to create more housing opportunities by cutting back government regulation and affordable housing production. The promise is illusory; public regulation and investment are necessary components of all solutions that offer any genuine hope of providing housing that low and moderate income Californians can afford.  

Most tenants and property owners have praised the Condo Ordinance adopted by the council the past year. However, some rental property owners and representatives of the property owner association chafe at these sensible regulations, primarily because each unit that is converted from rental to condominium increases the sales value of that unit by $200,000-$300,000.  

Workforce housing is not the motivation behind placing Measure I on the ballot. It appears to be more about windfall profits.  

I think it is worth noting that the primary supporter of Measure I, the Berkeley Property Owners Association, also spent the past year fighting against two proposed bills in the state legislature that would have 1) helped protect victims of domestic violence from unfair evictions and 2) established the right of tenants to display a flag or political poster in the window of their rental unit. Measure I is one more unfortunate example of simply being out of step with the values of our community. 

We should not further diminish the ability of moderate-income people to stay in their homes and remain participants in the life of our city. Please join me, and many other community leaders in voting no on Measure I. 

Loni Hancock has served Berkeley as a councilmember and mayor and currently represents Berkeley and the 14th District in the state Assembly. 

Measure A gives Berkeley voters a clear choice: keep things financially as they are (a yes vote) or drastically cut school budgets by 25 percent (a no vote).  

Most Berkeleyans will vote yes on Measure A, but how can anyone even consider not? Because Measure A needs a two-thirds majority, this is a critical issue. 

All Measure A does is renew two expiring school measures (BSEP and Measure B). Measure A does not ask taxpayers for more money; it does not raise taxes. 

A yes vote continues the status quo by extending funding for the current BSEP and Measure B programs.  

A no vote means cutting everything funded by the expiring BSEP and Measure B. 

If Measure A passes, school budgets are balanced. 

If Measure A fails, devastating cuts will be necessary threatening the viability of the school district. The county Office of Education (with state responsibility for fiscal oversight) has already notified the district that if Measure A were to fail, the county or state would have to intervene. 

Measure A would continue funding the 30 percent of all classroom teachers currently supported through BSEP and B. These funds keep class sizes small and provide for the wide range of class choice at Berkeley High. Small class sizes are explicitly written into the Measure (20:1 for K-3, 26:1 for 4-5, and 28:1 for 6-12) and are crucial if teachers are to improve achievement for all students.  

Measure A continues funding the entire elementary and middle school library and music programs (librarians, other library staff, books, music teachers, instruments). It continues funding for counselors, tutors, mentors, and most enrichment and extra-curricular activities. 

If Measure A fails, all of this is cut! 

So why would anyone even raise questions about Measure A? 

Let’s review the arguments used by the small, but vocal, opposition. All are wrong on the facts. 

1) Too much flexibility. Putting aside the question of whether flexibility is good or bad, in fact the measure specifies the exact allocation of spending: 66 percent for class size reduction (teachers); 6.25 percent for music; 7.25 percent for libraries; 10.25 percent for site programs (allocated by parent/staff committees at each school for counselors, tutors, mentors, enrichment teachers, etc.); and 10.25 percent for technology (computers), teacher training, parent outreach, and evaluation. For class size reduction, the measure specifies the actual class sizes: 20:1 for grades K-3; 26:1 for grades 4-5; and 28:1 for grades 6-12. 

2) Oversight. Measure A continues the strict oversight and accountability of BSEP and Measure B. This includes separate accounts, an internal program control office, a parent/staff district-wide oversight committee, and independent audit. This oversight has been lauded by county and state oversight agencies, as well as by independent auditors. I wish all public funding were subject to the rigorous oversight of these parcel tax measures. 

3) Length. First, Measure A is two years shorter than the 12-year BSEP Measure it replaces. Second, many districts have permanent, non-expiring parcel taxes. Third, calls for a four-year measure make no sense. Because of the three-year state budget approval cycle for school districts (districts must demonstrate sufficient revenues for the current year plus two subsequent years), a four-year measure would require a new election every two years (i.e., to ensure that the third year is financed). This would mean no financial stability, no ability to plan, and no ability to retain teachers. 

4) Governor’s budget. Most new dollars in the governor’s budget are earmarked one-time monies. The ongoing (not one-time) monies are mostly the state COLA (cost of living adjustment), which is actually a two-year make-up from monies withheld in prior years. Most COLA dollars are already contractually committed to finance the teachers’ cost of living adjustment (teachers received a 1 percent COLA last year and zero increase for the three prior years), and for establishing the 3 percent reserve required by the state.  

5) Achievement gap. There is an achievement gap in Berkeley, as in many other districts. This is not acceptable and needs to be directly addressed by individual schools and by the district as a whole. That said, it defies logic that cutting 30 percent of classroom teachers would improve student achievement.  

6) March ballot. Some say defeat the Measure and re-write a better measure for the March ballot. First, opponents make no arguments for improving the measure other than the charges above which have no validity. Second, there is no scheduled March ballot. If Measure A fails, the district would have to call a special election to stave off bankruptcy. Even so, by state law, some 40 percent of all Berkeley teachers would receive layoff notices if Measure A were not passed prior to March 15. 

Measure A is a well-thought-out continuation of Berkeley’s commitment to its children. 

Please continue to care and continue your support for Berkeley’s children, Berkeley’s schools, and Berkeley’s future.  

Join me, every Mayoral candidate, every City Council and School Board member, almost every civic organization, and your representatives Barbara Lee, Don Perata, Loni Hancock, and Keith Carson, in supporting Measure A. 

Dan Lindheim is chair of BSEP/B Planning and Oversight Committee.  

I’m a Measure A supporter and co-president of the PTA at Emerson Elementary. I’ve been out campaigning for Measure A on weekends and following the letters to the editor here in the Daily Planet. I’d like to address this letter to those Berkeley residents who may be on the fence about whether to support Measure A. 

You may not like the choices school administrators have made regarding pools or other matters, but that is not what Measure A is about. Measure A provides funds that directly support our children by providing them with more qualified teachers, libraries, arts education, music education, and more. 

You may think that Berkeley schools are failing in their mission, and that the achievement gap is too large. Everyone is concerned about the achievement gap, but supporting Measure A does not mean blanket acceptance of the status quo. The school district can do better, and it will, but only with the resources that Measure A provides. How can we ask for committed and visionary administrators, teachers, and parents, but then not provide them with the tools necessary to implement that vision? Does anyone really believe that having 40-45 children instead of 26 in an elementary school classroom will help close the achievement gap? 

In addition to providing education, the Berkeley School District has chosen to meet certain basic unmet needs of children so that they have the foundation from which to perform better, including a healthy breakfast and lunch and access to special services for children who need extra help. Active parent groups meet to address the achievement gap. If schools were struggling financially simply to provide education, there simply would not be the resources to adequately address the achievement gap. 

You may think 10 years is too long to support schools. Children are in Berkeley public schools for 13 years. And similar measures have been on the books continuously for the past 20 years in Berkeley. In fact, the whole point of Measure A is not to raise our taxes, or even to ask for a new tax …. all this measure does is replace the current parcel taxes for BSEP and Measure B that expire at the end of this school year. 

You may think that it would be better to present a slightly different measure on the March ballot. As a PTA parent who works days and nights to ensure that Emerson Elementary has the funds it needs to provide basic services to our students, and then volunteers on weekends to help pass Measure A, and who has donated money to Measure A that would otherwise have been donated directly to the school, I ask you, if you value efficiency and good administration, is rejecting this Measure and asking the community to rally the same forces six months later efficient? Are there really enough problems with the simple concept of extending a parcel tax to support our schools that it would merit such waste? 

Jodi Levin is a Berkeley resident. 

With most Berkeley campaigns focusing on development, an important issue receiving too little attention is what City Hall is not doing to support local businesses. 

In this regard a July 18 City Council vote is very revealing. At issue was a proposal by the city manager to give Office Max, a Wal-Mart type stationary chain, a three-year purchase contract worth over one-and-a-half million dollars. 

During public comment period I asked City Council to reject the proposal and award the contract to local Berkeley businesses. My preference was dividing the contract into three separate purchase contracts, thus saving three local stationary shops by awarding them over $150,000 annually in city purchases over the next three years. 

No one on the City Council supported my preference, but Councilmember Spring did try to help our businesses by proposing the Office Max contract be granted for one year and directing staff to award contracts for the final two years to local businesses. Neither the mayor, nor any other councilmember would second Spring’s proposal. 

The same city employee who created a scandal by neglecting to collect property taxes for several Kennedy properties claimed that dividing contract up in any manner would be too costly. Although dividing the contracts may have added an extra $20,000 or so, over three years, an additional $7,000 annually would easily be compensated for by the tax revenue and other benefits of local purchasing. 

On the campaign trail or off, politicians never tire of saying they care about our local businesses. Berkeley voters need to watch what they do, and ignore what they say. When City Hall had an opportunity to help our local businesses the mayor and four councilmembers instead gave $1.5 million of our tax money to a corporate chain instead of to our businesses. This callous disregard for our local stores was especially significant, coming, as it did, within weeks of the closing of Cody’s Books, and a week after an announcement that Radston’s, a local stationary store, would soon close its doors. 

The mayor, who was the last to vote, announced “well I guess I get to make the decision,” and then decided to vote against Berkeley businesses. Joining him were Councilmembers Anderson, Captellia, Maio and Wozniak. By law five affirmative votes were necessary to grant the contract. With two councilmembers absent, Moore, to his credit, abstaining, and Dona Spring voting no, any one of the five could have changed the outcome. 

More pathetic than the result were the excuses. The mayor recently commented that the reason Radston’s went out of business was due to a rent increase, and had nothing to do with the failure to offer city contract to Radston’s. Clearly, an additional $150,000 in annual purchases would have enabled Radston’s to pay the rent increase! 

The Mayor also claimed he “had no choice” and had to vote for the contract. In fact they had at least four choices, any of which would have benefited local businesses. First, they could simply vote down the proposal. Second, they could have accepted Dona Spring’s proposal and vote to contract for one year and direct staff to arrange that future contracts go to local businesses. Third, they could have done as I preferred, and offered separate three-year contracts of approximately $500,000 each to three local stores. As a fourth choice, they could have adopted a policy that “Request For Proposal’s” give local businesses the opportunity to compete unless there is a vital reason not to do so. 

This fourth point is vital. A “Request For Proposal” (known as an RFP) states the criteria a bidder must meet to qualify for a contract with the city and effectively determines what businesses will qualify for the contract. It is possible to write an RFP in a manner that excludes all local businesses, and that is exactly what happened here. The RFP required all transactions, including accounting reports, be available on line. An inability to meet the qualification about generating accounting reports is why ALKO, a local store that did bid on the contract, was disqualified. Although ALKO did have on-line ordering capacity their system could not do everything on line, so the city went with the corporate giant. 

The sad fact is that the three incumbents who voted against our city are likely to be returned to office. But we can register our disappointment in the hypocrisy by telling them what we think and by voting against Mayor Bates and Councilmembers Maio and Wozniak. 

Elliot Cohen also urges a yes vote on Berkeley Measure H (impeachment), Measure J (citizen’s Landmark Ordinance), Measure A (schools) and state Proposition 87 (oil tax), and ask they vote no on Measure I (evict tenants for condo’s), and state Propositions 85 (parental notification of abortion) and 90 (preventing regulation of development). 

The one thing that Mayor Bates and the Chamber of Commerce PAC won’t bring up in their campaign against Measure J is the fact that Measure J would be exempt from Proposition 90. 

Proposition 90 is the state initiative that would limit the power of eminent domain that cities often use to force property owners to sell their land to a public agency.  

In the Kelo v. City of New London ruling, the US Supreme Court said that states could enact their own laws limiting the use of eminent domain. Proposition 90 would enact such a law. Some of the provisions of Proposition 90 go much farther. They require a public agency to compensate owners for any “substantial economic loss to private property” suffered as a result of regulatory or zoning actions. The only exceptions are: 

(1) Taking property for a public use such as a road or a school or a park.  

(2) Legislation to protect the health and safety of the public, (both Measure J and our current Landmarks Preservation Ordinances (LPO) are expressly written with the common intent to protect the health and safety of the public). “The purpose of this legislation is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the city through: 1. The protection, enhancement, perpetuation and use of structures, sites and areas that are reminders of past eras…”(Measure J). 

(3) Regulations that existed prior to the passage of Proposition 90, are exempt . 

It is this last category of exemption that voters need to be aware of when choosing whether or not to vote for Measure J. The current Landmarks Ordinance and the amendments offered in Measure J would be exempt from the provisions of Proposition 90. 

It also appears from the language in Prop. 90, any subsequent ordinance passed by the City Council such as the mayor’s revised Landmarks Preservation Ordinance would not be exempt. The reason is that the mayor’s plan is not an amendment. It repeals the 32-year-old LPO and replaces it with an entirely new ordinance. This means that the Mayor’s new ordinance could be challenged by developers as new legislation and as such would fall under the provisions of Proposition 90. If this occurred, historic preservation in Berkeley would likely be over for all time. The city could not afford to defend a lawsuit every time a developer wanted to demolish a historic building or the city wanted to protect one. The practical result would be that the city would have no choice but to abandon preservation planning, and Berkeley neighborhoods would be left with no way to protect historic buildings. This should be frightening to any citizen who cares about neighborhood quality and character. 

It’s hard to believe that the mayor, the council majority and the developers are not aware of this fact. One cannot help but wonder if this is a backdoor attempt to end preservation in Berkeley using Proposition 90 as the weapon and votes against Measure J as the bullets. The current LPO has served the city and its neighborhoods well for 32 years. It would be a terrible loss to the future of our neighborhoods, if Berkeley voters are mislead by a few greedy developers using PAC money to kill historic preservation in Berkeley altogether. Please don’t take my word for it. Study the laws and Proposition 90, and then choose. If you do, I am sure you will choose to vote yes on Measure J. 

Laurie Bright is the president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, a former chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and Board Member for the Berkeley Architectural Association. 

Thirty-two years ago right here in Berkeley hundreds of wonderful old brown shingles, stucco bungalows, and Queen Anne Victorians were being torn down to make way for apartment buildings designed so poorly they were referred to as “refrigerator boxes.” Thousands more wonderful structures were threatened with plans to widen and connect streets, expand the University, and combine lots in the heart of residential neighborhoods so that taller apartment buildings, sometimes up to 10-stories, could be built. No neighborhood was safe, and it seemed no one could do anything to stop it.  

Then, a handful of courageous residents stepped forward to claim Berkeley’s future. They fought against all odds and the big money of developers, and achieved approval of the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative (NPO) on the ballot and pressured the Council to approve the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO). 

Today, neighborhoods have been re-zoned, and residents participate in the process of deciding the future of their neighborhoods. Less than 300 landmarks, structures of merit, and Historic Districts have been approved, less than ten buildings and sites per year have been protected from the wrecker’s ball. They range from Maybeck’s lovely First Church, Christ Scientist, Morgan’s stately Berkeley City Club, the astounding Hearst Memorial Mining Building and South Hall on campus, to the more humble homes marking Berkeley’s beginnings in the Sisterna West Berkeley neighborhood, the restoration and reuse of the Golden Sheaf Bakery as the JazzSchool and Aurora Theater which give special ambience to our Downtown Arts and Theater District, the Adeline-Ashby area with its unique antique row, the Kawneer “sawtooth” industrial building that now beautifully houses artists and crafts people. Not just structures have been recognized, but also the stone pillars in North Berkeley and the Claremont, and places like Rose Walk—places that define us as a City.  

Today, the continuation of honoring all Berkeley neighborhoods and protecting them from needless demolition and inappropriate development is threatened once again unless we come together to approve Measure J on November 7th. Just think what Berkeley would be like if we hadn’t had the LPO for the past 32 years! Measure J updates the LPO with six provisions recommended by the State and has been certified to be in compliance with State and National law and, most importantly, it safeguards the LPO from City Hall politics in the future. 

We need Measure J for three important reasons: First, it’s fair. Unlike the Mayor’s proposed alternative, under Measure J, everyone—owners and neighbors alike—will have a fair and equal chance to comment on whether any structure or site should be designated as an historic resource. Decisions won’t be tipped in any particular way, but instead will be made on the basis of how important an example it is, and on its integrity. Final judgments on designations are made by the people you elect, the City Council in open meetings.  

Secondly, it’s environmentally sound. Today, when we understand much more about what hurts our environment, we know we must act green. Measure J proudly carries the Green Party endorsement. The Mayor’s proposed ordinance increases demolitions that fill up our landfill, and wastes energy and fouls our air trucking it there. Compare that result to what happens under Measure J which encourages adaptive re-use and restoration of existing buildings. Measure J also has the happy result of increasing economic vitality because people like to go to commercial areas that are a mix of old and human-scale new buildings that respect their surroundings.  

Lastly, Measure J provides a legacy for the future by protecting our neighborhoods. These are the places that we call home, the special places of our lives that once gone, can never be replaced. These are also the places where most of our affordable housing exists—smaller, older apartment buildings which are especially vulnerable to demolition under the Mayor’s proposed ordinance. That’s why almost every neighborhood organization in the City and the highly respected Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association have endorsed Measure J. 

The strength of Measure J is that in this City of adventuresome politics, supporters come from every neighborhood. We support different candidates, hold widely divergent opinions, and cross all lines. But we are working together, because a Yes Vote for Measure J is a vote that saves everyone’s future.  

Shirley Dean is the former mayor of the City of Berkeley.

The Patio is my favorite pub in all the world. Great food (one of the owners is a chef and the other’s a damn good cook), great conversation from owners and (some) customers, alike, and great beer. So why is this place going out of business? 

Berkeley, a fascist enclave in Northern California, runs the place with special interests like no others. On the one hand, there are the downtown boys: city government. Think of the Old West. The guys who got to town first took control of its assets, decided which streets would get the hookers and which the opera, and paved the way for their children. The last is a reasonable aim, but the rest were signs of the oligarchy that included Wyatt Earp and that sort. The my-way-or-the-first-stage-out-of-town type prevailed. That’s Berkeley’s city government. 

The second bunch is that feckless University of California crowd that doesn’t see itself as a bureaucratic organization, but as a college. Do yourself a favor and go to their website, look at their careers page, and then talk to me, okay! I am proud of their Nobel Laureates just like you are, but come on—gardeners wanted? The Cal cops get $65,000, and there may be more cops than English Department faculty, even including 3rd year doctoral students. 

The third crowd is that old hippie bunch who bicycle their way to the recycling stand, drop off their empties, proceed to Starbucks for tea (not coffee), and then finish the morning by feeling the organic tomatoes at the “This Tomato’s Better Than You” store. In the afternoon, they smoke dope, walk dogs, and join the inevitable protest whenever anyone wants to un-people People’s Park. 

So how does all this affect the business prospects of The Patio? 

To put it simply, the city wants to improve downtown Shattuck Avenue’s business climate (the government’s downtown, too) so they don’t much care about Telegraph Avenue’s business climate, where The Patio is. The university is afraid to take the heat it will certainly take if they move to reclaim People’s Park and do something useful with the land, like make a dorm or a parking lot, both of which are needed. Did I mention that The Patio borders People’s Park? And, the ageing hippies—most of whom are property owners and as far from “free of encumbrances” as any stock broker, constantly fuss over changes to any old thing, and that includes that “Monument to Blather”, People’s Park. 

The “free speech” movement is no more entitled to worship every fireman in NYC. In fact, living firemen are infinitely more important than an idea whose early proponents have drifted into latte-filled complacency. If we had some god-damned leadership in Washington, and if we could get along without constantly having to deal with our national fascination with god (in Berkeley, it’s spirituality), then free speech would mean something more than that which comes with tenure. 

These old attitudes: resistance to change, vested interest, and denial of responsibility, are how the City of Berkeley, its University, and its denizens ruin ordinary things like The Patio. They are petty, self-absorbed people and institutions who sacrificed their very birthright (what would Berkeley be without the free speech movement) for their “fair” share of the say-so in their little smokeless world. (What’s hubris? It’s Berkeley declaring itself a “nuclear free zone.” What?! Explain this, please!) 

So they tell us, at this little restaurant-pub called The Patio, that we cannot remain open later than 8:30pm without paying nearly $2,700 in fees to the city, and even then they cannot guarantee that we would be able to remain open a single minute later because we don't know what the result of the public hearing will be. Maybe the public will object. How many publics! How many decibels of objection! What if our supporters are louder than those who object? What then? Are we defined as trouble makers? Nonsense! Any fool can see that this is complete bullshit, so why is it done? It’s broke, hoss, so let’s fix it! 

I cannot afford to gamble my scant resources by playing Russian roulette with the city government. If they cannot tell me whether it takes three grandmothers, four hobos, and seven children under twelve to carry the day, what can I expect of the public hearing process? It’s a process that is vague enough to guarantee that the city can do anything it wants. Ergo, I will win or lose my appeal based on the whim of these oligarchs. Am I making any sense here? Who do they think they are, and where’s the free speech beyond my own voice! 

Ted Preisser is a Berkeley resident.

Everyone supports libraries—it’s like Mom and apple pie. But hardly any of the Measure N money is going to the branch libraries- instead it is going to build a new main library in a building that wasn’t meant for that purpose, for an unbelievable amount of money. This year I will be paying $77.42 per year on my prop tax bill for “City Library Serv.”—not a bond measure, but an assessment we were sold a few years ago in order to keep the libraries open and fully staffed. Meanwhile, the number of top-level managers has almost doubled—from eight in 2002 to fourteen now—does Carmen Martinez need that much help?  

According to the ballot information, the new Main Library will cost $98 million for 150,000 square feet—which works out to $653 per square foot. The normal cost for a new commercial building of this sort is around $151 per square foot. Even tripling that cost to allow for the complications of adaptive reuse would only make it $68 million. And building it new somewhere else (perhaps the Port of Oakland would give the city some cheap land like they give Signature for Oak-to-Ninth...) would come in at $22.6 million. The proponents claim it will cost only $315 per square foot for construction costs—I guess the other $337 per square foot is for furnishings, landscaping, and probably graft—that’s some pretty expensive custom shelving!  

The Yes on N campaign has been careful to have frontpeople like Ishmael Reed and David Kakishiba to make us feel like this is all about reading and education, because citizens would be lot more suspicious if Ed deSilva signed the ballot argument! But almost no mention has been made of books—it’s all about computers and wi-fi and teen rooms. The city could buy computers (assuming a cost per computer of $1000, even though you could buy one at Office Depot for $650, because the city always gets screwed on these things); that would buy 98,000 computers, which would be enough to give one to every family in Oakland that might want one! 

The ballot information mentions that issuance of these bonds might reduce the city’s credit rating because we have so much debt. They don’t bother to mention the $4,488,517,817 (that’s billion, folks!) in Redevelopment Agency debt, on top of the city’s other debt. Nor do they mention that the reason they keep reaching into our pockets with endless fixed charges and special assessments is because over 50 percent of the city is in redevelopment areas, and any rise in property taxes there (the so-call “tax-increment”) does not go into the General Fund. In fact, a great deal of the tax increment goes to pay the interest on the bonds issued by the Redevelopment Agency.  

This tax is also distributed unequally. For instance, I have friends who own a pre-Prop. 13 home in North Oakland. Their house is assessed at $22,375, and their taxes are $882 a year. This measure will cost them about $10. When their assessment goes up 2 percent, that will be $448, to $22,823. My house, for which I paid $495,000, is now assessed at $535,000, having gone up about $10,000 every year since I bought it. My taxes last year were $7512.00, this year they are $7775 ($263 increase). Next year, even without this measure, they will rise to $8152.00 ($377 increase). If this measure passes, they will rise by $588 to $8740.00. Essentially what is happening is that more and more of the property tax burden is being shifted not only onto residential homeowners, but onto recent homeowners—the people who are already paying the highest taxes and the highest mortgage payments. 

I am sure that Ishmael Reed and Maxine Hong Kingston, the writers who signed the ballot argument, can probably afford to pay the tax. (As I recollect, Mr. Reed is a long time resident of North Oakland—possibly pre-Prop. 13). I am also a writer, but unlike them, my writing earns me a poverty-level income that would, frankly, qualify me for the very low-income housing that the city is always seeming to want to build. By some miracle, a good credit rating, and a great deal of hard work I managed to purchase this house, yet the money I might have spent fixing it up has mostly gone to property taxes and insurance. Perhaps it wouldn’t bother me so much if I actually got some services from the city. But we have no cops, we can’t afford gardeners for city parks or people to pick up trash, yet there seems to be plenty of money for planners to “service” the developers, for outside consultants, for a city attorney who is the highest paid official in the state, and for a level of corruption that runs so deep I am hard-pressed to explain to outsiders how bad it is. I’m sure the threat that otherwise the Kaiser Auditorium will be sold for private development is probably for real—since all the City Council seems to be able to do is attempt to sell off all of Oakland to the well-heeled developers who fund their political campaigns. 

As a preservationist I am all in favor of adaptive reuse, but trying to put a library into this building is like trying to ram a square peg into a round hole. And I simply do not believe that this is cheaper than adding on to the existing Main Library. I am especially amused by Jean Quan’s argument that with the Measure DD improvements to that end of the Lake, it’s bound to become a cultural mecca. Those improvements came about as a response by the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt to the City Council’s plan to sell that end of the Lake to the Catholic Diocese for a cathedral. CALM came up with an alternate proposal, the Lake Merritt Boulevard Plan, which was eventually incorporated into Measure DD. Now the city wants to take credit for it. That end of the lake might yet become a cultural mecca—one with an auditorium, if the city wasn’t so completely incompetent. And if we had any freaking cops, so that people might be willing to go there at night! And after this magnificent edifice is built, what happens to the old Main Library? Will it be labeled “under-utilized,” and sold off for another high-rise by the lake, as the city tried to do with the Fire Alarm Building across the street? 

I’m a writer. I love books. I love libraries. I will fight for the Kaiser Auditorium to be preserved and not sold for development. But I will not vote for Measure N and I urge others not to vote for it either. 

Oakland resident Jane Powell is an author and a Daily Planet contributor. 

As the Daily Planet has reported George Beier is the biggest spender in this year’s local elections. In fact he has set a record for the most money ever spent on a City Council race. He had spent $72,150 as of Oct. 21. It’s quite likely he will top $100,000 before he’s done. To put this in perspective, Mayor Tom Bates had only spent $52,375 by October 21 and he is running citywide in all eight districts. 

On top of the $72,150 that Beier has spent, the Chamber has, so far, spent $9730 to attack Kriss Worthington. So a total of $81,880 had been spent by Oct. 21 to help elect Beier. A large chunk of this money comes from Beier himself; with another big portion from real estate interests and other special interests. 

The strategy being used by the Beier campaign is clever, though not new. It’s been done before. It works like this: 

The Beier campaign puts out literature that doesn’t even mention Kriss, albeit with misleading statements about crime and transit. His literature is “positive.” Meanwhile, other groups supporting Beier, in this case the Chamber of Commerce, sling the mud and engage in the negative campaigning. Beier can then say, as he has, that he has nothing to do with the negative campaigning. 

But the real question is: will he repudiate the false and misleading statements that are being made on his behalf by an organization whose support he has welcomed? As of the writing of this letter, he has not. 

What is Beier doing with all the money he has spent? Well, he can pay professionals to run his campaign and can pay for polls and for people to drop literature at people’s doors and to put signs on utility poles (which is not actually legal in the case of wooden poles). 

Most City Council candidates can’t afford pollsters and have to rely on volunteers. Their campaigns are usually run by people who receive a small stipend at best. 

Another thing that a wealthy candidate like Beier can do is pay for lots of slickly designed campaign mailers, which Beier has done. Two of his mailers are very misleading. 

Crime 

One mailer is about crime and makes the false assertion that District 7 has the city’s highest crime rate.  

While it doesn’t say so, the mailer’s data is crime per acre data, which, of course, inflates the crime rate in District 7, because District 7 has the highest population density in the city. District 7 has more people per acre than any other part of the city. The legend on the mailer’s map of crime indicates that it’s for a period of less than a year and is for some types of crime, not all crime.  

When the Police Department make reports to the council about crime and especially when they compare crime rates in Berkeley to crime in Oakland, Concord, Richmond, and other nearby cities, they use crimes per 10,000 population.  

If you want to estimate the probability that someone will be a victim of a particular type of crime, crime per population rather than crime per acre is the way to do it. When you look at crime per 10,000, you will find that District 7 does not have the city’s highest crime rate, especially for violent crime such as murder and robbery. The basic pattern of crime in Berkeley is not very surprising: it’s lowest in the hills, highest in parts of South and West Berkeley (especially violent crime) and somewhere in between in the neighborhoods south of the UC campus. There seems to be a relationship between average incomes of residents and crime. 

2003 is the most recent year for which the FBI’s uniform crime report statistics are available by Census Tract. You have to be careful with more recent, more raw data, especially if you are comparing cities or areas within cities. And you need to look at trends over time because there are lots of year-to-year fluctuations in particular types of crime. If you want to look at the city’s crime statistics, you can find them on the city’s website.  

In my District 7 neighborhood (part of Census Tract 36), crime has fallen substantially since Kriss Worthington has been in office. But I would hesitate to suggest, as Beier does, that whoever happens to be in office is responsible for the current crime rate or trends in crime rates. A lot of factors affect crime. The real question is what can elected officials do about it. 

It’s a matter of public record that Kriss Worthington fought to restore cuts for police on Telegraph made during the city’s post-9/11 budget crunch and to ensure adequate staffing. In October 2003, he co-sponsored a Council item with Mayor Tom Bates to do so; his item was pulled by Councilmember Wozniak, who happens to share a campaign office with George Beier. Kriss has been a consistent supporter of community policing; even before he was first elected in 1996, he was involved in the Berkeley Safe Neighborhood Committee. George Beier talks a lot about crime, but what has he actually done? 

Bashing transit 

George Beier also sent out a mailer than falsely claims that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with dedicated lanes for buses on Telegraph will “cause gridlock on Telegraph.” What is his evidence for this? A traffic study? Some other analysis by a traffic engineer or transportation planner? The fact is that he has no evidence. Traffic analysis has been done for the BRT EIR, which will be released by the year’s end. 

We won’t know all the details on an intersection by intersection basis until then. But we already know based on statements that AC Transit’s Jim Cunradi has made publicly on various occasions that gridlock will not result on ANY portion of Telegraph under any of the BRT alternatives being considered. Why is George Beier bashing an effort to improve transit without waiting to get all the facts? 

Rob Wrenn is a former Chair of Berkeley’s Planning Commission.

I’ve never had so many visitors in my life. Within hours of Ralph’s death, my friend Ann arrived from Idaho. My parents flew in from the East Coast, and in a few days the house was full: a brother from Minnesota and another from New Jersey, Ralph’s twin from San Diego and an ex sister-in-law from Seattle. More followed: people I hadn’t seen in years, friends of friends, former co-workers, links with the distant and not-so-distant past. Most had known Ralph when he could walk, move his fingers and toes, pick up a sandwich and take a bite, swing a hammer over his head, or expertly read a backcountry ski map. It was both wonderful and sad—consoling to see so many friends, disappointing not to have Ralph here to share in their visits.  

Each houseguest brought his or her own agenda. Ann is on a special diet. She eats only raw foods and consumes them in specific, military-like sequences: fruit in the morning, nuts at noon, salads between 4 and 6 p.m. I took her to Café Gratitude on Shattuck Avenue and she ordered just dessert. “Don’t get much raw chocolate in Northern Idaho,” she said. I watched her down a fat slice of I Am Bliss chocolate cream pie and a thick wedge of I Am Rapture live layered cake, while I sipped my I Am Succulent grapefruit-apple-celery-fennel-and-mint elixir and waited for I Am Insightful live samosas.  

My 80-plus-year-old parents came to clean and comfort. My mother scrubbed until her hands were raw, my father ran up and down the stairs so many times he had to take a nap. Mom fainted after a particularly vigorous encounter with the grout between the bathroom floor tiles. Dad fell asleep in front of the TV. We played several games of Scrabble but couldn’t agree on how to spell certain words. Dad swore that the dictionary I consulted was wrong.  

My brother Dan from St. Paul came a week early by mistake, therefore missing Ralph’s memorial service and the arrival of my brother Bill. Bill flew in late on a Friday night and left early the following Sunday. There wasn’t much time to converse.  

My parents departed after 24 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 5 seconds. A few hours later my friend Amy arrived from Manhattan. A former corporate lawyer, and now an Equal Justice Fellow at the Bronx Defenders, Amy subsists on a diet of gourmet coffee, dry martinis, and Kobe beef. I took her to Café Gratitude to relax, but it didn’t work out. One look at the menu and she freaked. “This,” Amy shouted, pointing at the list of entrées, “is why I cannot move to California.”  

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have—”  

“And that’s another thing,” she said, slamming the menu shut. “This sorry shit has got to stop. Pull yourself together, get some decent clothes, and comb your hair differently. No more fleece and don’t wear that denim jacket with denim jeans. Your life has changed. You don’t need to wear so much blue.”  

“I’m ordering an I Am A Bit Giving Kale-sea veggie salad,” I said, “and I’m not sorry about it.”  

“That’s the spirit,” said Amy. She re-opened the menu and asked for an I Am Sassy virgin margarita edged with Himalayan crystal salt, and the I Am Magical stuffed mushrooms topped with Brazil nut parmesan.  

“What you need to order is an I Am Accepting stir fry,” I said. “Accompanied by the I Am Aloha fresh coconut milk in anticipation that you will be aloha very soon.”  

Just then the waitress came by. “Tell me more about the I Am Celebrating special,” I said.  

“Yes,” said Amy, smiling at me over the top of her menu. “And bring me some of those I Am Surrendering fudge squares. They sound absolutely perfect.”  

Café Gratitude: 1730 Shattuck Avenue, 10 a.m.—10 p.m., seven days a week, (415) 824-4652, ext. 3, www.cafegratitude.com.  

Only about an hour’s travel southwest of Berkeley, there’s a little piece of bayside nature where you can view some seldom-seen native treasures, learn about the Bay Area’s natural environment, and appreciate the ongoing struggle to save it. 

This is the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, on the San Mateo shoreline, south of San Francisco International Airport. 

Opened in 1981, the main museum building is a low-slung, angular, structure with a richly finished wood interior. 

Inside the main Environmental Hall visitors follow the path of a drop of water heading downhill from the ridgelines that that bisect the Peninsula. The ridges tend to divide and define not only the natural but the human culture and character of the land from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.  

Switchback ramps lead from gallery to gallery. On the left-hand side the exhibits descend through oak woodland and chaparral to the Bay marshes.  

On the right side of the room the journey runs from redwood forest to grassland to the rocky San Mateo coast and Pacific Ocean. 

Freestanding displays in each gallery describe the natural environments the visitor passes through. Wall displays articulate threats to those environments, from water pollution to logging and urban sprawl. 

At the lowest level there’s a windowed space with views over the Bay, and a live beehive exhibit under glass, with an access tube to the outside world. 

The main exhibit area includes a life-sized marsh diorama, wooden columns that branch into stylized trees, a quarter-scale fiberglass whale suspended from the ceiling on the ocean side, and a towering “food pyramid” of grassland creatures. 

Though most exhibits are engaging, the Museum has clearly been experiencing some hard financial times. Some displays are broken or worn; contents of others are dated. A small aquarium area has dark, empty, tanks.  

If the Environmental Hall itself were the only thing to see at the museum, I might be tempted to suggest waiting until the displays undergo refurbishment and regeneration. 

However, there are other appealing aspects of Coyote Point Museum that can suitably fill out an excursion. 

Next to the main building is the “living” half of the museum, a fine, small, indigenous zoo with about 150 birds, mammals, and reptiles, most of them native or endemic to the Bay Area. 

We share the region with these creatures, but never see most of them up close—except for raccoons, of course. 

A coyote ambles down to sniff at visitors through a fence, while a silvery bobcat lazily grooms itself atop a rock and a river otter does underwater arabesques in a tank that can be viewed through glass walls.  

There are porcupines, snakes, raptors, badgers, ravens, newts, and even banana slugs. A snowy egret peers down from a perch atop a redwood bough in an expansive outdoor aviary. 

Perky, pint-sized, burrowing owls will make you instant partisans for this habitat-beleaguered, ground-dwelling, species. 

A meandering tunnel provides views into dens and interior enclosures, while an exterior path circles back to take in the enclosures from the outer side.  

Most of the animals and birds are once-injured “rescues” or former pets, now unable to return to the wild. 

Back indoors, there’s a small traveling exhibit area currently hosting “Green Dollhouses” made out of recycled materials, on display through December. See greendollhouse.org for more details. 

Outside the exhibit grounds, Coyote Point is a county park offering other attractions. Large picnic areas and a playground spread down the slopes under the eucalyptus canopy.  

Coyote Point is one of the few places in the Central or South Bay where you can get right up to the water but still be some distance above it. 

As a result, reasonably clear days offer impressive views over the Bay, taking in San Bruno Mountain, San Francisco’s office towers to the north, San Mateo’s shore side towers and the San Mateo Bridge to the south, as well as Mt. Diablo and the Oakland/Berkeley Hills to the east. 

Coyote Point itself is a rocky, chert, outcropping rising above the flat Bay tidelands, looking rather like an Albany Hill of the Peninsula 

If you’ve ever flown into San Francisco International Airport from the south, you’ve probably looked down on the eucalyptus-topped promontory just before landing. The Bayside overlook below the museum provides a first-class vantage from the other perspective, viewing up close the ceaseless stream of commercial jets descending low over the water on approach to SFO. 

Once it was an island—Bay on one side, tidal flats on the other. The flats were later filled for grazing land, now a golf course.  

After various commercial uses—dairies, a lumber pier, amusement parks—the Point was sold to San Mateo in 1940.  

A wartime U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet School occupied the Point, which then became the first campus of the College of San Mateo. In 1963 the college moved and the current county park was established.  

The San Mateo County Junior Museum opened in 1954 in a Quonset hut atop the Point, and in 1974 became the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, leading to the current facility.  

Coyote Point Museum was in the news this summer when, after financial stresses, the Board of Trustees voted to shut it down. A published rumor had a high-powered private group maneuvering to take over the property for a global warming education center.  

Fortunately, friends of the existing museum organized a quick and successful emergency fundraising campaign to cover operating expenses and the board rescinded its vote. 

Coyote Point has a key place in promoting regional environmental awareness, in the same way that the Randall Museum educates San Franciscans and the Lindsay Museum serves much of the East Bay. It should be rejuvenated, not removed.  

Fortunately, there is now renewed hope that, even with global warming, the Coyote Point Museum will still be there. Go see it, before the oceans rise. 

Find the eastbound Peninsula Avenue overpass across Highway 101, which leads into Coyote Point Park.  

There’s a $5 car admission fee to the park (seniors free on weekdays). Road signage and the entry kiosk staff can direct you past the golf course and along the winding drive to the museum. 

Open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday and most holidays from noon to 5 p.m.. Wheelchair accessible. 

Admission: $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students (through high school age), and $2 for children 3-12. Free the first Wednesday of the month, and always free to teachers (with school I.D.) 

Call (650) 342-7755 for recorded information, or see www.coyotepointmuseum.org. 

Photograph by Steven Finacom 

A basking bobcat blends in against the rock background in the outdoor animal display area at the museum.

Another season has come and gone, and I still have not connected with the tarantulas of the East Bay Hills. Mount Diablo in October was supposed to be a sure thing. So I hiked about a mile up Mitchell Canyon at dusk, scanning the trail ahead for dark objects that might be wandering male tarantulas. (Dusk and dawn are when the questing males are most active, and dawn was not in the cards.) But all the dark objects turned out to be pinecones or piles of horsecrap. 

It’s a big deal for the male spiders, their one chance for reproductive success. Male tarantulas mature at about 7, set out in search of a female, mate (or don’t), and expire. Females may live to be 24, surviving multiple partners.  

Our local species appears to be Aphonopelma smithi, the Bay Area blond tarantula. Its life history is probably pretty much like that of its relative A. hentzi, the Texas brown tarantula, immortalized by William J. Baerg, an entomology professor at the University of Arkansas, in his slender book The Tarantula. Baerg was the best friend a big hairy spider ever had. “The very general opinion that the tarantula ‘looks so horrible’ is … obviously without any basis”, he wrote. “To anyone who has learned to know this spider, it is as handsome as a goldfinch and fully as interesting.” 

He went to considerable lengths to rehabilitate the tarantula’s image. 

After his death (not spider-related) in 1980, his colleague William Peck remembered: “Such was his devotion to the tarantula that he considered that all of his students of entomology should at least make its acquaintance. 

For some 30 years that he taught beginning entomology he would introduce the students to the large native species by having them pass one from hand to hand around the class. Only one person was ever bitten, he averred, and many a character was strengthened.” Baerg was known to complain of the difficulty of getting tarantulas, or spiders of any kind, to bite him in the interest of science. 

Baerg turned his Fayetteville home into a spider sanctuary, with tarantulas wandering the grounds. His lab tarantulas were kept in battery jars, fed on grasshoppers, caterpillars, and cockroaches, and meticulously observed through their life cycles. Once, for whatever reason, he added alcohol to a spider’s drinking water and noted: “Tarantulas will drink of this to the extent that intoxication becomes evident in spite of the eight legs to keep them steady.” 

Back to the wandering male: after undergoing his final molt, he spins a special web in the privacy of his den, deposits sperm in the web, and, with repeated dipping motions, charges the bulblike tips of his pedipalps—the pair of appendages preceding the eight legs. And off he goes. How the nearly blind male actually locates the female in her burrow remains unclear. 

In a 1928 article, Baerg described what happens when male and female tarantulas meet, after the male has announced himself by tapping out a precise sequence on the collar of silk at the mouth of her burrow: “Frequently when the male has just touched the female with one of his front legs, and she does not show any visible response, he will slap her vigorously several times, which brings prompt action.  

She at once rises, spreads her fangs, and the male proceeds.” The female’s fangs are secured by spurs on the male’s forelegs while he transfers the sperm from his pedipalps to her pocketlike spermathecae. 

Afterward, whether or not the female appears hungry or aggressive, he disengages very carefully and gets the hell out of Dodge. 

That would be just about his last hurrah in any case. Males “begin gradually to fail” after the mating season, their abdomens shrinking away. The female, meanwhile, stores his sperm until the following summer, when her 200 to 800 eggs are fertilized. Her offspring are only 4.2 millimeters long at hatching, but, according to Baerg, they “have a certain unmistakable dignity in their walk.” 

Sibling cannibalism is common. The survivors disperse to new homes, digging a burrow or appropriating a ready-made mammal burrow where they’ll spend the rest of their lives—at least until the males are ready to take up their quest. 

A tarantula’s venom, although deadly to an insect, typically produces nothing worse than a mild burning sensation and slight swelling in a human victim. Rather than bite when threatened, they’re more apt to dislodge a cloud of barbed hairs by rubbing their abdomens with their back legs; the hairs can irritate a predator’s skin or eyes. Baerg said the hairs caused him only a mild irritation, but his patient wife Eloise had symptoms over a period of several weeks.  

So if you happen to meet a tarantula, give him—and it will likely be a him—a break. He means you no harm; he’s just looking for a little action. Let him go on his way, and the ghost of Professor Baerg will smile. 

On the eve of Halloween while teaching a Berkeley class of second graders, the discussion naturally turned to the costumes the kids planned to wear on Halloween day. One of the boys grinned, with arms crossed and head tilted to the side. 

“I’m gonna be a gangster!” he declared. Most of the other children laughed in excited delight. A few stole glances at me to see whether I approved or not. 

I tried to keep the feeling of shock and dismay from appearing on my face. I didn’t want to seem harsh or judgmental. I simply wanted to know why this was the young boy’s choice. 

“What’s a gangster?” I led. 

Some of the children laughed a bit nervously, not quite sure how to define the word. 

“What’s so good about being a gangster?” I prodded. 

“Gangsters are cool,” one boy proclaimed. 

“Yeah,” another agreed. “They have money and guns and bling and they get the ladies.” 

Both boys and girls giggled at that.  

“Are you gonna have a gun?” one boy asked the proclaimed Halloween gangster.  

“Yeah, but not a real one,” he replied. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have even a play gun at all,” I said. “Someone could think it’s a real gun and you could get into real trouble. You know, guns just lead to violence. And I’m not so sure you want to look like someone who does violent or hurtful things.”  

After a moment of silence a few other kids offered descriptions of their less dangerous costume choices. I then had them all go to their desks and draw themselves in these costumes. The illustration on this page came from one of two boys who drew themselves as a “hip hop gangsters” (their term).  

I collected their drawings and had them follow me to my desk. Both drawings depicted them dressed as a rapper named “50 Cent” and firing a gun, complete with bullets spewing from its barrel. One drawing showed a falling hand dropping its gun. Both had curse words written across the top.  

A profound feeling of sadness overtook me as I looked into their handsome brown faces. They were actually very sweet boys; sensitive and polite. They reminded me of my own son. And they reminded me of two fourth-grade boys I had taught in Richmond two years ago. I had the class imagine where they would be ten years from now and draw that scene. One boy drew himself in a prison. Another drew his father shooting him to death.  

“What do you think of these words?” I gently asked.  

They looked at me quizzically and shrugged, seemingly oblivious to any sense of wrongdoing or inappropriateness. 

“What would your parents or families think of these words?” I asked. “That’s how my uncle talks,” responded one. “When my father’s home, he uses those words, too,” said the other. 

These boys come from communities bombarded by images full of saggy, prison-style pants, bling, grills, degradation of women, homophobia, the glorification of fast money and smoking guns. I’m not saying that all rap or hip hop is negative. Some of its poets are intelligent, well-informed and talented. However, those who receive the most air-play are decidedly not. 

I recently learned that one of the most popular local hip hop radio stations, KMEL is also owned by mega-conglomerate Clear Channel, which also owns talk radio station KNEW, home to numerous right-wing, racist and homophobic radio “personalities.” Coincidence? I think not. Their programming is targeted to specific audiences for specific purposes—ultimately to make a profit through advertising. By virtue of playing lyrics with predominantly negative, self-destructive messages, Clear Channel contributes to making anti-social attitudes and behaviors the “norm” in many communities which are most isolated and in need of information and assistance. 

When I weed through all of the election materials piled up by my front door, I wonder which of these candidates, which of these measures are going to help these kids and their families? Of course, Measure A comes closest. As an artist and writer, I’m happy to see school money going to fund the arts, libraries, music and other enrichment programs. However, what I really want to see is more money set aside for family outreach and education. You can have the most wonderful library in the world but if a child isn’t accustomed to picking up a book, what good is it? It seems to me that most of the neighborhood groups coming out against Measure A are comprised of adults who can afford to send their children to private schools and/or supplement their children’s education with all sorts of opportunities and experiences and/or adults without school age children who prefer not to spend their tax dollars on ours. What many do not get is that it is imperative that we care about all of Berkeley’s children, not just those who look like us or live in our neighborhoods. If we don’t exercise care now, we will definitely care later when these same kids grow up to become problems in our society. Each one can be so much more than that. 

When I got home that day, I showed the drawings to my 12-year-old son and one of his friends. They laughed. 

“I don’t like 50 Cent. Who’s 50 Cent? I’m all about the dollars!” My son joked. When they understood that I had some serious concerns, they became more serious as well. 

“That’s just what they grew up by,” Jason’s friend said. “I used to be bad like that ... they just want bling and money because they probably don’t have anything ... they steal and smoke and stuff cause they’ll do anything to get attention.” 

“Yeah,” said Jason. “And the songs brainwash you into thinking that stuff is cool.” 

“What would you say to one of these kids if he told you he wanted to grow up to be like 50 Cent?” I asked. 

“I’d tell him ‘if you think he’s cool, then you’re not cool.’” 

“Me too,” Jason chorused. Smart boys. 

Parents need to be taught how to parent. Children need better role models than 50 Cent. And we all need to redefine “cool.”

Some time ago, maybe more than once, I wrote in this column that in his campaign for California attorney general, Mayor Jerry Brown was going to use his Oakland track record in a different way than most politicians usually do. Politicians generally spotlight their positive achievements in office, and in his race against State Senator Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown has certainly done that. But in areas where Mr. Brown has failed in Oakland—and there were many such failures—he has excused those failures by putting the blame on Oakland. In effect, he’s been telling California voters that Oakland was so bad, nobody could fix it, and he wants voters to give him points for even giving it a good try. 

And so, I was not surprised when a Sacramento television station (KCRA) posted a story on Mr. Brown’s campaign on its website last week in which Mr. Brown seemed to be exploiting Oakland’s crime rate to boost his own credentials. The story read, in part, “Jerry Brown is a fixture on the streets near his Oakland condo. During the day it’s a fairly safe place to walk his dog, Dharma, but at night it’s a different story. ‘Well, there was a killing right there at the KFC, another one right there, and then a shooting over there at the karaoke club,’ Brown said. ‘If you want a crime fighter,’ [the mayor continued], ‘you ought to have someone who knows what crime is. I’ve picked gun shells off the street not 100 feet from where we’re sitting.’” 

What logic there is to this type of thinking escapes me, as much has escaped me in the last eight years about how Mr. Brown thinks. If living in a neighborhood where crime occurs qualifies one to be elected as a crime fighter, then one might as well argue (as I once wrote in a short story) that it makes sense to elect a dead man as coroner because, after all, who knows the needs of the dead better than a dead person does? Logic or illogic aside, there is something ghastly and unconscionable about the elected mayor of Oakland leading reporters around pointing out killing spots—not as a way to prevent more Oakland killings—but to somehow show off his credentials for a “higher” office. 

Still Californians, who often have no trouble recognizing hypocrisy and demagoguery when it comes to national Republicans, seem to miss it entirely when it comes to the homegrown variety. 

In endorsing Mr. Brown, for example, the Oakland Tribune describes him as “Long a champion of the environment,” the Los Angeles Times says “He has been a consistent fighter for the environment,” and the Sierra Club of California said “Throughout his career, Jerry Brown has been a ground-breaking leader on the most important environmental issues of our time. Jerry has been a champion of renewable energy, clean water, and clean air for California. As Mayor of Oakland, Jerry has overseen Oakland’s transformation into one of America’s top ten green cities. After evaluating the records of all the candidates for Attorney General, it was clear to us that Jerry Brown is exactly who California needs to defend and protect its environment.” 

Maybe so. But it was also Jerry Brown, in a hurry to meet his goal of 10,000 new inhabitants in downtown Oakland, who induced the legislature to pass AB436 in 2001, a Wilma Chan-sponsored bill that suspended portions of the California Environmental Quality Act in downtown Oakland, and downtown Oakland only.  

In reporting how Mr. Brown explained that full-blown CEQA environmental protection wasn’t needed for downtown Oakland, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson reported Mr. Brown saying in 2001 “I haven’t seen any spotted owls or snail darters in downtown Oakland.” 

Perhaps that was supposed to be a joke—Mr. Brown often finds serious policy questions funnier than the average observer does. But it later became a public policy argument advanced by others. In a 2002 Oakland City Council meeting, then-Oakland City Councilmember Danny Wan defended his support for that bill by arguing that CEQA was passed in 1970 more as protection for rural and suburban development, not urban development. Therefore, Mr. Wan asserted to fellow Councilmembers and the public, easing certain CEQA protections in downtown Oakland wasn’t really a weakening of CEQA’s environmental protections, since those protections weren’t aimed at cities anyway. It was a dangerous (as well as completely incorrect) notion, then and now, all set loose by Mr. Brown, who was willing to sacrifice long-established environmental protection principles for short-term gain. 

What is true about the environment is also true about education. 

Mr. Brown promised to promote and support quality education in Oakland in his initial campaign for mayor and based upon that promise, Oakland citizens later passed a ballot measure giving the mayor the power to appoint three new members to join the seven elected members of the Oakland Unified School District board of trustees. Armed with that power, Mr. Brown immediately abandoned it, seeming to lose any interest in the day to day workings of the district, and apparently leaving his appointees with no clear instructions on what policies he wanted them to follow. 

Instead, Mr. Brown put all of his energies into his two charter schools, the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute, to which he donated many hours of city staff time and many thousands of dollars in city money. How successful have those experiments been? The military institute recently failed not only to reach its state-mandated Academic Performance Index goal of 6 points (to 677 on a scale of 1,000), it actually lost 13 points over the 2005-06 school year. Mr. Brown’s arts school did even worse. The state gave it a goal of a 3 point API rise to 741; instead of making that goal, OSA dropped 18 points over the past school year. 

When things seemed to be going good at the two schools, Mr. Brown couldn’t stop talking about them. Now that they are falling on tougher times, all mention of them appear to have been dropped from his public pronouncements. Poor children. 

Meanwhile, while Mr. Brown had three appointees to the Oakland school board (compared to seven electees from all of the rest of Oakland citizens), the Oakland school district came close to bankruptcy and was taken over by the state, and has been on a downward spiral ever since. Under less dire circumstances, the city of Emeryville figured out a way to legally transfer city funds to the school district to help win back local control for that district, and Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa down in Los Angeles got the state legislature to pass a law giving the LA mayor’s office authority over the school district. Does Mr. Brown take any responsibility for the events that led to the state takeover of the Oakland schools, or is he now offering some plan to help the district get back on its feet? 

Not to my knowledge. 

Last week, former Oakland city employee Nereyda Lopez-Bowden surfaced in Sacramento to remind us of that Mr. Brown’s former roommate and longtime confidante—Jacques Barzaghi—was once sanctioned for sexual harassment of Ms. Lopez-Bowden after Mr. Brown put him on the city payroll. 

After Ms. Lopez-Bowden appeared at a press conference sponsored by Mr. Brown’s Attorney General opponent, Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown’s campaign consultant, Ace Smith, remarked, “It’s clear Chuck Poochigian has finally crossed the line from desperate to undignified. Anyone who has looked into this matter knows it was handled by an independent professional with lots of integrity.” 

But the question was not whether the investigation—coordinated through the office of Oakland City Attorney John Russo, and not through the office of Mr. Brown—was not thorough and professional. And the punishment seemed fair—three weeks suspension, counseling, and a restriction that he couldn’t be in the room with a woman staff member by himself (all imposed by City Manager Robert Bobb, not Mr. Brown). But the question was, why did Mr. Brown allow his friend, Mr. Barzaghi, to remain on the city payroll after the sexual harassment charges were proven? In fact, once returned to his job after his suspension, Mr. Barzaghi was treated to a raise in salary. 

It would seem in this case, Mr. Brown’s loyalty to an old friend trumped whatever commitment the mayor may have to women’s rights and cracking down on workplace sexual harassment. 

And that, in the end, has been the problem with Jerry Brown in Oakland. You cannot rely on Mr. Brown’s principles, regardless of how cleverly he states them or how many times, only that he will violate them, at will, when it is necessary for his personal political future and agenda. That is no longer Oakland’s problem, however. Not, at least, by ourselves. On the eve of next week’s general election, it would appear that Mr. Brown will soon belong to all of California, again. Good luck. 

Some time ago, maybe more than once, I wrote in this column that in his campaign for California attorney general, Mayor Jerry Brown was going to use his Oakland track record in a different way than most politicians usually do. Politicians generally spotlight their positive achievements in office, and in his race against State Senator Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown has certainly done that. But in areas where Mr. Brown has failed in Oakland—and there were many such failures—he has excused those failures by putting the blame on Oakland. In effect, he’s been telling California voters that Oakland was so bad, nobody could fix it, and he wants voters to give him points for even giving it a good try. 

And so, I was not surprised when a Sacramento television station (KCRA) posted a story on Mr. Brown’s campaign on its website last week in which Mr. Brown seemed to be exploiting Oakland’s crime rate to boost his own credentials. The story read, in part, “Jerry Brown is a fixture on the streets near his Oakland condo. During the day it’s a fairly safe place to walk his dog, Dharma, but at night it’s a different story. ‘Well, there was a killing right there at the KFC, another one right there, and then a shooting over there at the karaoke club,’ Brown said. ‘If you want a crime fighter,’ [the mayor continued], ‘you ought to have someone who knows what crime is. I’ve picked gun shells off the street not 100 feet from where we’re sitting.’” 

What logic there is to this type of thinking escapes me, as much has escaped me in the last eight years about how Mr. Brown thinks. If living in a neighborhood where crime occurs qualifies one to be elected as a crime fighter, then one might as well argue (as I once wrote in a short story) that it makes sense to elect a dead man as coroner because, after all, who knows the needs of the dead better than a dead person does? Logic or illogic aside, there is something ghastly and unconscionable about the elected mayor of Oakland leading reporters around pointing out killing spots—not as a way to prevent more Oakland killings—but to somehow show off his credentials for a “higher” office. 

Still Californians, who often have no trouble recognizing hypocrisy and demagoguery when it comes to national Republicans, seem to miss it entirely when it comes to the homegrown variety. 

In endorsing Mr. Brown, for example, the Oakland Tribune describes him as “Long a champion of the environment,” the Los Angeles Times says “He has been a consistent fighter for the environment,” and the Sierra Club of California said “Throughout his career, Jerry Brown has been a ground-breaking leader on the most important environmental issues of our time. Jerry has been a champion of renewable energy, clean water, and clean air for California. As Mayor of Oakland, Jerry has overseen Oakland’s transformation into one of America’s top ten green cities. After evaluating the records of all the candidates for Attorney General, it was clear to us that Jerry Brown is exactly who California needs to defend and protect its environment.” 

Maybe so. But it was also Jerry Brown, in a hurry to meet his goal of 10,000 new inhabitants in downtown Oakland, who induced the legislature to pass AB436 in 2001, a Wilma Chan-sponsored bill that suspended portions of the California Environmental Quality Act in downtown Oakland, and downtown Oakland only.  

In reporting how Mr. Brown explained that full-blown CEQA environmental protection wasn’t needed for downtown Oakland, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson reported Mr. Brown saying in 2001 “I haven’t seen any spotted owls or snail darters in downtown Oakland.” 

Perhaps that was supposed to be a joke—Mr. Brown often finds serious policy questions funnier than the average observer does. But it later became a public policy argument advanced by others. In a 2002 Oakland City Council meeting, then-Oakland City Councilmember Danny Wan defended his support for that bill by arguing that CEQA was passed in 1970 more as protection for rural and suburban development, not urban development. Therefore, Mr. Wan asserted to fellow Councilmembers and the public, easing certain CEQA protections in downtown Oakland wasn’t really a weakening of CEQA’s environmental protections, since those protections weren’t aimed at cities anyway. It was a dangerous (as well as completely incorrect) notion, then and now, all set loose by Mr. Brown, who was willing to sacrifice long-established environmental protection principles for short-term gain. 

What is true about the environment is also true about education. 

Mr. Brown promised to promote and support quality education in Oakland in his initial campaign for mayor and based upon that promise, Oakland citizens later passed a ballot measure giving the mayor the power to appoint three new members to join the seven elected members of the Oakland Unified School District board of trustees. Armed with that power, Mr. Brown immediately abandoned it, seeming to lose any interest in the day to day workings of the district, and apparently leaving his appointees with no clear instructions on what policies he wanted them to follow. 

Instead, Mr. Brown put all of his energies into his two charter schools, the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute, to which he donated many hours of city staff time and many thousands of dollars in city money. How successful have those experiments been? The military institute recently failed not only to reach its state-mandated Academic Performance Index goal of 6 points (to 677 on a scale of 1,000), it actually lost 13 points over the 2005-06 school year. Mr. Brown’s arts school did even worse. The state gave it a goal of a 3 point API rise to 741; instead of making that goal, OSA dropped 18 points over the past school year. 

When things seemed to be going good at the two schools, Mr. Brown couldn’t stop talking about them. Now that they are falling on tougher times, all mention of them appear to have been dropped from his public pronouncements. Poor children. 

Meanwhile, while Mr. Brown had three appointees to the Oakland school board (compared to seven electees from all of the rest of Oakland citizens), the Oakland school district came close to bankruptcy and was taken over by the state, and has been on a downward spiral ever since. Under less dire circumstances, the city of Emeryville figured out a way to legally transfer city funds to the school district to help win back local control for that district, and Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa down in Los Angeles got the state legislature to pass a law giving the LA mayor’s office authority over the school district. Does Mr. Brown take any responsibility for the events that led to the state takeover of the Oakland schools, or is he now offering some plan to help the district get back on its feet? 

Not to my knowledge. 

Last week, former Oakland city employee Nereyda Lopez-Bowden surfaced in Sacramento to remind us of that Mr. Brown’s former roommate and longtime confidante—Jacques Barzaghi—was once sanctioned for sexual harassment of Ms. Lopez-Bowden after Mr. Brown put him on the city payroll. 

After Ms. Lopez-Bowden appeared at a press conference sponsored by Mr. Brown’s Attorney General opponent, Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown’s campaign consultant, Ace Smith, remarked, “It’s clear Chuck Poochigian has finally crossed the line from desperate to undignified. Anyone who has looked into this matter knows it was handled by an independent professional with lots of integrity.” 

But the question was not whether the investigation—coordinated through the office of Oakland City Attorney John Russo, and not through the office of Mr. Brown—was not thorough and professional. And the punishment seemed fair—three weeks suspension, counseling, and a restriction that he couldn’t be in the room with a woman staff member by himself (all imposed by City Manager Robert Bobb, not Mr. Brown). But the question was, why did Mr. Brown allow his friend, Mr. Barzaghi, to remain on the city payroll after the sexual harassment charges were proven? In fact, once returned to his job after his suspension, Mr. Barzaghi was treated to a raise in salary. 

It would seem in this case, Mr. Brown’s loyalty to an old friend trumped whatever commitment the mayor may have to women’s rights and cracking down on workplace sexual harassment. 

And that, in the end, has been the problem with Jerry Brown in Oakland. You cannot rely on Mr. Brown’s principles, regardless of how cleverly he states them or how many times, only that he will violate them, at will, when it is necessary for his personal political future and agenda. That is no longer Oakland’s problem, however. Not, at least, by ourselves. On the eve of next week’s general election, it would appear that Mr. Brown will soon belong to all of California, again. Good luck. 

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, West Berkeley was the location of many manufacturing plants that produced diverse products from vegetable oil to ink, and from huge hydraulic pumps to tanned hides. 

Cal Ink originated in 1891, in Los Angeles, as a subsidiary of Union Oil Company, and was sold to an E.L. Hueter of San Francisco in 1896. Sometime between 1900 and 1903, the company moved its manufacturing plant to West Berkeley, into buildings that had been part of the Raymond Tannery. In 1999 Cal Ink, now Flint Ink of Michigan, was the oldest factory in Berkeley operating at its original location. 

On the blocks bounded by Camelia, Gilman, Fourth, and Fifth streets, there were about twenty buildings dating from 1906 to 1978. The sprawling factory included manufacturing buildings, laboratories, storage tanks, and offices. 

Over the years, Cal Ink made almost every type of ink product, from a white ink for marking bees to perfumed ink used in advertising. The products developed and manufactured at this plant included: moisture-proof and heat-resistant inks, inks that resist scratching and oxidation, inks used for newspapers, magazines, boxes, bags, labels, and linoleum, plastic, steel, aluminum, airplane parts, and fabric. It is one of the largest suppliers of ink to the graphic arts industry. From time to time it produced many of the raw materials for ink, such as pigment colors and varnishes. An international company, it uses materials from all over the world including: drying oils from South America, shellac from India, pigments from Europe, and carbon and mineral oil from the United States. It then exports its various inks around the world. During World War I, Cal Ink developed and produced the first “Litho Red” ink made in the United States. 

After 1919, the company changed ownership several times, merging with or buying other companies, and occasionally creating subsidiaries. Today the company is a division of the Flint Ink Company of Detroit. Although ink was still being made at this location in 1999, portions of the complex have been sold and some buildings demolished. 

This article was originally published Sept. 29, 2001 in the Berkeley Daily Planet. 

California Ink Co. Industrial Site 

1326–1404 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 

The California Ink Co. Industrial Site was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on 17 Nov. 17,1986. 

Photograph by Daniella Thompson  

The California Ink Co. Industrial Site, 1326–1404 Fourth St., was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on Nov. 17, 1986. 

I was working with a couple of young volunteers from UC’s redoubtable Habitat for Humanity group last weekend when one of them exclaimed, “Yuck! I found a worm.” 

Said worm was firmly ensconced in its burrow in the hard dry clay and I couldn’t pick it up to move it, so I advised the volunteer to weed on down the row and let the critter go on about its work. 

I’m not the daintiest woman in Berkeley, but I can remember feeling that way about worms. That was a very long time ago, longer than my co-weeder has been alive. I think I slugged Joey Williams when he presumed to chase me with a worm. I wasn’t really invincible in kindergarten—I quit playing Kill ‘Em, a sort of all-on-one neighborhood football, when somebody tore my favorite shirt in an illegal maneuver—but I had some years when I felt more akin to the poor worms.  

Some of us got our empathy with earthworms when our parents read Lowly Worm to us; some of us, like my lab partner, were still squeamish when we had to dissect earthworms in high school. 

I really hated the sound and feel of the scalpel when it cut the worm’s skin, though it was the formaldehyde that made me gag. Poor worm indeed. 

Gardeners learn to get along with worms even if we don’t find then cuddly. Like spiders and such predators, they’re on our side and we’d better appreciate their work. It’s reassuring to find them in the soil and the compost bin.  

In fact, as I mentioned last week, you can get specialized worm-composting bins for small spaces. When you run them right, they don’t stink even a little—I’ve seen one folk-art painted worm composter that doubled as its owners’ coffee table, and back when I was doing hard time at the Ecology Center there was a desktop composter – originally a card file—that was used as a demonstrator and squeal-inducer. 

Charles Darwin’s last book was about earthworms, which he studied and reported on with his typical exhaustive, careful attention. It would be fair to say he exalted the humble:  

The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of mans inventions; but long before he existed the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be thus ploughed by earth-worms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures. 

“Lowly” here is the antonym of “highly,” not any status designation.  

Recently, a close relative of the Willamette earthworm (thought extinct) was discovered in the Palouse Valley. I’m thrilled. I now have hope of meeting this creature, which can reach three feet in length and smells of lilies. 

There’s one in Australia, the Gippsland earthworm, that reached ten feet, and I’m sure would make a nice quiet pet. Maybe someday I’ll go back to Pennsylvania and chase Joey Williams with one.  

There’s an old saying ... “Da Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.” No, denial is alive and well right here in the Bay Area.  

We are told that about 85 percent of people in the bay area are unprepared for a major quake (I think that’s conservative), and that over 150,000 homes will be uninhabitable when the Hayward fault ruptures. 

At least the people in New Orleans knew Katrina was coming and most had a chance to get out. The big difference is that we don’t know when the Big One is coming, but we do know that it’s inevitable. We will have no notice.  

What’s wrong with us? Don’t we care about our own safety, our children’s safety, the safety of our elderly and disabled?  

Is your home adequately retrofitted? Furniture and appliances secured? Emergency kit ready? Automatic gas shut-off valve installed?  

No? What are you thinking? Do it now! 

Larry Guillot is owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing, and kit supply service. Call him at 558-3299, or visit www.quakeprepare.com.

The construction world is in love with novelty. Every year, trade shows display the latest inventions and materials with promises of low cost, easy installation and life-long service. Of course, these things never turn out to be as true as presented and the buyer must always beware.  

I’m an old fashioned guy and I tend to like the time-tested and proven-by-abuse. I figure that if something can go wrong it will (Call me Murphy). That might make me a cynical crank (probably true) but it also makes me a great shopper. That’s another thing. I hate to do anything twice or to spend money on something that turns out to be a boondoggle. And so, with all of this in mind, let us turn, dear reader, to the latest in a seemingly endless series of new materials that may be causing unforeseen problems. 

This one is actually quite old and valuable in many ways but not without some serious concerns. It’s what I call Poisonwood and the industry calls Pressure-treated wood. Your house may contain some and if it does there are a few things that are good to know. If you’re building a house now or in the future, it’s a really good issue to explore since it’s being used widely in construction today and presents some special issues. 

Pressure-treated woods are used in places where fungal decay or insect consumption is at its highest. These places include ground contact or contact with damp concrete such as where the bottom of your house meets the foundation. This “mudsill,” which bolts to the foundation is now often made of pressure-treated wood.  

Many decks are built using this material as well, although I generally see it being used for the understructure and not the visible top components. In some parts of the country, foundations are actually made from this material alone (instead of a concrete footing) and other structures that may experience dampness can also be built or repaired using this innovative material. Actually, pressure treatment of woods isn’t all that new. Processes still used today go all the way back to the 1830’s and many other processes were developed around the turn of the last century.  

Materials used include copper (most methods involve copper in some form), ammonia, chromium and arsenic. Arsenic-containing compounds are used less today as a result of voluntary changes in the industry based on EPA studies that found elevated levels of arsenic in soils near construction (ergo my rather nasty term-poisonwood).  

There have also been concerns about workers sawing or handling these woods. CCA (chromated copper arsenate) isn’t used widely any longer as a result of the studies I just mentioned but can still be found in shingles, shakes, wooden foundations and some commercial construction.  

The most common form of PT (pressure-treated) wood seen today in the west is CA or Copper Azole. Although this seems somewhat healthier, there’s a fascinating thing happening with woods treated in this way …. they eat metal for lunch. This seems to have something to do with the copper/steel reaction that we also see with plumbing systems but the specific chemistry is beyond me.  

What I do know is that the lumber industry is aware, the hardware industry is concerned and a lot of contractors are not tuned in. I don’t blame the contractors. They’re busy cleaning up so that you’ll give them that progress payment on the kitchen remodel. It’s hard to stay current on all the issues. Also, the cities don’t seem too focused on the issue but then again, when inspectors have to see 20 houses in a day, how can they pay attention to new errata such as this. 

Here’s a little useful information on the issue and what you might want to do. First, take a look at your house with special attention to mud-sills, decking and other pieces of wood that are exposed to moisture. You’re looking for PT lumber and we’re going to look at the hardware connections. PT lumber tends to be greenish from the coppery treatments and can vary from light to dark. Some types of PT are bluish but you’re not likely to see those ones.  

Most PT has roller marks from a process called incising (like those front teeth of yours) in which the surface of the wood is punctured in longish slits that allow the chemical preservative to penetrate more deeply into the wood and help it to last longer. Most of what we’re protecting against in this process is fungus and there’s nothing dry about the rot that is eventually going to eat your stair stringer.  

When you find some of this wood, take a look at the hardware that holds it in place or keeps other things attached to it. Mudsills may be bolted down to a foundation and it’s worth looking at the bolts, washers (or square “bearing plates”) and nuts to see if they have a lot of visible corrosion. I’ve seen some relatively new construction in which the rust had grown prolifically in a short period and wondered if these connections were going to be providing much strength if an earthquake struck ten years from now. 

A bolt may have a great deal of excess thickness but a non-galvanized bearing plate may have long since become too thin and weak to do its job. My biggest concern with PT wood is for decks or balconies that are high enough to represent a falling hazard. I’d want to be sure that the hardware used for my 25’ high deck was really corrosion resistant and wouldn’t weaken over time. 

As I said, the industry is aware and has specific recommendations for hardware connections that involve use of PT wood. Hardware companies like the, ever astute, Simpson™ have gone further to provide analysis of the various levels of corrosiveness initiated by differing PT woods (there are at least 5 current methods of pressure treatment in use). They’ve also given us some special hardware to be used, such as their Z-max double galvanized hardware and stainless steel for the deeply worried. I’m just concerned enough so that I don’t want to see any conventional hardware or nailing being used connection pressure treated woods. I’ve seen the corrosion and I’m convinced that this is an issue that’s just beginning to present itself. Part of the reason for this is the change in formulations being used and part because PT wood is seeing much wider use than in the past. 

If your carpenter is using this wood, get them to wear a mask when they’re sawing and ask if they’re aware of the need for special hardware. These actions alone will be a good start but I’d like to take one more step and it’s a big step …. backward. 

Before PT woods were commonly being used, most settings that presented the same fungal propensities were addressed through the use of naturally pest resistant woods like Coastal Redwood. Although many of us have concerns about excessive cutting of Redwood, it is a fast growing tree that can be well forested and provide sustainable use (if the birthrate isn’t too out of control). It’s also non-toxic and very effective against both fungal damage and many insects (due to its tart, tannic taste). A good dense piece of Redwood heartwood can be quite effective and not lead to any discernable metal corrosion as the years roll by. 

If you want to spend big bucks on other fungally resistant woods, there is also the Western Red Cedar, Merbau, Huon Pine (used for building ships) and Ironbark, but you’ll only end up draining your bank account. So, If you’re building, talk to your contractor about these issues. I don’t think that pressure-treated woods are a bad choice any more than I think that an angiogram is a bad medical procedure. It’s just a matter of knowing what you’re getting and how best to proceed to get the good stuff and avoid the bad. 

Got a question about home repairs and inspections? Send them to Matt Cantor at mgcantor@pacbell.net.

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

Wildlife Sculpture by Bob O’Neill opens at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park, and runs to Dec. 24. 525-2233. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Charles Mann describes “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Del Sol String Quartet “Premieres Without Borders” featuring premieres by Reza Vali (Iran), Marc Blitzstein (USA), Jack Brody (New Zealand), and Eric Lindsay (USA) at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Post-concert discussion with the musicians and composers facilitated by Charles Amirkhanian, Executive Director of Other Minds. Tickets are $7-$20 at the door. 415- 831-5672. delsolquartet.com 

Sauce Piquante at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Catie Curtis, contemporary folk originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Election Night Dance Party at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“At Thadeus Lake” by Sherri Martin, winner of the 2006 Kala Board Prize at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. Exhibition runs to Nov. 25. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

“The Black Panthers” Photographs by Stephen Shames and posters from the archives of Alden Kimbrough on display at the Oakland Asian Resource Gallery, 310 8th St., Oakland., through Nov. 30. 532-9692. 

FILM 

“Animated Enemies” Selected and introduced by film historian James Forsher at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“We Are the Earth” with David Suzuki at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$12 at independendt bookstores. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org 

Michael Wex will talk about “Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All its Moods” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

David Henkin discusses “The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth Century America” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Poetry Flash with Elizabeth Arnold and Graham Foust at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. 

Jean Ellison, storytelling, at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Takahashi & Imbrie, and an 85th birthday celebration of Andrew Imbrie, at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Musica Antiqua Koln, with Marijana Mijanovic, contralto, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana at Durant. Tickets are $48. 642-9988. 

The Atmos Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Akosua, Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Red Archibald and the Internationals at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. 

Orquestra America at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

J Soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Beep, jazz jam at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Free. 451-8100.  

Catie Curtis, contemporary folk originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Cedar Walton Trio with guests Steve Turre and Vincent Herring, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $20-$24. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, NOV. 9 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Whitework Embroidery” at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. Runs through Feb. 5. Hours are Mon.-Sat. noon to 6 p.m. Free. lacismuseum.org 

Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. in Gallery 2, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

THEATER 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Guys & Dolls” Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School, 1500 Derby St. Tickets are $6-$15. 595-5514. www.ymtc.org 

FILM 

“New Work by Gunvor Nelson” with filmmaker Gunvor Nelson at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove reading of “Voices of a People’s History of the United States” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley High Campus. Benefit for the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Tickets are $25. 1-800-838-3006. 

Culinary Authors Read in a Benefit for the Center for Independent Living, with Bruce Aidells, Fran Gage and Peggy Knickerbocker at 6 p.m. at Ginn House, Preservation Park, 660 13th St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Tickets are $50-$60. 841-4776, ext. 153. 

Anna Moschovakis and Elizabeth Treadwell, poets, read from their latest work, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Maragret Schaefer reads from her new translation of Arthur Schnitzler’s “Bachelors” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Bocalicious Spoken Word Swap Meet at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Past, Post, and ... Now!” Mills College Repertory Dance Concert at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

Jamie Laval with Ashley Broder, Celtic violin and mandolin, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Pete Yellin Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Rachel Sage, Joni Davis, Danielle French at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

The Ramana Vieira Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Push to Talk, The Attachments at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Jazz Mine at 6:30 p.m. at King Tsin Chinese Restaurant, 1699 Solano Ave. 525-9890. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 10 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Hedda Gabler” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Nov. 18 at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Tickets are $12. 525-1620. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Pretend-O-Cide” Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd, Albany, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $5-$10. www.myspace.com/ahsuburoi 

Altarena Playhouse “Merrily We Roll Along” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St, Alameda, through Nov. 12. Cost is $15-$18. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Azeem’s “Rude Boy” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, through Nov. 25. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

Aurora Theatre “Ice Glen” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 10. Tickets are $38. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep “Passing Strange” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. through Dec. 3. Tickets are $45-$61. 645-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works “Andromache” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. through Nov. 19. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1382. 

Chorus Repertory Theatre “Nine Hills One Valley” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988.  

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “And Then There Were None” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Dec. 9. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theater “Jukebox Stories” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Dec. 10. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Company” by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through Dec. 16.. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org  

Shotgun Players “Love is a Dream House in Lorin” by Marcus Gardley, inspired by true stories of Berkeley’s historic Lorin District, Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Nov. 12. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

TheatreFirst “Criminal Genius” Thurs.-Fri. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth St., at Broadway, Oakland, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $19-$25. 436-5085. www.theatrefirst.com 

UC Dept. of Theater “Suburban Motel” six plays by George Walker at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $8-$14. For schedule see http://theater.berkeley.edu 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Guys & Dolls” Fri.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School, 1500 Derby St. Tickets are $6-$15. 595-5514. www.ymtc.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“R.S.V.P.” Art for the Table Opens at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuk Ave. and runs through Dec. 2. 843-2527. 

FILM 

“Iraq in Fragments” A documentary film by James Longley opens at Landmark Shattuck Cinema, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

William L. Fox reads from “Driving to Mars: In the Arctic with NASA on the Human Journey to the Red Planet” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

T. J. Clark introduces “The Sight of Death: An Experiment in Art Writing” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Elizabeth Rosner will read from her novel “Blue Nude” at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble 6050 El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito. This event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Contra Costa College Library. 524-0087. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland East Bay Symphony “Made in America” A new work by Joan Tower at 8 p.m., pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $15-$62. 625-8497. www.oebs.org 

Donna Lerew, violin, Miles Graber, piano perform works of Bach, Schubert, Ravel and Rochberg at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery 2911 Claremont Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

“Past, Post, and ... Now!” Mills College Repertory Dance Concert at 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

African Sabar/Tannebeer Drum and Dance Festival at 10 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

Slammin All-Body Band at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568.  

Melanie O’Reilly & Tir na Mara at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Duck Baker, American fingerstyle guitarist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Elaine Lucia Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

The Nomadics, jazz, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

With River, Rick Hardin, Fred Odell & the Broken Arrows at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Lights Out, Have Heart, Go It Alone at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Electric Vardo “ShadowDance” at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, at 2nd, Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 415-259-8629. www.darkerstill.com  

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

Cedar Walton Trio with guests Steve Turre and Vincent Herring, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $20-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, NOV. 11 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Bonnie Lockhart in a autumn sing along at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jen Miriam Puppets and Music at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 10th St. at Gilman Cost is $6, children under 1 free. 526-9888.  

EXHIBITIONS 

International Arts and Crafts on display and for sale from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Finnish Kaleva Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. 

FILM 

Matinees for all Ages: “The General” with Buster Keaton at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Young Performers Celebrate “The Whole World’s Watching You” in coordination with Berkeley Art Center’s exhibit of photos from the peace & social justice movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Readings at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., between Eunice & Rose Sts., behind Live Oak Park. 527-9753. 

Tom Hayden reads from “The Lost Gospel of the Earth: A Call for Renewing Nature, Spirit and Politics” at noon at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Kenyan novelist, playwright, and poet will read from “Wizard of the Crow” at 2 p.m. at the African American Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. 637-0200. 

Piano Seminar on the Taubman Approach Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St. Cost is $110-$220. 523-0213. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“L’Dor Va Dor” Jewish Composers in the Renaissance English Court at 8 p.m. at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. at Garber. Tickets are $10-$25. 

Piano Concert on the Taubman Approach at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St. Cost is $20. 523-0213. 

Works in the Works Dance performance by Leigh Riley, Rebecca Johnson, Kirsten Wilkinson and others at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2424 Eighth St. Tickets are $10 at the door. 527-5115. 

Gamelan Sari Raras at 7:30 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Fronteras Flamencas at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Walter Savage Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Aux Cajunals at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Caribbean Party at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Joshua Eden and Mike Gibbons at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Eddie From Ohio, folk, at 5 and 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Zorn, saxophone, an evening of improvisation with Ikue Mori, at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $20-$25. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Wire Graffiti, Castles in Spain, the Judea Eden Band at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Vernon Bush Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Red Fang, from Portland, at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $8. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Melissa Rivera, world/Latin rock at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Joshi Marshall Project at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Aggression, Verbal Abuse, The Sick, Troublemaker at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 12 

CHILDREN 

Children’s author Daniel San Souci talks about how he develops his stories and sketches at 3 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, James Moore Theater, 1000 Oak St. Co-sponsored by the Oakland Public Library. 238-3615. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Winter Bright” Ceramic sculptures by Elizabeth Orleans, and acrylic paintings by Rosalie Cassell and Diane Rusnak at the Community Art Gallery, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2450 Ashby Ave. through Jan. 5. 204-1667.  

Works by April Hankins opens at 2 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle Guided tour at 1 p.m. in Gallery 2, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Reading with Diane DiPrima, Michael McClure, David Meltzer and Ron Loewinsohn at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Cecile Andrews reads from “Slow is Beautiful: New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Nahid Rachlin reads from her memoir “Persian Girls” at 6:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

20th Century Music and Beyond: Composer John Zorn at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32. 642-9988. 

Laurel Ensemble Music from Russia and Eastern Europe at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Tickets $12 at the door www.laurelensemble.com 

Kingston Players String Quartet performs Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven at 4 p.m. at United Methodist Church, 201 Martina Street, corner of W. Richmond Ave., Point Richmond. Suggested donation $5. 236-0527. 

Four Seasons Concerts with Amadi Hummings, violin, and Wendy Law, cello, at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $35-$40. 601-7919. www.fourseasons concerts.com 

Sheila Alix and the Dan Damon Trio at 5:30 p.m. at the Baltic, 135 Park Place, Point Richmond. 237-4782.  

“When I Was a Boy in Brooklyn” Songs by Gary Laplow at 4 p.m. at the JCC, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $12-$15. 848-0237. 

Works in the Works Dance performance by Evangel King, Ruth Botchan, Minoo Hamzavi and others at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2424 Eighth St. Tickets are $10 at the door. 527-5115. 

Sparky & Rhonda Rucker at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Weber Iago Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Coco Linares, guitarist from Peru at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Erik Jekabson at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Bandworks, band recitals at 1 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Gift Horse at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MONDAY, NOV. 13 

CHILDREN 

National Children’s Book Week with presentations and illustrator workshops for children at various Oakland Public Library Branches. For details see. www.oaklandlibrary.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Christopher Robin and & Joe Pachinko read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Douglas H. Chadwick introduces “The Grandest of Lives: Eye to Eye with Whales” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Express with The Pasedena Poets at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Fruit at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Blue Monday Blues Jam at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Tribute to Shirley Horn with Frankye Kelly, Babtunde Lea, Glen Pearson, Ron Belcher and Michael O’Neill at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$12. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com  

SCIENTIST-AUTHOR TELLS US “WE ARE THE TRUTH” 

Internationally renowned scientist and host of many popular Canadian television series David Suzuki will deliver a lecture entitled “We Are the Earth” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suzuki is the author of more than 40 books, including The Sacred Balance, Tree, Good News for a Change and the just released David Suzuki, The Autobiography. Tickets are $10-$12 and can be purchased at independent bookstores. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org. 

OAKLAND SYMPHONY “MADE IN AMERICA” 

Oakland East Bay Symphony will peform “Made in America,” a new work by Joan Tower, as well as works by George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland at 8 p.m. Friday at the Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. The concert will be preceded by a lecture at 7 p.m. $15-$62. 625-8497. www.oebs.org. 

“THE WHOLE WORLD’S WATCHING YOU” 

Young performers will participate in “The Whole World’s Watching You,” poetry readings hosted in coordination with Berkeley Art Center’s exhibit of photos from the peace and social justice movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., between Eunice and Rose, behind Live Oak Park. 527-9753.

Cedar Walton may not be a household name to everyone, but in his half-century as a professional jazz pianist, Walton’s talents have been called upon by almost every major jazz musician. 

Born in Dallas in 1934, Walton studied music at the University of Denver. It was there, while playing at the Denver Club, that he first worked with visiting luminaries like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane.  

It was not long before he moved to New York where he was playing with Lou Donaldson, Gigi Gryce and Sonny Rollins. A stint in the Army took him to Germany where he worked with Leo Wright and Eddie Harris. By 1958, he was back in the United States and touring with J.J. Johnson. His first recording, with Kenny Dorham on Orin Keepnews’ Riverside label, soon followed. He recorded with Johnson as well and then joined the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet for two years. 

In 1961, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, which at that time included Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller and Freddie Hubbard. He left Blakey in 1964, although he returned in 1973 for a tour of Japan, and finally made his first album as a leader in 1966 for Prestige. 

Prestige liked him so much they hired him as their house pianist from 1967-69. He then organized a bebop quartet, often with Clifford Jordan on tenor sax, that performed as Eastern Rebellion for many years. In the ‘70s, he experimented with funk and the electric piano in a group called Soundscapes. In the ‘80s, he worked with the Timeless All-Stars, a sextet that included Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Curtis Fuller, Buster Williams and his long-time associate, the late Billy Higgins.  

This still leaves out his various gigs with Abbey Lincoln, Dexter Gordon, Lee Morgan, Milt Jackson, Ron Carter, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes as well as his long list of original compositions like “Mosaic,” “Promised Land,” “Fantasy in D, Firm Roots,” “Bolivia” and “Clockwise,” all of which have become jazz standards. 

Most importantly, all of these great players want Cedar to accompany them because he is among the greatest living jazz pianists. His technique is virtuosic, allowing him to improvise flowing strings of bebop lines at a breakneck speed that would daunt anyone other than an Art Tatum or Bud Powell. It is a pure delight to hear someone’s mind and fingers thinking and playing with this kind of speed, elegance and lyricism. 

For his current gig at Yoshi’s, he will be bringing along some equally great sideplayers, most notably trombonist Steve Turre. Turre was born in Omaha, but grew up in the Bay Area playing in the Latin aggregations of Carlos Santana and the Escovedo Brothers. Like Cedar, he also worked with Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson and Art Blakey. He is probably best known, though, as the trombonist since 1984 with the Saturday Night Live Television Band. Equally noteworthy is his work on conch shells, which he can play with the same facility he applies to the sliphorn. You have to see and hear it to believe it. 

Cedar Walton, along with Steve Turre on trombone and conch shells, Vincent Herring on saxophone, David Williams on bass and Lewis Nash on drums, appears Wednesday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 12 at Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. For more information call 238-9200 or see www.yoshis.com.

“It’s my childhood, all over again!” one playgoer gushed, as the canned strains of a Blood, Sweat & Tears number came over the sound system at the Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond, followed by other pop radio tunes circa 1970, before the curtain went up on Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company. 

Of course, the musical wasn’t originally offered as nostalgia—and it plays well enough, over 35 years (the birthday of its protagonist that it opens up on) after its debut on Broadway. 

But the profusion of period fashion (Diane Beaulieu-Arms’ costumes), as well as the now-quaint mores represented as the social (and breeding) habits of the Manhattanites depicted in action and song, do bring out a sepia tone in the picture posed onstage. The only thing that hasn’t changed significantly—not even in most details—is the self-referential (and reverential) character of New York. 

Company is, in fact, a triumph of the eponymous company, the chorus, although as a pun. The title and its recurrence in song and dialogue refer to the company of another person, the only ostensible reason anyone in the play can come up with for marriage, as the five sets of wedded partners that comprise the chorus openly confide the limitations of the marital contract to their token single friend-in-common Robert (Kyle Johnson), and all try cloyingly to get him, too, to couple up.  

The dynamics of the story revolve around trios, as Robert, the third wheel, accepts the ongoing cycle of invitations to visit his friends, whose wedded bliss fractures before his eyes: a karate demo that turns into a husband-wife melee (Kathleen Dedarian and Robyn David Taylor); a little pot party of three that has the straitlaced wife giggling profanities—and touching on a few touchy issues (Jacqueline Andersen and Michael Cassidy); an unctuous moment of complimenting the hostess, offering a proposal “if you two ever break up,” only to find out those two (Michelle Pond and Steve Yates) are getting a divorce. 

And in between tableaux is Robert alone, insouciantly brooding over his lack of commitment, or squiring The Girlfriends around. One in an Op-Art dress (Amy Nielson) tells him on a bench in Central Park that she’s leaving The City to get married; another (Jennifer Stark), an elective New Yorker, valorizes her adopted town in all its diversity in “Another Hundred People”; the third, a dizzy stewardess (to use the idiom of that time), turns arch bedtime stories into a slapstick seduction pas-de-deux in Bobby’s safari-themed boudoir—a dancer (Amy Nielson) taps and sways around the bed, the couple hidden under the covers—and the morning after sings that she must be off to “Barcelona.” 

As Robert, Kyle Johnson adroitly navigates the reefs and shoals of a lead part that’s paradoxically a straight man’s role, to set up a crowd for laughs—his friends and the audience. Bobby’s both attractive enough and yet a little bit bland, both charmer and sychophant. Johnson has a brash edge to his voice, yet plaintive undertone, that puts him out in front in numbers like “Marry Me a Little.” 

As befits the mission of a community troupe like The Masquers (though eight of the cast are first-timers), the actors-singers weigh in as themselves, and the ensemble gains in charm from it. It’s very much a group effort, under G.A. Klein’s direction, but there are some standouts: besides Johnson, and funny Steph Peek as April the Stewardess, Tamara Plankers returns after a long hiatus to the Masquers stage as acerbic Joanne, probably the most enduring character, trashing her genial mate (Larry Schrupp) for enjoying himself publicly, and delivering “The Ladies Who Lunch” (”I’ll Drink to That”) like a sardonically staccato Ethel Merman. 

Most of the fun, though, is in the war of nerves, like Bobby standing up for his long-cohabiting friends (Leah Tandberg-Warren and Peter Budinger), as the groom grows courtlier and the bride fantasizes dodging the altar. But all the couples stick together, hovering like a choir of seraphim behind all their friend’s most intimate moments, mother-henning him, as he seems eternally poised to blow out the candles on yet another cake. 

Rob Bradshaw’s sets ranged from the preposterous “complementary” colors of Bobby’s bachelor pad to pleasing rosy-tinged skies; Kris Bell’s choreography kept a cast of 14 in motion to Sondheim’s score, as Pat King led Barbara Kohler, Jo Lusk, Ben Strough and fine trumpeter Jim Ware ably in the pit, as The Masquers dust off this Tony winner about loneliness, togetherness and “Being Alive.” 

COMPANY 

8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:3170 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 16 at the Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. $18. 232-4031. 

Only about an hour’s travel southwest of Berkeley, there’s a little piece of bayside nature where you can view some seldom-seen native treasures, learn about the Bay Area’s natural environment, and appreciate the ongoing struggle to save it. 

This is the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, on the San Mateo shoreline, south of San Francisco International Airport. 

Opened in 1981, the main museum building is a low-slung, angular, structure with a richly finished wood interior. 

Inside the main Environmental Hall visitors follow the path of a drop of water heading downhill from the ridgelines that that bisect the Peninsula. The ridges tend to divide and define not only the natural but the human culture and character of the land from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.  

Switchback ramps lead from gallery to gallery. On the left-hand side the exhibits descend through oak woodland and chaparral to the Bay marshes.  

On the right side of the room the journey runs from redwood forest to grassland to the rocky San Mateo coast and Pacific Ocean. 

Freestanding displays in each gallery describe the natural environments the visitor passes through. Wall displays articulate threats to those environments, from water pollution to logging and urban sprawl. 

At the lowest level there’s a windowed space with views over the Bay, and a live beehive exhibit under glass, with an access tube to the outside world. 

The main exhibit area includes a life-sized marsh diorama, wooden columns that branch into stylized trees, a quarter-scale fiberglass whale suspended from the ceiling on the ocean side, and a towering “food pyramid” of grassland creatures. 

Though most exhibits are engaging, the Museum has clearly been experiencing some hard financial times. Some displays are broken or worn; contents of others are dated. A small aquarium area has dark, empty, tanks.  

If the Environmental Hall itself were the only thing to see at the museum, I might be tempted to suggest waiting until the displays undergo refurbishment and regeneration. 

However, there are other appealing aspects of Coyote Point Museum that can suitably fill out an excursion. 

Next to the main building is the “living” half of the museum, a fine, small, indigenous zoo with about 150 birds, mammals, and reptiles, most of them native or endemic to the Bay Area. 

We share the region with these creatures, but never see most of them up close—except for raccoons, of course. 

A coyote ambles down to sniff at visitors through a fence, while a silvery bobcat lazily grooms itself atop a rock and a river otter does underwater arabesques in a tank that can be viewed through glass walls.  

There are porcupines, snakes, raptors, badgers, ravens, newts, and even banana slugs. A snowy egret peers down from a perch atop a redwood bough in an expansive outdoor aviary. 

Perky, pint-sized, burrowing owls will make you instant partisans for this habitat-beleaguered, ground-dwelling, species. 

A meandering tunnel provides views into dens and interior enclosures, while an exterior path circles back to take in the enclosures from the outer side.  

Most of the animals and birds are once-injured “rescues” or former pets, now unable to return to the wild. 

Back indoors, there’s a small traveling exhibit area currently hosting “Green Dollhouses” made out of recycled materials, on display through December. See greendollhouse.org for more details. 

Outside the exhibit grounds, Coyote Point is a county park offering other attractions. Large picnic areas and a playground spread down the slopes under the eucalyptus canopy.  

Coyote Point is one of the few places in the Central or South Bay where you can get right up to the water but still be some distance above it. 

As a result, reasonably clear days offer impressive views over the Bay, taking in San Bruno Mountain, San Francisco’s office towers to the north, San Mateo’s shore side towers and the San Mateo Bridge to the south, as well as Mt. Diablo and the Oakland/Berkeley Hills to the east. 

Coyote Point itself is a rocky, chert, outcropping rising above the flat Bay tidelands, looking rather like an Albany Hill of the Peninsula 

If you’ve ever flown into San Francisco International Airport from the south, you’ve probably looked down on the eucalyptus-topped promontory just before landing. The Bayside overlook below the museum provides a first-class vantage from the other perspective, viewing up close the ceaseless stream of commercial jets descending low over the water on approach to SFO. 

Once it was an island—Bay on one side, tidal flats on the other. The flats were later filled for grazing land, now a golf course.  

After various commercial uses—dairies, a lumber pier, amusement parks—the Point was sold to San Mateo in 1940.  

A wartime U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet School occupied the Point, which then became the first campus of the College of San Mateo. In 1963 the college moved and the current county park was established.  

The San Mateo County Junior Museum opened in 1954 in a Quonset hut atop the Point, and in 1974 became the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, leading to the current facility.  

Coyote Point Museum was in the news this summer when, after financial stresses, the Board of Trustees voted to shut it down. A published rumor had a high-powered private group maneuvering to take over the property for a global warming education center.  

Fortunately, friends of the existing museum organized a quick and successful emergency fundraising campaign to cover operating expenses and the board rescinded its vote. 

Coyote Point has a key place in promoting regional environmental awareness, in the same way that the Randall Museum educates San Franciscans and the Lindsay Museum serves much of the East Bay. It should be rejuvenated, not removed.  

Fortunately, there is now renewed hope that, even with global warming, the Coyote Point Museum will still be there. Go see it, before the oceans rise. 

Find the eastbound Peninsula Avenue overpass across Highway 101, which leads into Coyote Point Park.  

There’s a $5 car admission fee to the park (seniors free on weekdays). Road signage and the entry kiosk staff can direct you past the golf course and along the winding drive to the museum. 

Open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday and most holidays from noon to 5 p.m.. Wheelchair accessible. 

Admission: $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students (through high school age), and $2 for children 3-12. Free the first Wednesday of the month, and always free to teachers (with school I.D.) 

Call (650) 342-7755 for recorded information, or see www.coyotepointmuseum.org. 

Photograph by Steven Finacom 

A basking bobcat blends in against the rock background in the outdoor animal display area at the museum.

Another season has come and gone, and I still have not connected with the tarantulas of the East Bay Hills. Mount Diablo in October was supposed to be a sure thing. So I hiked about a mile up Mitchell Canyon at dusk, scanning the trail ahead for dark objects that might be wandering male tarantulas. (Dusk and dawn are when the questing males are most active, and dawn was not in the cards.) But all the dark objects turned out to be pinecones or piles of horsecrap. 

It’s a big deal for the male spiders, their one chance for reproductive success. Male tarantulas mature at about 7, set out in search of a female, mate (or don’t), and expire. Females may live to be 24, surviving multiple partners.  

Our local species appears to be Aphonopelma smithi, the Bay Area blond tarantula. Its life history is probably pretty much like that of its relative A. hentzi, the Texas brown tarantula, immortalized by William J. Baerg, an entomology professor at the University of Arkansas, in his slender book The Tarantula. Baerg was the best friend a big hairy spider ever had. “The very general opinion that the tarantula ‘looks so horrible’ is … obviously without any basis”, he wrote. “To anyone who has learned to know this spider, it is as handsome as a goldfinch and fully as interesting.” 

He went to considerable lengths to rehabilitate the tarantula’s image. 

After his death (not spider-related) in 1980, his colleague William Peck remembered: “Such was his devotion to the tarantula that he considered that all of his students of entomology should at least make its acquaintance. 

For some 30 years that he taught beginning entomology he would introduce the students to the large native species by having them pass one from hand to hand around the class. Only one person was ever bitten, he averred, and many a character was strengthened.” Baerg was known to complain of the difficulty of getting tarantulas, or spiders of any kind, to bite him in the interest of science. 

Baerg turned his Fayetteville home into a spider sanctuary, with tarantulas wandering the grounds. His lab tarantulas were kept in battery jars, fed on grasshoppers, caterpillars, and cockroaches, and meticulously observed through their life cycles. Once, for whatever reason, he added alcohol to a spider’s drinking water and noted: “Tarantulas will drink of this to the extent that intoxication becomes evident in spite of the eight legs to keep them steady.” 

Back to the wandering male: after undergoing his final molt, he spins a special web in the privacy of his den, deposits sperm in the web, and, with repeated dipping motions, charges the bulblike tips of his pedipalps—the pair of appendages preceding the eight legs. And off he goes. How the nearly blind male actually locates the female in her burrow remains unclear. 

In a 1928 article, Baerg described what happens when male and female tarantulas meet, after the male has announced himself by tapping out a precise sequence on the collar of silk at the mouth of her burrow: “Frequently when the male has just touched the female with one of his front legs, and she does not show any visible response, he will slap her vigorously several times, which brings prompt action.  

She at once rises, spreads her fangs, and the male proceeds.” The female’s fangs are secured by spurs on the male’s forelegs while he transfers the sperm from his pedipalps to her pocketlike spermathecae. 

Afterward, whether or not the female appears hungry or aggressive, he disengages very carefully and gets the hell out of Dodge. 

That would be just about his last hurrah in any case. Males “begin gradually to fail” after the mating season, their abdomens shrinking away. The female, meanwhile, stores his sperm until the following summer, when her 200 to 800 eggs are fertilized. Her offspring are only 4.2 millimeters long at hatching, but, according to Baerg, they “have a certain unmistakable dignity in their walk.” 

Sibling cannibalism is common. The survivors disperse to new homes, digging a burrow or appropriating a ready-made mammal burrow where they’ll spend the rest of their lives—at least until the males are ready to take up their quest. 

A tarantula’s venom, although deadly to an insect, typically produces nothing worse than a mild burning sensation and slight swelling in a human victim. Rather than bite when threatened, they’re more apt to dislodge a cloud of barbed hairs by rubbing their abdomens with their back legs; the hairs can irritate a predator’s skin or eyes. Baerg said the hairs caused him only a mild irritation, but his patient wife Eloise had symptoms over a period of several weeks.  

So if you happen to meet a tarantula, give him—and it will likely be a him—a break. He means you no harm; he’s just looking for a little action. Let him go on his way, and the ghost of Professor Baerg will smile. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 

Remember to Vote Today 

“Let’s Go Vote” Voting activities for children from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil every Tues. at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 

“Legacy: Portraits of 50 Bay Area Environmental Elders” with author John Hart and photographer Nancy Kittle at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Sacred Sites in Changing Landscapes: Shamans and Commercial Shrines in the Republic of Korea” with Dr. Laurel Kendall of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, at 7 p.m. in the Ges Chapel, 1735 LeRoy Ave. 649-2440. 

“Japan Remodeled: How Government and Industry Are Reforming Japanese Capitalism” with Steven K. Vogel, Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr. 642-2809. 

Discipline Strategies that Really Work with Young Children at 6 p.m. at Habitot Children’s Museum. Registration required. 647-1111, ext. 14. 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at UC Berkeley Tau Beta Pi, on Leroy, between Hearst and Ridge. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.  

Discussion Salon on Immigration at 7 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut.  

Enhancing Immunity, from chicken soup to echinacea at 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm.524-9992. 

Handbuilding Ceramics Class from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, except for materials and firing charges. 525-5497. 

Albany Library Homework Center is open from 3 to 5 p.m., for students in third through fifth grades. Emphasis is placed on math and writing skills. 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8  

“How We Stopped The War” and “The Vietnam Experience” two films presented by Country Joe McDonald at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $5-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

“We Are the Earth” An evening with David Suzuki at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $12 advance, $15 door. 415-255-7296, ext. 244. www.kpfa.org 

“Bi-National State or Jewish State?” with Prof. Joseph Heller, at 7:30 p.m. at Morrison Library, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Magnes Museum. 549-6950. 

“Post 9/11: A Students’ Perspective” at 6 p.m. at FSM Café at Moffitt Library, UC Campus. 643-7742. 

“Transit of Mercury” as it crosses in front of the face of the sun from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $7-$13. 336-7300. www.chabotspace.org 

“All About Osteoporosis and Why We Fall” at 10 a.m., followed by additional workshops at Center for Older Adult Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104. To register please call 558-7800. 

Chosing Infant Care A workshop for parents from 10 a.m. to noon at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register call 658-7353. 

Dream Workshop at 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. 548-9840. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

New to DVD “Adaptation” at 7 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

THURSDAY, NOV. 9 

“Voices of a People’s History of the United States” Narration, reading or singing by Alice Walker, Sandra Oh, Steve Earle, Aya de Leon, Leslie Silva, Marisa Tomei, John Trudell, Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, Melanie DeMore, Nora el Samahy at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley High campus, 1930 Allston Way. Tickets are $25-$150. Benefits Middle East Children's Alliance and Speak Out. 1-800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5473 

“Save the Oaks at the Stadium Day” Join us at 10 a.m. in the oak woodland just west of Memorial Stadium to meet the trees UC plans to cut down. Bring green ribbons to tie around the trees. At noon come to a “Save the Oaks” demonstration outside the chancellor’s office at California Hall, north of Sather Gate. 845-6441, 593-6933. info@saveoaks.com 

“Gathering and Publishing Your Neighborhood History” with authors William Wong (Oakland's Chinatown), Erika Mailman (Oakland Hills), and Annalee Allen (Selections from the Oakland Tribune Archives and co-author of Oakland Postcards) at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. Donation $8-$10. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org  

Center for Independent Living Fundraiser with reception and readings by culinary authors, Bruce Aidells, Fran Gage and Peggy Knickerbocker at 6 p.m. at Ginn House, Preservation Park, 660 13th St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Tickets are $50-$60. 841-4776, ext. 153. 

“Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife” A talk by author Mary Roach at 7:30 p.m. at College Prepartry School, Oakland. Tickets are $12.50-$15. www.college-prep.org/livetalk 

“Comparing the Buddhisms of East and Southeast Asia: A World Historical Perspective” with John McRae of The University of Tokyo at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr., 643-6536. 

East Bay Mac Users Group meets to discuss “Mindstorms” the next generation of robots at 6 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. Free, all welcome. www.ebmug.org  

WriterCoach Connection seeks volunteers to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. Training session from noon to 3 p.m. For information call 524-2319.  

Workshops for Seniors Effective Estate Planning at 10 a.m. at Center for Older Adult Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104. To register please call 558-7800. 

FRIDAY, NOV. 10 

City of Berkeley Offices Cosed Today 

Hopalong Animal Rescue of Oakland Annual Fur Ball, with an international buffet, live music and a silent auction benefitting homeless dogs and cats of the Bay Area, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $45. 267-1915 ext. 500. www.hopalong.org  

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Dr. James Hanson on “successful Healing at Children’s Hospital of Oakland.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour “75 Years of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab” at 10 a.m. Cost is $8-$10. To register and learn meeting place call 848-0181.  

Womansong Circle with Betsy Rose A participatory circle of song for women with guest Edie Hartshorne at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Cost is $15-$20. 525-7082. 

“Our Synthetic Sea” presented by Jan Lundberg at 8 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., between Broadway and Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 

African Market and Sabar Party at 10 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $5-$10 . 

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

SATURDAY, NOV. 11 

March and Rally “Tell Pacific Steel Casting to Stop Polluting” Meet at 11 a.m. at 9th and Gilman. Sponsored by Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Ecology Center, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs and others. 415-248-5010. 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Goats are Great Come meet the Nubian goat twins, Cleo and Lily, at 2 p.m. at the Little Farm in Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Stream Study Day for the whole family on a two-mile hike. Wear layered clothing that can get wet and muddy. Meet at 2 p.m. at Lone Oak Picnic Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Veterans Day Ceremony at 2 p.m. on board the Red Oak Victory Ship at 1337 Canal Blvd., Richmond. Tea Dance and Dinner follows the ceremony for $25. For information and reservations call 222-9200. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Thanksgiving is for the Birds” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St., at Castro, Oakland. Cost is $50. To register, please call 531-2665.  

“Memories of Macdonald: Let’s Dance” Community dance swap from 3 to 5 p.m. at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts Winters Building, 339 11th St., corner of 11th and Macdonald, Richmond. 540-6809. www.ci.richmond.ca.us 

“Lifting the Fog: The Scientific Method Applied to the World Trade Center Disaster” from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Room 2050, Valley Life Sciences Bldg., UC Campus. www.liftingthefog.org 

Nourishing Your Aging Parents and Yourself with Edward Bauman at 10 a.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Bilingual Storytime Stories in English and Spanish for toddlers and preschoolers at 10:30 a.m. in the Edith Stone Room at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

“Healing the Mind” a workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dzalandhara Buddhist Center, 953 Arlington Ave. Cost is $25. 559-8183. 

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, NOV. 12 

Farm Stories and Songs Learn some new songs, then meet the animals, at 10 am. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Hike to Find the Monarch Butterfly in the eucalyptus groves, and learn about the incredible migration of these insects. Meet at 1:30 p.m. at Pt. Pinole. 525-2233. 

Open Garden at the Little Farm Join the gardener for composting, planting, watering and harvesting at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Rain cancels. 525-2233. 

“Orchid Identification & Culture” with orchid expert Jerry Parsons from 9 a.m. to noon at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $40-$50. Reservations required. 643-2755. 

“Women in Overdrive” with author Nora Isaacs at 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Handmade Holiday Cards on sale from 10 a.m. at 2 p.m. at Kensington Farmer’s Market, 303 Arlington Ave. Benefit Katrina victims at the Progress Elementary School in Lousiana. kensingtonfm@yahoo.com  

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712.  

Tibetan Buddhism with Donna Morton on “Relaxing Tension through Kum Nye” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. 

MONDAY, NOV. 13  

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people aged 60 and over meets at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Donation $3. 524-9122. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

ONGOING 

Holiday Food Drive Sponsor a Food Drive at your business, school, place of worship or community center. Help the Food Bank reach its goal of collecting 700,000 pounds of nutritious, non-perishable food for families in need during the holiday season. 635-3663, ext. 318. www.accfb.org  

CITY MEETINGS 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484.  

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 981-4950. 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5428.  

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.  

FRIDAY, NOV. 3 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Hedda Gabler” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Nov. 18 at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Tickets are $12. 525-1620.  

Albany High School Theater Ensemble “Pretend-O-Cide” Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd, Albany, through Nov. 11. Tickets are $5-$10. www.myspace.com/ahsuburoi 

Altarena Playhouse “Merrily We Roll Along” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St, Alameda, through Nov. 12. Cost is $15-$18. 523-1553.  

Aurora Theatre “Ice Glen” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Dec. 10. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

Azeem’s “Rude Boy” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, through Nov. 25. Tickets are $15-$22. 415-826-5750. www.themarsh.org 

Berkeley Rep “Passing Strange” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. through Dec. 3. Tickets are $45-$61. 645-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works “Andromache” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. through Nov. 19. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1382. 

Gate Theatre of Dublin “Waiting for Godot” Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $65. 642-9121. 

Masquers Playhouse “Company” by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through Dec. 16.. Tickets are $18. 232-4031.  

Shotgun Players “Love is a Dream House in Lorin” by Marcus Gardley, inspired by true stories of Berkeley’s historic Lorin District, Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Nov. 12. Sliding scale $15-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

TheatreFirst “Criminal Genius” Thurs.-Fri. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth St., at Broadway, Oakland, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $19-$25. 436-5085. www.theatrefirst.com 

UC Dept. of Theater “Suburban Motel” six plays by George Walker at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus, through Nov. 19. Tickets are $8-$14. For schedule see http://theater.berkeley.edu 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Guys & Dolls” Fri.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. Sun. at 3 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School, 1500 Derby St. Tickets are $6-$15. 595-5514. www.ymtc.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

Abstract Paintings by Sibylle Szaggers opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St., Oakland. Gallery hours are Wed.-Fri. noon to 7 p.m., and Sat. noon to 4 p.m. Exhibition runs to Nov. 30. 465-8928.  

“Terrorists, Aliens and Criminals” Graffiti Exhibit by Students from East Bay Schools, including Berkeley High School opens at 7 p.m. at Café Prism, 1918 Park Blvd., Oakland. Exhibit will remain on display until November 27. www.myspace. 

com/thebrownbuffaloproject 

“The Allure of Form” Works by Julie Alvarado, Scott Courtenay-Smith and Fernando Reyes. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Esteban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St. at Telegraph., Oakland. Runs to Nov. 27. estebansabar.com 

“The Best of Boontling’s 2 Years” opening reception at 7 p.m. at Boontling Gallery, 4224 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Exhibition runs to Dec. 17. www.boontlinggallery.com 

Therese Brown: Photographs & Tarra Lyons: Paintings Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 Grand Ave. at Broadway, Oakland. Gallery hours are Thurs.-Fri. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sat. 1 to 5 p.m. mercurytwenty@gmail.com 

“Recycled Runway” Artist reception for Sandy Drobny and Daphne Ruff at 6 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Chris Baty, author of “No Plot? No Problem!” kicks off National Novel Writing Month at 7 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Wes “Scoop” Nesker and Perry Garfinkel on “Buddha or Bust: In Search of Truth, Meaning, Happiness and the Man Who Found Them All” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Organists Ann Callaway and Richard Mix Recital of works by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven at 11:15 a.m. at Saint David of Wales Catholic Church, 5641 Esmond Ave. at Sonoma, Richmond. 

“Side by Side” Dance by Dandelion Dance Theatre, Nina Haft, Randee Paufve, Sonja Del Waide, Laura Renaud-Wilson and Dancers at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $12-$15. 925-798-1300.  

University of California Alumni Chorus will perform Mozart’s Mass in c minor at 8 p.m. in Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $6-$15. 642-3880. 

Skyflower Ensemble “Music from Germany: 1676-1720” at 8 p.m. at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda. Donation $10. 528-1685. 

Snake Trio “New Directions in Jazz and Venezuelan Music” at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $15 at the door. 845-1350.  

Nathan Clevenger Quintet at 8 p.m. at 1510 8th St., Oakland. Donation $5-$15. sfjazzmusic@yahoo.com 

Hecho in Calfias Festival Ni de aqui, ni de alla. An evening of poetry, music and theater by and about immigrant communities at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Woman Sing the Dharma, Western musical setting of Buddhist teachings with Betsy Rose, Jennifer Berezan and Eve Decker at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. Suggested donation $18. 525-7082.  

The Moscow Circus at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“...and Words by Barry Warren,” a vocal jazz concert showcasing Barry’s lyrics to music by great jazz composers with Barry Warren and the Larry Dunlap Trio at 8 p.m. at Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. Tickets are $15. 843-2459. 

Eric Swinderman Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Shotwell 25 at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Orixa and Mucho Axe, Dia de los Muertos Festival, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Tickets are $10-$12. 525-5054.  

John Reischman & the Jaybirds at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Zoe & Dave Ellis’ “Zadell” at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Shelly Doty, Green & Root, Carrie Katz at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Plum Crazy, 7th Direction at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Mad Youth, Sueco at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Flip the Switch, Issue 10, Dan Potthast at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Dia de los Muertos with Santero and guests at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

Sadao Watanabe with the Peter Erskine Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $25. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, NOV. 4 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Jerry Kennedy in a interactive sing along at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Contrasting Worlds” Three different perspectives on reality. Opening reception at 6:30 p.m. at The Stone Art Gallery, 600 50th Ave., Oakland. 536-5600. 

“Autumn: The Undertaker” featuring collected works from 5 local artists. Opening reception at 7:30 p.m. at Spasso Coffee House, 6021 College Ave. 428-1818. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Robert Greenfeld talks about “Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Katherine Min reads from her new novel “Secondhand World” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books of Berkeley, 2066 University Ave. 548-2350. www.ewbb.com 

Bay Area Poets Coalition Open Reading, at 3 p.m at Strawberry Creek Lodge, dining hall, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street, not in Lodge parking lot. Free. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Side by Side” Dance by Dandelion Dance Theatre, Nina Haft, Randee Paufve, Sonja Del Waide, Laura Renaud-Wilson and Dancers at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $12-$15. 925-798-1300.  

The Moscow Circus at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988.  

Trinity Chamber Concerts Howard Wiley’s Angola Project exploring the roots and legacies of African American prison spirituals, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

The Jason Moran Trio and the Vijay Iyer Quartet at 8 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $32. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Four Seasons Concerts with Rene Heredia, flamenco guitarist at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $35-$40.  

Carol Alban, flute, the Fluteville Flute Choir, and vocalist Alvenson Moore at 7 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Benefit concert for In Defense of Animals. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale donation. www.myspace.com/carolalban 

Works in the Works Dance performance by Cherie Hill, Jeanne Disney, Linda Blair Dance Company and others at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2424 Eighth St. Tickets are $10 at the door. 527-5115. 

Hecho in Calfias Festival “We Got Issues” theater collective at 2 p.m. and “Mujeres de la frontera” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Rene Heredia, Flamenco guitarist at 7:30 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $35-$40. 601-7919. 

Stephanie Bruce & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Caribbean Allstars and Callaloo at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Sotaque Baiano, brazilian, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159. 

Stuart Rosh and Charlie Marvin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Rachel Garlin, original folk, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Michelle Amador Duo at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Times 4 at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Pat Nevins & Ragged Glory in a tribute to Neil young at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Blind Duck, traditional Irish music with Steven Donaldson & group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Ellen Seeling’s “Deuce” at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Rafael Manriquez at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $12. 558-0881. 

Resistant Culture, A.D.T., Eskapo, Flatbush at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, NOV. 5 

THEATER 

Hecho in Calfias Festival “Migritude” Shaija Patel’s one-woman show at 5 and 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle Guided tour at 12:15 p.m. in Gallery 2, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

Eyewitness II Photography Exhibition and Auction Benefiting the Graduate School of Journalism, Center for Photography Preview at 11 am., Reception at 2 p.m., Auction at 3 p.m. at North Gate Hall, corner of Hearst and Euclid. Cost is $25. http://journalism.berkeley.edu/events/photoauction 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with Will Alexander at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library, in the Doe Library, UC Campus. http://lunchpoems.berkeley.edu 

Gray Brechin and Richard Walker on “The Road to Serendip: A Scholar’s Discoveries in Urban Imperialism” at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum Theater, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

“California as Muse: The Art of Arthur & Lucia Mathews” A walk through the exhibition with curator Harvey L. Jones at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Seminar on Jade with Don Kay and Leore Mason at 2 p.m. at Christensen Heller gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

Naomi Seidman talks about “Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation” at 6 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Angela Kraft-Cross, organist, at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, Sanctuary, 2619 Broadway. Suggested donation $10. 444-3555. 

Volti “Baltic Traditions Now” at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $8-$20 415-771-3352. www.voltisf.org 

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and dancers from The SF Ballet School Trainee Program at 2 p.m. at Berkeley High School’s Little Theater, 1980 Allston Way. 415-248-1640. www.sfchamberorchestra.org  

“Blessed Rhythms” honoring Jacqui Hairston, with music by the KTO Project, Khalil Shaheed’s Oaktown Jazz Workshop, and the Voices of Praise at 5 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St., at 27th, Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15, $5 for children under 12. 444-8511, ext. 15. www.artsfirstoakland.org 

Works in the Works Dance performance by Cameron Kelly, Rachel Leshaw, Liliana Sandoval and others at 7:30 p.m. at Eighth Street Studio, 2424 Eighth St. Tickets are $10 at the door. 527-5115. 

The Duo-Tones, surf music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

“Twang Cafe” with Three Mile Grade and Wee at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. All ages welcome. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Mariinsky Academy: Viktoria Yastrebova and Alexei Markov with pianist Larissa Gergieva at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

The Moscow Circus at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Jazzschool Advanced Jazz Workshop performs at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Piano Trio Summit at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $18. 845-5373.  

California Friends of Lousiana French Music with Mes Bon Amis at at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Jason Armstrong & Joe Kenny at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MONDAY, NOV. 6 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Actors Reaading Writers “A Literary Feast” works by M.F.K. Fisher, Alice B. Toklas and Monique Truong at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Free.  

Duncan McNaughton & Micah Ballard read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Leonard Pitt reads from “A Small Moment of Great Illumination: In Search of Valentine Greatrakes, the Master Healer” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Last Word Poetry Series presents FrancEyE and Robert Lipton at 7 p.m. at Pegasus Bookstore, 2349 Shattuck Ave.  

Poetry Express featuring contributors to the East Bay lesbian anthology “What We Want From You” at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Freight Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Khalil Shaheed, all ages jam, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Scott Ammendola & Wil Blades Duo at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

Wildlife Sculpture by Bob O’Neill opens at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park, and runs to Dec. 24. 525-2233. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Charles Mann describes “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Del Sol String Quartet “Premieres Without Borders” featuring premieres by Reza Vali (Iran), Marc Blitzstein (USA), Jack Brody (New Zealand), and Eric Lindsay (USA) at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Post-concert discussion with the musicians and composers facilitated by Charles Amirkhanian, Executive Director of Other Minds. Tickets are $7-$20 at the door. 415- 831-5672. delsolquartet.com 

Sauce Piquante at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Catie Curtis, contemporary folk originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Election Night Dance Party at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“At Thadeus Lake” by Sherri Martin, winner of the 2006 Kala Board Prize at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. Exhibition runs to Nov. 25. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

“The Black Panthers” Photographs by Stephen Shames and posters from the archives of Alden Kimbrough on display at the Oakland Asian Resource Gallery, 310 8th St., Oakland., through Nov. 30. 532-9692. 

FILM 

“Animated Enemies” Selected and introduced by film historian James Forsher at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“We Are the Earth” with David Suzuki at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$12 at independendt bookstores. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org 

Michael Wex will talk about “Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All its Moods” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

David Henkin discusses “The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth Century America” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Poetry Flash with Elizabeth Arnold and Graham Foust at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. 

Jean Ellison, storytelling, at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Takahashi & Imbrie, and an 85th birthday celebration of Andrew Imbrie, at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Musica Antiqua Koln, with Marijana Mijanovic, contralto, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana at Durant. Tickets are $48. 642-9988. 

The Atmos Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Akosua, Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Red Archibald and the Internationals at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Orquestra America at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

J Soul at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Beep, jazz jam at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Free. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Catie Curtis, contemporary folk originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Cedar Walton Trio with guests Steve Turre and Vincent Herring, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $20-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 9 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Whitework Embroidery” at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. Runs through Feb. 5. Hours are Mon.-Sat. noon to 6 p.m. Free. lacismuseum.org 

Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle Guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. in Gallery 2, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

THEATER 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Guys & Dolls” Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School, 1500 Derby St. Tickets are $6-$15. 595-5514. www.ymtc.org 

FILM 

“New Work by Gunvor Nelson” with filmmaker Gunvor Nelson at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove reading of “Voices of a People’s History of the United States” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley High Campus. Benefit for the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Tickets are $25. 1-800-838-3006. 

Culinary Authors Read in a Benefit for the Center for Independent Living, with Bruce Aidells, Fran Gage and Peggy Knickerbocker at 6 p.m. at Ginn House, Preservation Park, 660 13th St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Tickets are $50-$60. 841-4776, ext. 153. 

Anna Moschovakis and Elizabeth Treadwell, poets, read from their latest work, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Maragret Schaefer reads from her new translation of Arthur Schnitzler’s “Bachelors” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Bocalicious Spoken Word Swap Meet at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Past, Post, and ... Now!” Mills College Repertory Dance Concert at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. at Lisser Hall, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

Jamie Laval with Ashley Broder, Celtic violin and mandolin, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Pete Yellin Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Rachel Sage, Joni Davis, DAnielle French at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

The Ramana Vieira Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Push to Talk, The Attachments at 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. www.uptownnightclub.com 

Jazz Mine at 6:30 p.m. at King Tsin Chinese Restaurant, 1699 Solano Ave. 525-9890.

50 YEARS OF GREAT ARTHOUSE CINEMA 

Pacific Film Archive kicks off a six-week retrospective of Janus Films, the premier U.S. distributor of foreign and classic arthouse cinema. Friday’s showings include Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows and Jules and Jim. 2575 Bancroft Way. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu.  

THE ALLURE OF FORM  

Artists Julie Alvarado, Scott Courtenay-Smith and Fernando Reyes reveal the sensuality of the physical landscape and the human form. Their works are on display at the Esteban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St., Oakland, through Nov. 27. Opening reception Fri. Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. Gallery hours are Mon., Thurs., Fri., and Sat. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sun. noon to 6 p.m. www.estebansabar.com 

AFRICAN AMERICAN PRISON SPIRITUALS 

Howard Wiley’s Angola Project explores the roots and legacies of African American prison spirituals, as part of the Trinity Chamber Concert Series at 8 p.m. on Sat. Nov. 4, at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

ROOTS MUSIC COMES ALIVE AT TWANG CAFE 

Three Mile Grade, a Bay Area roots band with a repertoire spanning three centuries of music from the 1800s to their own ruminations on contemporary life, will bring their down-home music to the Twang Cafe at 7:30 p.m., Sunday. The Twang Cafe is a monthly Americana music series held the first Sunday of each month at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. www.twangcafe.com.

Oakland director Stanley Nelson will attend screenings tonight (Friday) at Shattuck Cinemas for his new film, Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple.  

It’s the harrowing tale of the Rev. Jim Jones, an Indiana outcast drawn to the preacher’s life, who founded a temple, moved it to the Bay Area, and then when trouble came in the form of public scrutiny and allegations of financial corruption and physical and sexual abuse, flew his flock to Guyana where he built Jonestown, a supposed utopia where he and his followers could live free of “persecution.”  

It’s a story that, to Northern Californians, may seem at once both familiar and mysterious, a story we may have lived through but one that has been clouded by myths, misconceptions and gallows humor over the ensuing decades. Nelson’s film brings much unseen footage and documentation to the tale, including footage of Jones in the pulpit, audio and film from inside the Jonestown camp in Guyana, and even footage from the fateful day when Jones ordered the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan.  

Rep. Jackie Speier, aid to Ryan at the time, took a bullet that day and tells her story in one of the film’s many compelling and deeply emotional interviews. The footage from the assault was photographed by a cameraman who lost his life during the episode, essentially recording his own death. 

Other victims and followers of Jones tell their tales, candidly, passionately, tearfully and even at times with humor. It is a tribute to Nelson and co-producer Noland Walker that these people, after all they have gone through, are so comfortable before the camera.  

“For many, this was their best chance to talk to someone who would listen,” Nelson told the Daily Planet. Jim Jones, Jr. is one of the participants. He discusses the mixed feelings he still harbors for his infamous father. “This is the man who took him out of an orphanage,” Nelson says, “who taught him to shoot a basketball, who taught him how to read.” Yet he was also the manipulative megalomaniac who led 900 people to their deaths, a fate his son only survived by chance, having absented himself to play in a basketball tournament that day. 

It’s a gruesome tale and a difficult one to relive. It is Elmer Gantry come to life, only more violent and pathological, the sunglasses-clad rock star/preacher taking advantage of the vulnerability of people in need, of starry-eyed optimists looking for a home, for community, for friendship and love. “People’s Temple grew and became successful by promising many things and delivering on those promises: an integrated community, care for the elderly and social activism,” says Nelson. 

“If you want to see me as your father, I’ll be your father,” Jones told his flock. “If you want me to be your god, I’ll be your god.” He would be their Charon as well, whether they asked for it or not, shepherding them across international borders to a commune that would serve as their prison and as their graveyard.  

Nelson uses no narration to lead us through his film. Instead he allows his subjects to tell the story in their own words. And he provides never-before-heard audio of People’s Temple, final days, recently declassified by the CIA, in which a woman challenges Jones’ order to drink the poisoned Kool-Aid. Jones can be heard pleading with his followers. “Don’t be like this,” he says and assures them they are just “crossing over.” 

Nelson will attend one of the Friday evening screenings and will take questions and will be joined for the following screening by Jim Jones Jr. 

JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLE’S TEMPLE 

Directed by Stanley Nelson. Produced by Nelson and Noland Walker. Script by Walker and Marcia Smith. Photographed by Michael Chin. 85 minutes. Not rated. Playing at Shattuck Cinemas.

Quentin Tarantino once reminisced about the strange compliment that old master of maverick filmmaking, Sam Fuller, gave his heist film, Reservoir Dogs at an early screening. “So, you made that film about morons? That’s good; it’s been awhile since anyone’s made a film about morons.” 

That seemingly off-the-wall review could be applied to George Walker’s play, Criminal Genius, staged by TheatreFIRST at the Old Oakland Theatre. Walker’s savvy (and hilarious) take on a dysfunctional crime family—well, really a loopy menage operating out of a crummy motel—provides a rare glimpse into the very theatrical, imaginative yet worldly work of this accomplished Canadian playwright, who never fails to discover social dimension in the most solipsistic character’s comic soliloquies.  

Ironically, too, as TheatreFIRST artistic director Clive Chafer pointed out, it comes on the heels of a month-long run of Walker’s short plays on the UC campus. “Walker must be wondering about this sudden burst of interest in the East Bay!” he said. 

Non-violent father-and-son crime team Rolly (Soren Oliver) and Stevie (Mick Mize), holed up in the cheap motor lodge (glaring painting of an eagle aloft under the volcano hangs above the bedstead), find it hard to confront Phillie (John Sousa), the alcoholic motel clerk, who wants the 40 bucks they don’t have for another day’s stay, much less their hectoring boss Shirley (Amy Crumpacker), who wants to know why they haven’t torched the building she hired them to burn ... or even to communicate with each other without squabbling over everything. 

They are truly proud, however, of their trophy, proof of genuine malfeasance: a hostage, Amanda (Erin Carter), who turns out not only to be the daughter of the client who hired Shirley (who, of course, hired them), but her father’s antagonist—a driven, oddly charismatic figure who quickly reorganizes this little gang of losers, while recruiting sheets-to-the-wind Phillie to the cause, to follow her on a quixotic, ninja-like assault on daddy’s crime empire. 

The plot of this caper-gone-sideways veers all over the boards, concentrated within the four flimsy walls of the drive-in flophouse, constantly interrupted by all kinds of verbal (and physical) slapstick that keeps the characters convulsed—as well as the audience. 

Erin Gilley’s direction and the trouperish ensemble keep the jerky, idiosyncratic rhythms of Walker’s tale slouching onward towards its absurd Armageddon, each member of this little Wild Bunch putting in more than their two cents’ worth, over and over. Some of the syncopations and nuances aren’t quite there, yet; Walker’s Canadian comic idiom, wrangling over the most minute of discrepancies (think Doonesbury), hasn’t totally translated into Stateside-ese, but the lemming-like forward motion of the hellbent gang gains its dynamic as it goes, and it certainly does go. 

Valiant thespians TheatreFIRST have spent the past five weeks converting a former architectural office, removing cubicles and carpet, to a very serviceable performing space. It’s a pleasing addition to the nightlife of Oakland’s vigorous Old Town, across Broadway from Chinatown—an urbane East Bay treat. 

CRIMINAL GENIUS 

Presented by TheatreFirst at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and at 3 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 19. Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth St., Oakland. $19-$25. 436-5085. www.theatrefirst.com. 

The Del Sol String Quartet will present ‘Premieres Without Borders,’ pieces by the late Marc Blitzstein (famous for The Cradle Will Rock), New Zealander Jack Body, Persian-American Reza Vali and West Coast native Eric Lindsay, at 8 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 7 at the Ashby Stage. 

Composers Body, Vali and Lindsay will be in attendance, and a post-concert discussion will be lead by former KPFA programmer and founder of Other Minds festival Charles Amirkhanian. Admission is $20 ($15 seniors, $7 students); information: (415) 831-5672; delsolquartet.com 

Amirkhanian, commenting on the different pieces and composers, was particularly excited by Blitzstein’s 1930 “Italian String Quartet,” a virtually unknown, unpublished and professionally unplayed piece he discovered in the collection of manuscripts held by the composer’s estate. Blitzstein’s centennial was celebrated by Other Minds at last year’s festival. “He was the most politically active of the composers, like Bernstein, who were close to Copeland; he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, who wrote on this manuscript, ‘Brilliant for strings!’” Amirkhanian said. “Blitzstein was called ‘The American Kurt Weill;’ his translation and arrangement of Three Penny Opera played on Broadway. And this piece, in four movements, is rich with humor and irony.” 

Jack Body, who teaches at the University of Wellington, was featured at Other Minds two years ago. “He’s always searching for unusual instrumentation,” Amirkhanian commented, “and travels a great deal in his musical studies. But he’s not just inspired by ethnic music, whether Indonesian or from New Guinea. He’s also looking for something extra. There’s always a quirky filip in whatever he does; true personality. He takes chances, always refining.” 

Body’s piece, “Epicycle,” was originally composed in 1989 for Kronos Quartet, but now features a new final movement, from 2004, that changes the whole work’s quality. Body called “Epicycle”: “A cycle within a cycle, a circular melody that generates slower melodies from within itself. The first section is a kind of auditory kaleidoscope.” The second section is inspired by traditional Korean music “to explore different styles of vibrato.” 

Reza Vali, born in Iran, now teaching at Carnegie Mellon, is represented by his “Nayshaboorak (Calligraphy # 6),” written for Del Sol, “based in a system far removed from European Equal Temerament,” according to Amirkhanian. It’s based on the Dastgah system, Nava mode, of ancient Persian music, polyphonically constructed. 

Eric Lindsay, from Puget Sound, now based in Los Angeles, is known for his vocal music, but wrote “Hopkin and the Wired Night” for Del Sol, after seeing the handwritten posters of a little boy trying to find his lost frog, which also provoked an internet phenomenon. 

“His music is lush, evocative, with unusual lines,” Amirkhanian said, “Completely inventive.” The composer remarked that the piece shows “rapid exchange and mutilation of musical ideas.” 

Del Sol Quartet was founded in 1992 and will be featured at the next Other Minds festival in San Francisco this December.  

The First Annual Buriel Clay Playwrights’ Festival will play all next week, Monday through Saturday evenings, Nov. 6-11 (Mon. at 7:30 p.m., Tues.-Sat. at 8 p.m.), at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. (at Webster) in San Francisco, featuring the work of local playwrights, as well as participants from Sacramento, Los Angeles and New York. 

Artistic director Robert Henry Johnson of RHJ Productions announced the line-up of plays and commented on them. His own Tiger in a Watermelon Field, “an ode to the 90s jazz scene ... with Hip-Hop all around, it’s ten love stories about young people interested in jazz,” opens the festival on Monday. Tuesday, eight one-act plays, on themes from “mundane trivialities ... to the imagined realities of post-apocalypsic society,” by Greg Beuthin, Mario Louis Gonzales, Nicole Henares, Helene Jarra, Julian Phillips and Shereel Washington will be featured.  

Etosha Moss’ When Moons Burst Like New Plums, explorations of “sexism and the black female body politic” in poetry recited by four black women, plays Wednesday; Anthony D’Juan’s The Purveyors on Thursday “is a tragedy in blackface, as a slave woman comes between the two partners of The Christy Minstrels.” Shakespeare’s Lost Masterpiece by Larry Americ Allen debuts Friday, as “a burnt-out white professor discovers a black homeless man unknowingly possesses a manuscript of The Bard’s.” 

Concluding the festival on Sat, actor Ben Guillory (The Color Purple) will direct Johnson’s Black Apple Murders, “a Thanksgiving psycho-thriller murder mystery set in New England in an old town of the first Pilgrims”  

The plays will be presented as “staged readings by professional actors rehearsed by professional directors,” in the theater named after Buriel Clay, San Francisco author and founder of the SF Black Writers Workshop, remembered for his insistence that arts should be funded in the neighborhoods, “which resulted in the creation of what’s now the African American Art and Culture Complex—and had repercussions all around the country.” 

The first two nights are free; Wed-Sat, a suggested $10 donation per show. Information and reservations: (415) 568-5371. 

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, West Berkeley was the location of many manufacturing plants that produced diverse products from vegetable oil to ink, and from huge hydraulic pumps to tanned hides. 

Cal Ink originated in 1891, in Los Angeles, as a subsidiary of Union Oil Company, and was sold to an E.L. Hueter of San Francisco in 1896. Sometime between 1900 and 1903, the company moved its manufacturing plant to West Berkeley, into buildings that had been part of the Raymond Tannery. In 1999 Cal Ink, now Flint Ink of Michigan, was the oldest factory in Berkeley operating at its original location. 

On the blocks bounded by Camelia, Gilman, Fourth, and Fifth streets, there were about twenty buildings dating from 1906 to 1978. The sprawling factory included manufacturing buildings, laboratories, storage tanks, and offices. 

Over the years, Cal Ink made almost every type of ink product, from a white ink for marking bees to perfumed ink used in advertising. The products developed and manufactured at this plant included: moisture-proof and heat-resistant inks, inks that resist scratching and oxidation, inks used for newspapers, magazines, boxes, bags, labels, and linoleum, plastic, steel, aluminum, airplane parts, and fabric. It is one of the largest suppliers of ink to the graphic arts industry. From time to time it produced many of the raw materials for ink, such as pigment colors and varnishes. An international company, it uses materials from all over the world including: drying oils from South America, shellac from India, pigments from Europe, and carbon and mineral oil from the United States. It then exports its various inks around the world. During World War I, Cal Ink developed and produced the first “Litho Red” ink made in the United States. 

After 1919, the company changed ownership several times, merging with or buying other companies, and occasionally creating subsidiaries. Today the company is a division of the Flint Ink Company of Detroit. Although ink was still being made at this location in 1999, portions of the complex have been sold and some buildings demolished. 

This article was originally published Sept. 29, 2001 in the Berkeley Daily Planet. 

California Ink Co. Industrial Site 

1326–1404 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 

The California Ink Co. Industrial Site was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on 17 Nov. 17,1986. 

Photograph by Daniella Thompson  

The California Ink Co. Industrial Site, 1326–1404 Fourth St., was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on Nov. 17, 1986. 

I was working with a couple of young volunteers from UC’s redoubtable Habitat for Humanity group last weekend when one of them exclaimed, “Yuck! I found a worm.” 

Said worm was firmly ensconced in its burrow in the hard dry clay and I couldn’t pick it up to move it, so I advised the volunteer to weed on down the row and let the critter go on about its work. 

I’m not the daintiest woman in Berkeley, but I can remember feeling that way about worms. That was a very long time ago, longer than my co-weeder has been alive. I think I slugged Joey Williams when he presumed to chase me with a worm. I wasn’t really invincible in kindergarten—I quit playing Kill ‘Em, a sort of all-on-one neighborhood football, when somebody tore my favorite shirt in an illegal maneuver—but I had some years when I felt more akin to the poor worms.  

Some of us got our empathy with earthworms when our parents read Lowly Worm to us; some of us, like my lab partner, were still squeamish when we had to dissect earthworms in high school. 

I really hated the sound and feel of the scalpel when it cut the worm’s skin, though it was the formaldehyde that made me gag. Poor worm indeed. 

Gardeners learn to get along with worms even if we don’t find then cuddly. Like spiders and such predators, they’re on our side and we’d better appreciate their work. It’s reassuring to find them in the soil and the compost bin.  

In fact, as I mentioned last week, you can get specialized worm-composting bins for small spaces. When you run them right, they don’t stink even a little—I’ve seen one folk-art painted worm composter that doubled as its owners’ coffee table, and back when I was doing hard time at the Ecology Center there was a desktop composter – originally a card file—that was used as a demonstrator and squeal-inducer. 

Charles Darwin’s last book was about earthworms, which he studied and reported on with his typical exhaustive, careful attention. It would be fair to say he exalted the humble:  

The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of mans inventions; but long before he existed the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be thus ploughed by earth-worms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures. 

“Lowly” here is the antonym of “highly,” not any status designation.  

Recently, a close relative of the Willamette earthworm (thought extinct) was discovered in the Palouse Valley. I’m thrilled. I now have hope of meeting this creature, which can reach three feet in length and smells of lilies. 

There’s one in Australia, the Gippsland earthworm, that reached ten feet, and I’m sure would make a nice quiet pet. Maybe someday I’ll go back to Pennsylvania and chase Joey Williams with one.  

There’s an old saying ... “Da Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.” No, denial is alive and well right here in the Bay Area.  

We are told that about 85 percent of people in the bay area are unprepared for a major quake (I think that’s conservative), and that over 150,000 homes will be uninhabitable when the Hayward fault ruptures. 

At least the people in New Orleans knew Katrina was coming and most had a chance to get out. The big difference is that we don’t know when the Big One is coming, but we do know that it’s inevitable. We will have no notice.  

What’s wrong with us? Don’t we care about our own safety, our children’s safety, the safety of our elderly and disabled?  

Is your home adequately retrofitted? Furniture and appliances secured? Emergency kit ready? Automatic gas shut-off valve installed?  

No? What are you thinking? Do it now! 

Larry Guillot is owner of QuakePrepare, an earthquake consulting, securing, and kit supply service. Call him at 558-3299, or visit www.quakeprepare.com.

The construction world is in love with novelty. Every year, trade shows display the latest inventions and materials with promises of low cost, easy installation and life-long service. Of course, these things never turn out to be as true as presented and the buyer must always beware.  

I’m an old fashioned guy and I tend to like the time-tested and proven-by-abuse. I figure that if something can go wrong it will (Call me Murphy). That might make me a cynical crank (probably true) but it also makes me a great shopper. That’s another thing. I hate to do anything twice or to spend money on something that turns out to be a boondoggle. And so, with all of this in mind, let us turn, dear reader, to the latest in a seemingly endless series of new materials that may be causing unforeseen problems. 

This one is actually quite old and valuable in many ways but not without some serious concerns. It’s what I call Poisonwood and the industry calls Pressure-treated wood. Your house may contain some and if it does there are a few things that are good to know. If you’re building a house now or in the future, it’s a really good issue to explore since it’s being used widely in construction today and presents some special issues. 

Pressure-treated woods are used in places where fungal decay or insect consumption is at its highest. These places include ground contact or contact with damp concrete such as where the bottom of your house meets the foundation. This “mudsill,” which bolts to the foundation is now often made of pressure-treated wood.  

Many decks are built using this material as well, although I generally see it being used for the understructure and not the visible top components. In some parts of the country, foundations are actually made from this material alone (instead of a concrete footing) and other structures that may experience dampness can also be built or repaired using this innovative material. Actually, pressure treatment of woods isn’t all that new. Processes still used today go all the way back to the 1830’s and many other processes were developed around the turn of the last century.  

Materials used include copper (most methods involve copper in some form), ammonia, chromium and arsenic. Arsenic-containing compounds are used less today as a result of voluntary changes in the industry based on EPA studies that found elevated levels of arsenic in soils near construction (ergo my rather nasty term-poisonwood).  

There have also been concerns about workers sawing or handling these woods. CCA (chromated copper arsenate) isn’t used widely any longer as a result of the studies I just mentioned but can still be found in shingles, shakes, wooden foundations and some commercial construction.  

The most common form of PT (pressure-treated) wood seen today in the west is CA or Copper Azole. Although this seems somewhat healthier, there’s a fascinating thing happening with woods treated in this way …. they eat metal for lunch. This seems to have something to do with the copper/steel reaction that we also see with plumbing systems but the specific chemistry is beyond me.  

What I do know is that the lumber industry is aware, the hardware industry is concerned and a lot of contractors are not tuned in. I don’t blame the contractors. They’re busy cleaning up so that you’ll give them that progress payment on the kitchen remodel. It’s hard to stay current on all the issues. Also, the cities don’t seem too focused on the issue but then again, when inspectors have to see 20 houses in a day, how can they pay attention to new errata such as this. 

Here’s a little useful information on the issue and what you might want to do. First, take a look at your house with special attention to mud-sills, decking and other pieces of wood that are exposed to moisture. You’re looking for PT lumber and we’re going to look at the hardware connections. PT lumber tends to be greenish from the coppery treatments and can vary from light to dark. Some types of PT are bluish but you’re not likely to see those ones.  

Most PT has roller marks from a process called incising (like those front teeth of yours) in which the surface of the wood is punctured in longish slits that allow the chemical preservative to penetrate more deeply into the wood and help it to last longer. Most of what we’re protecting against in this process is fungus and there’s nothing dry about the rot that is eventually going to eat your stair stringer.  

When you find some of this wood, take a look at the hardware that holds it in place or keeps other things attached to it. Mudsills may be bolted down to a foundation and it’s worth looking at the bolts, washers (or square “bearing plates”) and nuts to see if they have a lot of visible corrosion. I’ve seen some relatively new construction in which the rust had grown prolifically in a short period and wondered if these connections were going to be providing much strength if an earthquake struck ten years from now. 

A bolt may have a great deal of excess thickness but a non-galvanized bearing plate may have long since become too thin and weak to do its job. My biggest concern with PT wood is for decks or balconies that are high enough to represent a falling hazard. I’d want to be sure that the hardware used for my 25’ high deck was really corrosion resistant and wouldn’t weaken over time. 

As I said, the industry is aware and has specific recommendations for hardware connections that involve use of PT wood. Hardware companies like the, ever astute, Simpson™ have gone further to provide analysis of the various levels of corrosiveness initiated by differing PT woods (there are at least 5 current methods of pressure treatment in use). They’ve also given us some special hardware to be used, such as their Z-max double galvanized hardware and stainless steel for the deeply worried. I’m just concerned enough so that I don’t want to see any conventional hardware or nailing being used connection pressure treated woods. I’ve seen the corrosion and I’m convinced that this is an issue that’s just beginning to present itself. Part of the reason for this is the change in formulations being used and part because PT wood is seeing much wider use than in the past. 

If your carpenter is using this wood, get them to wear a mask when they’re sawing and ask if they’re aware of the need for special hardware. These actions alone will be a good start but I’d like to take one more step and it’s a big step …. backward. 

Before PT woods were commonly being used, most settings that presented the same fungal propensities were addressed through the use of naturally pest resistant woods like Coastal Redwood. Although many of us have concerns about excessive cutting of Redwood, it is a fast growing tree that can be well forested and provide sustainable use (if the birthrate isn’t too out of control). It’s also non-toxic and very effective against both fungal damage and many insects (due to its tart, tannic taste). A good dense piece of Redwood heartwood can be quite effective and not lead to any discernable metal corrosion as the years roll by. 

If you want to spend big bucks on other fungally resistant woods, there is also the Western Red Cedar, Merbau, Huon Pine (used for building ships) and Ironbark, but you’ll only end up draining your bank account. So, If you’re building, talk to your contractor about these issues. I don’t think that pressure-treated woods are a bad choice any more than I think that an angiogram is a bad medical procedure. It’s just a matter of knowing what you’re getting and how best to proceed to get the good stuff and avoid the bad. 

Got a question about home repairs and inspections? Send them to Matt Cantor at mgcantor@pacbell.net.

FRIDAY, NOV. 3 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

Zen and the Art of Mushroom Hunting at 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Ave. Field trip on Sun. Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society. Cost for lecture and trip is $30-$40. To register call 843-2222.  

Climate Change Fair featuring screenings of “An Inconvenient Truth” at 7 and 9:15 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. 415-559-9500.  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Mary Breunig on “News from the Castle.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“Resisting Militarism” with speakers Carlos Mauricio, torture survivor, and Elizabeth Stinson, draft resistance organizer at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison. Benefit for School of the Americas Watch. Suggested donation $15. 504-7522. 

Screening of “Iraq for Sale” A Robert Greenwald documentary at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Community Media, Studio A, 2239 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Free. 848-2288. 

Movies that Matter “Bowling for Columbine” at 6:30 p.m. at Neumayer Residence, 565 Bellevue St. at Perkins, Oakland. 451-3009.  

“Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., between Broadway and Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center Basement, 747 52nd St., Oakland. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. 

SATURDAY, NOV. 4 

Animals on the Move A short walk for the entire family to learn the locomotion and migration patterns of Park residents at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

“Bay-Friendly Gardening to Manage Pests Naturally” A workshop to learn about least-toxic methods for managing common garden pests, such as snails, slugs, aphids and yellow jackets, from 9 a.m. to noon at El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser, El Cerrito. 665-3546.  

“Natives Across the Americas” with performances by Medicine Warriors Dance Troupe, All Nations Singers and others, information and exhibits from noon to 5 p.m. in the West Auditorium, of the Oakland Public Library, at 125 14th St. 482-7844. www.oaklandlibrary.org 

“Solar Thermal and Electricity for Educators” A workshop on the global energy situation, the range of solar education projects, and how to address state curriculum standards with these projects. For teachers of grades 4-12. From 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Rising Sun Energy Center , 2033 Center St. 665-1501 ext.13. www.risingsunenergy.org 

Sick Plant Clinic Dr. Robert Raabe, UC plant pathologist, and Dr. Nick Mills, UC entomologist will diagnose plant illnesses and recommend remedies. Bring a piece of the plant in a securely sealed container. From 9 a.m. to noon at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. 643-2755. 

“Partnership Not Dominance” Workshop by international mediator and peace researcher Johan GALTUNG with Barbara Becnel from 1:30 to 6 p.m. at Neighborhood House of North Richmond 820 23rd St., Richmond. SUggested donation $10-$50. No one turned away for lack of funds. 232-4493. www.transcend.org  

Native American Heritage Month Celebration of culture featuring performances, Native American vendors and Indian tacos from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 103 Kroeber Hall , UC Campus. 643-7649.  

Doggy Tune Up A three session workshop to learn coming when called, walking without pulling, no jumping on people, and stay, Sat. from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Grace North Church, 2128 Cedar St. Registration required. 849-9323. www.companyofdogs.com 

Parent Voices’ a grassroots, parent led and parent run organization that advocates for more affordable and quality child care for working families. meets at 10 a.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Register by calling 658-7353. www.bananasinc.org 

“Mad Sheep: The True Story Behind the USDA’s War on a Family Farm” book signing with author Linda Faillace at 11 a.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at MLK Jr. Way. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org  

Bilingual Storytime Stories in English and Spanish for toddlers and preschoolers at 10:30 a.m. in the Edith Stone Room at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Writing Your Ethical Will A workshop to learn how to evaluate your life, harvest your wisdom and share your beliefs, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Donation $35. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Produce Stand at Spiral Gardens Food Security Project from 1 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon St. 

Healing Power of Gratitude Workshop at 10 a.m. at Creating Harmony Institute, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 115C, Albany. Cost is $5. Registration required. 526-1559. 

Chi Kung, Guided Imagery from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. at John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley Campus, 2956 San Pablo Ave., 2nd Floor. 649-0499. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Yoga for Peace at 9:30 a.m. at Ohlone Park, MLK at Hearst. Bring a yoga mat, warm blanket, and peace sign.  

Spiritwalking: Aqua Chi(TM) at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley High Warm Pool. Also Wed. at 3:30 p.m. Cost is $5.50, $3.50 seniors & disabled. Bring your own towels. 526-0312. 

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, NOV. 5 

Purr-casso Art Sale and Gala Cat themed art sale featuring decorative, wearable, and functional art pieces celebrating our feline friends, from noon to 5 p.m. at Hollis Street Project, Grand Hallway, 5900 Hollis St, Emeryville. Benefit for the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society. 845-7735 ext. 13. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Turtle Time Meet the turtles of the Tilden Nature Area, learn the difference between native and non-native and much more at 11a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Hike to Sindicich Hike under diverse oak woodlands to the Sindicich Lagoon to look for dragonflies, newts and nymphs. Bring lunch for this four-mile hike. Meet at the Bear Creek Staging Area of Briones at 11 am. 525-2233. 

Open Garden at the Little Farm Join the gardener for composting, planting, watering and harvesting at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Rain cancels. 525-2233. 

African/African Diaspora Film Society presents “Aristide and the Endless Revolution” at 2 p.m. at Parkway Speakeasy Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $5. www.parkway-speakeasy.com 

Afghan Friends Network presentation on the history of Afghanistan, a discussion about women’s rights, and information about the programs of the Afghan Friends Network with Elsie De Laere and Humaira Ghilzai at 2 p.m. at the Albany Library. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Autumn in Asia Garden Tour at 10 a.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $8-$12. Registration required. 643-2755, ext. 03. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Yiddish Films: The Dybbuk at 3 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

“Stealing America: Vote by Vote” Documentary screening at 7 p.m. in Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St. Free.  

IRV Peace Meet-up and Rally at 1:30 p.m. at Splashpad Park, LakeShore and Grand Ave., Oakland. 644-1303. 

Harmony Center Open House from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oakland Veteran’s Hall, 200 Grand Ave. at Harrison St. 451-3009 http://joyfulharmony.org  

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Kickabout at Codornices Park Soccer for all, skill and talent not required. For more information contact cambour@hotmail.com  

Tibetan Buddhism with Erika Rosenberg on “Eastern Wisdom Meets Western Psychology” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, NOV. 6 

“Acting Locally Against Global Warming” with Tom Kelly of Kyoto USA on local efforts to lessen global climate change, at 7 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin. 848-9358. 

“Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine & Lebanon” Panel discussion with returning volunteers of the International Solidarity Movement at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Suggested donation $5-$10, no one turned away.  

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter meets at 6 p.m. at the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. The speakers will be Ms. Sara Mostafavi and Ms. Christine Stouffer, both immigration lawyers practicing in Berkeley, on the particular immigration problems women face. 287-8948. 

“Beyond Conception: Men Having Babies” documentary about a gay male couple, an egg donor, and a lesbian surrogate building a modern family, at 6:30 p.m. at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 658-7353.  

East Bay Atheists will show the conclusion of Richard Dawkins’ video “Root of All Evil” at 1:30 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., 3rd Flr. 222-7580. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers from noon to 1 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people aged 60 and over meets at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Donation $3. 524-9122. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 

Remember to Vote Today 

“Let’s Go Vote” Voting activities for children from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Torture Teach-in and Vigil every Tues. at 12:30 p.m. at the fountain on UC Campus, Bancroft at College. 

“Legacy: Portraits of 50 Bay Area Environmental Elders” with author John Hart and photographer Nancy Kittle at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Sacred Sites in Changing Landscapes: Shamans and Commercial Shrines in the Republic of Korea” with Dr. Laurel Kendall of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, at 7 p.m. in the Ges Chapel, 1735 LeRoy Ave. 649-2440. 

“Japan Remodeled: How Government and Industry Are Reforming Japanese Capitalism” with Steven K. Vogel, Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr. 642-2809. 

Discipline Strategies that Really Work with Young Children at 6 p.m. at Habitot Children’s Museum. Registration required. 647-1111, ext. 14. 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at UC Berkeley Tau Beta Pi, on Leroy, between Hearst and Ridge. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.  

Discussion Salon on Immigration at 7 p.m. at JCC, 1414 Walnut.  

Enhancing Immunity, from chicken soup to echinacea at 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm.524-9992. 

Handbuilding Ceramics Class from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, except for materials and firing charges. 525-5497. 

Albany Library Homework Center is open from 3 to 5 p.m., for students in third through fifth grades. Emphasis is placed on math and writing skills. 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8  

“How We Stopped The War” and “The Vietnam Experience” two films presented by Country Joe McDonald at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $5-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

“We Are the Earth” An evening with David Suzuki at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $12 advance, $15 door. 415-255-7296, ext. 244. www.kpfa.org 

“Bi-National State or Jewish State?” with Prof. Joseph Heller, at 7:30 p.m. at Morrison Library, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Magnes Museum. 549-6950. 

“Post 9/11: A Students’ Perspective” at 6 p.m. at FSM Café at Moffitt Library, UC Campus. 643-7742. 

“Transit of Mercury” as it crosses in front of the face of the sun from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $7-$13. 336-7300. www.chabotspace.org 

“All About Osteoporosis and Why We Fall” at 10 a.m., followed by additional workshops at Center for Older Adult Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104. To register please call 558-7800. 

Chosing Infant Care A workshop for parents from 10 a.m. to noon at Bananas, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register call 658-7353. 

Dream Workshop at 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. 548-9840. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

New to DVD “Adaptation” at 7 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

THURSDAY, NOV. 9 

“Voices of a People’s History of the United States” Narration, reading or singing by Alice Walker, Sandra Oh, Steve Earle, Aya de Leon, Leslie Silva, Marisa Tomei, John Trudell, Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, Melanie DeMore, Nora el Samahy at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley High campus, 1930 Allston Way. Tickets are $25-$150. Benefits Middle East Children's Alliance and Speak Out. 1-800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5473 

“Gathering and Publishing Your Neighborhood History” with authors William Wong (Oakland's Chinatown), Erika Mailman (Oakland Hills), and Annalee Allen (Selections from the Oakland Tribune Archives and co-author of Oakland Postcards) at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. Donation $8-$10. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org  

Center for Independent Living Fundraiser with reception and readings by culinary authors, Bruce Aidells, Fran Gage and Peggy Knickerbocker at 6 p.m. at Ginn House, Preservation Park, 660 13th St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Tickets are $50-$60. 841-4776, ext. 153. 

“Comparing the Buddhisms of East and Southeast Asia: A World Historical Perspective” with John McRae of The University of Tokyo at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr., 643-6536.  

WriterCoach Connection seeks volunteers to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. Training session from noon to 3 p.m. For information call 524-2319.  

Workshops for Seniors Effective Estate Planning at 10 a.m. at Center for Older Adult Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104. To register please call 558-7800. 

World of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755.  

ONGOING 

Albany-Berkeley Girls Softball League Free Clinics Oct. 29- Nov. 6 in Berkeley, for girls in grades 1-9. For details see www.abgsl.org or call 869-4277. 

Volunteer at Emerson Elementary School Come anytime Mon.-Thurs. from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. For details call 883-5247. 

Each One Teach One Mentoring Program of the Oakland Unified School District is curbing student absenteeism, decreasing suspensions and increasing student participation with the help of volunteer mentors like you. For more information call 495-4010, 495-4011.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Nov. 6, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484.  

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Nov. 8, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 981-4950. 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5428.  

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.