We live and move daily amidst the remains of a lost civilization that we do not see but that we cannot do without. Nor, I suspect, do those who have loathed Franklin Delano Roosevelt ever since he made good on his promise to deliver a New Deal to Americans 75 years ago want you to see them. To do so would shatter myths beloved of free market fundamentalists whose economic flimflam has—at least until they bring on the next bust—triumphed over what Roosevelt and myriads of Americans accomplished and left us.  

FDR himself would likely not have moved into the White House without the stock market crash of 1929 that ended Americans’ love affair with go-go capitalism unhindered by restrictions or safety nets. By the time of his inauguration on March 4, 1933, banks across the nation were going down like dominoes and millions found themselves starving, freezing, dispossessed, and on the move. The terrible hangover of the Roaring 20s called the Great Depression took Roosevelt to Washington with such a solid Democratic majority in Congress that he was able to pass bill after bill regulating business to safeguard citizens and more equitably distribute its benefits.  

High on FDR’s to-do list was the creation of “alphabet soup” agencies meant to give back to the impoverished their self-respect by giving them to socially beneficial jobs. In doing so, those workers vastly expanded the concept of the public; a book of the time illustrating New Deal buildings boasted, “this vast building program presents us with a great vision, that of man building primarily for love of and to fulfill the needs of his fellowmen.” It sounds corny until you see what they did.  

When I began an effort nearly three years ago to reveal what New Deal workers left behind them when they laid down their picks, paintbrushes, trowels and batons to pick up rifles and riveting guns, I had no idea how much I would find. The deeper I dug, however, the more I encountered—a civilization whose motto is best summarized by an inscription over the door of the WPA-built City Hall in Cucamonga: THE NOBLEST MOTIVE IS THE PUBLIC GOOD. The Living New Deal Project became a group of volunteers—with now a small staff—working to inventory, map, and photograph an unseen matrix of public works ranging from the humble to the dazzling and essential. Within less than ten years of economic hardship, men, women and youth crafted innumerable artifacts that a seemingly far richer nation is allowing to fall into ruin  

With practiced eyes, you begin to see those remains everywhere in the East Bay. You use them pretty much every time you turn on a tap, flush your toilet, drive a car, or use an airport. Laborers with the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and its successor, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), graded and paved roads in West Berkeley and boulevards in Oakland, They poured many miles of sidewalks that sometimes bear the WPA stamp. They vastly expanded the East Bay Municipal Utilities District by trenching and laying steel mains that fortunately, according to a WPA report, “are practically indestructible.”  

They built power stations for Alameda’s publicly owned utility, improved the Port of Oakland, and largely created the Oakland and San Francisco Airports. And, more problematically, they converted local creeks into straightened and buried storm drains now beleaguering homeowners and cities alike. We all make mistakes.  

Roosevelt’s proudest creation was a peacetime army of destitute young men known as the Civilian Conservation Corps. Though the CCC “boys” usually worked from Army-like camps in the boonies to plant forests, fight fires and tree diseases, and build roads and lodges, they worked in the East Bay restoring watershed lands and launching the first units of the East Bay Regional Parks District. Look for the characteristically meticulous rockwork in Tilden Park and Lake Temescal whose landscapes are largely the result of the New Deal. Of the Tilden public golf course, the EBRPD director thanked the WPA supervisor “for the efficient construction of what is said to be one of the finest 18 hole golf courses in America.” He added that “It was built by you at one half the cost of an adjoining private course, despite the fact they did not have the difficult construction problems to surmount.”  

If San Francisco’s example is anything to go by, WPA workers created or improved virtually every older park in the East Bay. Their labor is usually invisible in now matured landscapes, picnic grounds, and the baseball diamonds and tennis courts we take for granted, but in places such as Berkeley’s Cragmont and Codornices Parks, Richmond’s Alvarado Park, or in Oakland’s Montclair Park and Joaquin Miller Parks, you can see WPA masonry. Few who enjoy Berkeley’s Aquatic Park or Yacht Harbor probably realize that they are heirlooms left by hundreds of men working with picks, mules and scrapers. Nor do many who enjoy outdoor performances at Berkeley’s John Hinckle Amphitheatre or Oakland’s Woodminster realize the debt they owe to workers who, to judge by what they left, were most certainly not resting on their shovels as Roosevelt’s enemies charged.  

The New Deal had a special concern for public education in all its aspects, for without such a commitment, Roosevelt believed, democracy itself would fail. The CWA and WPA put tens of thousands of teachers back to work, hired school librarians and nutritionists, and set up clinics to improve the health of children. Those agencies and the grant-giving Public Works Administration (PWA) left dozens of well-built and well-designed schools throughout the East Bay; many (such as Berkeley High) were embellished by artists employed by various federal art agencies.  

Visiting California in 1939, Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes said “I wonder if the people of California have not come to take the Federal Government too much for granted. One breath-taking public work has followed another in such rapid succession that it would not be surprising if, at times, you should overlook what has already been accomplished.” If they overlooked it then, we have forgotten it since.  

The New Deal agencies guttered out in the turmoil of war without leaving comprehensive records of their achievements. The Living New Deal Project (www.lndp.org) is a growing collaborative effort now housed at Berkeley’s Institute for Research in Labor and Employment. It is databasing and mapping the invisible matrix of public works left us by a bold, ingenious, and compassionate administration that, as one CCC vet told me, “cared for the little guy.” We hope that the work we are doing here will lead to a national inventory to honor the forgotten contributions of those upon whose shoulders we unwittingly stand.  

A sculptural frieze by John Boardman Howard on the Berkeley Community Theater depicts people of all races brought together by the arts. When I walk through the Berkeley or Oakland Rose Gardens, or look at the rock walls left us by the calloused hands of anonymous workers more than seven decades ago, I marvel at our government’s equal commitment to beauty as well as survival in a time of desperation. We once did peace well.  

If you have information on local New Deal projects, please contact Harvey Smith: harveysmithberkeley@yahoo.com, or 510-649-7395. We are interested in talking with WPA or CCC veterans, especially those who worked on the Berkeley Rose Garden.  

More questions are swirling around the cleanup efforts at two adjacent contaminated sites in Richmond this week. 

Issues range from the adequacy of testing of contaminants at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station (RFS) and the possibility of radioactive contamination both at the field station and at the adjacent site at Campus Bay, owned by AstraZeneca, a Swiss agro-chemical giant.  

State officials last week issued emergency cleanup orders to the university and AstraZeneca, demanding the cleanup of thousands of truckloads of contaminated soil illegally transported from the RFS and buried at the chemical company’s adjacent site. 

The orders from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) concern more than 3,000 truckloads of contaminated earth moved during cleanup operations between 2002 and 2004. 

But other questions remain, and scientists and two environmental and geological consultants working for a DTSC Community Advisory (CAG) Group overseeing the cleanups this week urged a halt to cleanup activities at the chemical company’s site in light of possible radioactive contamination there. 

Questions about radioactive contaminants have also arisen about RFS, and a possible site there has been identified. 

Just as worrisome to CAG member Sherry Padgett is the latest report on conditions at the RFS, which show the presence of significant levels of toxics where cleanup work has already been completed. 

“This is dramatic because they had excavated all of the area and brought in clean fill,” she said. 

Presence of the toxic incursions was disclosed in a hefty draft Current Conditions Report (CCR) prepared by the university’s environmental consultants in response to a Sept. 15, 2006 order from the DTSC. 

A similar report was ordered from AstraZeneca. 

Padgett said the university’s report is flawed, in part because the document only covers 90 of the site’s 152 acres. 

“We were expecting something more significant,” Padgett said. “The bottom line is that it isn’t adequate.” 

But Karl Hans, senior environmental scientist with the university’s office of Environment, Health & Safety, said the site area was specified in the DTSC order that led to the report. 

In response, member of the CAG’s Toxic Committee sent a 27-page response to the DTSC on June 8, raising detailed questions about the report’s specifics, along with recommendations. 

The committee has yet to receive a response. The university representatives canceled two consecutive meetings with the committee—the first two days before a scheduled session last month and a second time this month. 

“We wanted to meet with them before we prepared our report,” said Padgett. “They called two days before and said they had a open house they had to attend.” 

Padgett said the date for the second session was chosen as a date when university officials said they could attend. After the committee issued its report, Greg Haet, a university’s environmental health and safety officer, sent an email announcement that the school wouldn’t attend the second session. 

In his email to the committee, Haet offered to explain, but Padgett didn’t call. “The message was so terse it seemed pointless, particularly when we’d scheduled the meeting for a time they said they could attend.” 

Hans said the staff members had other commitments at the times of both meetings. “University staff familiar with the project have provided information at past CAG meetings, including the Toxics Committee,” he wrote in an email response to questions. He added that “In general, however, the University believes it is appropriate to deal directly with DTSC on these issues.”  

Key issues 

One of the key points raised in the committee’s report was the lack of any information about the university’s property south of the Bay Trail, some 40 percent of the RFS total acreage. 

Of the remaining acreage, the university’s consultants confined their testing largely to areas previously known to have harbored concentrations of toxics. 

“They didn’t do tests on most of the site,” said Padgett. 

“The Current Conditions Report is meant to consolidate information from previous investigations and summarize the current status of soil and groundwater conditions at the RFS. It is not intended to be an investigation work plan,” Hans responded. 

“The University will complete a Field Sampling Work Plan sometime in later 2007 based on DTSC’s review of the CCR. In addition, based on the extensive investigations performed to date, the RFS site is well-characterized and additional wide-spread sampling, such as grid sampling, is most likely not necessary, ” he said. 

The committee also questioned the claim by consultants that a plant that had reprocessed oils, including the unauthorized treatment of PCBs from electrical transformers, had contributed to the toxic load at the field station. 

The CAG committee asked the mention to be removed, given that the Liquid Gold plant was located on the other side of the AstraZeneca property, which had been the site of a century of chemical manufacturing. 

The committee also asked that the university consultants explain why the previously cleaned areas of Western Stege Marsh were showing elevated concentrations of PCBs near the surface, along with surface findings of mercury, arsenic and copper. 

“Low concentrations of metals and PCBs have been found in the sediment being deposited onto clean soils placed in areas excavated during 2002-2004,” Hans said. “The marsh sediment deposition processes are under investigation as part of the ongoing marsh monitoring program. These investigations are intended to help determine the source, or sources, of potential contaminants in the sediments.” 

The committee also asked for more testing for toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the soil and water through the RFS site and for greater study of the plume of toxics coming onto the field station from the AstraZeneca site 

Padgett said she was particularly concerned that the study didn’t include subsurface testing of soil and water near the border of the Campus Bay site near the intersection of 46th and Meade streets, where high levels of VOCs had been found on the Campus Bay side. 

“Soil and groundwater samples have been collected for chemical analyses in the northeastern portion of the RFS,” Hans responded. “Zeneca, as part of the investigation of their property required by DTSC, is performing additional characterization of chemicals in shallow and intermediate groundwater zones along the property boundary between the RFS and the former Zeneca site.” 

Padgett said she would also like to see an evaluation of the entire site for the presence of the highly toxic compound methyl mercury. Mercury was used at the RFS site by its previous occupant, California Cap Co., which manufactured blasting caps, ammunition and other explosive using fulminate of mercury, a compound made from the metal. 

Methyl mercury is a compound produced by the action of bacteria on mercury beneath the ground and in water. It is highly toxic, and has been linked to lowered intelligence in children, immune system disorders, heart attacks and death. 

Presence of the compound in San Francisco Bay has led to the posting of shoreline notices warning against regular consumption of fish caught in its waters. 

“The University expects DTSC’s official comments on the Current Conditions Report in the next month,” Hans wrote, “and will reply at that time to their specific comments and concerns.” 

Radioactive questions 

The committee is also concerned with issues of possible radioactive wastes at both the RFS and at the adjoining AstraZeneca site. 

Ethel Dotson, who spent her childhood in a segregated housing development near the sites, had long raised the issue of possible radioactive contamination. While her suspicions were initially disavowed by both the university and the chemical company, more information has surfaced that lends substances to her fears. 

Initial reports that a small test of melting uranium with an electron beam occurred at the chemical plant site have led to the discovery of more documentation indicating that more extensive testing may have taken place, including an account reporting that larger amounts of radioactive nuclear reactor fuel capsules may have been treated at the site. 

Another concern arises from the processing of so-called superphosphate fertilizers at the site, which are manufactured from ores that typically contain significant amounts of radioactive compounds. 

The concerns were raised in a letter sent Tuesday to the DTSC, AstraZeneca, Cherokee Simeon Ventures and others by Dorinda Shipman, a consultant with an Francisco-based Treadwell & Rollo, Inc., and Adrienne LaPierre, a scientist with Iris Environmental. 

The consultants were hired with funds provided by Cherokee Simeon, a company formed to develop the Campus Bay site, which it purchased from AstraZeneca. 

The consultants urged a halt to any further efforts to clean up the site pending a thorough examination of the site to determine the possible “human health and environmental risks.” 

“Proceeding with (cleanup efforts) before the completion of the site characterization process (in this case a thorough understanding of the radiological issues) could jeopardize the selection of a health protective remedy,” they wrote. 

Surface tests at the Campus Bay site conducted two years ago didn’t find measurable traces of radioactivity of the surface, though elevated radioactivity measurements have been detected in groundwater. 

Radiation concerns at the RFS arise chiefly from the reports of retired RFS worker and current CAG member Rick Alcaraz that he and other university staff members dumped barrels of rocks at the site hauled from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory which they believed to be radioactive. 

An exploratory dig at one site failed to find any trace of the barrels, but Alcaraz said they were dumped at another site, where magnetometer tests have shown the presence of metal beneath the surface.

BP—the multinational once known as British Petroleum—will be able to move into its new digs in Berkeley in three years, according to plans given to would-be builders. 

The projected date is July 22, 2010. 

Construction of the Helios Energy Research Facility (HERF) on a prime piece of hillside at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) could start as early as next January, according to the documents from a June 28 presentation by project director Joe Harkins. 

The building will house researchers—both academic and corporate—working at the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), the $500 million research program funded by BP under the administration of UC Berkeley. Researchers will comes form the university, the lab, and BP. 

Researchers from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, will also be conducting crop testing and other research.  

The facility will also house two other programs, an inorganic physical sciences program working on alternative energy and a lab for producing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) not included under the EBI’s extensive program of GMO research. 

While earlier specifications for the lab building had placed the height of the building at four stories, the plans by SmithGroup, a national architectural firm which has offices in San Francisco, show a central core that rises to eight floors, including a rooftop with a greenhouse and a large space for mechanical equipment. 

Wings on either side of the core rise to six floors on the northern end and five on the south, tiering off to the three levels and then one at the southernmost end. The unusual floor arrangement is attributable partly to the sloping nature of the site. 

The sprawling structure is located in the southeasternmost complex of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the so-called Nano Campus, and sited directly across Lee Road from the Molecular Foundry, LBNL’s state-of-the-art nanotechnology research facility and another Harkins-supervised project. 

Harkins, who is also charged with the demolition of the lab’s Bevatron building, was also project director for the foundry building, another SmithGroup design. 

Part of one floor in the HERF’s southern wing is reserved for nanotechnology offices. 

In addition to extensive offices and laboratories—including a suite of so-called “synthetic biology” labs for genetically modifying crops and microbes to produce fuels with the aim of making the United State independent of foreign fuel sources—the structure also contains a cafe and an auditorium. 

Both nanotechnology and the genetic modification of organisms for human ends have sparked controversy and protests, largely driven by fears of the unintended consequences that often accompany new technologies. 

Berkeley is quickly becoming a major center of GMO research for producing what have been described by supporters as biofuels and by critics as agrofuels. 

The 160,000-square-foot building is budgeted at $160 million—up $35 million from previous estimates. 

The $1,000-a-square-foot cost stems in part from the high costs mandated by the need to keep vibration to a minimum and to shield expensive electronic equipment and experiments from electromagnetic interference. 

Included in the plans are two laser labs, an ultra-fast optical lab, “synthetic biology” labs, biophysics and catalysis labs and other unspecified labs, as well as conference rooms scattered throughout the building. 

Of the lab and office space, about 14,100 square feet would be reserved exclusively for corporate-only research by scientists from the British oil giant. 

Among the selling points presented at the June 28 meeting was the lab’s status as a “high profile project,” which had drawn media attention and “support by Swarzenegger [sic],” referring to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s strong support of the BP grant. 

While university and lab officials have hailed the program agenda of providing the country with a source of transportation fuels that didn’t rely on foreign sources, critics like Tadeusz Patzek, a UC Berkeley professor of civil and environmental engineering as well as a former oil company scientist, charge that biofuel crops produced at the lab won’t be confined to the U.S. borders. 

Patzek sent project critics a Tuesday mail linking to an Associated Press story about a raid by Brazilian authorities on an ethanol plantation in the Amazon, where the liberated 1,108 slave laborers who were being forced to work 13-hour days harvesting sugar cane for refining into the fuel. 

The raid resulted from the efforts of the Catholic Church’s Land Pastoral group and its leader, Father James Thorlby, who spoke by a delayed telephone recording to an April 26 campus teach-in opposing the EBI project. 

Critics have charged that fuel crops will displace Third World farmers, cause further devastation of threatened rain forests and lead to further increases in food prices as crops are grown for fuel rather than food. 

China moved last month to ban the use of corn for ethanol after rising prices for the grain—a basic food of livestock—led to rapid increases in the price of pork, a staple of the Chinese diet. 

Timeline 

Accompanying the June 28 presentation was a timeline that began with the March 13 funding approval by the UC Board of Regents. 

The document also revealed that conceptual plans were begun on Jan. 2, a month before the BP’s announcement that Berkeley had been picked from among five university’s chosen as possible recipients. 

The proposal calls for selecting a contractor by Aug. 24, well before the projected approval of the project’s Environmental Impact Report next Jan. 17. 

If all goes as planned, site work would begin the next day, with the first foundation work starting Sept. 19. The projected date that scientists could enter and start work would be July 22, 2010. 

The full set of documents is available online at www.cp.berkeley.edu/RFQ.html under the heading “Helios Building.”

The president of the School Board for the Oakland Unified School District said late this week that State Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will come to Oakland next Monday to announce his decision to immediately turn over the area of “Community Relations And Governance” from state control to control by the school board.  

Four other areas of school district operations—personnel, management, pupil achievement, financial management, facilities management—will remain in O’Connell’s hands, and the district will continue to be operated by O’Connell’s state administrator, as it has been since OUSD was taken over by the state four years ago after the district announced it was in danger of failing to meet its payroll.  

“The transition back to local control has started,” board president David Kakishiba said in a telephone interview on Thursday afternoon. “I think this is a good thing for Oakland. The ball is starting to roll.” 

What exact duties that will mean for the school board have not yet been fully determined. The Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), which the state has charged with monitoring and assisting the district during the takeover period, includes several areas affected by “Community Relations And Governance,” including the setting of district policy. Potentially, that could have some effect on all district operations, including finances. 

Under the 2003 state takeover law, the board was rendered completely powerless, functioning as an unpaid “advisory body” that the state administrator did not have to listen to. Kakishiba said that “one thing the turnover will do is force the board to begin to think differently about our responsibilities. I believe that the board will not defer so much to the state on issues affecting the district, and it will cause us to be more proactive on those issues. On the flip-side, it will cause the staff to have to operate differently as well. For the last four years, they have operated with no public accountability. That will now change.” 

In practical terms, the school board president said that the state-appointed administrator will now be required to report to the board, something, he said, the administrator did not have to do while the board was completely powerless. 

Kakishiba said that he was not surprised by O’Connell’s announcement. “Actually, I expected it to happen last month,” he said. “We have been working on this for some time.” Kakishiba said that he and OUSD State Administrator Kimberly Statham have been working on a Memorandum of Understanding between the Superintendent’s office and the school to spell out the specific duties that will be taken over by the board. 

O’Connell will make the announcement at a special school board meeting called for 8 a.m. Monday morning at the OUSD Administrative headquarters, 1025 Second Avenue in Oakland. 

The state superintendent’s official announcement of the turnover will come just two days before the State Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hold hearings and vote on Assemblymember Sandré Swanson’s AB45 bill that, if passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, would result in the return of control over Community Relations and Governance to the local board, and would establish firm guidelines for return to local control of the other four areas of operation. AB45 has already passed the state assembly. 

The hearing on AB45 will be heard on Wednesday, 8 a.m., in the John Burton Hearing Room, Room 4203 in the state capitol building in Sacramento. 

O’Connell’s office could not be reached for comment, but Swanson’s public information officer, Amber Maltbie, said that O’Connell has invited Swanson, State Senator Don Perata, and State Assemblymember Loni Hancock to be present with him at the Monday announcement. 

“Assemblymember Swanson is happy that things are moving forward,” Maltbie said on Thursday by telephone. “He believes it shows that AB45 is still needed. If anything, this shows that the progress on the bill has spurred the superintendent to action.” 

At meetings held in Oakland over the past two years, many Oakland educators and activists have expressed the belief that return of “Community Relations And Governance” responsibilities to the local school board was long overdue. 

SB39, the 2003 Senator Don Perata-sponsored legislation which authorized the state takeover included several steps for return to local control of the district, including language that restoration would come after the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), the state-authorized agency charged with overseeing the recovery of troubled school districts, “determines that for at least the immediately previous six months the school district made substantial and sustained progress in implementation of the plans in the major functional area.” 

FCMAT determined in both its 2005 and 2006 OUSD progress reports that the district had made substantial progress in “Community Relations And Governance,” concluding in its 2006 report that “this area of school district operations is appropriate for the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District.” 

But up until this month, O’Connell ignored those findings and refused to cede control, and Assemblymember Swanson reported earlier this year that the state superintendent had refused to give him a firm timetable on the return of “Community Relations And Governance” or any other aspect of district activity to local control. Swanson said he wrote AB45 in part so that return to local control would not be arbitrary, but would be based upon “defined guidelines.” 

Perata has signed on as a floor manager of AB45 in the Senate. O’Connell has come out in opposition to the bill. 

Alameda County’s first detox center is scheduled to open in November in San Leandro, although Berkeley and UC Berkeley officials had pushed for a center closer to home. 

The announcement of the new facility was part of an update by the county’s Behavioral Health Care Service to the People’s Park Advisory Board meeting Monday. 

The center, located on the grounds of the Alameda County Medical Center’s Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro, involves renovating the existing buildings at the Fairmont campus to meet the program needs. Services will include a sobering station, a detoxification program, and 24-hour-a-day transport vans. 

Berkeley Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who worked with the Telegraph Area Association and Telegraph Avenue business owners, residents and homeless advocates to prepare a report detailing Berkeley’s needs for a detox program, said he was glad to see the county center would soon be open despite its distance from Berkeley. 

“The idea was to get a detox facility in the Telegraph area,” he said. “We discovered it was possible to have a bigger budget if we did it in cooperation with the county. We wanted to get a site near Telegraph Avenue but we couldn’t come up with anything. Oakland didn’t work out either. By that time the project had become a countywide effort, and so we ended up in San Leandro.” 

Irene Hegarty, UC Berkeley community relations director, said the location was not convenient. “We have a lot of cases at People’s Park who are dependent on substances,” she said. “People had hoped that it would be something in Berkeley.” 

The People’s Park Advisory Board has also urged the university to look at providing more homeless services for the last few years. 

“Maybe the university’s academic resources could also be used in some way,” Hegarty said. 

Worthington said the important thing was not where the center was located but that it’s a joint venture which will help all the cities in Alameda County. 

“I still have a goal of having a detox in Berkeley,” he said. “I don’t see the one in San Leandro as a substitute for that, but it’s definitely a step towards the right direction. Having one in San Leandro is better than not having one in Alameda County at all. There’s a significant number of homeless people in Berkeley who need or want a detox center immediately.” 

Mental Health Commissioner Michael Diehl, who works with the homeless in People’s Park, said that it would be good if the detox center in San Leandro put emphasis on helping drug addicts. 

“Right now the focus is more on alcohol,” he said. “I want to see more stuff happening with respect to hard drugs.”’ 

Measure A was passed by Alameda County voters in March 2003, authorizing additional funding for community health care services and continued financial support for the Alameda County Medical Center. About $2 million was allocated from Measure A funds for the current project in 2004. 

The 2000 Tobacco Master Settlement Hearings and the implementation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Prop. 36) paved the way for new detoxification services. The county carried out a detoxification study in 2003 to determine the types of detoxification programs that could be added.  

According to the study, most people wanted the location to be in Oakland and not in the northern part of the county. The general consensus was that “anyone who needs help with detoxification should be able to get that help and that access should be easy as possible.” 

Access priorities included walk ins, local police and BHCS case managers bringing in individuals and those referred to by the John George Pavilion staff. Alcohol, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and poly-substanceswere ranked by counselors as the most prevalent addictive substance in the county and the ones that caused the most severe withdrawal symptoms. 

Participants ranked medical support, shelter, and social support as the top three “most needed” services. 

The sobering center will be a resource for many among Telegraph’s homeless population since it aims to serve low-income and indigent residents from Alameda County who suffer from alcohol and substance abuse. Fifty people would be able to stay for up to six hours in what has been described in the BHCS recommendation as a “very sparse environment consisting of plain cement floors with sleeping mats.” Clients will be encourage to enter intervention programs which will help rid them of chemical dependency. 

The Social Model Detoxification program, located close by, will be an all-hour 50-bed facility. It includes a comprehensive intervention program including process groups, accommodations for non-English speakers, 12-step or similar support groups and post-detox planning, placement and referral. 

Residents of the Halcyon/Bateman neighborhood are breathing a bit easier since police arrested Marvin M. Johnson last week and charged him with a string of robberies targeting women walking alone during daylight hours in the neighborhood. 

Police arrested Johnson, 21, on June 29 as he walked to his car outside his home on the 1100 block of 8th Street in West Oakland.  

“The police department recognizes that the community has been challenged with a significant number of robberies in recent months,” said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, Berkeley Police Department (BPD) Public Information Officer. “We want to assure everyone that we will be working rigorously to make these arrests.” 

Police say that the robberies that Johnson confessed to took place at 2512 Parker St. on June 8 at 10:48 a.m., the corner of Woolsey and Bateman streets on June 11 at 2 p.m., and at Woolsey and Benvenue on June 23 at 10:56 a.m. 

According to police, Johnson said he had performed all of the robberies alone, except the one on June 23. Police arrested 21-year-old Ronald Chastang shortly after the crime was committed, while his partner, now believed to be Johnson, evaded arrest.  

According to police, Johnson typically targeted women, usually between 30 and 60, who were walking alone in the morning or early evening. 

“He would approach them from behind, put a gun to their heads and take their purses,” said Oakland Sgt. Drennon Lindsey. “He would sometimes threaten to kill them if they resisted.” 

Johnson has been identified as a suspect in 25 cases in Oakland and five in Alameda. The Alameda County District Attorney has charged Johnson with nine counts of robbery. If convicted, he faces up to 27 years in prison. 

Over the past six months there have been 74 robberies in the Halcyon/Bateman neighborhood, according to Berkeley police. It is unclear how many of those cases have been closed. 

The Halcyon/Bateman neighborhood is bordered by College Avenue to the east, Shattuck Avenue to the west, Ashby Avenue to the north and the Oakland border to the south. Bateman is east of Telegraph Avenue and Halcyon is west of Telegraph. 

The Halcyon Neighborhood Association has met regularly over the last few months to address crime in the area. At the most recent meeting on June 21, Stephen Burcham, Berkeley Police Department coordinator for the area, offered several recommendations, including keeping cars locked and windows up, not leaving valuables in the open, getting to know your neighbors, and calling the police department for extra police surveillance while you’re on vacation. 

Kusmiss reported that the police are beefing up patrols in South Berkeley. 

“The police chief has allocated an additional two officers for the South Berkeley area,” she said. “The significant thing is that these officers will not be responding to calls, but rather will be looking out for wanted individuals and otherwise suspicious people.” 

Meanwhile, Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who represents the district, is trying to allocate money from the city’s budget to go towards response and violence prevention. 

“The budget adopted did not specify any money specifically for violence prevention and response,” said Worthington. “We are bringing this item back to the council. In the meantime, we should be actively supporting and encouraging Neighborhood Watch throughout the city. We can see what Richmond, San Francisco and Oakland are doing and build on that.” 

According to Worthington, Oakland has set up an escort program, where the city hires young people to escort citizens to their cars. 

“We could have escorts at BART and at bus stops,” added Worthington. 

Kusmiss stressed that while the BPD will be taking additional measures to combat crime, citizens should take some additional precautions themselves. 

“Awareness is key,” said Kusmiss. “We don’t want people to walk around in fear, but we want them to be aware of what’s going on. We want people to help one another.”

Spurred by calls from anxious South Berkeley residents, Police Chief Douglas Hambleton sent a letter to neighborhood associations promising additional patrols in the area. 

“In the past several weeks, there have been several shootings and robberies that have a lot of people justifiably nervous,” wrote the chief. 

“I think everybody’s been getting calls—councilmembers, the mayor and our office,” said Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, a member of the staff of City Manager Phil Kamlarz. 

“We take shootings in Berkeley very seriously, and any string like this causes us to evaluate our short- and long-term responses,” wrote the chief. 

“Since so much urban violence is drug-related, our Special Enforcement Unit detectives and the Drug Task Force officers spend most of their time in South Berkeley,” Hambleton wrote. 

In addition to their regular crime-fighting efforts, the chief wrote, “in response to these shootings and other incidents, BPD will be adding additional patrols in the area.” 

Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, BPD’s public information officer, said the extra staffing stems in part from a string of shootings that began with two incidents on June 17, including one in the 1500 block of Alcatraz Street during Juneteenth celebrations. 

In that incident, a 16-year-old was struck in the leg by shots fired shortly before 3 p.m.  

A second shooting incident happened just after 6 p.m. near the intersection of Alcatraz and Sacramento streets. No victims were reported, nor any damage to property. Though the shooter had gone before police arrived, officers found shell casings at the scene. 

The next shooting happened on the 20th, when an unknown shooter fired into the Over 60 Health Clinic at 3260 Sacramento St. at 3:55 p.m. No one was injured in the attack. 

On June 27, a shooter located in the parking area at 1615 Russell St. fired a weapon, with shots traveling toward an occupied dwelling at 1620 Oregon St. The bullets shattered the windows on a black Nissan Maxima, and neighbors said several rounds hit the home. 

The following even at 8:30 p.m. a gunman fired a sustained volley at two men standing on the corner of Harper and Prince streets, striking both.  

A 27-year-old was struck by a grazing shot in his left biceps and declined treatment beyond first aid administered by a police officer at the scene. The second victim, a 20-year-old, was struck with a grazing wound to his inner left thigh and was treated and released at a local emergency room. 

“Approximately 15 to 20 rounds were fired, and at least nine rounds struck a home at 1829 Prince St.,” said Kusmiss. No one in the house was injured. 

While no suspects have been arrested in any of the shooting, Berkeley homicide detectives believe that at least the last two shootings were connected, said the officer. 

“We have not had a string of shootings like this for some time,” said Kusmiss. “We recognize the concerns of the neighbors, particularly since these shootings have been happening during daylight when there are people out and about.” 

On the brighter side, there were no incidents on the Fourth of July, beyond the usual reports of illegal fireworks and the larger-than-usual crowd which gathered for the city’s fireworks celebrations. 

“I talked to the officers and some of the photographers, who estimate that we had about one-and-a-half times the usual crowd,” Kusmiss said. “That may be because Oakland canceled their fireworks show this year.”

The Warm Water Pool Task Force will deliver a progress report and hold a public hearing on the the relocation of the Berkeley High School warm water pool to the Berkeley Unified School District Milvia tennis courts at the disability commission meeting Wednesday. 

The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

ELS Architects, the firm hired by the city, will present the commission with a proposed pool design that the task force has agreed upon. 

“Let’s just say the new pool is warm enough, big enough and deep enough for everyone and more applicable for disabled people,” said pool task force member Joann Cook. “At first we were wondering whether there will be one pool or two pools, but in the end we decided upon one pool which will have a number of features. We have tried to improve disability access and disability use as much as we could without raising the costs. We are being thrifty since we are trying to go for a new bond.” 

Funding for a new pool at the Milvia site is currently undetermined. Lisa Caronna, deputy city manager for Berkeley, told the Planet Thursday that the $3.25 million ballot measure approved by Berkeley residents in 2000 to reconstruct, renovate, repair and improve the existing warm water pool facilities, including the restrooms and locker space, could not be used. 

“As a result we have to put together a plan for construction of a new pool at the Milvia site which meets the need of the disabled community,” Caronna said. “But the city does not have money for a new pool at the moment. We would have to come up with a new bond initiative to fund it.” 

The existing warm water pool, housed in the Berkeley High Old Gym, is the only one of its kind in the East Bay. The School District proposed in its South of Bancroft Master Plan to demolish the old gymnasium that houses the warm water pool and build classrooms in its location. 

The planned new building at the Milvia site has a construction budget of approximately $8.25 million without a pool. 

Designed by renowned Bay Area architects William C. Hays and Walter H. Ratcliff Jr., the warm water pool and the gymnasium are both eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.  

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission failed to reach a consensus on landmarking the 85-year-old structure in May.  

Caronna said that Wednesday’s meeting would help solicit information from pool users about future pool requirements. 

“This will help the architects come up with a conceptual design,” she said. “It will help them come up with some real costs and real numbers and start looking at funding options.” 

A public workshop about future uses of the warm pool was organized by the disability commission and the warm water pool task force on May 9. 

Pool users spoke about pool temperature, variety of depths and community use. 

“People want a shallow as well as a deep end,” Caronna said. “The temperature should ideally be between 92 and 95 degrees. They also want the pool to be used by all kinds of people, not just seniors. Hopefully, Wednesday’s meeting will help us put all the pieces of the puzzle together.” 

Community members also want the Special Needs Aquatic Program, a therapeutic swim program, to continue. Longer pool hours, a cafe and a space for meditation are also included in the wish list. 

The hundreds of disabled seniors, adults and children who flock to the pool’s therapeutic waters within the Old Gym every day want to see the aquatic facility renovated and preserved. 

“That is still the common feeling,” Caronna said, “but they are also interested in the possibility of a new pool in case the school district does go ahead and demolish the building.” 

Robbery 

On Thursday at 12:05 a.m., a 21-year-old man was walking home from Long’s Drugs, southbound on Shattuck, when three young men started to follow him. He turned westbound on Durant as one of the suspects asked to use his cell phone. When the victim replied “no,” one of them punched him in the back of the head, hitting him to the ground. The man quickly got up and ran to his nearby home, where he called the police. The suspects have not been identified. 

Aggressive petitioner 

On Wednesday at 4 p.m., a Berkeley man phoned in to report that a petition-gatherer had shoved him. The victim was standing in line to buy a ticket at California Theater on Kittridge and Shattuck, when a petition-gatherer approached him to ask him to sign a petition. When the victim refused and suggested that the petition-gatherer shouldn’t disturb people waiting in line, he was shoved. 

Vandalism 

At 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday, an employee at Tandoor Restaurant called in to report that an unidentified man had thrown a bottle at their front window, resulting in a 7-inch crack. The damage was estimated at more than $500. There are no suspects in this case. 

Auto burglary 

At 8:47 a.m. on Wednesday, a victim called in to report that their 1993 Honda Civic had been broken into via lock pry. The suspect stole a battery charger, cell phone, and rollerblades. No suspects have been identified. 

Hit-and-run with injury 

At 9:39 a.m. on Tuesday, a young man was driving in his Pontiac with two other passengers westbound on Parker Street, while a light-colored sedan was driving southbound on McGee Street. The driver in the sedan did not stop at the stop sign, causing the other driver to make a quick swerve out of the way. Unfortunately, the driver swerved into a tree. The driver and at least one passenger required medical attention and were treated at the local hospital for moderate injuries and burns from airbags. 

Church vandals 

At 9:29 a.m. on Tuesday, Father Joseph of Saint Ambrose Church called the police to report that suspects had committed a felony by hurling rocks through their stainglass windows. He reported that the incident had happened between 9 p.m. on Monday and the time of his call. There are no suspects in this case. 

Home burglary 

A woman called in at 8:19 a.m. on Tuesday to report that somebody had broken into her house during the night, removing the screen from her bedroom window, and stolen a tape recorder from her desk. She did not hear or see the suspects. No suspects have been identified.

Controversy is mounting over a proposed use permit and an application to demolish a one-story commercial building in the historic Squires Block in North Berkeley which was submitted for review to the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). 

Neighbors say that 1505 Shattuck Ave. is a historic structure which shouldn’t be demolished, while its owners cite a former landmarks decision to refute its right to protection. 

A public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the North Berkeley Senior Center, when residents can comment on the demolition proposed to permit construction of a new 4,820-square-foot, two-story, mixed-use building at 1505 Shattuck. 

The building is one of three owned by upscale clothing store Earthly Goods owner Allen Connolly on the Squires Block. 

Other buildings at the site include a single-story commercial building at 2106-08 Vine St., a two-story commercial building at 2100 Vine St. (Earthly Goods) and a single-story storage building which would be demolished as part of the project. 

Since the buildings are over 40 years old, the application was forwarded to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in March 2005 to consider the historical significance of the buildings proposed for demolition. 

The commission designated all of the Squires Block as a city structure of merit, while indicating in particular that the buildings at 2100 and 2106-08 Vine St. were of historic interest, but not the one at 1505 Shattuck Ave. 

1505 Shattuck could be “altered or demolished without prejudice for a new contextual store/residential building,” the designation stated. 

The structure of merit designation said that the Squires Block had architectural value as a reconstruction (which was done in 1979-1980) of a “splendid example of a Queen Anne two-story Victorian store building in its original location.” 

Berkeley residents Harry and William Squires set up North Berkeley’s first drug store at 2100 Vine Street. It also served as the location of North Berkeley’s first branch Post Office for almost 60 years. 

At one point, the Berkeley Unified School District used the second floor for students, to relieve overcrowding while it sought funds for new schools. 

According to the landmark application, the original store at 2100 Vine was a single establishment which split into two separate stores by 1919, both opening into Vine Street.  

It was later turned into one large store and has been the site of Earthly Goods since 1979. 

The commission’s designation stated that the main building, with characteristics such as an enlarged 1902 footprint, restored towers and original mansard detail with scalloped shingles and second-story bay windows, was a “visual reminder” of the original architectural character of the neighborhood. 

2104-8 Vine St. is a contributing structure at the site which first appears on the 1950 Sanborn map. Toward its rear end is a low brick storage shed which appeared in 1929 and 1950 marked as “Dry Cleaning.” 

Located at the southeast corner of Shattuck and Vine, the single story flat-roofed building at 1505 Shattuck is believed to have been constructed as part of the 1979 work done at the Squires Block. 

Although building permits are missing from the city files, the landmark application states that “the construction at 1505 Shattuck is of 1970s style.” 

According to a posting on the Northside Neighbors Association listserve by Daniella Thompson, who publishes berkeleyheritage.com for the Berkeley Architectual Heritage Association and is a freelance writer on historic architecture for the Planet, the Sanborn fire insurance maps illustrate that 1505 Shattuck has existed as an address since 1911 and that it appears in the 1929 and 1950 editions of the maps. 

The 1929 and 1950 maps, Thompson said, show 1505 Shattuck as a “very small store adjacent to a larger store at 1503 Shattuck.” 

Thompson concludes that the “building’s facade has changed more than once,” leading the LPC to determine that the “building has lost its historic integrity.” 

Thompson said that portions of the building could be historic and, if so, should be preserved. “It would be a good idea to investigate it,” she said. 

Owner Connolly, in an e-mail to the community in June, denied that the building was historic and described it as being “a late 1950s concrete block structure with a redwood veneer applied to the front 27 years ago by him.” 

Other area residents remained skeptical about the demolition and want more information about the proposed development and accommodation for a possible increase in parking. 

Berkeley High School old gym 

The LPC will consider landmarking the Berkeley High School (BHS) gymnasium at 1920 Allston Way Thursday. The public hearing was closed at the May 3 meeting.  

Landmark commissioners failed to reach a consensus at the June 7 meeting, with a motion to declare the 85-year-old structure a landmark failing on a 4-3-1 vote. 

A minimum of 5 votes is required for granting landmark status.  

The gym is home to the warm water pool—a lifeline for the East Bay’s disabled community—which the school district plans to demolish according to its South of Bancroft master plan 

The BHS South of Bancroft project, which was approved in January, includes tearing down the old gym and building a combination of classrooms and exercise rooms. The stadium on the football field will be rebuilt and the parking lot inside the grounds will be torn down, with the resulting space used only for athletic purposes thereafter. 

UC Berkeley and a Swiss multinational must clean up thousands of truckloads of toxic-laden soil illegally buried at the Richmond site of a planned 1,330-unit housing complex, state officials ordered Friday. 

“What we had feared has been verified,” said Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley, Richmond). “It confirms my fears and the fears of the neighbors, which have been shown to be terribly correct.” 

Much of the contaminated earth and cinders buried at Campus Bay came from the adjacent, university-owned Richmond Field Station, according to a pair of certified letters sent to the university and AstraZeneca. 

The letter to UC Berkeley and the Swiss agro-pharmaceutical conglomerate from Charlene Williams, chief of the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (DTSC) Enforcement and Energy Response Program for Northern California, outlined the violations. 

She also ordered the university and AstraZeneca to begin to establish “within 15 days of receipt of the Summary of Violations” a schedule for removing and treating thousands of truckloads of contaminated soil from a site where 1,330 homes had been planned atop a small mesa of contaminated earth. 

Much of that soil had been transferred there from the university’s adjacent Richmond Field Station. 

The order confirms the suspicions of local activists like Ethel Dotson and Sherry Padgett, who had charged that another state agency had bungled its oversight of a massive cleanup at the sites between 2002 and 2004. 

That effort was overseen by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which has since ceded control to the DTSC. 

University officials had argued against the transfer of regulatory oversight, demanded by local activists in part because the water board has no staff toxicologists—scientists trained in evaluating hazardous substances and their treatment—while the DTSC is well-equipped with the experts. 

“The university and AstraZeneca both said things were fine. Now we know that was incorrect. They were not doing just fine,” said Hancock, who said that at least 3,000 truckloads had been illegally buried at the site. 

Padgett said the total could be even larger. 

Alleged violations cited by the DTSC for both the university and AstraZeneca include: 

• Treatment of hazardous waste without a permit; 

• Disposal of hazardous waste at an unauthorized point; 

• Shipment of hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility; 

• Storage of hazardous waste without a permit or authorization, and 

• Transfer of custody of hazardous waste to an unauthorized trucking firm. 

Two other allegations were lodged solely against AstraZeneca:  

• Failure to submit hazardous waste shipment manifests within 30 days and 

• Failure to properly characterize hazardous wastes 

Among the contaminants cited were organic compounds—PCBs and perchlorethylene (PCE)—as well as the hazardous metals mercury, cadmium, arsenic, zinc, copper and selenium. 

Penalty issue 

While no penalties are specified, the violation notices state that nothing in the letters would “preclude the DTSC from taking administrative, civil or criminal action as a result of the violations.” 

Padgett, an activist with Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development (BARRD), worked next to the sites during the massive cleanup locals dubbed “the big dig.” 

While praising DTSC for ordering the removal of the contaminated earth, Padgett asked, “Do they pay a penalty, or are they going to be allowed to negotiate their way out of it?” 

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin agreed. “What was upsetting was that there was no penalty issued for putting our people at risk,” she said. 

One of the early advocates of a handover of regulatory oversight from the water board to DTSC, McLaughlin did hail the letters as a positive step. 

“At least the DTSC is rising to the task of identifying what went wrong,” she said. “They need to be very clear in their instructions to both keep the community safe and make sure there are no more negative impacts” on the environment. 

“It’s an opening that allows the right kind of dialog to take place.” 

McLaughlin made the long history of contamination of both sites and a call for regulatory oversight a central issue in her election to the City Council in 2004. She was elected mayor last year. 

Padgett and McLaughlin are two members of the Community Advisory Group (CAG) established by DTSC to monitor the cleanup at the site, which is being supported in part by funding from Cherokee-SImeon negotiated by BARRD attorney Peter Weiner. 

The group continues to question the adequacy of information provided by the university, which recently declined a request to attend a meeting of the group’s toxics committee. 

CAG Chair Whitney Dotson, who grew up in Parchester Village, a segregated housing development near the site, said he hoped the DTSC would maintain a rigorous follow-through. 

“I am concerned because the university has been able to make things disappear if they’re done quickly enough,” he said. 

Contaminated past  

Both sites along the Richmond shoreline southeast of Marina Bay had been targeted for massive development, despite century-long legacies of chemical manufacturing using highly toxic substances. 

The easternmost Campus Bay site housed a chemical manufacturing complex from 1897 to 1997, which included among its products a variety of agricultural poisons and fertilizers as well as other compounds. Some uranium processing also occurred, though just how much remains unclear. 

Just to the northwest, the university’s Richmond Field Station (RFS) had been the site of a plant that manufactured explosives and ammunition using a compound of mercury, a toxic metal. 

Further complicating the picture was the disposal of wastes from the chemical plants at Campus Bay site on the property now occupied by the RFS. 

Much of the wastes came in the form of cinders from iron pyrites, fool’s gold processed at the chemical plants for the manufacture of sulfuric acid. The cinders contain a range of hazardous metals. 

A 1,331-unit condo and apartment complex had been planned for Campus Bay by Cherokee-Simeon, a joint venture of Bay Area developer Simeon Properties and Cherokee Investment Partners, a company which bankrolls projects on reclaimed hazardous waste sites.  

Those plans are currently on hold. 

University plans 

UC Berkeley had partnered with Simeon Properties to transform much of the Richmond Field Station—located between Campus and Marina bays—into a corporate and academic research park dubbed Bayside Research Campus. 

Plans called for between 1 million and 1.5 million square feet of new buildings on 70 of the field station’s 152 acres to provide a focus for joint ventures between university scientists and the corporate world. 

Research parks are an increasingly common feature of universities which are turning to corporate alliances to capture revenues from patents to replace the dwindling share of college pasts paid for by taxpayers. 

During a February, 2005, Richmond City Council meeting which ended in a vote calling for DTSC oversight, Mark B. Freiberg, director of the university’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety, told councilmembers the school was quite happy running its own RFS cleanup under Water Board supervision and urged a vote against the resolution calling for the regulatory handover. 

Freiberg repeated almost word-for-word the statement in an earlier email to the council from university public relations Director Irene Hegarty, which claimed the RFS had been included in the council resolution only because of its “confusion” with Campus Bay—a point McLaughlin refuted. 

The council then voted unanimously to ask the state Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees both agency, to hand jurisdiction over both sites to the DTSC—which became official on May 13, 2005, thanks in part to the efforts of Hancock, who had convened a legislative hearing at RFS to examine both sites. 

According to the university’s April, 2004, call for developers, “the development of the site will be targeted to those University-related or private sector entities involved in industrial, scientific, or technological research.” 

Though construction had been planned to start in July 2006, the change in regulatory oversight and subsequent reevaluation by DTSC forced the university to table its development plans. 

Critical period 

All of the actions cited by the DTSC occurred between 2002 and 2004, when most of the buildings at the AstraZeneca were demolished, ground into powder and buried at the site. 

Work was also underway simultaneously at RFS, with the university conducting its own cleanup under the water board’s supervision. 

According to the DTSC, the university used at least nine trucking companies which didn’t possess the required state hazardous waste handling registrations: American Pacific, Baires Trucking, Chapman Trucking, G.A. Grau, Hernandez Trucking, L&M Express, Mark Dross Trucking, Marzette Transportation and Remedial Transportation. 

According to the letter sent to Greg Haet, the companies weren’t registered for all or part of the time they were hauling wastes from the site. 

Only one such violation was charged to AstraZeneca, the use of Marchbanks trucking, which was unregistered when it hauled two loads of hazardous waste in August, 2002. 

Some of the violations charged to AstraZeneca included burial of more than 2,000 of truckloads of improperly treated waste from the university site beneath the capped site where the housing development was planned. 

Just what will happen to the waste remains an issue. 

Padgett says she is concerned because the material has been intermixed at the site with the product of other excavations, including digs conducted in the shoreline marsh at the Campus Bay site. 

“How could they ever identify it again? It’s all mixed together,” she said. 

Most of the RFS soils were contaminated with metals above the levels allowed for storage beneath the mesa at Campus Bay, 350,000 cubic yards of earth and cinder capped with a thin layer of mixed cement and paper. 

Most of the waste had originated at the plants formerly located at Campus Bay rather than the university site’s mercury-based explosives plant. 

AstraZeneca bears responsibility at Campus Bay because it was the last operator of the plants there. The site is currently owned by Cherokee-Simeon, which had planned the housing project—which consisted of high-, mid- and low-rises. 

Because of volatile hazardous chemicals on the site, the proposal had called for fans beneath some of the buildings to blow away any accumulating toxins, as well as garages on the ground floors of many of the structures. No plants could be grown for human consumption of the site’s soil. 

The Campus Bay cleanup was conducted by LFR Levine-Fricke, an Emeryville multinational firm specializing in toxic waste cleanups. 

James Levine, formerly a principal in LFR Levine-Fricke, is now a developer, planning to build a casino/resort complex at Richmond’s Point Molate, another site with a history of contamination dating to its past as a U.S. Navy refueling station. 

Levine had left the firm prior to the cleanup. 

The cleanup plan, formulated while he was still with the firm, cost AstraZeneca only about $20 million by calling for burial of treated wastes at the site, rather than hauling them off to a licensed hazardous waste disposal facility. 

That plan initially saved the chemical conglomerate an estimated $80 million of the $100 million it had budgeted for the cleanup. 

Noting that the letters DTSC sent were primarily concerned with events at the field station, Padgett said she hoped more action would be coming from the agency addressed to events at Campus Bay.

While UC Berkeley may have offered to downsize a planned parking structure northwest of Memorial Stadium, opposing lawyers say that’s not enough to derail the lawsuits holding up construction of a new high-tech training gym. 

Furthermore, the offer—floated through a statement to donors by University Athletic Director Sandy Barbour—wasn’t presented to at least two of the attorneys in the suits, said two of the lawyers now suing the university. 

According to Barbour, in a message last month to donors, the offer would “drastically reduce the size of a new parking lot under Maxwell Field,” which would only replace spaces lost to construction in the area without adding new slots. 

Lawsuits by the city, two groups of tree supporters and the Panoramic Hill Association seek to block university plans to build a $125 million gym along the west wall of Memorial Stadium, the site of a grove of coastal live oaks. 

The university’s proposal would reduce the total number of spaces in the underground lot planned for construction beneath Maxwell Family Field from 911 to 500. 

Michael Lozeau, attorney for residents of Panoramic Hill said his clients might be interested in discussions if the university “took a pencil to the SAHPC and phases I, II and III” of construction of the so-called Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP). 

Those projects include the Student Athlete High Performance Center (the SAHPC), a 186,000-square-foot high tech gym to be built at the site of the stadium grove currently occupied by tree-sitters protesting their planned demolition. 

The university picked a contractor to build the gym on March 28, Hunt Construction Group, which specializes in building sports facilities. 

University officials picked the firm after Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller had ordered a halt to any construction activities at the site pending the outcome a hearing on the lawsuits scheduled for Sept. 19. 

“We haven’t seen anything,” said Stephan Volker, the environmental law attorney whose clients include three groups, Berkeley City Councilmember Dona Spring and other individuals. 

Volker and Lozeau said the university is legally obligated to present any settlement offer to all the parties in all the lawsuits. 

“I don’t think it’s a real offer. They can’t settle without our consent,” said Volker, “and we’re in this for the duration. I expect to take it all the way to the Supreme Court.” 

Another action was filed by Friends of Tightwad Hill, representing fans who will lose their free views from an expanse of hillside about the stadium’s east wall, which will be blocked by raised seating. 

The SCIP projects include the gym and parking structure, a major new building that will provide offices and a common area for meetings of the law and business schools, and a major retrofit of the stadium itself, including the addition of a press box and luxury sky boxes for big ticket donors about the western wall. 

The plans also include permanent night lights, a bone of contention with residents of the hillside above. 

While a settlement of the city’s earlier lawsuit challenging the university’s Long Range Development Plan 2020 blocked most new city lawsuits challenging university projects, the SCIP plans were specifically excluded. 

Another contention by Barbour—that a university-funded seismic study of the gym site proved it is safe for new construction—has also been challenged by the opposing lawyers, including Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque.

A former Oakland Assembly-member running for outgoing State Senator Don Perata’s District 9 Senate seat says she doesn’t believe that a term limits initiative will pass next February, allowing Perata to run again. 

Meanwhile, Perata’s charge that a recent term limits initiative-related complaint filed against him with the California Fair Political Practices Commission by a California organization is actually the work of “an out-of-state group” appears to be backed up by filings with the state and online documents uncovered in a Daily Planet investigation. 

State Senate President Perata (D-Oakland) was first elected in 1998 in the aftermath of the resignation of former Congress-member Ron Dellums and the election of former District 9 State Senator Barbara Lee to replace Dellums. California’s term limitation law should have ended Perata’s Senate career in 2004, but a favorable California attorney general’s opinion opened a loophole that allowed Perata to serve a third term. The law currently terms Perata out at the end of the 2008 legislative year, but an initiative on the California February presidential ballot would allow the Oakland State Senator and a handful of other veteran Sacramento legislators to serve one more term. 

Former District 16 Assemblymember Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) and current District 14 Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) have both announced their intention to run for Perata’s District 9 Senate seat in the June 2008 Democratic primary. 

Last week, Chan said by telephone that while she would like to see term limits extended, she does not believe the February initiative will pass. 

“I was termed out [of the Assembly] before I was ready to leave, so I’d like to see some leeway with the law,” Chan said. “But there have been several recent attempts to overturn term limits at the ballot box, and none of them has succeeded. So the likelihood of passage is not high.” 

Asked if that meant she was proceeding forward with the 2008 Senate election as if term limits will not be extended and Perata will not run, Chan said, “pretty much.” 

But asked if she would drop out of the race if Perata is able to run for re-election, Chan was more equivocal. “I haven’t thought much about that,” she said. “I would have to meet with Senator Perata, as well as talk it over with my own followers, before I made a decision.” 

Assemblymember Loni Hancock’s Chief of Staff, Hans Hemann, had earlier said flatly that Hancock would not run for the District 9 seat if Perata is able to run for a fourth term. 

Chan has been down this road before. In 2004, while still in the Assembly, she was an announced candidate for Perata’s termed-out seat until Perata received the favorable Attorney General’s opinion allowing him to run again. Following Perata’s re-entry into the State Senate race that year, Chan backed out. 

There was other news last week that might or might not have an effect on the February term-limit initiative vote. 

On Friday, the Sacramento Bee and the Oakland Tribune were reporting that a group calling itself the California Term Limits Defense Fund filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission asking that the commission investigate allegations that Perata had extensively used election campaign money for his own personal use. 

The complaint referenced allegations that originally surfaced in a May 23 Bob Gammon story in the East Bay Express. 

The Tribune article quoted Bob Adney, director of the California Term Limits Defense Fund, as accusing Perata of using campaign money “as his own personal slush fund.” 

The Bee quoted Perata as saying that the complaint had been filed by “an out-of-state group” that “want[ed] to kill any effort to change term limits.”  

An official with the Fair Political Practices Commission said the commission had “received it and it is under review by the commission staff.” 

In the complaint, provided by e-mail by Adney, the Term Limits Defense Fund Director” requests the FPPC to investigate and commence civil or administrative action against State Senator Perata for his illegal use of campaign funds for personal expenses. In the interim, the undersigned requests the FPPC to initiate action for an injunction compelling State Senator Perata to cease and desist violating the PRA.” 

The complaint continues: “Attached to this letter as Attachment ‘A,’ is a list of expenses reported by Senator Perata and his various controlled committees having occurred in the past five years which appear to present personal rather than political expenses. … Attachment ‘A’ is merely a highlight on an entire list of expenditures the undersigned alleges were personal appropriations paid for by funds from Senator Perata’s various controlled committees. The full list of expenditures is found attached to this letter as Attachment ‘B.’ It is each and every expenditure listed in Attachment B for which the undersigned is filing a formal complaint against Senator Perata, and for which the undersigned requests the FPPC to investigate and commence civil or administrative action.” 

Attachment B, included as a link to the Friday Flash Report post, appears to be a list of campaign donors identical to that posted on the East Bay Express’ 92510 blog on May 23 in connection with the newspaper’s Perata campaign expenditure story. 

A review of online documents left the impression that the Defense Fund has a limited history in California, and extensive roots in other parts of the country. 

Filings with the California secretary of state’s office show that the Defense fund was originally formed as the Committee For Real Term Limit Reform, then changed its official name to the California Term Limits Defense Fund. On Friday, immediately after news reports appeared linking the group to a Fairfax, Virginia-based organization called Term Limits America PAC, an amended filing appeared on the Secretary of State’s website showing that the group had changed its name again, to the “California Term Limits Defense Fund Sponsored by the Term Limits America PAC with help from Advocates Of Term Limits.” Other Secretary of State filings by the group amplify that financial relationship to the Term Limits America PAC,” with the group calling itself the “California Term Limits Defense Fund sponsored and major funding by Term Limits America PAC.”  

A filing with the Secretary of State’s office in early June showed that the only contribution the California Term Limits Defense Fund has received is $50,000 from the Virginia-based Term Limits Defense Fund. 

Shortly after he was hired as director of the California Term Limits Defense Fund, in an early June interview in Jon Fleischmann’s Flash Report [http://www.flashreport.org/], a California Republican blog, Bob Adney indicates that his experience in political action comes entirely outside of the Golden State. “I started my involvement in politics while in High School,” Adney says. “A teacher ran for mayor in Poughkeepsie, New York and I worked for her campaign. She was a Republican running in an overwhelming Democratic city and she won handily. It was a great experience and I realized then that I had been bitten by the political bug. I left New York and graduated from the University of Maryland. While in college, I volunteered and worked on numerous campaigns. I've worked in races on New York, Maryland, and Nevada. One of the political highlights of my career was running a state Senate campaign in Nevada in which a 20-year incumbent was unseated in a huge upset. I've also worked for the Nevada Legislature and on two initiative campaigns last year in Nevada.” 

The California Term Limits Defense Fund lists only a treasurer, Kelly Lawler of Willows, California (Glenn County, near Sacramento). Lawler shows up as treasurer on a number of Republican and conservative campaign committees including the Protect Our Homes Coalition that supported the Proposition 90 zoning law initiative in 2006 (its largest donors in the first quarter of 2006 were the Fund For Democracy of New York at $1.5 million and Montanans in Action at $600,000), and OCPAC, which supported conservative Republican Congressional candidates in the 2006 general election. 

**** 

The California Term Limits Defense Fund and its parent organization, the Term Limits America PAC, as well as the Term Limits America front man, Howard Rich, appear to be part of a complex interweaving of national conservative political action and funding organizations whose foundations and interconnections bloggers and newspapers have been trying, unsuccessfully, to unveil. 

From the Sept. 26, 2006 Sunlight Foundation website, a poster named “Mrs. Panstreppon” describes some of those organizations and their leaders: 

“Jackson Stephens … is the chairman and vice-president of Club For Growth.Net. Stephens also is the secretary and Howard Rich is the president of the Club For Growth State Action. 

“[The National Association for Workers And Employers Rights] [an anti-union organization] is headed by Richard Quinn Jr., a former South Carolinian state legislator whose father is Richard Quinn, a controversial political consultant who numbers John McCain among his clients. 

“William A. Wilson is NAWER's treasurer. Wilson serves as a director or officer for numerous conservative not-for-profits, often alongside Howard Rich. A partial list of some of those organizations: US Term Limits, US Term Limits Foundation, Term Limits America PAC, America At Its Best, Council For Responsible Government, Parents In Charge (formerly Legislative Action Drive), SocialSecurityChoice.org, and SocialSecurityChoice.org Foundation.” 

From the Center for Public Integrity in an Oct. 27, 2006 article by Josh Israel: 

“Reading the mountain of news stories about him this year, you’d have every reason to think that Howard Rich’s pockets—at least when it comes to his favorite political causes—are plenty deep. Many stories have suggested, for example, that Rich may have poured more than $10 million into ballot initiatives that will be put to voters on November 7. 

“’The property-rights movement, as it is known, has a major new benefactor—Howard Rich, a wealthy libertarian real estate investor from Manhattan,” The Washington Post recently reported. “He has spent millions—estimates run as high as $11 million—to support initiatives that will appear on ballots throughout much of the West. 

“But … reports filed with the Federal Election Commission from 1980 through October 2006, in fact, show only $190,050 in … contributions from Rich. More than a third of that amount went to two political groups that are connected to Rich’s own organizations. Over the years Rich has given a total of $25,500 to Term Limits America PAC [emphasis added], which is registered at the same address in Fairfax, Virginia, as William A. Wilson, a political consultant who’s an officer of at least five organizations that Rich leads.” 

From the July 6, 2006 BOREGASM blog on that year’s attempted term limitation initiative on the Oregon ballot: 

“Oregon has long been a laboratory for cranky zillionaires to perfect their electoral Frankensteins. The amount of money that pours into the state over “local” issues is often astonishing. So, while the focus is on the term limits crowd, what is happening is, in many ways, typical of the manner in which home rule is being poisoned by out-of-state money—and, as Follow The Money notes, over 90 percent of all races are decided by who has the most money. The voting part seems to have less and less to do with it. 

“Well, never fear. US Term Limits (and their PAC Term Limits America, founded and funded by Howard Rich) is willing to drop six figures any time that the Usual Suspects ask. And, as in 2004 (and 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1994 and 1992), the vast majority of all monies have come from shadowy right-wing contributors from out of state. 

“As of the May 2006 campaign finance filing date, the Oregon Term Limits group [recorded] a donation of $5000 for legal fees … from “Americans for Limited Government” which has the same address as “US Tax Limits”—which is unsurprising, since both are chaired by the same gentleman, Howard Rich (no pun intended) who also serves on the Board of Directors of the (Libertarian) CATO Institute in Washington, D.C. ... Rich, a wealthy real estate developer, lives in New York.  

“… [T]he entire Oregon state donation to the $156,497.25 term limits war chest has been $947.23 (or 0.00605 or 0.6% of the total for the campaign thus far).” 

A group of South Berkeley residents won a close victory Thursday when the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) voted 5-4 to reject a use permit application by Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communication for 11 cell phone antennas atop the UC Storage building at 2721 Shattuck Ave., following a second remand from the City Council in May. 

The decision, which came close to midnight, stated that ZAB was “unable to make the necessary finding based on substantial evidence that the towers were necessary to provide personal wireless service in the coverage area, since service is currently being provided and since no evidence has been presented that existing service is not at an adequate level.” 

The proposal, which was first remanded to ZAB by the City Council on Sept. 26, 2006, had raised health concerns among the neighbors. 

Citing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which prohibits local governments from rejecting wireless facilities based on health concerns as long as the stations conform to Federal Communication standards, the council had asked ZAB to make a decision based on third-party engineering review, parking concerns and illegal construction instead of health. 

ZAB voted 6-3 to deny the construction of 18 cell phone antennas at the Jan. 30 board meeting. Both Verizon and Nextel appealed to the City Council and a public hearing was held in May. 

City attorney Manuela Albuquerque sent ZAB a confidential memo before the hearing last Thursday which said that a rejection of the Verizon application would be a violation of state and federal law. 

Board member Terry Doran, who voted for the project, inadvertently disclosed the contents of the memorandum to the public while speaking about the application. 

Corey Alvin, applicant for Nextel Communications, and a former member of the Berkeley Planning Department, told the board that Nextel had been receiving complaints from its customers. 

“What bothers me is the placement of the towers,” said board member Sara Shumer. “How can you [speak about] the necessity of one area when there are other areas which have insufficient coverage?” 

“The way the service providers decide to build antennas on a particular site is through customer complaints,” Alvin said. “Alta Bates and the Berkeley Unified School district use our phones and call us about dropped calls and unclear reception. ... We need coverage in the commercial corridors of Shattuck Avenue. If we are not receiving complaints from people in the hills it’s because they are not using our service up there.” 

Board vice chair Rick Judd asked him why the antennas couldn’t be scattered on the roofs of schools and businesses that had poor reception. 

“That’s not the case at all,” Alvin replied. “There is lots of criteria for an appropriate site ... including adequate height and willingness of the landlord to rent out a place.” 

The UC Storage building is owned by Patrick Kennedy, one of Berkeley’s largest developers. 

“Money isn’t involved in this?” asked board member Jesse Anthony. 

“I am not sure I understand your question,” Alvin replied. 

Verizon also cited outreach done through postcards sent to Berkeley residents to be returned to demonstrate local support of the proposed towers. 

“We are trying to show that there are people in Berkeley who support this,” said Paul Albritton, counsel for Verizon Wireless. 

“There really is hard evidence which shows that down the line cell phone lines will not work when there is a congestion.” 

Michael Barglow, a South Berkeley resident, said he analyzed the data contained in the postcards that had been submitted as evidence for the need for cell phone antennas and came to a different conclusion. 

“Out of the 96 postcards, 50 percent complained about service in the Berkeley hills and North Berkeley,” he said. “40 percent listed no problem. Only ten postcards mentioned any part of South Berkeley. And these complaints could have come from multiple sources, not including cell phone antenna-related issues, for example, a need for a software upgrade or the need for a newer phone.” 

Laurie Baumgarten, another resident, said that community members would not be intimidated by the phone corporations or their lawyers. 

“It is obvious to most of the people I speak with that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is unconstitutional,” she said. “It makes it likely that a neighborhood will lose its legal case if it brings up health issues. If having to pretend and testify that the emperor is wearing clothes when he is really naked is not a muzzling of my free speech, then what is? We need Thurgood Marshalls in charge, not Manuela Albequerques.”  

“DDT has been around for a long time and it took us a long time to figure out what it did to us,” said ZAB member Anthony. “I cannot vote for this when is community living in the neighborhood are not fine with it.” 

Board member Bob Allen described the opposition to the towers as generational. 

“The city is behind other cities in the Bay Area,” he said. “The popularity of landlines has decreased since 2005. The number of cell phone users has gone up from 2.7 million to 3.1 million. The age group that is using the phones is moving very fast. The city is going through a major change and Berkeley is not keeping up with it.” 

“I don’t believe there is any need to watch dogs on skateboards from YouTube,” said area resident Tim McGovern, citing a recent iPhone ad. “Increased cell phone service is not at all necessary in our neighborhood.” 

If Verizon and Nextel appeal ZAB’s decision, the City Council will discuss the issue later this month and decide on a date for a public hearing in September. 

U-Haul violation 

ZAB found the U-Haul business at 2100 San Pablo Ave. in violation of its use permit and recommended to the City Council that the permit be revoked. 

U-Haul was granted a permit in 1975 to operate a truck and trailer rental business which allowed it to store 20 trucks and 30 trailers on the lot.  

According to the staff report, U-Haul has consistently violated its permit by storing more than 20 trucks on its lot and has also used on-street parking spaces to store its trucks. 

Complaints to ZAB from neighbors include parking violations, trashing and rash driving by U-Haul employees. 

U-Haul contends that the use permit does not limit it to storing 20 trucks on the site or prohibit it from using the public right of way to store the excess trucks.

IN CONGRESS,  

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America 

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. 

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. 

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. 

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: 

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: 

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: 

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: 

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies 

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: 

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. 

A discussion and visioning workshop on the future programs and design of People’s Park will be held next week by MKThink, the San Francisco-based consultants hired by UC Berkeley to develop a plan to improve the park. 

The workshop is part of the “needs assessment” phase which follows the completion of the “discovery” phase. 

MKThink has been part of more than 40 meetings with individuals and groups which have included park founders, community gardeners, neighborhood organizations and UC Berkeley staff. 

A workshop held on Sunday will feature discussions of the people, programs, places and design concepts that will make the park safer, welcoming and more widely used by community members. 

“So far we have only had smaller group meetings and interviews,” said Irene Hegarty, director of community relations for UC Berkeley. “This is an effort to bring the community together to understand what they want. We will definitely have more workshops later if there is a demand for it.” 

Although some park users remain skeptical about the workshops, they are willing to attend them. 

“While paid architect consultants to the university can hardly be considered unbiased nor in the spirit of People’s Park, I believe it will be good for those of us who use and appreciate People’s Park to participate in these sessions,” said Berkeley naturalist Terri Compost in a e-mail to the Planet. 

Compost will be organizing a grassroots visioning day along with community members during the beginning of September. 

“That will be open to all without having to RSVP,” she said. “If anyone wants to help organize this event, please contact me.” 

Thursday’s workshop is scheduled to be held at the Berkeley YMCA (2600 Bancroft Way) from 7 to 9 p.m. The Sunday workshop be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the First Church of Christ Scientist (2619 Dwight Way). It requires registration at MKThink, but community members can also sign up at People’s Park itself. 

“It’s on a first-come first-served basis,” Hegarty said. “We would ideally like to have groups of 20 to 25 people engage in some hands-on discussion. If more people want to attend, then we could try to sign them up as well. We want to hear about the changes people want. Some want more public performances and others want better facilities for children.” 

Hegarty added that most of the members from the People’s Park Advisory Committee had signed up. 

“We are not getting into anything specific at this time,” she said. “It’s only at a conceptual stage.” 

“For example, we will not be talking about putting a fountain in the middle of the park,” said committee co-chair John Selawsky who plans to attend the workshop. “What’s important is to get input from folks. To identify what people want to see or not see there. I know a lot of people want to see an increase in activities for children and students.” 

The entire process is scheduled to wind up by the end of October.  

“Even if the university decides to move forward at that point, more work would have to be done. We are not moving forward with any preconceived notions. It’s pretty open-ended.” 

Initial findings from the “Discovery” phase indicate a universal desire for the area to remain a public park as opposed to redevelopment of any kind, even in the public interest. MKThink’s project progress report states that community members are keen to preserve the park’s history and celebrate the more “unique spirit of human nature and expression.” 

According to Hegarty, the planning process has proceeded well so far. 

“People have participated in the meetings so far. There has been interest, but not wild interest,” she said. “Sometimes, we have had to seek out people. I guess it’s because it’s summer and a lot of people are away.”

Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice used to say in Wonderland. The belief that government is something that should take place outside the view of the governed seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, both nationally and locally. At the national level we have Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Cheney claiming that he’s got a whole new branch of government that doesn’t have to tell anyone what they’re doing, while Nominal President Bush commutes Cheney staffer Scooter Libby’s punishment for perjuring himself before the grand jury investigating Team Cheney misdeeds. And in Berkeley we have the continuing assertion that important city policy decisions can only be made by those who have no opinions on the matters before them. 

Planning Commissioner Harry Pollack sent this letter to the city attorney last week regarding the major development envisioned for the Ashby-College intersection:  

Dear Manuela, 

I write to protect the due process rights of my clients John Gordon and Janis Mitchell in connection with this matter. As I explained in our phone conversation yesterday, Councilmember Donna [sic] Spring made it very clear in her comments at Tuesday’s (June 26, 2007) Council meeting that she would not vote to affirm ZAB. Among other revealing comments, she stated (with strong emotion in her voice) that “the truth is that this project stinks to high heaven.” 

The statement expressing her strong negative opinion about the project was made in the context of the Council’s consideration of whether to set for public hearing an appeal of ZAB’s decision. However, at this point in the process, Council members are supposed to be open-minded so that if the matter is set for hearing, they can fairly listen to and consider all the relevant information. 

This statement, as well as Ms. Spring’s other remarks, make plain that my clients would be deprived of a fair hearing if she participates further in the appeal process. Continued participation by Councilmember Spring in this matter would violate my clients’ due process rights. Accordingly, I insist that Ms. Spring be recused from further proceedings regarding this matter. 

This request is made in the context of the recusal of Councilmember Gordon Wozniak. Mr. Wozniak was recused some weeks ago, apparently as a result of a statement that he made on the Kitchen Democracy website. 

The same standard must be applied to both members of the Council. Applying that standard equally, it is indisputable that Ms. Spring must also be recused. Her passionate opposition to the project, as stated in public during a City Council meeting in her role as a City Council member, makes it clear that she has made up her mind prior to any public hearing. 

Now, it’s true that in this instance Commissioner Pollack was writing in his private capacity as attorney for developer John Gordon. The question of whether as a Planning Commissioner he weighs in most often for policies to benefit the developers who are his frequent clients or for policies which benefit the District 8 residents who elected his appointing councilmember Gordon Wozniak is not up for discussion here, though it’s an interesting one. The case at hand was whether or not City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque would again adopt the novel legal theory that a decision-maker who has expressed an opinion in a land use case can be barred from voting on it. 

Boalt Hall land use professor Antonio Rossmann commented on her use of this doctrine once before in these pages: “ ...a leading California Supreme Court decision (City of Fairfield v. Superior Court) directly addressed this situation, and concluded that political accountability of a city council to its electorate outweighed the developer’s interest in avoiding allegedly “biased” decision makers...The city attorney has consistently attempted to distinguish Fairfield on technical grounds, failing to honor the spirit of the Court’s instruction, and ignoring another leading case (Andrews v. ALRB) where the Court suggested that a council of ‘rare intellectual eunuchs’ would be adversely qualified to decide the cases before them.” 

Pollack originally persuaded Albuquerque to employ this bizarre argument when he was president of Temple Beth El, many of whose neighbors opposed its major building project on a historic site in North Berkeley. He succeeded in getting her to bar three landmarks preservation commissioners, myself included, from voting on the project on the tenuous grounds of their participation in the Berkeley Architectual Heritage Association, even though they hadn’t expressed any opinion about the project per se. The excludees filed suit to contest her action, but the case dragged on so long they finally dropped it after the City Council approved the project on schedule. Now Pollack’s trying the same ploy again. 

We asked Professor Rossmann for his opinion on the current controversy over who can vote, but he was on his way out of town over the holiday and didn’t have time to comment at length for the Planet. He did point out in an email that there is a doctrine known as the rule of necessity which excuses a conflict when the member’s vote is necessary to reach a quorum. He suggested that councilmembers should be forced to vote “at least on whether to grant a hearing, which can be distinguished, if the City Attorney insists, from voting on the merits.” 

Councilmembers Wozniak and Capitelli have already cheerfully acquiesced to recusing themselves, probably grateful that they won’t have to answer to their constituents for their vote on a very controversial project. But Councilmember Spring is no coward, and one might reliably guess that she’d want to insist that her voice be heard on this one. If Albuquerque had tried to disqualify her, some sort of legal action either from Spring or from project opponents could have been anticipated. Fortunately for the city budget, at press time it looked like cooler heads were prevailing in the city attorney’s office. 

A more interesting question for the future of representative democracy in Berkeley is how the remaining three councilmembers can continue to justify blocking a public hearing on a very controversial ZAB decision. Bates, Olds and Moore seem to have no credible excuse of any kind for their votes to duck the hearing. If they don’t know enough about the project to be excluded from voting on it as per the Pollack Doctrine, how could they know enough to decide that they don’t need to hear any more about it? If you are one of the long-suffering minority of voters who can still bear to watch our city council mired in the usual inaction, it might be entertaining to watch on Tuesday to see how they wriggle out of their duty to hold a public hearing one more time. 

Not in my own youth, but in the Victorian novels I read as a child, it was the custom for Americans at their Fourth of July picnics to read aloud the Declaration of Independence. In the mid and late 19th century the American revolution was still part of living memory. The older folks at the picnics were still able to summon up the tremendous excitement with which their grandparents and great-grandparents seized their destinies and started a new kind of country in a still-wild place.  

These days the 4th is for most Americans just one more holiday, one more reason to waste gasoline driving long distances to play. But for many of us daily conversations, not just on the 4th, now quickly turn to the parlous state of world and national affairs. There’s a perception that there’s a profound crisis in the American system of government, with the most recent disturbing example being Vice President Cheney’s clear desire to go it alone with no regard for law or Congress. In fact, what many people see these days might be described in the language of the Declaration: “.. repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states.” Under the circumstances, reading the Declaration of Independence can be reassuring: It’s happened before, Americans dealt with it, and they can deal with it again, without a bloody war this time around, we hope.  

Many passages from the Declaration resonate in the present situation, especially the allegations against George III of England which are easily applicable to the current George and his buddy Dick Cheney: 

“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” Health care reform, environmental protection ... many examples come to mind. 

“He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither...” e.g. the immigration bill stalemate. 

“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures....He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.” The national legislature isn’t blameless here, with their quick rubber-stamping of the Iraq invasion, but now they’re recanting, and the executive branch should follow their lead. 

“For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments...For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.” Sounds like Bush’s attempts to isolate himself from laws passed by Congress with his “signing statements,” or Cheney’s invocation of his own perverted interpretation of executive privilege, doesn’t it?  

So, in the words of Russian revolutionaries, what is to be done? Our Declaration advises that “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.. But when a long train of abuses and usurpation ....evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government....” Stirring words, attractive logic.  

Our e-mail these days is full of heartfelt pleas to jump on the impeachment bandwagon, and it’s tempting. All kinds of normally sensible people like Maxine Waters are now endorsing some kind of impeachment strategy. The best plan would seem to be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales first, then Cheney, saving Bush for last, since it would do no good to get rid of the president only to have the even worse vice president in his stead.  

If justice were the sole criterion, all three of these officials and more deserve to be thrown out of office, using the constitutional mechanism which the founders provided as a substitute for bloody revolution. But practical considerations point to more conventional remedies.  

There is, after all, an election coming up. Admittedly, the candidates now leading the pack in both parties seem tepid at best. Recent revelations of how John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson colluded with the worst excesses of the CIA during their presidencies make the Democrats look almost as bad as the Republicans from a historical perspective. But the current situation is the worst ever, without even any constitutional fig leaf thrown over the Bush-Cheney administration’s naked usurpation of power. On the other hand, no candidate in either major party, even Giuliani, even (god forbid) Lieberman as an independent, seems to be quite as villainous as the people now in office. And there really isn’t time to mount a three-impeachment prosecution before the next election. Even though all three villains and many of their cronies richly deserve to be punished by impeachment, prudence, in the words of the Declaration, seems to dictate at this point that we should ride out the next electoral cycle and hope that things will change.  

And if they don’t, of course, revolution is always an alternative. Just to keep in practice, why don’t we all revive the custom of organizing a stirring reading of the Declaration of Independence at our Fourth of July barbecues this year? A copy of the document, a genuine thriller, is provided in this issue for your convenience. 

CELL PHONE TOWERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is ironic to find such a strong subtext for health concerns in rejection of the cell phone tower for UC Storage (“Zoning Board Rejects South Berkeley Cell Phone Antennas,” July 3). The electromagnetic waves from a radio transmitter diminish with the square of the distance. This makes the UC Storage building one of the best places in central Berkeley to place an antenna, from a health point of view. The building is high, so the main lobes of the radio footprint will be far overhead. Most importantly the top floors of this building are unoccupied, so nobody will work immediately below the antenna on a regular basis. And the more cell phone antennas there are in a city, the lower the power needs are for each one (both for the central antenna and the for the handsets right next to people’s heads). Considering the benefit to the city as a whole, it makes sense to ensure that all cellular carriers, not just Verizon and Nextel, have access to the best tower sites (potentially including this one). If the UC Storage site is ultimately blocked, chances are higher power and more intrusive antennas will eventually be sited in other buildings in other neighborhoods. And never mind that the prime proven association between cell phones and health has nothing to do with the radio, but rather with the increased risk of car collisions when people take calls while driving. 

Bryce Nesbitt 

Kensington 

• 

TOXICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for the story about toxic pollution in the East Bay (“UC Illegally Buried ‘Thousands Of Truckloads’ of Toxic Soil In Richmond, State Says,” July 3). Unfortunately, the plot line of insufficient state oversight, followed by extensive industrial pollution and disproportionately low-income/people of color communities left to fend for themselves in the resulting toxic morass, is all too common. Take the acrid odor and toxics in Albany, Berkeley and beyond due to air pollution from West Berkeley’s own Pacific Steel Casting Company (PSC) over the past several decades. PSC reports releasing well over 150,000 pounds of pollution in 2004. Although the US EPA considers PSC the 12th worst stationary source risk out of 2,171 industries in six Bay Area counties, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and City of Berkeley officials have offered little more than rhetoric and the occasional Band-Aid “solution.” 

The popular industry-sponsored Band-Aid solution is risk assessment. The legally mandated Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is paid for by industry itself, and BAAQMD indicates that industrial air HRAs in the Bay Area have not found industry exceeding allowable thresholds. The HRA technique is, as Phyllis Fox, the City of Berkeley’s former-industry-scientist-turned-green-pro-bono-consultant said, “a sham.” Typical industry practice is to “pre-test” and tweak equipment until it’s performing abnormally cleanly, at which point BAAQMD is called in to oversee formal testing. 

When emissions numbers are thus low-balled, PSC will undoubtedly come out (for the only time in its history) smelling like a rose. The flawed HRA is scheduled to be released on the 20th. Yet asthma hospitalization rates are high in West Berkeley, in part due to industrial operations, according to the Oakland-Berkeley Asthma Coalition. Neighbors still experience Pacific Steel’s odorous emissions (BAAQMD just settled another violation with PSC the other month), which can be accompanied by headaches, nausea and difficulty breathing, among other symptoms. BAAQMD and the City of Berkeley have done nothing substantial and the HRA is a sham; to achieve a truly green, sustainable Berkeley, these regulators must do an effective job. 

Regulators must pressure industry to include the whole community and the entire industrial process in comprehensive Toxic Use Reduction. Based on how it works throughout Massachusetts, Toxic Use Reduction can resolve the pollution problem, securing transparency, accountability, clean air and safe jobs for West Berkeley and beyond. 

David Schroeder 

West Berkeley Alliance for  

Clean Air and Safe Jobs 

www.westberkeleyalliance.org 

• 

MISQUOTED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was misquoted in Riya Bhattacharjee’s July 3 article “Landmarks Commission Considers Demolishing Squires Block Building.” I never said that that “portions of the building could be historic and, if so, should be preserved.” What I said was that although a building had existed at 1505 Shattuck Ave. since at least 1911 and was still there in 1950 as shown in the Sanborn fire insurance maps, it’s entirely possible that the building had been demolished in the 1950s and replaced by the existing building, which the owner’s representative says is constructed of concrete blocks. I also said that I had never inspected the building’s construction, had no reason to doubt the owner’s claim, but that it would be a good idea to inspect the building prior to approving a demolition permit. 

It is sad to see the Planet devote front-page attention to this minor issue when it practically ignored a far more significant one less than a month ago, namely, the LPC’s failure on June 7 to designate the Joe Donham Willy’s automobile showroom at 2747 San Pablo Ave. That building, which is by far the best example of mid-century modern roadside architecture in Berkeley, will be demolished and replaced by a five-story condo development. 

The developer did not make any attempt to find a new site for the existing building. He claims to have paid tribute to it in replicating the rounded façade in his condo frontage. That claim is simply untrue. The condo plans and elevations, which can be seen on the city’s website, speak for themselves. 

The plans for 2747 San Pablo Ave. are available on the city’s website, http://webserver.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse. The LPC misread and/or overlooked a significant amount of evidence presented to it showing why the Donham showroom deserves protection. The commission did not serve Berkeley well, and neither did the Planet. 

Daniella Thompson 

• 

A LANDMARK  

WORTH PRESERVING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to thank everyone who has supported the plans to restore Berkeley Iceland, our recently closed, historic ice palace. After almost a year delay, which was requested by the current owners, the Berkeley Landmark Preservation Commission designated the building and all its features as a landmark worthy of preservation at its April meeting. This decision was arrived at after three public hearings, hours of testimony and review of supporting documentation. As one of the applicants for landmark status, I have no doubts that Berkeley Iceland is an historic landmark. 

The current owners of Berkeley Iceland, believing that landmark status has a significant impact on the value of the site to developers, have chosen to appeal the designation which they call an “egregious” result. Their appeal calls into question the motives and veracity of the commissioners, the process under which it was arrived at, and the very facts to which some of their supporters testified. In the end, their stated goal is to completely remove the landmark designation and donate some pictures to the Berkeley Public Library to keep alive the memory of this historic community asset. 

A public hearing on the appeal is scheduled at the Berkeley City Council for 7 p.m. on 10 July at the Berkeley City Council Chamber (2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Berkeley). Save Berkeley Iceland will be there in support of the landmark designation. We encourage others to let the council know that Berkeley would be better served by a fully protected, upgraded, and vibrant facility at 2727 Milvia rather than a set of donated pictures. Check the Save Berkeley Iceland website for more information on what’s happening and who to contact. 

Again, thanks to everyone who has supported SBI and our goals. 

Tom Killilea 

Executive Director 

SaveBerkeleyIceland.org 

• 

AIN’T ALL THAT RAPID 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

AC Transit’s misnamed Bus “Rapid” Transit (BRT) proposal has clearly lost any serious rationale when its boosters are reduced to defending it as a way to bridge the mile between adjacent Berkeley or Oakland BART stations. 

BRT isn’t all that rapid: On a long trip from Berkeley to San Leandro, AC Transit estimates that it would cut as little as six minutes off current bus schedules. Even by the shortest estimate, BRT would still take twice as long as BART, which will always be much faster. 

So, Robert Piper’s July 3 letter suggests a new rationale for BRT: as a BART connector. But if BRT saves such little time over a long haul, what would it save over the half-mile from the midpoint between two BART stations? Maybe a few seconds. 

AC Transit’s new 1R express “Rapid Bus” has already, since June 24, offered significant time savings along the BART corridor. If that wasn’t enough to switch hard-core drivers to transit, saving another few seconds won’t convert them either. And it certainly isn’t worth losing two lanes of Telegraph Ave. 

What might win new transit riders? Free transfers between BART and AC Transit. And monthly passes valid on both systems. New York City’s transit ridership, widely seen as saturated, spiked when New York finally introduced those amenities a few years ago. 

UC Berkeley and city government have been trying for years to negotiate a cross-agency pass. This shouldn’t be rocket science: Ten bus lines now participate in a “BART Plus Pass.” Actually, so did AC Transit—until it dropped out in 2003. So much for that agency’s good citizenship. 

Robert Piper and fellow BRT fan Roy Nakadegawa (letter, June 26) are both solid environmentalists and mainstays of the Sierra Club’s local chapter. But they’re also retired transit engineers, whose sympathies seem to lie with transit agencies. 

Lay transit riders, and our elected representatives, don’t have that problem. So we have the right to demand that transit agencies serve the public—not vice versa. AC Transit should abandon its Telegraph Ave. BRT boondoggle, and spend the same $400 million where it would do more good. 

Michael Katz 

• 

FOURTH OF JULY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Many thanks for printing the text of the Declaration of Independence in your July 4 issue. Our block always has a neighborhood potluck cookout on the fourth. This year, in addition to the games and food and talking, we did a reading of the Declaration. We passed it around and each person, adult or child, read a paragraph. The kids took it very seriously, and we all, whether hearing it for the first time or not, were reminded of what we are supposed to be about and why. That is a kind of patriotism I can relate to. 

Bill Mayer 

• 

HOLES IN BRT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing this letter in response to Charles Siegel’s response to a commentary I wrote about Bus Rapid Transit last week. One of my concerns with BRT is that it is going to slow emergency vehicles. Mr. Siegel disagrees, since emergency vehicles will ride in the express lanes down the center of Telegraph Avenue. But what will happen when they come up behind a BRT bus? The express lanes will be separated from the regular traffic lanes by a curb. Unless they jump the curb, there will be no way to get around the BRT bus when it stops to pick up or discharge passengers.  

Building curbs to separate the lanes on Telegraph reduces the flexibility in how emergency vehicles can get around. With a flat, continuous road surface, fire trucks, police cars and ambulances can change lanes to pass traffic, even crossing over the center line into ongoing traffic when necessary. If all four lanes are separated with curbs this flexibility will vanish and each lane will run at the speed of the slowest vehicle in the lane. 

There are many holes in the BRT draft environmental impact report. This appears to me to be one of the largest. 

BRT supporters have made many claims such as how it will increase pedestrian safety, will reduce auto trips, and will be beneficial to business. I do not see any of these benefits flowing from the implementation of BRT. Pedestrians will have to cross wide streets with two high-speed lanes in the middle. Some sidewalks will need to be narrowed along to route to accommodate the large buses. The only way auto trips will be reduced is if the BRT is going where the people who now drive need to go. If not, traffic won’t be reduced. Businesses will benefit only if people who ride BRT want to come to the business. With stops so far apart, BRT is not very shopper-friendly. And at the same time, BRT will remove a substantial number of parking places that businesses rely on for their customers. Wishing it so does not make it so.  

The Rapid Bus started running on Telegraph Ave. just last week. I think that everyone should let it run for long enough for AC Transit and riders to make adjustments to see how well this change is working before committing to spend millions of dollars that at the very least will wreck Telegraph Avenue for everyone other than the BRT. 

Mary Oram 

Willard Neighborhood Resident 

• 

BARRY BONDS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There is a going supposition afloat suggesting that good ol’ fashioned bigotry is the major factor behind the Barry Bonds bandwagon of vitriol and hatred, everywhere he plays. Except for the intentional blind spots of the crowd in San Francisco, Bonds is almost universally despised by the fans. But racism is not at the root of this justifiable contempt. 

Hank Aaron withstood an onslaught of life-threatening letters, hoots and howls. But for the most part he was respected (if not revered) in and around the ballparks of this country. Moreover, this respect was in the midst of his breaking an all time home run record set by a white man. But any fool can deduce that Barry Bonds’ ascension to history is concomitant with an inordinate increase in offensive output at an age when exactly the opposite happens to virtually all major league hitters. His astounding statistics in the last seven years also intersect with baseball’s steroid scandal, and his centrality to that investigation. Bonds is hated primarily because he has been so powerful, in every sense of the term...not because he is black!  

Baseball is a highly competitive experience, one that thrives not only on winning, but on statistics, as well. Barry, along with the usual suspects, have proven to be a royal pain the neck in both regards, making championships (like the 1989 Mcguire-Canseco A’s) and statistics in general, a ruse of arestikal proportions. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball has gone along with the charade, without the slightest hint of a moral compass, now banning banners in stadiums that are laced with nothing more than understandable scorn and disrespect for this freak of nature. While they baby Bonds toward his spurious record, a player like Jason Giambi, who tries to set the record straight and apologizes for the steroidal circus, now has to answer to commissioner Selig, and steroid investigator George Mitchell. How’s that for throwing baseball’s devotees a curve and a cutter? 

Barry Bonds is not the only piece of moral refuse in professional sports these days, but he certainly is becoming the biggest. 

Marc Winokur 

• 

ABUSE OF POWER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This administration knows no limit when it comes to abuse of power. The Libby affair is just another example of the arrogance and disregard of our legal system that this administration flaunts regularly. 

What makes it all the worse is that there seems to be no dedicated effort, no willingness from the Congress to check this contemptible and corrupt administration. It has been allowed to operate for 7 1/2 years now, plundering and pillaging the whole while. 

I plead to the Congress of this great nation to stop your cowering and do your duty. Put an end to these thugs that are corrupting our system for private and personal gain. Impeachment now. 

Mark Lowe 

• 

TERRORISM HYPOCHONDRIACS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Reaction to a damaging act often causes more damage than the act itself. As everyone now knows, the Bush administration’s response to the mass murder of 9/11 has created monumental destruction and carnage in Afghanistan and Iraq. But similar instances in which the reaction is more damaging than the cause, occur often, in smaller dimensions.  

Such is the case with the aborted attempt to set off car bombs in London and the amateurish crash of a fiery car into the Air Terminal in Glasgow, Scotland. The response has far exceeded the actual damage or even the intended damage.  

For three days print and broadcast news featured intricate details of what might have happened, could have and may yet happen. As a result airline schedules were disrupted, passengers discombobulated and frisked, luggage searched and the ripple effects quickly spread across the Atlantic to our shores. 

There is great sadness in the presumably independent press uniformly elevating a bunch of incompetent, bold and resolute jerks to the level of terrorists, in the al Qaeda mold. There is even greater sadness in the ease with which a relatively small event caused such huge repercussions.  

Are we obsessed with the possibility of terrorism? Have we become terrorism hypochondriacs?  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo  

• 

WEASEL PARDON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Department of Justice’s own guidelines specify that to apply for a commutation a convict must first have started to serve their sentence and have abandoned all appeals. Scooter Libby has done neither. Instead, Bush has again abused his office to shield Cheney and himself from further exposure of their own impeachable offenses, as would happen were Libby finally compelled to testify truthfully, as was Judith Miller by her own incarceration. 

This is nothing but a weasel pardon, a premeditated obstruction of justice. Indeed, there is nothing to prevent Bush from further granting Libby a full pardon in January of 2009, as he no doubt plans on doing, unless both he and Cheney are impeached first. More than sufficient evidence of their constitutional crimes is already a matter of public record. There is no oversight they have not unilaterally defied. And now this. What more do we need to hear? 

Claire Eustace 

Oakland 

• 

FACTS NOT REQUIRED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The current leaders of our country do not require actual facts or truth to make decisions. The United States invaded a sovereign nation based on the “fact” that that country had weapons of mass destruction and could be linked to terrorists attacks on our soil. Since those “facts” were proven erroneous the war has been continued in order to avoid having the enemy bring the fight to our country. Never mind that there is no evidence that they would. 

This predilection for making up convenient truths has infected our citizenry. 

When I assert that the notion of millions of crimes being prevented a year by guns is surely fallacious, a Mr. Doug Hawkins snows readers with the number of various crimes committed annually but no examples of any (let alone two million or more a year) being prevented by good Americans with guns. Michael Hardesty, who made the initial claim about millions a year, responds that there are “concrete examples of such deterrence” from one source and “a great many documented cases of self defense over the years” from another. 

This hardly justifies a claim of millions a year. Lastly Mr. Hardesty utilizes the conservative practice of sophomoric name calling by labeling me “a brainless lib.” 

Unsubstantiated claims and insults are the hallmark of a failed administration and the sooner it exits our political discourse the better. 

Richard Hourula 

• 

CLARIFICATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks for publishing my letter. I meant to refer to the Second Amendment Foundation but inadvertently left out the word “foundation.” My fault, not yours. Just in case anyone is wondering.  

Michael Hardesty 

• 

CANDIDATE CLINTON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Those of us who approve of Sen. Clinton and her progressive values seem to face a tough problem when evaluating her chances as a Presidential candidate for 2008. 

Her personal qualities and positions on the issues make us support her and that may give her the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in 2008. Then of course she will face the opposing party’s negative campaign machine. 

Among the things that can be used by the other party is a recent article in the liberal New Yorker magazine, which details some difficult charges while reviewing a new book by Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame, titled A Woman in Charge. 

One of the worst charges seems to be the view that then-First Lady Clinton’s Health Care Reform attempt in 1993, was a “debacle” in which a bloated and incomprehensible proposal was delivered to Congress months late. 

According to Bernstein, when some in Congress wanted changes, the First Lady made the blunder of threatening to “demonize” them. This offended those whose support she most needed and led a leading Democratic Senator at the time to characterize her response as showing arrogance, disdain, and hypocrisy. When the First Lady’s plan did not get sufficient backing, bipartisan efforts to propose simpler alternatives were refused support by her. Ultimately no plan was passed. 

The possibility remains that had her support been given, an alternative bill could have been passed and millions of Americans now without health insurance could have received coverage 14 years ago. 

One of the task force’s deputies said at the time, “I find her to be among the most self-righteous people I’ve ever known in my life... and it’s her great flaw, it’s what killed health care.” 

The Republicans will likely make use of this information from Senator Clinton’s record in the 2008 campaign, as they have the right to do. 

Those of us who support and value Senator Clinton may wish to develop answers to the health care issue and to develop a strong list of the Senator’s notable accomplishments as First Lady and as Senator, so that she can have a good chance in the Presidential campaign, should she be our nominee. There seems to be some time left to do this. 

Brad Belden 

• 

FIX OUR FERALS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I went to my veterinarian’s office to buy cat food the other day. A doctor told me that she had had to kill 24 kittens the day before because the shelter was unable to adopt them out. Too many unwanted kittens. There is something we can do. A wonderful organization started by a friend of mine, Linda McCormick, called Fix Our Ferals is about to spay and neuter their 10,000th feral cat. Fix Our Ferals monitors, traps, and “fixes” the strays who live and breed outside, alone and mostly uncared for. Lots of volunteers help out at the clinics held every two months at the Oakland SPCA on Hegenberger Road. The veterinarians and vet students come from UC Davis to do the surgeries as volunteers. There is a clinic coming up Sunday, July 15. If you know of any ferals living around you, call their hot line at 433-9446. Also visit their very nice website www.fixourferals.org. 

Barbara Henninger 

• 

SUMMERTIME FUN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This has been a summer when most of my friends are planning, or are now enjoying, fabulous vacations in faraway, romantic spots. One friend is presently in London, following a glorious week in Bruges. Another is leaving for Croatia this Friday. Still another lucky friend will be taking a river cruise: “Old World Prague and The Blue Danube.” All of this makes me rather reluctant to share my own plans. When I announced that I’d be spending five days in Burlingame, jaws dropped. “Burlingame? You’re going to Burlingame?” Well, I’m the first one to admit that this particular city hasn’t ranked high on my list of places not to be missed. 

But let me explain how it all came about. Several weeks ago I received a flyer from Elderhostel announcing a five day Comedy Theme Program. Now if you haven’t heard of Elderhostel, you’re clearly from another planet. Anyway, the flyer provided alluring details of a comedy workshop to be held at the Embassy Suites in Burlingame. This program has evidently become one of the most popular programs in all Elderhostel and it’s easy to see why. The comedy theme week included live performances by some of the top Bay Area comics—stand-up comedians, clowns, an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, etc., etc. But what got me was the promise, “You’ll laugh until it hurts!” Brother, was I in need of a laugh! Admit it, this has been one lousy year: the bloody mess in Iraq (and that nerd in the White House just itching to do battle with Iran); the mass shootings in Virginia, melting ice glaciers, and, worse of all, the heart-wrenching ordeal of Paris Hilton). Yep, if ever I needed a laugh, it was now. 

All in all, it was a fantastic week. The Embassy Suites, a gorgeous hotel, looks out at the Bay and across to the S.F. Airport. The 52 participants were a lively bunch—Hal Roach’s daughter was one and she regaled us with stories of the distant pass when she starred in “The Little Rascals.” With morning and afternoon lectures by veteran comedians and ancient movies (Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Danny Kaye film clips) we did indeed laugh until it hurt! 

But the very best part of al—there were no airport hassles, no canceled flights—just an easy 35-minute drive from the Bay Area. I had such a fabulous time I may sign up again for another program featuring great Jewish comedians and Borscht Belt comedy. 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

The administration swept aside laws it didn’t like or found inconvenient and ignored citizens’ protests as it catered to the commercial interests of its supporters. Sound familiar? No, we’re not talking about the Bush/Cheney administration but, sadly, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and some members of the City Council. 

Call it trickle-down. Not the financial kind but the trickling down—all the way down to grassroots Berkeley, the alleged bastion of progressive politics and uber-democracy—of Bush administration-style bullying tactics as seen in the Bates administration’s attempt to ramrod through its approval of developer John Gordon’s proposed 5,000-square-foot restaurant and bar in the former Wright’s Garage near the intersection of Ashby and College avenues, smack in the middle of the city’s historic Elmwood District. First, the Zoning Adjustments Board recommended that the project be approved in contravention of sitting ordinances regulating commercial growth and limiting the number of certain businesses—including restaurants—in the Elmwood. Mayor Bates, who ran as a progressive but, once in office, apparently never met a commercial developer he didn’t like, favors granting Gordon a use permit for his upscale eatery and watering spot, which would be sited against a residential neighborhood and open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The matter will come to a final vote at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting where Elmwood residents and merchants will make one more impassioned effort to convince the Berkeley solons to either deep-six Mr. Gordon’s proposal or send it back to ZAB for much-needed revision. 

Two councilmembers have been recused from the vote, one because he owns property near the former Wright’s Garage and the other for taking an advocacy position for the project on the Kitchen Democracy website that polled the issue. To make matters worse, the councilmember’s description of the Gordon development on KitchenDemocracy.org grossly misrepresented the project, no mention being made of the restaurant’s 5,000-square-foot size, the expected patronage, or the presence of a bar and lounge. Thus, the misrepresentation of the poll, in which a majority subsequently favored the project, essentially rendered the results bogus. (Also, the poll was not confined to Elmwood residents.) Nevertheless, ZAB used the results of the Kitchen Democracy poll as the sole representation of neighborhood support in its deliberations on the project, its members rejecting numerous letters of opposition to the proposed development and live testimony from actual Elmwood residents in the flesh. Especially galling was ZAB secretary Debra Sanderson’s observation at the June 26 Council meeting that the Elmwood Neighborhood Association didn’t exist—with the implication that the 40 or so Elmwood residents sitting behind her waiting to voice their opposition to the restaurant/bar were irrelevant. 

For his part, Bates claims to understand that parking is an ongoing problem in the Elmwood District. And yet he has embraced a fallacious and largely empty solution recommended by ZAB for accommodating hoards of cars expected if the restaurant use permit is upheld. Basically, ZAB’s recommendation states that the developer only has to try “to the extent possible” to come up with a parking solution—but if Gordon tries and doesn’t succeed, there’s nothing to keep him from getting his building permit. As anyone who frequents and laments the congested traffic situation in the Elmwood knows, the likelihood for finding any more parking space embraced by the two-block business district is negligible. This means that the expected cars driven into the area by restaurant/bar patrons will have no other place to go except into adjacent residential neighborhood streets. For Elmwood residents this does not constitute a tenable solution. At the June 19 council meeting, Bates spent more time trying to figure out how to get the item kicked off the agenda for the following week’s council meeting than listening to the concerns Elmwood residents brought to him. These concerns include traffic safety, congestion, drunk driving and other alcohol-related behavior problems, noise, and additional exhaust pollution. 

After Bates heard statements from Elmwood residents who’d waited up to three hours to speak at last week’s council meeting, a motion was advanced by Councilmember Kriss Worthington to remand the project back to ZAB for further consideration. The motion failed by one vote, with two members voting against, two members recused, and one (Darryl Moore) abstaining. Leaving the meeting, one Elmwood resident who’d suggested in his two-minute statement that the restaurant/bar might be picketed by neighborhood opponents if it came to fruition was accosted by Gordon’s lawyer, Harry Pollack, who yelled into the senior citizen’s face that his presentation had been “despicable” and offered a few other choice words. Pollack’s performance on the steps of the Old City Hall was pretty despicable itself, given its intimidating nature—the attorney was literally trembling with rage. Apparently, Mr. Pollock, having also taken a page from the Bush administration, hasn’t heard of the First Amendment to the Constitution and the freedoms it confers to citizens to speak freely at public meetings and to picket. 

The larger ramification of the Gordon project, which is hugely out of proportion to the ability of the Elmwood commercial and residential area to accommodate it, is the precedent it will serve for other neighborhoods in the city under assault by developers. Progress is inevitable, but if we are to preserve the unique character of our Berkeley neighborhoods, limitations must be placed on it—and, especially when ordinances are already in place to implement those curbs, those laws should be enforced by the city government, which is pledged to serve and protect its citizens. Elections are coming, and the mayor and some council members have announced their intention to run for re-election. Two have indicated a desire to stand for the state Assembly. How Mayor Bates and the City Council vote in Tuesday’s decision on the Gordon Elmwood restaurant/bar project should be a good indication to Berkeley residents whether they deserve to be returned to office or elevated to higher service in government.  

As Councilmember Dona Spring observed at last week’s meeting, “this project stinks to high heaven!” Indeed it does, and just like that offensive odor emanating from Washington, it’s only going to get worse unless the people do something about it. The Elmwood Neighborhood Association urges residents to attend Tuesday’s City Council meeting and voice their opposition to the proposed restaurant/bar development and the strong-arm tactics adopted by the Bates administration and developer John Gordon. 

Elmwood resident David Esler writes on behalf of the Elmwood Neighborhood Association (www.theelmwood.org). 

The writers supporting guns for self-defense don’t seem to be honest, or not very good at numbers. After Richard Hourula questioned the veracity of Michael Hardesty’s claim that guns are used millions of times per year, Hardesty fell back on the claim that there are a great many documented cases of self defense over the years, and it was therefore a reasonable estimate. In short, he made up numbers to make the argument look good. Hawkins adds up violent crimes, property crimes, burglary, larceny and so on to get an estimate of 20 million crimes per year, but according to the FBI website “In the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson,” so he has double counted the property crimes. However what is more important is that “The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims.” There were only about a half million crimes per year where force or a threat of force was involved, and therefore where self-defense may be involved. If there are two million successful cases of self-defense then only 20 percent of the attempted violent acts were successful. It is hard to believe violent crime would be the problem that it is if its success rate was so low. Ms. Cloudwalker claims that 20 percent of homicides are concentrated in four cities with gun control, but provides no evidence that the two facts are related. A strong clue that they are not is that her numbers are old, and that by 2003 the value was about 10 percent. Washington D.C., which is one of the four, has been undergoing gentrification, and its murder rate dropped from first in the nation in 1991 at 81 per 100,000 to a much reduced but still horrible 44 in 2003, with the vast majority of the homicides occurring in those areas which have not yet been gentrified. New York has reduced its murder rate to 7.4, which is substantially below what is expected for a city of its size, its rate of poverty, unemployment, female head of household, and racial makeup. Locally one only need compare Richmond, with a murder rate of 36.7 to Berkeley, with a murder rate of 5.7, to realize that you have to account for all the variables before trying to draw conclusions about gun control and crime rates. 

Does it matter if it is less than several millions, as long as some people are enabled to successfully defend themselves? There are about 800 accidental deaths from guns per year, and one study described at library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNSTAT.html claimed that for every successful self-defense shooting there were 4 unintentional ones. Another site cited several studies showing a positive correlation to gun ownership and homicide and robbery rates. There is clearly a trade-off, so the numbers do matter. Even more to the point, there are products which aren’t generally lethal, but still provide protection (sprays and tazers). 

Are the kids in gangs any safer from all having guns? Will crooks faced with a possibly armed populace reform? Or just shoot first? In Texas a Japanese student was shot asking directions—do we really need more paranoid people with guns? 

Robert Clear is an Oakland resident.

For years my definition of a bore was “Someone, who when you ask how they are, they tell you.” It always got a laugh. However, these days the laugh’s on me. For I myself am now that quintessential Bore. When asked how I feel no longer say “Fine!” Instead, I launch into a recital of my aches and pains, completely disregarding the stifled yawns around me. I cannot believe that I’ve turned into such a person—one I don’t like at all. Never in my wildest nightmares did I think that I could bore anyone—and myself as well! 

So here I am, past my four score and ten, with a string of ailments euphemistically dubbed “part of the aging process.” The trouble with living past 90 is there’s no future in it. Our faculties fade and our body parts deteriorate, period. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. 

It’s not like when I was younger and survived such crises as a hysterectomy, gall bladder removal and ovarian cancer. Today I’m not even sure I can survive the common cold. All I know is that my life is changing. The activities I still enjoy will diminish. My energy level will drop and I will need more sleep than ever. And then I will find myself constantly losing things and wasting precious time looking for them. Whatever I do will take twice as long. Et cerera, et cetera, et cetera. The list is endless. 

And yet, believe it or not, these are minor inconveniences compared with my big problem—macular degeneration—or a gradual loss of vision. Although it will proceed slowly and I will never be completely blind, the fact remains that I can no longer read newspapers, magazines or books unless they are in large print. My friends tell me that talking books are just as good—but not for me. I like the feel of a book, I like the printed word. I like turning the pages. Trips to the library are no longer the fun they used to be. 

Even more frustrating are my shopping trips. Up till now, my biggest problem in Long’s or Safeway was my height—or lack of it. More often than no, what I wanted was on a top shelf and I couldn’t reach it. Now I can barely see it, let alone read the label or the price tag. Similarly, when waiting for the bus, I cannot read its number as it approaches, or read the schedules posted at the bus stop. And when I’m finally on my way, I can’t read the street signs or house numbers to know when to get off. 

The saving grace in all this is what my mind is still fairly sharp. Not as sharp as I’d like, but sharp enough. Nor has my sense of humor left me, and though there are days when I feel so sorry for myself, I find nothing to laugh about. It’s just no fun getting older. 

Last year when I wrote my memoir Turning Points I felt I was at my peak. I was sure I’d soon have another big writing project under way. No such luck. The book was finished in December and on Jan. 12, I had a panic attack. Barely breathing, I managed to call my daughter, Debbie, who called 911. I vaguely remember lying in an ambulance, being in the Alta Bates Emergency Room, and then being transferred to Kaiser Hospital where I stayed for almost a week. The attack changed my life altogether. My other daughter and mygranddaughter Suzin and Coby, flew out from New Jersey to join Debbie and her daughter and me. That was the best part of being sick—I was surrounded by my dear ones. They spoiled me rotten and I loved every minute. But that too ended when they had to return to their own lives. 

I can go on like this, but it just occurred to me how boring I must be. I’ve been telling you just how I feel, and you haven’t even ask me. Nor did I ask you how you feel. Please forgive this crochety old woman. That’s the trouble with the aging process. 

With the humor, realism, and moving imagery we’ve come to expect from Michael Moore, Sicko is exactly the medicine needed by the public debate around health care. The film has three simple messages: First, the American health care “system” is utterly broken, not just for the 40 million uninsured, but potentially for all of us. Second, this is totally unnecessary; other countries have systems that work quite well. Third, this is far more than an economic issue—the way we treat the sickest among us is a moral disgrace of staggering proportions.  

As a frequent speaker and teacher on health policy, I’ve learned that most Americans, even the well educated, know very little about our health care system. A popular view in the street or classroom is that anybody can get access to care “if they’re sick enough,” or if they know who and how to ask for it. Sicko fully explodes this myth, and identifies clearly the for-profit elements of our system that are to blame—health insurance companies, drug companies, the AMA, and private HMOs and hospitals.  

The film details how their lobbyists and fundraisers corrupt national politics to keep their profits. Meantime, thanks to 80 years of propaganda by these sectors against government sponsored health care, Americans also tend to be skeptical of universal systems such as Canada’s, England’s and France’s, and the film’s tour of those generally well functioning systems is a powerful antidote to the hype.  

Naturally, the for-profit health sector is fuming about Sicko and have already begun their counter-attack, leveling the usual charge against socially responsible journalism, that it shows a “liberal bias.” The truth is that money has assured this debate’s ultra-conservative bias for so long, that Moore’s view is sorely needed to balance the picture.  

Christie W. Kiefer is professor emeritus of anthropology at UC San Francisco and a board member of Lifelong Medical Care. LifeLong Medical Care (www.lifelongmedical.org) was formed in 1996 as a merger between two clinics with deep community roots in Berkeley. The Over 60 Health Center began in 1976 as an outgrowth of the Gray Panthers, a senior citizens’ advocacy organization. In 1989, Berkeley Primary Care was born in response to citizen protest over the closing of Herrick Hospital and a lack of prenatal care for low-income women. Since the merger, Lifelong has grown to encompass five medical clinics, a dental clinic, an Adult Day Health Center for elders with complex care needs, and a Supportive Housing Program for formerly homeless adults.  

LifeLong is known as the primary “safety net” provider of medical services to the uninsured and those with complex health needs in Berkeley, North Oakland, downtown Oakland, east Oakland, Albany and Emeryville. In 2004, LifeLong provided approximately 101,000 primary care visits to over 17,000 people, nearly half of whom were uninsured.  

FIRE TRAIL 

Editors, Daily Planet 

I frequently hike on the Strawberry Canyon fire trail, and was recently dismayed to see a sign posted announcing the use of herbicides along the trail. It is particularly ironic because at the beginning of the trail is a prominent sign that says “Ecological Study Area.” It then lists the things that are forbidden, including firearms and bicycles, but makes no mention of herbicides. I guess that makes them OK. 

Carol David 

• 

POWERS THAT BE 

Editors, Daily Planet 

Professor Chapela is on track. There is an increasing number of serious scientists whose works are being dismissed or even ridiculed by the “mainstream” scientists in the academic-industry-government complex. We notice that burning biofuel does little to curb global CO2 emissions because it is, like gasoline, a hydrocarbon. Notice also that the only way to produce necessary levels of energy in an emission-free manner is to employ nuclear energy. However, the large energy-producing powers that be—petroleum, coal, and ethanol—are dead set against the expansion of nuclear energy use. This is because if we were to employ nuclear energy at the level that, say, France does, it would greatly curtail our need for these CO2-producing sources. In fact, the BP grant of $400 million to UC to study alternative fuels makes no money available for research and improvement in our nuclear energy production. This even though UC has one of the nation’s few nuclear engineering departments. 

Peter Fowler 

Oakland 

• 

EMPTY LOT 

Editors, Daily Planet 

My thanks to Carol Denney for her courteous and totally convincing account of the many problems that have beset the empty lot at Telegraph and Haste. I would, nonetheless, plead: “Tear down that fence, City Council!” 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

• 

RAISING AWARENESS 

Editors, Daily Planet 

I tend to agree with Becky O’Malley (“Taking the Pledge, One More Time,” June 29) that promising to abstain from sex until after marriage or not drink alcohol before age 21 is not the most effective way to develop a healthy attitude toward sex and substances. I took both pledges as a youth, good Catholic that I once was, and am pleased to admit that I failed at both—in part because by age 30, I was still not married. 

What puzzles me about the rest of Becky’s column is why she criticizes the city’s effort to raise local awareness of global warming and our individual contributions to it. What is the point exactly? The city and many others are engaged in an outreach campaign that is intended to educate and to engender in the population a sense that global warming can be addressed. How that happens takes a number of forms. The personal reduction pledge is one of many tools. For example, we’ve had a Measure G kick-off event to which everyone in the city was invited, a number of city commissions are hosting workshops on climate change to which the public is invited, the city is embarking on an effort to extend renewable energy into the residential and commercial sector funded in part by a grant from the Department of Energy, the mayor has already brought together 10 of the county’s 13 cities into an alliance to address climate change on a regional level, as a board member of the Bay Area Air Quality District the mayor has made climate change a top priority for that institution. The list really does go on. And from my view, it is all intended to get us closer to the level of greenhouse gas reductions that good science tells us we have to achieve in order to avoid irreversible harm to the planet. 

We’ve got a very long way to go to achieve an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and not a lot of time in which to do it. As we are challenged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions further, our individual and collective actions will have to go beyond light bulb replacements and Energy Star appliances. The Berkeley Daily Planet is a valuable community resource that could play a significant role in encouraging its readers to become more responsive to the problem and offering its own positive suggestions for how to reduce our impacts. The Planet could do its part by becoming the first newspaper in Alameda County to become a certified green business. That would demonstrate the positive, can-do approach that will give us a chance. 

Tom Kelly  

KyotoUSA 

• 

BUS RAPID TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet 

Some opponents of Bus Rapid Transit argue that it will duplicate BART. Not really. The two services would serve different sets of trips. BRT would more likely feed passengers to BART than bleed them off. 

The right question is not how close the routes are but how close the stations are. BART stations along the corridor are a mile to three miles apart (except for 12th to 19th Street in downtown Oakland, which is almost half a mile). The BRT stations, depending on the alternative, are much closer to one another. There are only 10 BART stations along the corridor versus 35 to 51 BRT stations. 

The routes themselves are quite far apart along much of the corridor. For example, it is a long half-mile from Ashby BART to Telegraph Avenue, the equivalent of almost nine football fields. Try hiking it on a hot summer day or during a winter storm. Alta Bates Medical Center, one block further east, will be convenient to BRT but not to BART. 

These differences are important. Most passengers do not walk far to transit. Consistent research over the decades has shown that fewer than half of rail transit passengers walk as much as 10 minutes (about half a mile). They walk less far to bus stops. We have no data yet on how far they will walk to BRT stations. 

BRT is intended to serve trips that BART does not. Cash customers whose origin and destination are both close to BART stations will probably choose BART. It will be faster and more comfortable, in some cases, cheaper. Those who have a 31-day ticket or a student pass may prefer BRT. BRT will offer some advantages. Stations will have no stairs or escalators, service will be more frequent, and the buses will be quieter inside than BART cars currently are. 

For the most part, BRT will serve one set of travelers and BART another. There will be some overlap but not much. 

Robert R. Piper 

• 

BRT JITNEY ALTERNATIVE 

Editors, Daily Planet 

I would like to suggest an alternative to Bus Rapid Transit by using local microbus or jitney services at each BART Station to supplement BART. But first, some background. 

Data on walking distances to transit locations is hard to find. Part of the confusion is that as the walking distance becomes greater, the collection area becomes greater with the square of the distance, but the probability of somebody willing to walk that greater distance decreases dramatically. According to information on Sierra Club’s website, 70 percent of walkers will walk 500 feet, and 40 percent will walk 1,000 feet, but only 10 percent will walk a half-mile to public transportation. 

BART is comfortable, sleek, modern, and fast, traveling on average close to 35 mph. BART was terribly expensive to install, but is now relatively cheap and cost-effective to operate. The problem is that the stations are located typically a mile or more apart in most of the East Bay. Normal city buses travel a poky 9-11 mph, but conveniently stop every couple of blocks. Bus frequency can be an issue, but the slow speed is not a significant factor if the trip is short. 

The proposed Bus Rapid Transit route essentially parallels BART at 2-3 blocks distance for most of its length. BRT will have stops every half mile or so, and will apparently travel only 30-40 percent faster than local buses. The disadvantage is that BRT will eliminate two lanes of traffic on very heavily used streets like Telegraph Avenue, and will eliminate significant amounts of parking for passenger loading platforms. Bus Rapid Transit will also cause major disruption at several busy intersections that apparently cannot be ameliorated. Although BRT will reduce particulates, the overall advantages for speed, fuel consumption, and global warming gases are relatively insignificant. 

I would like to suggest that the local cities and BART get together to consider a local microbus or jitney service that would pick and deliver people locally to each BART station. A jitney making pickup circles or figure eights at five or six blocks distance would theoretically increase the number of BART’s passengers by a factor of ten. Furthermore, since BRT path is so close to BART path, the jitney service would cover virtually the entire BRT path, providing most of BRT’s advantages, but without the disadvantages of lost traffic lanes, lost parking and $300 million investment. This may be worth considering. 

Ozzie Vincent 

• 

BRT ERRORS 

Editors, Daily Planet 

There are obvious errors in the June 29 op-ed about Bus Rapid Transit by Mary Oram and others. 

First, they claim that BRT will slow emergency vehicles. In reality, emergency response will be much faster when there are two dedicated center lanes just for buses and emergency vehicles. 

Second, they claim this plan will not work for traffic. In reality, AC Transit’s environmental impact report shows that all intersections on Telegraph will work. Automobile traffic will be a bit slower, because there will not be a fast lane and all drivers will have to travel at the speed of the safest drivers, but traffic will flow smoothly, according to the people who have analyzed the numbers. 

Third, they reveal their gasoholic bias by saying that Telegraph works well today, thinking only of how it works for cars. They should look at pedestrians hesitating at the cross-walks, afraid of the aggressive traffic, to see that this street does not work for everyone. BRT will make it easier to cross, and businesses will benefit when people shopping on one side of the street do not hesitate to walk across to the other side. 

Some shop owners seem to think that this plan will hurt their business. I don’t know why they believe that aggressive traffic and dangerous pedestrian crossings make a street a good place to do business. In reality, businesses will benefit when BRT makes Telegraph more pedestrian-friendly and brings more people. 

Charles Siegel 

• 

RACHEL CORRIE RESOLUTION 

Editors, Daily Planet 

I will not get into a point-by-point rebuttal to John Gertz’s rambling rant of June 29, but only point out that he again misrepresents the resolution passed by the City Council nearly four years ago, requesting a full independent investigation of Rachel Corrie’s death. Gertz says that the resolution ignored all Israeli casualties in the conflict, while in fact it said: “The City of Berkeley supports peace and justice and opposes the senseless killing of innocent Palestinians, Israelis and others.”  

The full text of the City Council resolution can be found at www.tomjoad.org (see “Response to Gertz”). There is also a full list of the 77 members of the House of Representatives (including Congresswoman Lee) that also supported a similar resolution in 2003.  

Mr. Gertz also states, without a shred of evidence, that Kriss Worthington regrets his support for this simple resolution. Kriss is a tireless supporter of peace and human rights for all, locally and globally, whether it be homeless youth, exploited garment industry workers, military resisters of the Iraq war, and all the victims of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He has never said he regretted his vote on the Corrie resolution. This does not prevent Gertz from rewriting history. Gertz goes on to direct his wrath on Linda Maio and demonizes her, merely because she joined the majority on the city council (including current member Dona Spring and former members Maudelle Shirek and Margaret Breland), 77 members of the House of Representatives, Amnesty International and numerous other human rights organizations, in calling for an independent investigation into Corrie’s death.  

An independent investigation into the death of Tom Hurndall, a British activist killed while protecting children in Gaza just weeks after Corrie’s death, was demanded by the British government. That is why Israeli soldiers were eventually held accountable for Tom’s murder. Would a similar investigation result in similar conclusions in the case of Rachel Corrie? Thanks to obstructionists like Gertz, we may never know.  

Jim Harris  

• 

GUN CONTROL 

Editors, Daily Planet 

I was struck by the thoughtful letter from David Knauer on the subject of gun control. One sentence in particular caught my eye. It begins, “Those who own and carry guns usually have studied the gun laws quite thoroughly,” and goes on to paint a placid picture of sober, responsible citizens who have studied and trained with firearms before carrying them. David Knauer asks us to refrain from generalizing about the attitudes and habits of gun owners. Fair enough. 

I support gun control because it seems to work for other western nations that have fewer firearm fatalities per capita than we do. I do believe that most gun owners are law-abiding and responsible. I’m much less inclined to feel that way about gun dealers and firearm manufacturers. I have no wish to abolish our right to bear arms, and I really don’t mind if my neighbor owns a shotgun or a deer rifle. I do want the government to prevent her from owning a tank, rocket-launcher, flame thrower, or anti-personnel mines, and I have no objection to legal limits on type of gun, allowable ammunition, rate of fire, and magazine capacity. 

I have to say that while the idea of an armed citizenry acting as a deterrent to criminals has a certain “sounds good” appeal on the surface, the more I think about it the more scared I get. Our sober, responsible citizens all seem to think they can use a cell phone and drive at the same time... 

Paul Mackinney 

• 

THE NUMBERS 

Editors, Daily Planet 

Regarding Mr. Hourula’s response to Mr. Hardesty’s letter: These numbers are taken from the FBI Crime Statistics for the year 2005. (2006 is still preliminary.) These numbers are of course rounded. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter, 17,000. Forcible rape, 94,000. Robbery, 400,000. Property crime, 10 million. Burglary, 2.15 million. Larceny, 6.8 million. Motor vehicle theft, 1.23 million. So for the latest year completed, there were over 20 million crimes reported, or over 2,281 per hour.  

Suddenly, an additional 228 crimes stopped is put into a little better focus. With those numbers, and the fact that some crimes, especially rape, are under reported, I suspect that Las Vegas would probably back Mr. Hardesty over Mr. Hourula on Mr. Hourula’s bet.  

As for Ms. Snodgrass’ comments, my small 5’3” 90-pound daughter with a 9mm pistol is the equal of a 300-pound man with or without a gun. In last class I took, the two women attending both shot as well or better than the men. And that is a consistent finding by most instructors.  

Doug Hawkins 

• 

DETERRENT TO CRIME 

Editors, Daily Planet 

The fact is that millions of people use guns every year in this country as a deterrent to crime. The New American regularly publishes a column titled “Exercising The Right” which gives concrete examples of such deterrence. Organizations which support a citizen’s right to self-defense such as the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment have also recorded a great many documented cases of self-defense over the years. We have over 300 million people in the U.S.A. and the estimate of several millions acting in self-defense is reasonable. Even a brainless lib can figure this out, most of the time if you deter a criminal with your gun, are you going to report to the cops ? In many jurisdictions you would be in more trouble than the would-be criminals, this one included. 

After reading Mr. Hourla’s figure of “billions” of false claims in the media, I defer to his obvious expertise in this area. 

Michael P. Hardesty 

Oakland 

• 

LISTENING TO CHILDREN 

Editors, Daily Planet 

My long career as a teacher tells me that we need to change our parenting styles. I know parents face challenges in their daily lives. But they need to learn how to offer open attention whenever their children need attention. Parents should learn how to focus on what their child is trying to say but cannot say clearly. Children need to feel they can try to express their inner feelings and be supported as they try. 

Romila Khanna 

Albany 

• 

CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet 

The office of the vice president, as well as that of the president, should not be above the law. The administration of justice, and application of law should be without regard to political partisanship, and should not be run with political bias, as it is now. 

John Schaeffer 

Richmond 

• 

DICTATOR IN CHIEF 

Editors, Daily Planet 

Fourth of July, freedom’s call, and yet George Bush just recently (May 9) issued a “presidential directive” that allows him to assume control of the federal government following a “catastrophic emergency.” 

Wait, it gets worse. The directive doesn’t specifically identify the types of “emergencies” that would qualify as catastrophic. In fact, the directive is so broad that it could include anything the public is led to believe might have a major impact on the country. 

This directive follows on the heels of a bill which gave the president the power to declare martial law. This couldn’t happen in America. Have you forgotten so quickly the takeover and power grab of the U.S. government orchestrated by Bush and the Republicans?  

How does George W. Bush, dictator-in-chief, sound? 

Ron Lowe  

Grass Valley 

• 

HAPPY FOURTH! 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why was the great Dr. Kevorkian given eight years and called a killer by the system when the little turtle in the White House is allowed to maim and murder our troops at the toss of a coin? 

Dr. Kevorkian was a mercy doctor with great compassion for the terminally ill. The little turtle is a sick schizo, who is still allowed to practice his role as our president. Happy Fourth of July? I don’t think so! 

Alice Noriega 

• 

CALEXICO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your recent article, “Food Festival Spotlights West Berkeley’s Cultures,” says deli owner Luis Arango “came to California from Calexico 16 years ago...” 

Unless the border recently shifted northward, I believe Calexico is still very much a a part of Imperial County, California. 

Paul Slater 

• 

ASHAMED TO BE FROM BERKELEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The poor, the homeless and the addicted came to the City Council meeting with hats in hand, begging for their programs to be funded at past rates, as all of them have been cut, a la Bush. This at the same time Mayor Bates is trying to push them out of town. 

On the other hand, Bates has recommended hiring a transportation planner for $225,000 for 18 months. With all the consultants Berkeley hires one would think we have no employees. It’s sort of like Bush hiring contractors to do the work of the regular army for five times their pay. 

Meanwhile services that help the poor, homeless and the addicted have had to reduce hours, reduce days and reduce staff. For shame. 

Rosemary Vimont 

• 

TRAFFIC DIVERTERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to Esten Sesto’s June 5 letter regarding traffic diverters, oh do we ever hate those things! It would take up the entire paper to list all the reasons, so we’ll just write about the diverter at Ninth Street and Delaware. 

First of all it sends all the cars to the 1800 block of Ninth Street. At commute time that block must have hundreds of cars whizzing by. But the 1700 block has its own woes. The diverter is evidently a challenge to those drivers aspiring to the Indianapolis speedway. Three times in recent memory two cars and a truck have gone at top speed and either careened around the corner and hit a parked car, or in the case of the truck, tried to go around the diverter using the sidewalk. (It hit a city tree.) When the police are called, they shrug their shoulders and go on their way.  

In our opinion, the roundabout at 10th Street and Delaware should have been placed at Ninth Street. Or better yet, omit the roundabout and install a four-way stop at Ninth and Delaware. We see cars using the sidewalk to avoid the diverter on a regular basis. 

Carol Beth and Kathleen McCarter 

• 

WORKING FOR THE CITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your articles about the “fired” employees at the Berkeley Housing Authority (but wait, “we can’t fire them”) reminded me of when I worked at the City of Berkeley in the 1970s. There was a slice of the workforce which had little to do. I used to bring a library book with me to work because on some days there was nothing to do. Then, someone decided I needed two assistants. They didn’t have anything to do either. 

There was another slice of the workforce which was always “on leave,” “disabled” or “out sick.” Nobody cared. Then there were numerous well-known (among employees) of those so incompetent it was painful to watch. Nobody did anything about that either. The mayor at that time openly stated that one of the main aims of city government was to provide jobs for folks such as the above. 

It doesn’t sound like much has changed. And we can pat ourselves on the back by remembering that we will be paying pensions to these folks (and their spouses) for life, as well as lifetime medical care. 

Rob Snodgrass 

• 

GARBAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In mid-June there was a report on the BUSD and city discussing issues, one of which was garbage. Mayor Bates called people “slobs.” I resent that. I have tried for years to have more garbage cans around Berkeley. I was passed around various levels of highly paid bureaucracy to no avail. Other clean and busy towns have four cans at an intersection. This way you need not walk down a whole block or cross a busy street to deposit your garbage. Our garbage cans are often overfull. We need many more garbage cans as on Solano, Hopkins and Gilman, outside schools (public and private), near all bus stops, and many other areas. 

The stylish new cans with upper trays for recyclables get unrecyclable drink containers. People don’t understand what is recyclable since every city recycles different things. 

Today the garbage collectors left my neighbors’ diapers in the gutter as they collected things. Follow the trucks. This is common. 

I suspect that the homeless and less than mature young folks also deposit things on the street. Maybe our beloved neighbors do too or am I the only one to notice? Dismissing us all as slobs is short-sighted and disrespectful of the people who live here. 

I think we fail in our education about recycling. We also fail in handling the homeless problem. They could be picking up the garbage in exchange for a place to sleep. Instead we pay some far-off techy entrepreneur for sophisticated street sweepers that employ one person each and who wake everyone up. This is line with Bates’ vindictive and disparaging comment, however. 

I have spoken with a barely-speaking-English speaker on San Pablo Avenue for putting a drink can in the gutter. She insisted it was where it was supposed to go. I have witnessed six gardeners suited for protection dump garden toxins from back tanks on a bluff over the ocean (south of Stinson). Inquiries about both events were futile. 

The Alameda Clean Water Program and local and state waste “management” programs lack any effort to address the reality of our population. Flyers, pencils and other educational devices are almost exclusively in English. The parks in Marin passed the buck for so long that when someone finally checked out the area they found nothing. My photograph of the people and the truck with the license plate did not suffice. 

I’m tired of folks passing the buck. Carry a plastic bag and pick up the garbage when you go anywhere, folks, and stop blaming everyone else. If you have any influence, Tom Bates, get the waste agencies to educate the less than privileged hard-working folks, so that congenial outreach reaches them. Or is that just too inconceivable? 

Wendy Weikel 

• 

DISCRIMINATION AND BIAS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

An article appeared in your paper concerning a white male ex-cop who hit and killed an 82-year-old female pedestrian. According to the article he was also arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. The most amazing fact in the article was that his bail was set at just $30,000. 

I’m currently in the process of filing a citizen’s complaint with Supervisor John Gioia’s office, concerning the excessive bail levied against African Americans; other people of color; and, of course, poor people. Let me explain what I believe is disparate treatment. About two weeks ago, an African American mother of two small children got into a domestic dispute with her male companion. Her offense was that she accidentally scratched him while trying to wrest her keys from his fist. Her bail was set at $50,000. 

The facts are that she did not kill anyone and wasn’t arrested for a DUI, but she accidentally scratched someone. Something is terribly wrong with this scenario. In my view this incident reeks of bias and points to the two-tiered system of punishment that minorities and poor people face every day. This kind of bias is not acceptable in our communities.  

Nicole J. Williams 

Richmond 

Today, the biggest “temples” are skyscrapers devoted to office work; no cathedrals at the center of town devoted to worship of a Higher Power. The true religion of world civilization is money. The attack upon of the World Trade Center in New York City was not just an “attack upon America” but an attack upon the current modes of world civilization. Terrorism challenges civilization, just like street crime challenges a local community. Crime is a symptom of a social sickness; terrorism is the surface symptom of systemic disorder in civilization. 

What’s wrong with civilization now? We must ask and dig into this question. This question has been asked since the beginning of the industrial revolution. And, needs to be asked even more now. The terrorism that we suffer now is happening as a tension between the oil producing and oil consuming parts of our civilized modern world. I have no answers, but ask that we just look at this tension in all its dimensions. 

Modern global civilization depends on freeways, cheap petroleum, making lots of stuff, shipping stuff here and there, extensive personal and business travel, telecommunications and computer networks. These are the wonders, and potential downfalls, of our age. 

Our money- and oil-based global civilization undermines the Earth itself. Without Life on earth, the notion of “economy” is meaningless. Our governments, businesses, and households assume “growth” as the prime measure of a healthy economy. Earth has finite resources. Humans are now hitting Earth’s walls. It’s time to renew our models of economic health to include the health of all life on the planet—not just humans. Economic growth alone is very dangerous at this time. 

Commuting in private cars to work is not an acceptable form of civilization. Freeways are the backbone of modern urban civilization. They encourage sprawl—commuting from one city to another. Freeways, in the morning are clogged with cars in both directions—going to work where you do not live sometimes one or two hours away. Pedestrian communities need to become the norm. Work, live and play within walking distance of your bedroom. 

The consumer economy with its advertising and marketing system, encourages spiritual bankruptcy to increase the making, selling and buying of “goods” to create satisfaction that never stays. So we must go on to consuming more. 

Security will come from little actions. Little actions change the world. Save a bit of a tree by NOT using the wood coffee stir stick to mix the half-and-half in. You know that the cream will swirl around by itself. Drive a little less, walk more. You’ll be healthier and have cleaner air. Don’t just air travel on a whim, even if you can afford it. Stay near home; become a tourist in your neighborhood. Find work near home. Life will become more relaxed. Share cars. Go for “growth in value,” not growth in consumption. A new kind of consumerism is needed: a consumerism of knowledge and wisdom rather than things. Place more value on time with friends and family rather than exchanging gifts. Remember that you buy your money with the time in your life—time that you could have used for real relationship with friends and family instead of buying things and experiences. 

This post-consumer world will not be so wealthy in material, but will be much wealthier in spirit—we’ll have more time for being and creativity. This could become the basis of a real security, of a world that does not breed terrorism. A world where the tension between oil production and oil consumption is not the fuel of politics, religious wars and hate campaigns. 

Civilization as we know it now will either collapse or transform. I vote for transformation; for the gradual changing of our ways of life until we get to a life positive form of civilization. This post-consumer world will also be a world without terror as we know it now. It will be a kinder place. 

Americ Azevedo is a Peace and Conflict Studies lecturer at UC Berkeley.

Desperation and imagination. A total sense of hopelessness. Some of us can only imagine the depths we would go to have this hopelessness crack the sound barriers. 

Let’s take the city of Manhattan. Manhattan is the most densely populated county in the country; there are approximately 1, 537,195 people packed into a land area of 22.96 square miles. There is controversy over which area in the world is the most densely populated; Gaza is definitely in the top three. Gaza is a narrow coastal strip, 25 miles long, six miles wide and a population estimated at 1,482,405. John Gertz states in his June 29 commentary, “Gaza is about to descend into a very dark night of the soul.” Here is a perspective that may leave you wondering if life in Gaza isn’t already lurking in the shadows. A very dark night of the soul is a place where most Gazans dwell, indeed. 

Visualize life in Manhattan with no sewage systems, a place where the citizens don’t control the air space, water, taxes or electricity. Close your eyes and pretend you could only go in and out of Manhattan with permission each time from the United States Government and they could determine that you were not “enough of a U.S. citizen” to leave Manhattan to go to the Bronx. You are a foreigner in your own land. Imagine the ocean being within walking distance, yet you are not allowed to fish or swim because you don’t have control over the water or you don’t have the luxury of movement; the government controls this, but you are not part of that authority. It is further deemed that you have no control of your airspace, your airport is closed and used as a military base by an occupying power. You cannot fly anywhere. You are caged in; you cannot find work. In fact, envision what it would be like if most people in your city lived on less than $2 a day and there was a 70 percent unemployment rate.  

Gaza is just like the picture I have painted of a make-believe Manhattan. Gaza has been under some form of occupation since the 16th century. Eighty percent of the population is extremely poor, living on less than $2 a day and a majority depends on food aid from international donors. Seventy percent of Gaza’s potential workforce is out of work or without pay. The Gaza Strip is almost entirely sealed off from the outside world with virtually no way for Palestinians to get in or out. Exports have been reduced to a trickle; imports are limited to essential humanitarian supplies and even those are determined by an occupying force. 

The last occupying force, the Israeli military, disengaged from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians now have self-determination, don’t they? Let’s delve deeper into this question. 

Following the disengagement in 2005 of the Israeli military from the Gaza strip, Israel continues to hold decisive control over central elements of life there. They continue to control the air space, water, who can enter and exit the area and the taxation system. This last example is important because this power enables Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by stopping the transfer of the tax revenues, which impairs their ability to carry out basic functions of government such as paying salaries and providing humanitarian assistance. 

John Gertz says that Berkeley is complicit in a “Hamas takeover” in Gaza. He then spins that into several points. One can only surmise that his intent is an outright attempt to create distaste for all Palestinians, but specifically Muslim ones. He brings up issues of Female Genital Mutilation, honor killings, women being “required to take up the veil” and so forth. His rants expose his lack of knowledge of the region and unequivocally of the Muslim religion. If properly educated, he would learn that “forced genital mutilations” are strictly forbidden in Islam. Dr. Gamal Serour of Al-Azhar University in Egypt is considered the most authoritative voice on religion in the Islamic world, and recently issued a declaration against female genital mutilation. He states, “Female genital mutilation has no religious basis in either the Koran or the authentic Hadiths, the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. It is therefore forbidden and should not be practiced by either traditional practitioners or paramedical staff.” 

Furthermore, when Mr. Gertz speaks about women “being required to take up the veil” he exposes his ignorance with regard to the hijab and further shows us that he considers his westernized beliefs superior to those of the Middle East. Additionally, he accuses only Palestinians of partaking in extreme behaviors. Both sides can be accused of this. One minor example is when Professor Daniel Bar-Tal of Tel Aviv University studied 124 Israeli textbooks on grammar, Hebrew literature, history, geography and citizenship. He concluded that Israeli textbooks present the view that Jews are involved in a justified, even humanitarian, war against an Arab enemy. He states, “The early textbooks tended to describe acts of Arabs as hostile, deviant, cruel, immoral, unfair, with the intention to hurt Jews and to annihilate the State of Israel. Within this frame of reference, Arabs were de-legitimized by the use of such labels as ‘robbers,’ ‘bloodthirsty,’ and ‘killers,’” said Professor Bar-Tal, adding “there has been little positive revision in the Israeli curriculum over the years.” This is a minor example of extremism, yet a powerful comparison of Mr. Gertz’s accusation that most of the “equipped fighters in Hamas have been indoctrinated in jihad and hate since early childhood.” Mr. Gertz rattles off several examples of what he believes are extreme behaviors by Palestinians. One can go to the Israeli website, Btselem (www.btselem.org) and read about extreme behaviors such as house demolitions, road closures, checkpoints, curfews, settler violence and the illegal “security” wall perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Forces. 

While Israeli bulldozers crush homes and dreams of Palestinians, extremists in Gaza of Arab descent also contribute to this cycle of violence. No one can refute that. 

If Mr. Gertz wants to talk about complicity in relation to this ancient conflict, he cannot forget the participation of the State of Israel. Surely, for there to be resolution, one has to look at an issue honestly from all sides. 

What is happening in Gaza is brutal. Hamas, Fatah, the IOF and both governments are complicit. One government is exponentially more powerful and this must be taken into account. Whether or not Berkeley is equally complicit is questionable. What cannot be denied is that when a human being becomes a shell of a person through repetitive violence and lack of self-determination, desperation replaces imagination. Beating hearts are replaced with stone, flowers are replaced with bullets and love is taken over with hatred. None of this happens without reason. No one is dehumanized through free will. People can only take so much before the humanity inside becomes that dark soul of the night. If Berkeley is complicit, so are we all. It is time to imagine a better life for Palestinians and Israelis. And with this imagination must come truth. And with this imagination, despair must be erased. Today is a good day for the war to end. 

Tracie de Angelis Salim is a Berkeley resident.

I was happy to have attended a chapter lunch meeting of BNI in San Francisco last week. About 20 professional people were there— passing business cards and working a vibrant prospect referral system. On their website BNI states that they are the largest business networking organization in the world that offers their members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and business referrals—opportunities that the sustainability/green community needs more of and fast! 

Of course, there are other business groups in this town—including the Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce. But what are these groups doing to tackle sustainability and environmental justice issues? 

Plenty! The Berkeley Rotary Club, founded in 1916, is working on a series of community service projects (www.berkeleyrotary.org/projects.htm) while the local Berkeley Chamber (www.berkeleychamber.com) is now Certified Green and is working with Sustainable Berkeley (sustainableberkeley.org). 

Across the country, other business networking groups are popping up. I recently clicked-up a discussion on Coop America’s (www.coopamerica.org/cabn) listserv concerning a “Green Chamber of Commerce.” But this thread proved to be off the mark. 

What can we learn from other sustainable/green business networking groups? 

BALLE (www.livingeconomies.org) envisions a sustainable global economy made up of local living economies that build long-term economic empowerment and prosperity through local business ownership, economic justice, cultural diversity, and environmental stewardship. 

Sustainable Business Alliance (www.sustainablebiz.org) is an East Bay membership organization for companies who are committed to greater sustainability in their business policies and practices. 

Boulder Green Building Guild (www.bgbg.org) is an association of building professionals dedicated to promoting healthier, resource-efficient homes and work places. They strive to advance the craft of green building; support environmentally-responsibility; and provide effective volunteer opportunities. Their vision is to empower people to build healthy, resource-efficient communities. 

Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance (www.sustainablechicago.biz/about) is a network of enterprises and organizations dedicated to realizing the benefits of incorporating sustainability principles into their products, services, and practices. The Alliance provides the necessary resources, connections, and support for member companies to thrive. 

What we need is a hybrid organization—let’s call it the U.S. SustainGreen Exchange for now—that provides a green business networking/referral opportunity—not another educational lunch or activist shout. A business to business, member-driven vehicle to unite the old guard with the emerging sustainable business movement.  

Not a website/listerv e-mail thing but a face to face, “swap cards and referrals,” program that makes everybody money in the new economy. I am surely missing BNI’s old fashioned face time and relationship building as I sit in front of my monitor and wait for customer e-mail in the hills. 

The U.S. SustainGreen Exchange could be an incubator for mentors and trainees alike—a green egg chamber for the sustainability set. 

We are the new old green guard. Can I get your business card? 

Willi Paul is a Berkeley resident. 

Some 230 miles north of Perth, at Geraldton on Australia’s west coast, the Bush administration is building a base. When completed, it will control two geostationary satellites that feed intelligence to U.S. military forces in Asia and the Middle East. 

Most Americans know nothing about Geraldton or the U.S. submarine communications base at North Cape and the U.S. missile-tracking center at Pine Gap. But there is growing concern Down Under that Prime Minster John Howard’s conservative government is weaving a network of alliances and U.S. bases that may one day put Australians in harm’s way. As Australian Defense Force Academy Visiting Fellow told the Sydney Morning Herald, once the Geraldton base is up and running, it will be “almost impossible for Australia to be fully neutral or stand back from any war in which the United States was involved.” 

Indeed, that may already be the case. Australia, along with Japan, India, the Philippines and South Korea, signed on to the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system (ABM), which China fears is aimed at neutralizing its modest fleet of 21 intercontinental ballistic missiles.  

On Mar. 12 Australia signed a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC) with Japan, that according to Richard Tanter, a senior research associate at the Nautilus Institute who writes widely on Japanese Security policy, is an “anti-China U.S.-dominated multilateral alliance system” that “confirms the already accelerating tendencies for both Japan and Australia to militarize their foreign policies.”  

Certainly both nations have been flexing their muscles of late. 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has put a strong nationalist spin on Tokyo’s foreign policy that has raised hackles from Seoul to Beijing. Japan has also sent troops to Iraq and recently declared it intends to repeal Article 9 of its post-war constitution. Article 9 renounces war and rejects “force as a means of settling international disputes.” Japan has the fifth largest navy in the world and spends over $40 billion a year on defense.  

Australia, whose defense budget is slightly more than half of Japan’s, also has troops in Iraq, as well as the Solomon Islands, East Timor, and Tonga.  

Last August, Howard told the Parliament that Australia needs to prepare for an even greater role in monitoring and assisting troubled nations in the Pacific region. The Prime Minister has also adopted some of the rhetoric of the Bush Administration, calling for “preemptive” strikes against “terrorist groups” in regional neighbors. 

Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, have moved forcefully to assert their authority in the myriad island nations that make up much of the South Pacific. Using a combination of troops, aid and control over transportation, the three countries dominate the politics of places like Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon’s, Fiji and Samoa.  

Many of these island nations are almost totally dependent on either international aid or money earned from renting out their land for military bases. Some 60 percent of the Marshall Islands’ GDP comes from U.S. aid and the 50-year “Pact of Free Association” that allows the United States to use Kwajalein Atoll for missile tests. The United States only got the pact by engineering a change in the Marshall Island’s constitution that allows a simple majority of legislators to okay the Association. Before this change, Marshallese voters had rejected the pact eight different times.  

When Solomon Island Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare accused Australia’s High Commissioner of “unwarranted interventionism” in the Republic’s affairs, Howard’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned ominously “the last thing the Solomon Island government can afford is to get into arguments with major donors who are helping keep their country afloat.”  

In an interview with political analyst and Pacific expert Andre Vltchek, UNESCO cultural expert Mail Voi said the “big three” use devices like transit visas for “effectively isolating small and poor countries of the Pacific from each other, as well as from the rest of the world. It is almost impossible for the citizens of most Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines and Indonesia, to visit their neighbors in Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.”  

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is elbowing its way into the region as well. In talking about Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said last November, “We all face the same threats and it is in their interests, as well as our own, that we come closer together.”  

U.S. Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns was blunter: “We seek a partnership with them so that we can train more intensively, from a military point of view.”  

But if there is a push to dominate and militarize the region, there are countervailing winds as well. 

On the one hand, Australia is part of an ABM system that China sees as a threat. On the other, China is Canberra’s third largest trading partner with an insatiable appetite for Australia’s coal, uranium, gas and oil.  

In 2006, energy exports earned Australia $33.9 billion, a figure that is certain to rise steeply over the next decade. “With the right policies,” says Howard, “ we have the makings of an energy superpower.”  

Japan finds itself in a similar position. While there is continuing tension between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan, and oil and gas fields in the South China Seas, China will become Japan’s number one trading partner by the end of 2007. Trade between the two countries topped $200 billion last year.  

The trade potential has made Japan and the Australia careful about tying themselves too closely to some of the bombast about “Chinese militarism” coming out of Washington.  

This past April, Japan and China pledged “closer cooperation,” and when Beijing made it clear it was unhappy about Australia’s hosting part of the U.S. ABM program, Australian Foreign Minister Downer was quick to state, “We are opposed to a policy of containment of China. We believe the best way forward is working constructively with China.” 

Australia and Japan are caught between “wanting to ride the Chinese economic gravy train,” says Tanter, while at the same time trying to “beat the drum about supposed [Chinese] military expansionism.” 

The Howard government’s muscular foreign policy has touched off a debate about what role Australia should play in the region and how closely Canberra should be tied to U.S. designs in Asia and the Middle East. Foreign policy, particularly the Iraq War, has become a major issue for the upcoming general elections in October, particularly the Iraq War. 

Polls indicate that two-thirds of Australians want to withdraw from Iraq, and 70 percent think Australia should be more independent from U.S. foreign policy. The Aussies were evenly split between what constitutes a greater danger to the world: the U.S. or Islamic fundamentalism.  

For now, Washington is too bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan to pay much attention to the Pacific, but given the importance of the region to the United States, that it’s not likely to last. Will the United States eventually move to confront China, its rival in Asia? That may well depend on where other nations in the region conclude their interests lie, and whether most of them decide that butter and trade trump guns and walls. 

Information doesn’t come free. Lots of things that get into Dispatches comes from towardfreedom.com, which publishes analysis and news from around the world. Most its reporters are young and report from on the spot. In a world of corporate controlled media, it is an essential source for progressive movements. Their fund goal is a modest $5,000. Please help. Send checks to “Toward Freedom,” 300 Maple St., Burlington, VT 05401.

Modern-day African-Americans owe an enormous debt to the American labor movement, which helped provided funding, leadership training, and leadership itself for the African-American Freedom cause during key periods of the civil rights era. 

In the modern myth-tale of the birth of the civil rights movement that we hear recited each Black History Month, Rosa Parks, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and various Montgomery church organizations get pretty much all the credit for sparking, and then organizing, the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott out of which the movement grew. 

But those with good memories and/or research skills know that it was E.D. Nixon, the head of the Montgomery branch of A. Philip Randolph’s Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, who was one of the key African-American leaders and organizers in Montgomery in the lead up to, and the operation of, the year-long boycott.  

In its recent online retrospective on the boycott, for example, the Montgomery Advertiser says of Nixon: “Long before the famous boycott, Nixon had been campaigning for civil rights, particularly voting rights, working in the black community to get people registered to vote. He was well known for interceding on behalf of those who asked for his help with white office holders, police and other officials. He organized a group of 750 men who marched to the Montgomery County courthouse in 1940 to attempt to register to vote. He also ran for a seat on the county Democratic executive committee in 1954 and questioned candidates for the Montgomery City Commission on their position on civil rights issues the following year. Nixon is credited for helping to bail Rosa Parks out of jail.” The Advertiser begins its E.D. Nixon bio by saying that he was “affectionately dubbed as the father of the civil rights movement.” 

The Sleeping Car Porters developed other important African-American leaders in the years leading up to the beginning of the civil rights movement, of course, among them A. Philip Randolph himself, as well as Oakland’s own C.L. Dellums, whose statue now stands in front of the Jack London Square train station, and whose nephew, Ron Dellums, sits in the Oakland mayor’s chair over at City Hall. 

That is one of the reasons, perhaps, you can all but hear the anguish in the writing voice of (African-American) Oakland Tribune columnist Brenda Payton when she pauses during a recent column critical of the Oakland Police Officers Association union to say “I support unions. I'm a member of a union. I believe in workers' rights to organize. Without organized labor, I think working conditions would be worse in every industry.” 

For knowledgeable African-Americans, taking a stand against the unions can, at times, feel like the same thing as going against the Black Cause itself. 

At times, not, however. 

There are, actually, two major ideological strands within the union movement constantly in conflict with each other—the one that sees the primary (and, perhaps, sole) work of a union as promoting the rights and welfare of the members of that particular union, the other that sees the purpose of unions as advancing the interests of the entire working class. That is something of what comprised the original split in the American labor movement between the old American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Council of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a split that was papered over when the two groups merged into the present AFL-CIO, but was never actually reconciled. 

African-American workers have, therefore, often found themselves at odds with some unions, and some aspects of the union movement. For many years during the pre-civil rights days, some unions operated a policy in which only family of union members—or those recommended by current union members—could join a union, and only union members could get jobs in certain industries. This had both the practical and, sometimes, intended effect of keeping out African-American workers—who were neither family nor recommended—from both the union and from the jobs the union represented. Then, in many instances when those old segregationist union policies were overthrown, some of those unions then promoted the “seniority rules,” in which those who had been in the unions the longest were favored during layoffs and promotions over those who had come in more recently, thus perfuming over the old anti-Black racism by lathering it down with another, more acceptable, more confusing name. 

Anti-Black racism certainly plays an enormous part in the current struggles between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police Officers Association—and if you think it doesn’t, you really haven’t been paying attention—but to fully understand the situation, you have to understand that OPOA leaders appear to demonstrate the belief that their first priority is to protect the interests of OPOA members—the Oakland police—and that priority supersedes any other priorities which might get in the way. 

That makes the role of the OPOA very different from the role of the people and entities—the mayor, the chief of police, and the City Council—now negotiating with OPOA over a new police contract. Their job—whether they do it well or poorly or, sometimes, forget it altogether—is to protect the safety and interests of the citizens of Oakland. Knowing this allows citizens to be able to interpret the various positions taken by each side, and to know how to hold who accountable for what. 

That is why there should be no surprise—nor any outrage—amongst Oakland citizens following the comments of OPOA President Bob Valladon over the recent airport police transfer. 

In case you missed it, Mayor Dellums and Chief Wayne Tucker announced, two weeks ago, that 15 Oakland police officers currently assigned to duty at the Oakland Airport were being reassigned to street patrol duty. Their place at the airport will be taken over by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies. 

This would seem like a good thing to most people, more police on Oakland streets for a department that has a severe shortage of patrol officers. And most people quoted in the June 20th Heather MacDonald article in the Oakland Tribune agreed, with one notable exception, Mr. Valladon. 

“Oakland Police Officers Association president Bob Valladon criticized the move,” Ms. MacDonald wrote, “saying it would do nothing to reduce the time it takes officers to respond to calls from residents for help. ‘I'm 100 percent against it,’ Valladon said, adding if the union could block the change, it would. ‘It's just another bad decision by the chief.’ Valladon said city officials would come to regret the decision, calling it a band-aid solution. 

Without understanding Mr. Valladon’s motivations and responsibilities, this seems like an odd response. 

Of course, adding 15 street patrol officers to a department that is understaffed is a “band-aid solution” to Oakland’s enormous violent crime problem, but that is no reason to reject it out of hand. A person with a life-threatening disease does not fall down while walking, scrape their arm on the pavement, and then normally refuse to wash out the wound and put a band-aid on it by saying, “Well, after all, it doesn’t do a thing about my cancer.” True. But it does do something about that particular bit of bleeding. 

The assertion by Mr. Valladon that adding 15 additional patrol officers to street duty “would do nothing to reduce the time it takes officers to respond to calls from residents for help” is a little more problematical. If there is one more officer working the streets on a given shift, and that new officer happens to be available at the moment I place a call that someone is breaking into my car, and that officer is able to immediately respond, then that, by definition, reduces the time it takes for police to respond to my call, whoever I may be. It may not be widely felt all over the city but then, after all, it is only a band-aid, and major surgery on the patient’s other problems is yet to occur. 

Once you understand that Mr. Valladon’s responsibilities are to his union members, and not to the citizens of Oakland, his response to the airport officer redeployment makes perfect sense. Some portion of his members obviously want airport duty as one of their preferred patrol options. When, after all, was the last time you heard of someone doing a drive-by or robbing a concession stand at the airport? 

Meanwhile, the major surgery we earlier spoke of, a reorganization of the police department to reflect Chief Tucker’s ideas about how best to protect Oakland citizens, is at the heart of the current impasse between the City of Oakland and the OPOA over a new contract. 

Some of the bare outlines of the dispute have surfaced, such as the union’s opposition to the redeployment of the airport officers, or their opposition to Mr. Tucker’s proposal to change the regular patrol shifts from four days on at 10 hours a day to three days on at 12 hours a day. Mr. Tucker asserts that this will significantly cut down on overtime pay, which is one of the things which annually throws the police department way over its allotted budget. 

But will it make the city safer? I do not know, in part because the issue of possible increased officer fatigue towards the end of their 12 hour shift has not been completely explained by Mr. Tucker and his staff. That, obviously, is a part of the safety issue. But in trying to understand and determine my position on those issues, I will be listening more to Mr. Tucker’s side of the argument, and holding him (and his boss, Mr. Dellums, and the Oakland City Council) responsible. It is their job to keep the citizens of Oakland safe. It is Mr. Valladon’s job to get the best possible contract deal he can for his union members, and that, my friends, is not at all the same thing. 

THE four-bedroom home at 2828 Hillegass Ave., built in 1909 in what is now Berkeley’s Willard neighborhood, is one of the notable residential works of Clarence Casebolt Dakin a little-remembered, but very intriguing, Berkeley architect.  

Standing midway on one of Berkeley’s most beautiful residential blocks, the house is towards the upper end of Berkeley’s housing market, currently offered for $1,695,000. 

An Open House is Sunday 1–4 p.m. The listing agent is Barry Pilger, and there’s a website with information on the house at http://2828hillegass.com. 

It’s an unusual design compared with many other local homes of the era. The roof has a very shallow pitch—making it barely visible from the sidewalk—and large, wide, windows give the two story house a low slung, horizontal, feel that's almost Prairie Style.  

Prominent, white-painted, wooden trim boards frame and cross at the corners of each window, further accentuating this effect. The rest of the exterior has periodically been painted, but is now restored to wood shingles on the lower walls and vertical wooden battens on part of the upper walls. 

Inside, the house feels substantial and pleasant with a sense of livability—large rooms, wide halls and stairs, a comfortable floor plan, lots of light, big closets—often associated with houses by Julia Morgan. 

Entry hall, a huge living room, formal dining room, and kitchen occupy the main floor. The rectangular living room has a period light fixture, tiled fireplace with oak mantle, and large matching windows at east and west, facing street and garden. A six-foot wide oak door slides between room and hall. 

Most of the downstairs interior woodwork is original, unpainted, oak. Curiously bracketed oak plate rails, a long window seat, and an enormous built-in sideboard with china cabinets frame the dining room. The wooden front door features subtly intricate metal work with an Art Nouveau feel. 

A wonderful “study” with a double folding glass door, a wood ceiling, and garden view tucks under the main stairs, half a level down from the entry hall. The long, galley kitchen, remodeled in 1957, has yellow Formica counters and a vintage Wedgewood stove. A laundry area, sink, and toilet adjoin the kitchen, and a narrow staircase descends to the basement, (look for the remnant of a wooden laundry chute beneath these stairs).  

Upstairs, four bedrooms—three large, one smaller—open off a wide hall along with two side-by side bathrooms, and two glassed in porches. Two of the bedrooms form little suites with a porch apiece, and one bathroom connects to both hall and front bedroom for modern “master suite” privacy. The positioning of the porches, one facing southeast and the other west, would allow sedentary residents (particularly housecats) to comfortably follow the sun throughout the day. 

Out back is an expansive and secluded garden with stone patio, two small ponds, lawn, a generous edging of trees including apple, maple, redwood, and flowering magnolia, and a pink-flowered theme to the plantings. A children’s play structure stands behind a two-car garage.  

This is a house that seems to have been on the cusp of modernity when built. Well-to-do Victorian design staples such as “back stairs” and bedrooms for servants are absent. Bedrooms have walk in closets, not wardrobes, and bathrooms are centrally placed. One ample living room replaces separate formal and family parlors. 

In short, although it’s almost a hundred years old, the way the way this house was designed for living seems closer to our day than to the 19th century.  

Clarence Dakin, the architect, was part of an interesting Berkeley family, one branch spelling the name “Dakin” the other “Deakin.” The eponymous Deakin Street in South Berkeley borders a block owned by family members along Telegraph between Prince and Woolsey. 

Artist Edwin Deakin—uncle of Clarence—had both home and studio there and his paintings of California missions helped to ignite a nostalgia craze for California’s Spanish / Mexican era. Clarence’s father, Frederick Dakin, built the landmark Studio Building at Shattuck and Addison in Downtown Berkeley.  

Born in San Francisco in 1880, Clarence Dakin studied in the College of Mines at the University of California, as did his brother Frederick who, like their father, pursued a career in mining.  

When still in college Dakin met the young—16 year old—Henrietta (Etta) Lyser in a church group at Berkeley’s First Unitarian congregation. Dakin—who, with a heavy moustache, looks quite adult in his yearbook photo—was cast as her father in a play. They soon married, had a son, but later divorced. 

Before the marriage Dakin “left college” his widow said in a 1970s oral history, “…he was studying mining engineering, and that was not what he wanted to do.” He seems to have initially worked as a real estate clerk and salesman but also picked up architectural training and experience. He’s identified as the designer of at least 15 buildings (primarily private homes , some for family) in Berkeley and others in Oakland. 

He opened a professional design office at 110 Sutter St. in San Francisco in 1913, the same year he “was granted a certificate to practice architecture” in California. He worked on some projects with cousin Edna Deakin, a skilled architect in her own right. A notable collaboration was their redesign of the iconic “Temple of the Wings” following the 1923 Berkeley Fire.  

2828 Hillegass came fairly early in Dakin’s design career and fits among what the Architect & Engineer called “a number of high class residences and bungalows” that he designed in Berkeley. The house was built for insurance agent Edward S. Valentine. 

Valentine, age 50 in 1910, had a wife, Alabama, and three sons, Edward, Roy, and Joseph who would have been about 16, 13, and 11 when the house went up. They were presumably prosperous enough to afford a large, custom built, house in one of Berkeley’s better residential neighborhoods.  

By 1915, however, the Valentines had relocated to 2001 Channing, a Colonial Revival house that still stands today across from the Berkeley High School softball field. This seems like a step down in elegance, and makes one wonder about the circumstances of their move. 

2828 Hillegass was successively home to three or four different owners. In 1952, Harry Q. Mills, perhaps a widower, told a realtor it was “too large” for his needs and sold it for a reported $23,750 ($1,000 less than his initial asking price) to the Ferrier family, owners until 1988. They were the ones, presumably, who remodeled the kitchen in 1957, the same year Clarence Dakin died in Southern California. 

The house stands in the midst of the Berry-Bangs Tract, one of Berkeley’s early 20th century residential subdivisions covering most of 13 square blocks north of Ashby Avenue, west of College Avenue, and south of Derby Street. Today, this area combines with the adjacent Hillegass Tract to the north to form the Willard neighborhood, centered on Willard Park. 

A period brochure describes the Berry-Bangs development as “the Choicest Residence Tract in Berkeley” and a “First Class Neighborhood” with “Not One Objectionable Feature” which, in those days, included “grocery(s), saloon, wood-yard, laundry, or other objectionable buildings.”  

It seems to have been a big success and must have felt busy with construction and families moving in during the early decades of the 20th century. Stately and substantial houses--most of which survive today—quickly went up on generous lots in that era. 

Now-vanished streetcar lines on nearby College and Telegraph provided convenient access to the business centers of Oakland and San Francisco. Residents included attorneys, real estate developers, brokers, mining engineers, accountants, businessmen and, my favorite, the all-purpose “Capitalist.” 

The Tract was also convenient to the University and several academics lived there or nearby. The developers were, however, at pains to point out the district was “within easy walking distance of the University buildings, and yet not so near as to make it a desirable location for fraternity and boarding house (sic), thus eliminating these somewhat objectionable features.” 

Although one high-rise apartment building stands a block away, this portion of the neighborhood largely escaped the mass demolitions and “ticky-tacky” infill development of the 1950s and 60s elsewhere near campus. As a result, ample original character is still clearly visible along the wide streets and in home settings like 2828 Hillegass. 

This article was prepared with considerable research help from Daniella Thompson. A more detailed and expanded version will later appear, with more photographs, under “Essays” on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage website at berkeleyheritage.com 

2828 Hillegass Ave, Berkeley 

Sunday, July 8, 1-4 p.m. 

$1,695,000 

-- 

Photograph by Steven Finacom 

The horizontal character of 2828 Hillegass and the curious, white-painted, window trim visually set it apart from neighboring brown shingle homes. 

Who would have known that something as simple and harmless as buying plants for our gardens would turn out to be such a fraught moral choice? Knowledge and scruples can drive you nuts. 

I mentioned Annie’s Annuals and Native Seeds/SEARCH last week, and allowed that one thing I didn’t worry about when dealing with either of them is provenance.  

Plants’ (or seeds’, or bulbs’) provenance matters for a couple of reasons. The first is that many of our favorite garden plants are too gorgeous for their own good. They’re all native somewhere—or their parents are, if they’re hybrids or cultivars—and they’re integral to some ecosystem.  

Many of those places are inhabited by human beings who don’t have much, and so will work for very little pay. This makes it more profitable for brokers to buy wild-“caught” specimens than to take the time and greenhouse space to grow and breed some plants, particularly plants that mature slowly and take a long time to set seed.  

The catch is, of course, that such slow-maturing plants tend to be more rare in their habitat than faster growers. More rare is more profitable, and so the cycle goes. Cyclamen mirabile, for example, is officially endangered in its native Turkey, though its bulbs are still being exported. 

Native California bulbs like Ithuriel’s spear (Tritelia laxa) and the various Calochortus species —mariposa lilies, “wild tulips,” and the like—are in various degrees of trouble in the wild. Mostly it’s habitat loss, exacerbated by the tendency of the Calochortus especially to speciate in very small areas, like the funny Martian-looking C. tiburonensis that grows only on Ring Mountain in Marin County.  

The bulbs of many of these are edible; the First Nations people here roasted and ate them. Given their scarcity now, that seems akin to a feast of hummingbirds’ tongues, but there’s a lot that’s possible given a small human population that we’re not likely ever to be able to think about with a clear conscience again.  

It should go without saying that digging these out of the wild, unless they’re in the path of someone else’s bulldozer, is unconscionable for gardeners. 

(Digging them to eat is fairly dangerous without a good helping of expertise; there are native bulb species like Zigadenus species—Fremont’s camas and death camas, whose name is a non-subtle hint—that closely resemble edible species at the time when you’d be digging them, when the flowers and some leaves have withered and put their nutritional investment back into the bulb.) 

The best way to plant such beauties unfeloniously is to check out our suppliers rigorously. For natives, start with the various California Native Plant Society chapter sales. They’re dedicated to keeping the species alive, and take the time to raise rarities from scrupulously collected and pedigreed seeds, which take longer to mature than bulbs, and from “mother” plants they keep for the purpose.  

Nina T. Marshall's 1993 book The Gardener’s Guide to Plant Conservation is still available, and a good first step to learning about these concerns. 

The Gardener's Guide to  

Plant Conservation 

by Nina T. Marshall 

Paperback: 187 pages 

Publisher: World Wildlife Fund (January 1993) 

ISBN-10: 0891641394 

ISBN-13: 978-0891641391

Now, this has happened to everybody at some point. You think of this cool thing that would make something work better and then one day, you’re walking (or in my case crawling) along and lo and behold, there it is! Well I have to admit that when I saw the one that Simpson company (of our own beloved San Leandro) had come up with, I realized that the one in my mind wasn’t as good. Nevertheless, It’s still amazing when something institutional, large-scale and corporate turns out to be clever and just the right size and price. 

Simpson is a pretty great company and for those of us in light construction (watching our weight, as it were) they’re a Buddha-send. Not only do they make a huge array of very nicely designed parts that make it easy to put houses together (or fix them), they also do tons of research into how earthquakes damage houses, how wood fails and how workers need to do their jobs. They also provide great documentation that makes it easy for someone like me to find the right thing or to see if you used the right hanger, bolt or strap by labeling things in innovative ways. I like these folks. 

So let me tell you a little about my favorite Simpson™ product because for we Estuarians with our 90 year old houses, it’s a terrific asset and can not only save your house, it can also save you money (that part comes later). 

A lot of seismic retrofitting (the bolting and bracing of houses for earthquake readiness) involves the bolting of houses in those very short spaces below your floor. These spaces are often so short that bolting down is not an option. There’s just no way to drill that way. 

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of interesting attempts to fasten houses to their foundations in these confined settings. Some of it gets pretty comical from a geeky sort of perspective (these “in” jokes require you to know how the forces work but trust me, some of the attempts are genuinely funny). 

Engineers and contractors have tried all sorts of ways to attach the house to the foundation when there’s no room to bolt downward and the short answer is that most just don’t work or are so hard (or expensive) to do that they just don’t end up getting done right. 

That’s why the Universal Foundation Plate (UFP) is so cool. It makes it easy. This “plate” is very Star Trek in its shape and concept. Unlike most construction hardware it’s neither flat nor folded. Rather, it’s been cleverly articulated to optimize its strength in performing one special function; to keep mudsills (and houses thereby) bound in place. 

There’s another problem with this bolting thing. The stick of wood (or “mudsill”) that you’re trying to bolt to the concrete foundation is pushed back sometimes several inches from the inside edge, so if you’re trying to fasten the two together, you’ve got some work to do. 

They just don’t meet properly. It gets worse. Many older foundations also tilt inward on the inside face. So now you’ve got an inclined surface and a ledge of a couple of inches and then a piece of wood that you have to grasp and hold under enormous forces. 

Formerly, the best thing we had to do this job with were shop-cut lengths of L shaped metal that we could bolt from the footing to one of the floor joists. According to at least one local engineer, the bolting from this to the joist puts too much force in one place and can just split that joist apart. I also will often see straps used in this setting that will easily allow for sliding motion and may only tighten up after the house is inches off the foundation. 

As in many parts of retrofitting, the key is to distribute the force during all that shaking so that many parts share the load in order to keep any one part from busting apart. Good distribution of forces is key in good retrofitting. 

Now I realize that this is all a bit esoteric but please hang with me. It’ll be worth it. 

The UFP is just the right shape to do the trick I was describing above. It lies over the inclined footing, reaches out across the gap to that wooden board (incidentally called a “mudsill” because it rests on the formerly wet concrete or “mud”) and screws into the sill with a set of stainless steel screws. 

We don’t usually use screws in seismic work because they tend to snap but these are very specially made for just this function. The bottom of the UFP has a couple of bolt holes and one need only drill into the concrete from the side (easily accomplished using a special drill called a “roto-hammer”) to secure it in place. 

Another nice use of this cool product is in the addition of fasteners to walls that have already been braced and now have no access to the tops of the mudsills. Some buildings I see have had braced panels or “shear-wall” sheathing already added. Someone’s done a retrofit. But we can’t see how many bolts are present or know that there are just not enough. Shall we rip out the braced plywood panels and start again? With the UFP, we have an alternative course. If the panels appear well-installed or simply need some more nailing (and many lack enough nailing or need more due to nails driven too far into the plywood, thus weakening these connections) we can leave the panel in place and put a UFP at the base and screw it into the mudsill right through the plywood. 

This can save thousands on a retrofit. It can also solve a problem I often face, which is just-not-knowing how well the walls are bolted. 

When in doubt, it may be too much to ask to remove walls to see, but it’s not that hard to simply add a few of these novel widgets to compensate for what might be too little bolting. So they’re cheap confidence and real protection against what earthquakes are good at. Namely, tearing houses free from their foundations. 

UFPs are also easy to work with and pretty hard to screw up. I see a lot of bolting and bracing in my job—more than almost any other group of professionals. And I see a lot of mistakes. So it means something for me to say that I almost never see UFPs installed incorrectly. 

Yes, I have seen too few used and I think I’ve seen them poorly placed (they need to be near the ends of every piece of mudsill and spaced apart according to the size of the building) but I can’t recall seeing too many actually put in where they would not do any good.  

Surprisingly, bolts are often installed so that they provide far too little security, so it’s no small joy when something is designed that is, at least, somewhat foolproof. Of course you know what they say, don’t you?  

Nothing is truly foolproof when in the hands of a sufficiently talented fool! 

Matt Cantor owns Cantor Inspections and lives in Berkeley. His column runs weekly. 

Copyright 2007 Matt Cantor

This is not strictly a Berkeley or Bay Area story, although it begins here with the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes regalis). You probably know the basics: eastern and Canadian foxes brought to the Central Valley during the 19th century by would-be fur farmers, some escaping and taking to the wild where they’ve become serious predators on a roster of endangered species.  

Red foxes were first sighted in the South Bay in 1986, about the time the California clapper rail population began to crash. The light-footed clapper rail of Southern California was similarly decimated. The foxes will also take western snowy plovers, California least terns, Caspian terns, gulls, shorebirds, and herons, and they prey on their smaller relative, the San Joaquin kit fox. 

Unlike most native mammalian predators, introduced red foxes don’t mind getting their feet wet. They’ll kill more than they can immediately eat and cache the surplus. What to do about foxes in the Bay’s tidal marshes has become a cause celebre between animal-rights types and genuine conservationists. 

But there’s another, less notorious fox that’s a California native: the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator), shy, elusive, and vanishingly rare. Unlike the introduced type, this fox isn’t always red: it comes in “black,” “silver,” and “cross” color morphs. No one is really sure how many Sierran foxes are left: it’s possible the only survivors are in the Mount Lassen area. 

It used to be assumed that any red foxes below the 3000-foot line in the Sierra were part of the introduced population; above that, likely natives. That held up until Ben Sacks at UC Davis’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory began looking closely at California’s red foxes. He was interested in patterns of gene flow between different fox sub-populations and whether they were self-sustaining. And he had occasion to look at a lot of museum specimens collected along the coast and up and down the Valley. 

Sacks found something unexpected: the foxes of the Sacramento Valley were more like the native necator than the introduced regalis. The frontier between those foxes and the aliens appears to lie along the Delta and the American River. He also found records of red foxes north of that line dating to before the fox-farming area.  

Were these Sierra Nevada foxes that had adapted to the hot, dry flatlands, or a distinct indigenous population? It appears to be too soon to tell, but Sacks is still looking for data. Anyone who spots a fox in the Sacramento Valley, dead or alive, is asked to report their findings at foxsurvey.ucdavis.edu. 

All this has interesting wildlife management implications. Animals once considered pests—threats to other wildlife—may now have to be treated as an endangered species, or at least a distinct population segment. But science can cut both ways. 

Consider the plight of the Guadeloupe raccoon. Mammalogists used to recognize three island-endemic species of raccoon in the West Indies: on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Guadeloupe, and Barbados, the last now extinct. As the only presumed-native carnivores in the Caribbean, they were always something of a mystery. They looked more like the familiar North American raccoon than the South American crab-eating raccoon, which would have been the more probable parent species. And their bones never showed up in fossil deposits or pre-Columbian archeological sites. 

But they were considered natives in good standing, and the Bahama and Guadeloupe species were declared endangered. The Guadeloupe raccoon, in fact, became the flagship species of local conservation programs and the island’s national park system.  

Then in 1999 came a DNA study reporting no differences between the Guadeloupe raccoon and the North American stock. 

Four years later, Don Wilson of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Kristofer Helgen of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology examined museum specimens of island and mainland raccoons, and concluded that what were supposed to be distinctive traits of the Bahama, Guadeloupe, and Barbados raccoons also occurred in Georgia and Florida populations. The island raccoons had apparently—who knows why?—been introduced, as had a whole Barbadian zoo of mongooses, green monkeys, and camels. 

Helgen and Wilson also pointed out the damage these critters could do by raiding the nests of endangered ground-dwelling birds and digging up the eggs of endangered sea turtles. I don’t know whether the raccoons’ own endangered status has been revoked, but it’s surely only a matter of time and bureaucratic process. 

A cautionary tale, in any case. In the harsh world of conservation biology, you’re only as good as your last genetic study.

FRIDAY, JULY 6 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Bosoms and Neglect” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., SUn. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through July 22. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

California Shakespeare Theater “Man and Superman” by George Bernard Shaw at the Bruns Ampitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda, through July 29. Tickets are $15-$60. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Central Works “Bird in the Hand” Thurs-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through July 29. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Meet Me in St. Louis” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. in July at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Aug. 4. 524-9132. 

Crowded Fire Theater “Anna Bella Eema” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. through July 15. Tickets are $10-$20. 415-439-2456. www.crowdedfire.org 

Impact Theatre “Impact Briefs 8: Sinfully Delicious” Thurs.-Sat. through July 21 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. 

Masquers Playhouse “Ring Round the Moon” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through July 14. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Virago Theatre Company “The Death of Ayn Rand” and “A Bed of My Own” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda to July 7. Tickets are $10-$17. 865-6237.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Paiul Lewin Solo Show Acrylic paintings and sketches. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Eclectix, 7523 Fairmoount Ave., El Cerrito. 364-7261. www.eclectixgallery.com 

FILM 

International Working Class Film Festival with “Maquilapolis,” “My Bicycle,” “No Te Rajas,” and Estamos Aqui” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Estacio Libre and Collectiva Zapatista Ramona Film Fest at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Paul Ekman reads from “Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bay Area Blues Society: Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival, Fri.-Sun. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hayward City Hall Plaza, 777 B St., Hayward. Tickets are $10-$30. www.bayareabluessociety.net highsierratickets.com 

Craig Horton Blues Band at 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Les Percussions Malinke with drummer Bolokada Conde at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568.  

A Deep Breath featuring Raffi and Noah Garabedian, Daniel Lubin-Laden and David Michael-Ruddy at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Stompy Jones, East Coast swing, lindy hop, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Dani Thomas and Dulce, Latin and Caribbean, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Rebecca Riots at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Bob Harp and High Diving Horses at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Stephen Taylor-Ramirez, Misner and Smith, Drew Harrison at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Dave Stein’s Hub-Bub at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Niyorah, Abja & The Red Eye Band, Binghi Ghost, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $18-$20. 548-1159.  

The Brothers Goldman at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Mouth to Mouth, Soul Broker, Dead Cell at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro Operahouse, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Kevin Eubanks at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, JULY 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

“New Works by Margaret Chavigny and Sheila Metcalf Tobin” Reception at 6 p.m. at the Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 grand Ave. at Broadway, Oakland. Exhibition runs to July 29. 

THEATER 

Women’s Will “Romeo and Juliet” Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m. in John Hinkle Park. 420-0813. www.womenswill.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street, not in Lodge parking lot. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

Mike Young, Logan Ryan Smith and Elliot Harmon read their poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mahea Uchiyama “Dance in the Key of Life” Dance from India, Bali, Hawai’i, Tahiti and more at 8 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $25. 925-798-1300.  

The Ariel Quartet performs Hayden, Dvork, Suprynowicz at 8 p.m. at 2692 Shasta. RSVP to bob@cowart.com 

Schwenke y Nilo Chilean Nueva Cancíon with Los Materos at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Frankye Kelly & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Zydeco Flames, Cajun/Zydeco at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. 

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Dave Lionelli, Bhi Bhiman and Greg Cross at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Rebecca Riots at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Kaz George Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

On the One at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Ragwater Review, 5 Cent Coffee, Knees and Elbows at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Sarah Manning Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, JULY 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Sing More Songs” Photographs by Misako Akimoto about the Music Therapy Fund in Richmond. Artist talk at 2 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

“David Goldblatt: Intersections” and “Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker” photographs from South Africa and Iran at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

“Paintings by Jared Roses” opens at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“When Cities Unite” Spoken word and music from L.A. to the Bay at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568.  

Liza Dalby introduces “East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir Through the Seasons” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Michael Fee describes “Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

“David Goldblatt: Intersections” Conversation with the photographer at 3:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Lineage Dance “Dancing Through the Ages” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $25. 925-798-1300. 

Summer Jazz with Yancy Taylor at 3 p.m., The History of Jazz with Randy Moore at 4:30 p.m. at Open Jam Session at 5 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 597-5023. 

Americana Unplugged: Pete Madsen at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Julian Pollack Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Axis Mundi, sacred trance and dance, at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Mariel Austin, trombone, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Melanie O’Reilley at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

MONDAY, JULY 9 

CHILDREN 

“Get a Clue at Your Library” a musical by Gary Laplaw at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Library, Montclair Branch, 1687 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 482-7810. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Arthur Weil reads from his poetry at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, Lakeview Branch, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland. 238-7344. 

Lisa See reads from her new novel “Peony in Love” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Michael McClure and Diana Di Prima at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Poetry Express with Mani Suri at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Orquestra La Moderna Tradicion at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. 

TUESDAY, JULY 10 

CHILDREN 

Gary Lapow, singer and songwriter, performs for children and their families at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext 17. 

Los Mapaches Local Latin American youth ensemble performs music from the Andes at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. 597-5017. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Dance Elixer “Land” A multi-media installation and performance at 12:15 and 5:15 p.m., Tues.-Fri., Sat. at 3 p.m. at Oakland Art Gallery, 199 Kahn’s Alley at the Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. 637-0395. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761. 

Barbara Quick re-creates eighteenth century Venice in “Vivaldi’s Virgins” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Hipnotic Blues Band featuring Eldridge “Big Cat” Tolefree and Tia Carroll at 5:30 p.m. at Park Place at Washington Ave., Point Richmond. Free. www.pointrichmond.com/prmusic/ 

WomenSing perform works including including Raichl’s “Amours,” Jeffers’ “Indian Singing,” and selections from Carter, Larsen and more at 7:30 p.m. at Valley Center for the Performing Arts, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 925-254-6254. 

Creole Belles at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ellen Honert at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Jim Campilongo at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$18. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Bridge to Sakai: Japanese Arts and Crafts of Today” Part of the Berkeley/Sakai Sister City cultural exchange, on display at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. www.berkeleysrtcenter.org 

“Art for Humanity” Art work on addressing the world’s most pressing problems at the Addison Street Windows Gallery through Aug. 25.  

“Suddenly Summer” A group show by East Bay women artists. Reception at 6 p.m. at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Montclair, Oakland.  

“Yosemite: Art of an American Icon” Reception and presentation to benefit the Yosemite National Institutes, at 6 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Tickets are $50. 415-332-5776, ext. 10. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dave Zirin introduces “Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

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 

Echo Beach at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $11. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Naomi & The Courteous Bude Boays, Renee Asteria, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8. 525-5054.  

Julio Bravo, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

John Richardson Band with John Shinnick and Hudson Bunce at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Limpopo at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

John Santos Quintet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JULY 12 

EXHIBITIONS 

Residency Projects Part II Works by Packard Jennings, Scott Kildall and Stephanie Syjuco. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

“Headtrip” An exhibition of portraits by 26 artists. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Barbara Anderson Gallery, 2243 Fifth St. 848-3822. 

“Summer Solos” Works by Yvette Molina, Chelsea Pegram and Amanda Williams. Artist talk at 6 p.m. at Pro Arts, 550 Second St., Oakland. 763-9425. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Andrea Hollander Budy and Kathleen Lynch at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. 

Deborah Siegel introduces “Sisterhood Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Conversations on Art with Faith Powell on the representation of the dinner table and its trimmings in the context of Jewish art, at 6:30 p.m. at the Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950. 

Glenn Kurtz reads from “Practicing: A Musician’s Return to Music” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bolero y Mas Trio at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART station. info@downtownberkeley.org 

“Voices in the Virtual World” Grant Gardner, jazz guitarist and Jonathan Segel, at 8 p.m. at Oaktown Creativity Center, 447 25th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5-$10. 568-6920. 

Rani Arbor & Daisy Mayhem at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Fourtet CD release party at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

Whiskey Brothers, bluegrass, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Okay, ChinaTown Bakeries, Beatbeat Whisper at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. 

The Bake Sale 2.0, hip hop at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568.  

Matt Lucas Experience at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Jane Moheit at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. 

You’d think a beautiful young woman with a name like Ruby Stevens would have had it made in 1930s Hollywood. And she very well might have; the name conjures images of a bright-eyed ingenue, lovely, ambitious and 100 percent red-blooded American.  

But that’s exactly what Barbara Stanwyck wanted to avoid, and thus, on the advice of a Broadway director, she changed her name, adopting a moniker that better suited her unique blend of beauty, strength, class and seductive allure.  

The name suited the woman as well as the actress, for Stanwyck was already the woman she would soon portray: a tough, hard-luck dame, clawing her way to the top. Orphaned at a young age, she was raised in a series of foster homes, working as a fashion model and Broadway chorus girl before landing a theatrical role that caused the movie industry to take notice.  

“I’m a tough old broad from Brooklyn,” Stanwyck once said. “I intend to go on acting until I’m 90 and they won’t need to paste my face with make-up.” She didn’t quite make it to 90, but she did work well into her 70s in a career that spanned nearly 60 years and earned her four Academy Award nominations, an honorary Oscar in 1982, and the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.  

Pacific Film Archive is presenting a retrospective of some of the actress’ best work in honor of the centennial of her birth. The series runs through July 31 and begins Friday (today) with Night Nurse (1931), a Pre-Code classic that pairs Stanwyck with the brassy Joan Blondell, and Stella Dallas (1937), considered by many to be Stanwyck’s best. 

Stanwyck’s early career is full of commanding, riveting performances as working-class femme fatales struggling to survive and conquer in a man’s world. Baby Face (1933) and Ladies They Talk About (1933) are essentially companion pieces, telling similar tales accompanied by the same musical theme—the drawling, bawdy, jazz-era strains of “St. Louis Blues.” In both films Stanwyck’s character uses her body, her grace and her wit to manipulate men in pursuit of her material desires; she knows full well what they want and how to entice them with it, cynically selling notions of romance and passion in which she has long since ceased to believe. Stanwyck was judicious with her contempt though; she not only looked on her victims with disdain, but always managed to imbue her gutsy golddiggers with an undercurrent of self-loathing, an awareness that the dirty business of life soils everyone it touches, and that the path to the top runs through more than a few fetid swamps of vice. 

There was much more to Stanwyck than sex, however. Few actors could convey as much with just their eyes. “Eyes are the greatest tool in film,” Director Frank Capra told her, and she put the advice to good use. Her gaze was piercing and challenging, while simultaneously conveying the bemusement and weariness of a woman long tired of playing the fantasy object for legions of sweaty old businessmen in rumpled suits. She was also a gifted comedienne, comfortable in the delivery of droll putdowns and flirtatious witticisms. Yet she was fully capable of more overtly comedic roles, as in The Lady Eve (1941), in which she played a con-artist trying to play it straight but needing all her vice and cunning to get there. “My only problem,” Stanwyck said in response to a question about her signature roles, “is finding a way to play my fortieth fallen female in a different way from my thirty-ninth.” 

As good as she was, the movie industry was not altogether kind to its young stars, and many actresses saw their careers vanish as the studios ditched them at the first signs of middle age. But Stanwyck’s startling talent, screen presence and behind-the-scenes negotiating prowess gave her an edge. By avoiding long contracts, she was never bound to any one studio, keeping her career and her paychecks healthy as a prolific freelancer.  

Thus few actresses progressed as smoothly from eye-candy vixens to middle-aged dramatic roles. Double Indemnity (1944), for instance, saw her updating Baby Face’s Lily Powers by moving her to the upper class enclaves of the Hollywood Hills, now as a kept woman looking for adventure to stave off her domestic boredom—a door-to-door salesman’s wet dream, who lures insurance man Fred MacMurray into a lurid web of murder and intrigue. And still again she updated the portrait in Fritz Lang’s Clash By Night (1952). Here Stanwyck presents a stirring portrait of the opportunistic dame, but older now and tired of living a rootless life. Whereas the younger Stanwyck played women in dire or mundane circumstances looking for a way out, here she plays a woman on her way back home, returning to her humble origins on Monterey’s Cannery Row with the hope that she can finally set aside her nagging restlessness by embracing a simple domestic life. Yet her eyes belie the painful truth, revealing the jaded intelligence that knows her dissatisfaction is innate, that whatever she has is never enough, no matter how good the man and how safe the home he provides.  

It’s a compelling picture of a complex woman, requiring the sort of feminine insight that director Lang was entirely incapable of throughout his long career, resulting in a fascinating case of professional role reversal, with a talented actor bringing out heretofore untapped talents in her director. And all in marked contrast to her co-star, a young Marilyn Monroe, who might have led a much different life had she adopted just a bit of Stanwyck’s steely resolve.  

BALL OF FIRE:  

A BARBARA STANWYCK CENTENNIAL  

RETROSPECTIVE 

Friday, July 6 through Tuesday, July 31 at Pacific Film Archive.  

2575 Bancroft Way. 642-5249. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu.

“Clang, clang, clang went the trolley ...”—which around these parts gets confounded with cable car bells and tourist-ridden summers, just as Meet Me in St. Louis’ other big hit, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” has led some to think of (or to list) the 1944 Vincente Minelli movie musical as a Christmas film.  

But the stage adaptation of the film musical (that rare bird), as it’s staged by Contra Costa Civic Theatre, shows it to be a comic piece of nostalgia for an older, family-oriented America, clearly a mood elevator for World War II audiences. It’s not all “family values,” though, that later, reactionary concoction. 

The family is a rather eccentric one, and the pater familias (in a fine portrayal by Kyle Johnson) is a bemused, bewildered, even exasperated one, in his efforts to further his career and fund his family’s whims and own social aspirations by relocating to New York. (When his debutantish elder daughter spurns his plans as being too crass and money-centered, he ripostes her thrust with, “and you spend it!”) 

The story follows the Smith family through the year of waiting for the International Exposition of 1904 in their hometown. The two oldest girls are also concerned with their beaux—an heir to a family fortune (Drew Fowler as Warren Sheffield) who keeps calling Rose (Angel Almeida), only to be put off, and the Boy Next Door (Chris Geritz as John Truitt) whose baseball practice seems to keep him from recognizing his fervent but carefully practiced, nonchalant admirer (Liz Caffrey as Esther, the Judy Garland role in the movie).  

As directed with care and sensitivity by Tammara Plankers (who provides a fine program note) and G. A. Klein, this is a refreshingly ensemble-based community production, with special solo and duet moments rising out of the group interactions. Besides Kyle Johnson and Jennifer Stark (Mrs. Smith), fine singers (whose duet of “Wasn’t It Fun?” is a high point), Hattie B. Mullaly (housekeeper Katie, who also cuts a stepdancing rug on “A Touch of the Irish”) and a small ensemble which appears before the curtain between scenes, most of the singing expresses mainly exuberance, which is the right motor for such a production, especially one centered on family and the ups and downs of young people and children.  

But the dance numbers are something else again, in particular, the whole dance party scene in Act One, comprising “Skip To My Lou,” a straw hat vaudeville number (from the same source as a song in T. S. Eliot’s ominous fragment, “Sweeney Agonistes”) “Under The Bamboo Tree,” and “The Banjo”—Derrick Silva’s choreography is engrossing and delightful, making the long scene a progressive production number. 

“Under The Bamboo Tree” is performed by Esther and her little sisters, Agnes (Sophie Gabel-Scheinbaum) and Tootie (Emma Thvedt, in the role that won little Margaret O’Brien a special miniature Oscar, the only Academy Award for the film that year). Throughout, the child actors are wonderful, showing an enthusiastic, mischievous quality that certainly fits these little mock-ingenues. 

And, as Esther, Liz Caffrey deserves a special notice for the juice she puts into the crucial role, making it better and better, until she brings off a near-perfect rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” to a sleepy, forlorn Tootie, on the verge of the reluctant family’s departure East. 

Meet Me in St. Loius is a family show, by a company that declares on the cover of their program, “You Are Our Community--We Are Your Theatre.” But the production values (including Pat King’s musical direction and Malcolm Rodgers’ well thought-out and beautifully painted set design)—as well as a well-managed house and box office (Alex Ray and Holly Winter, respectively)—belie the usual stigma attached to “community theater.”  

It’s a reflection on how far Bay Area theater has come, and in what depth it’s arrived, on the level of performance. CCCT—and in particular, Louis Flynn, its founding artistic director, the irascible motorman on the trolley which clang, clang, clangs—deserves to be proud of their capability for mounting such a fine summer show for their audience. 

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS 

Presented by Contra Costa Civic Theatre at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 4. 524-9132.

In an encore of last year’s idyllic kick off event, this year’s 33rd Midsummer Mozart Festival, under the direction of Maestro George Cleve, again begins early with a sneak preview of the destival at a benefit party set in a lovely garden in the El Cerrito hills this Sunday, July 8, from 4 p.m to 6 p.m. 

One of the inviting aspects of the festival, which formally opens July 19, is that instead of the often cold, remote environment of concert halls, these performances take place in more intimate venues like churches, wineries and pocket theaters. 

The music is presented in a manner closer to the way it was first heard in Mozart’s time. The music at Sunday’s garden party will allow a lucky hundred or so listeners to get closer still. There is a $75 admission fee for this benefit event which includes complimentary food and wine and a festival T-shirt. 

The first program of the destival, which runs from July 19-22, will feature the Divertimento for Oboe, 2 Horns and Strings in D major; the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, featuring internationally renowned pianist Janina Fialkowska; the Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, featuring Rufus Olivier, principal bassoonist with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet; and Symphony No. 34 in C major. The four performances of the first program take place on July 19 at 7:30 pm at St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica, San Jose; on July 20 at 8 p.m. at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; on July 21 at 6:30 pm outdoors at Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma; and on July 22 at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Berkeley. 

The second program of the festival, which runs from July 26-29, will feature the March in D major, and the Serenade for Orchestra in D major, “Haffner,” featuring violinist and concertmaster Robin Hansen; “Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia?” aria, and “Vado, ma dove?” aria, featuring lyric mezzo-soprano Elspeth Franks; and the Mass in C Major “Coronation,” sung by Cantabile Chorale. The four performances of the second program take place on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Mission Santa Clara, SCU Campus, Santa Clara; on July 27 at 8 p.m. at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; on July 28 at 6:30 p.m. outdoors at Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma; and on July 29 at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Berkeley. 

Since there is always room for a little more Mozart, you will not want to miss the Friday, July 13 concert in Davies Symphony Hall at 8 p.m. when the San Francisco Symphony’s new associate conductor, 27-year-old James Gaffigan, wields the baton for performances of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, featuring pianist Jeremy Denk. As a further treat, there will be a performance of the Symphony No. 7 in A major, Opus 92, by that newcomer Ludwig von Beethoven. 

This concert’s program makes a nice complement to that of the Midsummer Mozart Festival. The late serenade, or “I’m inclined to like music,” as a classical novice once called it, is probably Mozart’s single most familiar melody. It has been used in over 30 films and television episodes and makes a good contrast to the beautiful, but less familiar, Haffner serenade. 

Mozart composed the 23rd Piano Concerto just 10 weeks after the 22nd. The 23rd is a well-known masterpiece with a moving adagio and virtuosic piano weaving in and out of the ensemble in the third movement. The 22nd, though less well-known than the 23rd, is equally beautiful, especially the playful, child-like allegro.  

This event is part of the Summer in the City festival. Following the concert, Mr. Gaffigan will answer questions from the audience as part of the symphony’s new “Off the Podium” program. The popularity and immediacy of the pieces to be performed makes for a good introduction to classical music, the San Francisco Symphony and its newest member, Mr. Gaffigan.  

For tickets and information about the Midsummer Mozart Festival and the Mozart in the Garden benefit in El Cerrito, call (415) 627-9145 or go to www.midsummermozart.org. For tickets and information about the San Francisco Symphony call (415) 864-6000 or go to sfsymphony.org.

THE four-bedroom home at 2828 Hillegass Ave., built in 1909 in what is now Berkeley’s Willard neighborhood, is one of the notable residential works of Clarence Casebolt Dakin a little-remembered, but very intriguing, Berkeley architect.  

Standing midway on one of Berkeley’s most beautiful residential blocks, the house is towards the upper end of Berkeley’s housing market, currently offered for $1,695,000. 

An Open House is Sunday 1–4 p.m. The listing agent is Barry Pilger, and there’s a website with information on the house at http://2828hillegass.com. 

It’s an unusual design compared with many other local homes of the era. The roof has a very shallow pitch—making it barely visible from the sidewalk—and large, wide, windows give the two story house a low slung, horizontal, feel that's almost Prairie Style.  

Prominent, white-painted, wooden trim boards frame and cross at the corners of each window, further accentuating this effect. The rest of the exterior has periodically been painted, but is now restored to wood shingles on the lower walls and vertical wooden battens on part of the upper walls. 

Inside, the house feels substantial and pleasant with a sense of livability—large rooms, wide halls and stairs, a comfortable floor plan, lots of light, big closets—often associated with houses by Julia Morgan. 

Entry hall, a huge living room, formal dining room, and kitchen occupy the main floor. The rectangular living room has a period light fixture, tiled fireplace with oak mantle, and large matching windows at east and west, facing street and garden. A six-foot wide oak door slides between room and hall. 

Most of the downstairs interior woodwork is original, unpainted, oak. Curiously bracketed oak plate rails, a long window seat, and an enormous built-in sideboard with china cabinets frame the dining room. The wooden front door features subtly intricate metal work with an Art Nouveau feel. 

A wonderful “study” with a double folding glass door, a wood ceiling, and garden view tucks under the main stairs, half a level down from the entry hall. The long, galley kitchen, remodeled in 1957, has yellow Formica counters and a vintage Wedgewood stove. A laundry area, sink, and toilet adjoin the kitchen, and a narrow staircase descends to the basement, (look for the remnant of a wooden laundry chute beneath these stairs).  

Upstairs, four bedrooms—three large, one smaller—open off a wide hall along with two side-by side bathrooms, and two glassed in porches. Two of the bedrooms form little suites with a porch apiece, and one bathroom connects to both hall and front bedroom for modern “master suite” privacy. The positioning of the porches, one facing southeast and the other west, would allow sedentary residents (particularly housecats) to comfortably follow the sun throughout the day. 

Out back is an expansive and secluded garden with stone patio, two small ponds, lawn, a generous edging of trees including apple, maple, redwood, and flowering magnolia, and a pink-flowered theme to the plantings. A children’s play structure stands behind a two-car garage.  

This is a house that seems to have been on the cusp of modernity when built. Well-to-do Victorian design staples such as “back stairs” and bedrooms for servants are absent. Bedrooms have walk in closets, not wardrobes, and bathrooms are centrally placed. One ample living room replaces separate formal and family parlors. 

In short, although it’s almost a hundred years old, the way the way this house was designed for living seems closer to our day than to the 19th century.  

Clarence Dakin, the architect, was part of an interesting Berkeley family, one branch spelling the name “Dakin” the other “Deakin.” The eponymous Deakin Street in South Berkeley borders a block owned by family members along Telegraph between Prince and Woolsey. 

Artist Edwin Deakin—uncle of Clarence—had both home and studio there and his paintings of California missions helped to ignite a nostalgia craze for California’s Spanish / Mexican era. Clarence’s father, Frederick Dakin, built the landmark Studio Building at Shattuck and Addison in Downtown Berkeley.  

Born in San Francisco in 1880, Clarence Dakin studied in the College of Mines at the University of California, as did his brother Frederick who, like their father, pursued a career in mining.  

When still in college Dakin met the young—16 year old—Henrietta (Etta) Lyser in a church group at Berkeley’s First Unitarian congregation. Dakin—who, with a heavy moustache, looks quite adult in his yearbook photo—was cast as her father in a play. They soon married, had a son, but later divorced. 

Before the marriage Dakin “left college” his widow said in a 1970s oral history, “…he was studying mining engineering, and that was not what he wanted to do.” He seems to have initially worked as a real estate clerk and salesman but also picked up architectural training and experience. He’s identified as the designer of at least 15 buildings (primarily private homes , some for family) in Berkeley and others in Oakland. 

He opened a professional design office at 110 Sutter St. in San Francisco in 1913, the same year he “was granted a certificate to practice architecture” in California. He worked on some projects with cousin Edna Deakin, a skilled architect in her own right. A notable collaboration was their redesign of the iconic “Temple of the Wings” following the 1923 Berkeley Fire.  

2828 Hillegass came fairly early in Dakin’s design career and fits among what the Architect & Engineer called “a number of high class residences and bungalows” that he designed in Berkeley. The house was built for insurance agent Edward S. Valentine. 

Valentine, age 50 in 1910, had a wife, Alabama, and three sons, Edward, Roy, and Joseph who would have been about 16, 13, and 11 when the house went up. They were presumably prosperous enough to afford a large, custom built, house in one of Berkeley’s better residential neighborhoods.  

By 1915, however, the Valentines had relocated to 2001 Channing, a Colonial Revival house that still stands today across from the Berkeley High School softball field. This seems like a step down in elegance, and makes one wonder about the circumstances of their move. 

2828 Hillegass was successively home to three or four different owners. In 1952, Harry Q. Mills, perhaps a widower, told a realtor it was “too large” for his needs and sold it for a reported $23,750 ($1,000 less than his initial asking price) to the Ferrier family, owners until 1988. They were the ones, presumably, who remodeled the kitchen in 1957, the same year Clarence Dakin died in Southern California. 

The house stands in the midst of the Berry-Bangs Tract, one of Berkeley’s early 20th century residential subdivisions covering most of 13 square blocks north of Ashby Avenue, west of College Avenue, and south of Derby Street. Today, this area combines with the adjacent Hillegass Tract to the north to form the Willard neighborhood, centered on Willard Park. 

A period brochure describes the Berry-Bangs development as “the Choicest Residence Tract in Berkeley” and a “First Class Neighborhood” with “Not One Objectionable Feature” which, in those days, included “grocery(s), saloon, wood-yard, laundry, or other objectionable buildings.”  

It seems to have been a big success and must have felt busy with construction and families moving in during the early decades of the 20th century. Stately and substantial houses--most of which survive today—quickly went up on generous lots in that era. 

Now-vanished streetcar lines on nearby College and Telegraph provided convenient access to the business centers of Oakland and San Francisco. Residents included attorneys, real estate developers, brokers, mining engineers, accountants, businessmen and, my favorite, the all-purpose “Capitalist.” 

The Tract was also convenient to the University and several academics lived there or nearby. The developers were, however, at pains to point out the district was “within easy walking distance of the University buildings, and yet not so near as to make it a desirable location for fraternity and boarding house (sic), thus eliminating these somewhat objectionable features.” 

Although one high-rise apartment building stands a block away, this portion of the neighborhood largely escaped the mass demolitions and “ticky-tacky” infill development of the 1950s and 60s elsewhere near campus. As a result, ample original character is still clearly visible along the wide streets and in home settings like 2828 Hillegass. 

This article was prepared with considerable research help from Daniella Thompson. A more detailed and expanded version will later appear, with more photographs, under “Essays” on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage website at berkeleyheritage.com 

2828 Hillegass Ave, Berkeley 

Sunday, July 8, 1-4 p.m. 

$1,695,000 

-- 

Photograph by Steven Finacom 

The horizontal character of 2828 Hillegass and the curious, white-painted, window trim visually set it apart from neighboring brown shingle homes. 

Who would have known that something as simple and harmless as buying plants for our gardens would turn out to be such a fraught moral choice? Knowledge and scruples can drive you nuts. 

I mentioned Annie’s Annuals and Native Seeds/SEARCH last week, and allowed that one thing I didn’t worry about when dealing with either of them is provenance.  

Plants’ (or seeds’, or bulbs’) provenance matters for a couple of reasons. The first is that many of our favorite garden plants are too gorgeous for their own good. They’re all native somewhere—or their parents are, if they’re hybrids or cultivars—and they’re integral to some ecosystem.  

Many of those places are inhabited by human beings who don’t have much, and so will work for very little pay. This makes it more profitable for brokers to buy wild-“caught” specimens than to take the time and greenhouse space to grow and breed some plants, particularly plants that mature slowly and take a long time to set seed.  

The catch is, of course, that such slow-maturing plants tend to be more rare in their habitat than faster growers. More rare is more profitable, and so the cycle goes. Cyclamen mirabile, for example, is officially endangered in its native Turkey, though its bulbs are still being exported. 

Native California bulbs like Ithuriel’s spear (Tritelia laxa) and the various Calochortus species —mariposa lilies, “wild tulips,” and the like—are in various degrees of trouble in the wild. Mostly it’s habitat loss, exacerbated by the tendency of the Calochortus especially to speciate in very small areas, like the funny Martian-looking C. tiburonensis that grows only on Ring Mountain in Marin County.  

The bulbs of many of these are edible; the First Nations people here roasted and ate them. Given their scarcity now, that seems akin to a feast of hummingbirds’ tongues, but there’s a lot that’s possible given a small human population that we’re not likely ever to be able to think about with a clear conscience again.  

It should go without saying that digging these out of the wild, unless they’re in the path of someone else’s bulldozer, is unconscionable for gardeners. 

(Digging them to eat is fairly dangerous without a good helping of expertise; there are native bulb species like Zigadenus species—Fremont’s camas and death camas, whose name is a non-subtle hint—that closely resemble edible species at the time when you’d be digging them, when the flowers and some leaves have withered and put their nutritional investment back into the bulb.) 

The best way to plant such beauties unfeloniously is to check out our suppliers rigorously. For natives, start with the various California Native Plant Society chapter sales. They’re dedicated to keeping the species alive, and take the time to raise rarities from scrupulously collected and pedigreed seeds, which take longer to mature than bulbs, and from “mother” plants they keep for the purpose.  

Nina T. Marshall's 1993 book The Gardener’s Guide to Plant Conservation is still available, and a good first step to learning about these concerns. 

The Gardener's Guide to  

Plant Conservation 

by Nina T. Marshall 

Paperback: 187 pages 

Publisher: World Wildlife Fund (January 1993) 

ISBN-10: 0891641394 

ISBN-13: 978-0891641391

Now, this has happened to everybody at some point. You think of this cool thing that would make something work better and then one day, you’re walking (or in my case crawling) along and lo and behold, there it is! Well I have to admit that when I saw the one that Simpson company (of our own beloved San Leandro) had come up with, I realized that the one in my mind wasn’t as good. Nevertheless, It’s still amazing when something institutional, large-scale and corporate turns out to be clever and just the right size and price. 

Simpson is a pretty great company and for those of us in light construction (watching our weight, as it were) they’re a Buddha-send. Not only do they make a huge array of very nicely designed parts that make it easy to put houses together (or fix them), they also do tons of research into how earthquakes damage houses, how wood fails and how workers need to do their jobs. They also provide great documentation that makes it easy for someone like me to find the right thing or to see if you used the right hanger, bolt or strap by labeling things in innovative ways. I like these folks. 

So let me tell you a little about my favorite Simpson™ product because for we Estuarians with our 90 year old houses, it’s a terrific asset and can not only save your house, it can also save you money (that part comes later). 

A lot of seismic retrofitting (the bolting and bracing of houses for earthquake readiness) involves the bolting of houses in those very short spaces below your floor. These spaces are often so short that bolting down is not an option. There’s just no way to drill that way. 

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of interesting attempts to fasten houses to their foundations in these confined settings. Some of it gets pretty comical from a geeky sort of perspective (these “in” jokes require you to know how the forces work but trust me, some of the attempts are genuinely funny). 

Engineers and contractors have tried all sorts of ways to attach the house to the foundation when there’s no room to bolt downward and the short answer is that most just don’t work or are so hard (or expensive) to do that they just don’t end up getting done right. 

That’s why the Universal Foundation Plate (UFP) is so cool. It makes it easy. This “plate” is very Star Trek in its shape and concept. Unlike most construction hardware it’s neither flat nor folded. Rather, it’s been cleverly articulated to optimize its strength in performing one special function; to keep mudsills (and houses thereby) bound in place. 

There’s another problem with this bolting thing. The stick of wood (or “mudsill”) that you’re trying to bolt to the concrete foundation is pushed back sometimes several inches from the inside edge, so if you’re trying to fasten the two together, you’ve got some work to do. 

They just don’t meet properly. It gets worse. Many older foundations also tilt inward on the inside face. So now you’ve got an inclined surface and a ledge of a couple of inches and then a piece of wood that you have to grasp and hold under enormous forces. 

Formerly, the best thing we had to do this job with were shop-cut lengths of L shaped metal that we could bolt from the footing to one of the floor joists. According to at least one local engineer, the bolting from this to the joist puts too much force in one place and can just split that joist apart. I also will often see straps used in this setting that will easily allow for sliding motion and may only tighten up after the house is inches off the foundation. 

As in many parts of retrofitting, the key is to distribute the force during all that shaking so that many parts share the load in order to keep any one part from busting apart. Good distribution of forces is key in good retrofitting. 

Now I realize that this is all a bit esoteric but please hang with me. It’ll be worth it. 

The UFP is just the right shape to do the trick I was describing above. It lies over the inclined footing, reaches out across the gap to that wooden board (incidentally called a “mudsill” because it rests on the formerly wet concrete or “mud”) and screws into the sill with a set of stainless steel screws. 

We don’t usually use screws in seismic work because they tend to snap but these are very specially made for just this function. The bottom of the UFP has a couple of bolt holes and one need only drill into the concrete from the side (easily accomplished using a special drill called a “roto-hammer”) to secure it in place. 

Another nice use of this cool product is in the addition of fasteners to walls that have already been braced and now have no access to the tops of the mudsills. Some buildings I see have had braced panels or “shear-wall” sheathing already added. Someone’s done a retrofit. But we can’t see how many bolts are present or know that there are just not enough. Shall we rip out the braced plywood panels and start again? With the UFP, we have an alternative course. If the panels appear well-installed or simply need some more nailing (and many lack enough nailing or need more due to nails driven too far into the plywood, thus weakening these connections) we can leave the panel in place and put a UFP at the base and screw it into the mudsill right through the plywood. 

This can save thousands on a retrofit. It can also solve a problem I often face, which is just-not-knowing how well the walls are bolted. 

When in doubt, it may be too much to ask to remove walls to see, but it’s not that hard to simply add a few of these novel widgets to compensate for what might be too little bolting. So they’re cheap confidence and real protection against what earthquakes are good at. Namely, tearing houses free from their foundations. 

UFPs are also easy to work with and pretty hard to screw up. I see a lot of bolting and bracing in my job—more than almost any other group of professionals. And I see a lot of mistakes. So it means something for me to say that I almost never see UFPs installed incorrectly. 

Yes, I have seen too few used and I think I’ve seen them poorly placed (they need to be near the ends of every piece of mudsill and spaced apart according to the size of the building) but I can’t recall seeing too many actually put in where they would not do any good.  

Surprisingly, bolts are often installed so that they provide far too little security, so it’s no small joy when something is designed that is, at least, somewhat foolproof. Of course you know what they say, don’t you?  

Nothing is truly foolproof when in the hands of a sufficiently talented fool! 

Matt Cantor owns Cantor Inspections and lives in Berkeley. His column runs weekly. 

Copyright 2007 Matt Cantor

FRIDAY, JULY 6 

“Native Plants of Yosemite” A slide show and talk with Ranger Erik at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

“The Spirit of John Muir” A performance highlighting Muir’s adventures in the western wilderness at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

“Pint for a Pint” Blood Drive Blood donors will receive a coupon for a free pint of gelato from Gelato Classico. The blood drive will be in Conference Room A from noon to 6 p.m. at Alameda Hospital, 2070 Clinton Ave., Alameda. To schedule an appointment call Louise Nakada at 814-4362. 

“The Iron Wall” A documentary with interviews with prominent Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, farmers, soldiers and political analysts at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 1640 Addison. Free. Sponsored by The Fr. Bill O’Donnell Social Justice Committee. 499-0537. 

International Working Class Film Festival with “Maquilapolis,” “My Bicycle,” “No Te Rajas,” and Estamos Aqui” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Estacio Libre and Collectiva Zapatista Ramona Film Fest at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

Bayswater Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Coffe Shop, El Cerrito Plaza. 433-2911. 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:45 to 1:30 a.m. at the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Ave. 981-5332. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253.  

SATURDAY, JULY 7 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Neighborhood Walking Tour of the F.M. “Borax” Smith Estate from 10 a.m. to noon. Meets at the redwood tree, corner of McKinley Ave. and Home Place East. Tickets are $10-$15. info@oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Canyonero Hike A three-mile hike across habitats up to Wildcat Park, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Led by Meg Platt, naturalist. For information and meeting place, call 525-2233. 

Bicycle Trip Along the Hayward Shoreline Meet at 8:30 p.m. at San Leandro Marina Park for a 14-mile round trip excursion, partly paved. Bicycle helmet required. Bring bicycle lock, lunch and liquids. For information email Kathy_Jarrett@yahoo.com 

“Ice Scone” Benefit for Save Berkeley Iceland, at the Cheese Board, 1504 Shattuck Ave. All proceeds from the sale of this special scone will go to saving the family-friendly community center for ice skating. 599-4591. www.SaveBerkeleyIceland.org 

Artists Funding the Arts Silent Auction to benefit the SF AIDS Foundation. Bidding begins at 10 a.m. at 4th St. Studio, 1717D 4th St. Bidding closes Sunday at 8 p.m. 527-0600. 

Kensington Police Department Program for ages 3 and up at 2 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

“Brainiacs” An interactive neural anatomy lesson, at 1 p.m. for ages 7 and under, 2:10 p.m. for 8 and older at Hall of Health, 2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level. Cost is $5, no one turned away. 705-8527. 

Community Festival at The Way Christian Center with music, health and college fairs, and activities for children, from noon to 4 p.m. at 1222 University Ave. Free. 848-2117. 

Preschool Storytime for 3 to 5-year-olds at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext. 17. 

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.  

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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, JULY 8 

People’s Park Community Workshop on the future design and programs for People’s Park, at 1 p.m. at First Church of Christ Scientist, 2619 Dwight Way. Pre-registration required. RSVP to 415-288-3390. taylor@mkthink.com 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Neighborhood Walking Tour of the Mountain View Cemetary from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at Chapel of the Chimes, 4400 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. info@oaklandheritage.org 

“Open Garden” Join the Little Farm gardener for composting, planting, watering and reaping the rewards of our work, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233.  

“Green Sunday” Upholding Our Rights to a Healthy Community A discussion on the California Healthy Communities Network and how its work affects our community, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. 

Solo Sierrans Walk to Explore the Albany Bulb and discover the unique works of art here. Meet at 2:30 p.m. at the entrance of the Bulb at Buchanan St. and I-80. Optional dinner afterwards. RSVP to Therese at 841-5493. 

“Park Life” Martial arts, nutritional education, peer counseling, and healthy snacks for at-risk and overweight youth of all ages at 3 p.m. at Ohlone Park, bordering Hearst, between California and Sacramento. Donation requested, no one turned away. 684-1668. 

Berry Tasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kensington Farmers’ Market, 303 Arlington, behind ACE Hardware, Kensington.  

Family Day at the Magnes Museum, including tours of current exhibitions, at 11 a.m. at 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. 

Social Action Forum with Jacques Verduun on programs offered inside San Quentin Prison at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to keep your bike in excellent working condition through safety inspections, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Tibetan Buddhism with Betty Cook on “King Ashoka: An Ancient Model of Buddhist Social Responsibility” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, JULY 9 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: UCB). 

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

TUESDAY, JULY 10 

Bus Rapid Transit: Focus on Downtown Berkeley Community Workshop at the Transit Subcommittee meeting of the Transportation Commission at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7010. 

Tuesday Documentaries at 7 p.m. at the Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Donation of $5 benefits the Berkeley Food and Housing Project. 665-0305. 

Baby-friendly Book Club Bring your baby, and your love of books at 10 a.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brandywine Realty, 2101 Webster St., Ste. 600, Oakland. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: BRANDYWINEREALTY) 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:45 to 1:30 a.m. at the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Ave. 981-5332. 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 1247 Marin Ave. 524-9122.  

Family Storytime for preschoolers and up at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

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

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11 

South Berkeley Assessment of Library Needs with Noll & Tam Architects who have been hired to investigate possible spaces for the library at the Ed Roberts Campus, at Board of Library Trustees meeting at 7 p.m. at South Branch Library, 1901 Russell Street at MLK, Jr., Way. 981-6107. 

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

A Talk with Al Haber, the founder of S.D.S. will speak of the reformed S.D.S. as well as a history of Berkeley's Long Haul and doing peace work in Israel/Palestine at 7 p.m. at the Lonh Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. www.thelonghaul.org 

“Tani O, Who Are You?” with Nigerian Chief Priest Elebuibon Akinyemi on Ifa wisdom at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, JULY 12 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Samuel Merritt Bechtel Room, 400 Hawthorne St., Oakland. To schedule and appointment go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: SMC) 

CoHousing Slide Show on cohousing principles and the new cohousing development in Grass Valley, at 7 p.m. at 1250 Addison St, Suite 113. 849-2063. 

Adult Self-Protection Workshop on everyday safety skills from 10 a.m. to noon in Berkeley. Cost is $105, no one turned away. Location details upon registration. 831-426-4407. 

Cope with Creativity Workshop on “Write to Connect with Grief” at 6:30 p.m. at 4401 Howe St., Oakland. To register call 888-755-7855, ext. 4241. 

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. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

TUESDAY, JULY 3 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sambadá, Brasilia, funk, at 5 p.m. at Cerrito Vista Park, Moeser at Pomona St., El Cerrito.  

Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Cajun/Zydeco, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Kutandara Marimba Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Dick Conte Quartet with Steve Heckman at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$10. 238-9200.  

WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mariachi San José, Voco, On Taiko, ObeyJah and other world music performers from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at at Cerrito Vista Park, Moeser at Pomona St., El Cerrito. www.worldoneradio.org 

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

Orquestra America, salsa, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Mal Sharpe’s Big Money in Jazz with Faye Carol at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $5. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, JULY 5 

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Lasting Impression” Group show of ceramic sculptures, and “Injuries, Improvised Paintings by Luke Riles” Artist reception at 6 p.m. at Estaban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Exhibition runs to July 30. 444-7411.  

THEATER 

Crowded Fire Theater “Anna Bella Eema” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun at 2 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $10-$20. 415-439-2456.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Forrest Hamer and Joseph Millar at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

United Capoeira Artists at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART station. info@downtownberkeley.org 

George Cotsirilos Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Damon and the Heathens, October Allied, Kemo Sabe at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

“Un Regalo para Garabato” Music and spoken word to celebrate the life of Carlos Carabato Gonzales at 7 p.m at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$50. 849-2568.  

Kevin Eubanks at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, JULY 6 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Bosoms and Neglect” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., SUn. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through July 22. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

California Shakespeare Theater “Man and Superman” by George Bernard Shaw at the Bruns Ampitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda, through July 29. Tickets are $15-$60. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Central Works “Bird in the Hand” Thurs-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through July 29. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Meet Me in St. Louis” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. in July at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Aug. 4. 524-9132. 

Crowded Fire Theater “Anna Bella Eema” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. through July 15. Tickets are $10-$20. 415-439-2456. www.crowdedfire.org 

Impact Theatre “Impact Briefs 8: Sinfully Delicious” Thurs.-Sat. through July 21 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. 

Masquers Playhouse “Ring Round the Moon” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through July 14. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Virago Theatre Company “The Death of Ayn Rand” and “A Bed of My Own” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda to July 7. Tickets are $10-$17. 865-6237.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Paiul Lewin Solo Show Acrylic paintings and sketches. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Eclectix, 7523 Fairmoount Ave., El Cerrito. 364-7261. www.eclectixgallery.com 

FILM 

International Working Class Film Festival with “Maquilapolis,” “My Bicycle,” “No Te Rajas,” and Estamos Aqui” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Estacio Libre and Collectiva Zapatista Ramona Film Fest at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Paul Ekman reads from “Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bay Area Blues Society: Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival, Fri.-Sun. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hayward City Hall Plaza, 777 B St., Hayward. Tickets are $10-$30. www.bayareabluessociety.net highsierratickets.com 

Craig Horton Blues Band at 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Les Percussions Malinke with drummer Bolokada Conde at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568.  

A Deep Breath featuring Raffi and Noah Garabedian, Daniel Lubin-Laden and David Michael-Ruddy at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Stompy Jones, East Coast swing, lindy hop, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dani Thomas and Dulce, Latin and Caribbean, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Rebecca Riots at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bob Harp and High Diving Horses at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Stephen Taylor-Ramirez, Misner and Smith, Drew Harrison at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Dave Stein’s Hub-Bub at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Niyorah, Abja & The Red Eye Band, Binghi Ghost, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $18-$20. 548-1159.  

Kevin Eubanks at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JULY 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

“New Works by Margaret Chavigny and Sheila Metcalf Tobin” Reception at 6 p.m. at the Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 grand Ave. at Broadway, Oakland. Exhibition runs to July 29. 

THEATER 

Women’s Will “Romeo and Juliet” Sat. and Sun. at 1 p.m. in John Hinkle Park. 420-0813. www.womenswill.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street, not in Lodge parking lot. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

Mike Young, Logan Ryan Smith and Elliot Harmon read their poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mahea Uchiyama “Dance in the Key of Life” Dance from India, Bali, Hawai’i, Tahiti and more at 8 p.m. at Regents Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $25. 925-798-1300.  

The Ariel Quartet performs Hayden, Dvork, Suprynowicz at 8 p.m. at 2692 Shasta. RSVP to bob@cowart.com 

Schwenke y Nilo Chilean Nueva Cancíon with Los Materos at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Frankye Kelly & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Zydeco Flames, Cajun/Zydeco at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Dave Lionelli, Bhi Bhiman and Greg Cross at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Rebecca Riots at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Kaz George Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

On the One at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Ragwater Review, 5 Cent Coffee, Knees and Elbows at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Sarah Manning Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, JULY 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Sing More Songs” Photographs by Misako Akimoto about the Music Therapy Fund in Richmond. Artist talk at 2 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

“David Goldblatt: Intersections” and “Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker” photographs from South Africa and Iran at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

“Paintings by Jared Roses” opens at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“When Cities Unite” Spoken word and music from L.A. to the Bay at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568.  

Liza Dalby introduces “East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir Through the Seasons” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Michael Fee describes “Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

“David Goldblatt: Intersections” Conversation with the photographer at 3:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Lineage Dance “Dancing Through the Ages” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $25. 925-798-1300. 

Summer Jazz with Yancy Taylor at 3 p.m., The History of Jazz with Randy Moore at 4:30 p.m. at Open Jam Session at 5 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 597-5023. 

Julian Pollack Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Axis Mundi, sacred trance and dance, at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mariel Austin, trombone, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Melanie O’Reilley at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

MONDAY, JULY 9 

CHILDREN 

“Get a Clue at Your Library” a musical by Gary Laplaw at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Library, Montclair Branch, 1687 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 482-7810. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Arthur Weil reads from his poetry at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Public Library, Lakeview Branch, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland. 238-7344. 

Lisa See reads from her new novel “Peony in Love” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Michael McClure and Diana Di Prima at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Poetry Express with Mani Suri at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Orquestra La Moderna Tradicion at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FOURTH OF JULY AT THE BERKELEY MARINA 

The City of Berkeley will hold its annual Fourth of July celebration from noon to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Berkeley Marina. The alcohol-free event includes live entertainment, arts and crafts, fireworks, food, and activities for children. Admission is free. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

‘MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS 

The Contra Costa Civic Theater will present the stage version of the beloved Hollywood musical Meet Me in St. Louis at 8 p.m. Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 4. The story concerns a family looking forward to the arrival of the 1904 World’s Fair in their hometown as disconcerting news arrives that their father is being transferred to a job in New York, threatening to uproot the family. Originally starring Judy Garland, the show features such classic songs as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Skip to My Lou,” and “The Trolley Song.” $24 / $15. 981 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito.  

524-9132. www.ccct.org. 

ROBIN HOOD IN EL CERRITO 

A swashbuckling Errol Flynn robs from the rich and gives to the poor in the colorful crowd pleaser The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) at 6 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday as part of the Cerrito Theater’s classic film series. 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 814-2400. www.picturepubpizza.com.

Woman’s Will, the Oakland-based all-female Shakespeare company, is celebrating their tenth season—and tenth year of free Shakespeare in the parks—with Romeo and Juliet, beginning 1 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, and the following weekend, July 14-15, at Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park.  

Other local performances will be July 21 at F. M. Smith Park and the 22nd Avenue Dimond Park, both in Oakland. Aug. 9-10 at 8 p.m. will see the play staged in a real mortuary, Chapel of the Chimes, the columbarium at the end of Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, in the Mountain View Cemetery. 

Director Erin Merritt commented on an all-female cast playing the most famous of love plays—and about how Woman’s Will approached one of the best-known of Shakespeare’s (or any playwright’s) plays. 

“People forget pretty early on that the cast’s all women,” said Merritt. “We emphasize the text and the acting—and understanding what’s going on. At rehearsals in the parks, kids get off the monkey bars and watch us, so response so far is pretty good! There are a few lines that comment on being a man that come off funny, like Romeo saying, ‘OJuliet, you have made me effeminate.’ But there’s a reason why in some ways, women come off better. These characters are really smart. Most productions either cast a guy who’s a young hunk, or one who’s smart, and neither is comfortable with the other side of the character. Women are used to having both sides open.” 

On the fame of Romeo and Juliet, Merritt remarked, “Everybody knows the plot, so we focus on how it happened, on how many times the story is headed for a happy ending, and how many bad choices make it a tragedy. If Romeo waited five minutes before killing himself, Juliet would be awake, not seemingly dead. After all, she finds his lips still warm!” 

Merritt finds the answer to why so many bad choices that lead to tragedy in the relationship of generations of the play’s characters. “We’re never told what the original problem is, and we don’t care. I saw a CalShakes production that emphasized Friar Laurence as the linchpin of the plot, and realized how important a reconciliation was to him, and what a tragedy its failure was. The oldest generation, the Friar and the other older characters, want peace, for life to be happy in their final years. The middle generation, the parents, are the combative ones, who blame somebody else for whatever gets in their way, and seek revenge. And the young generation, Romeo and Juliet’s, is a little bit of both. They want everything to be wonderful and beautiful, but they have no perspective. Influenced by their parents, when something goes wrong, they lash out and kill—or die.” 

The goal is to show the realization that “everybody is responsible for these deaths. When Romeo enters, and Tybalt’s ready to attack him, Capulet says, more or less, don’t kill him; I hear he’s a nice guy. What if he’d been advised to marry his daughter to the nice guy and gain a friend, not keep an enemy.” 

Merritt emphasizes Shakespeare’s humor. “People forget how much funny stuff there is. And it’s a bawdy play—nothing extra, just what’s in the text. There are three teenage guys who act out with each other, are suggestive with the way they handle swords ... but it’s really all in the spirit behind the action, nothing explicit.” 

There’s a study guide for young kids on the company’s website, with a comic book runthrough of the plot and discussion questions, as well as director’s notes and podcast interviews with the actors. 

The actors cast by Woman’s Will mostly fit the age ranges of the three generations. “The cast is terrific,” said Merritt. “Some are actors we’ve worked with before, but there are also new people, and it’s the enthusiasm that carries it, the infectious energy of youth.” 

ROMEO AND JULIET  

Presented by Woman’s Will at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday this weekend and next at John Hinkel Park in Berkeley. Performances will continue at other locations through August. Admission is free, with donation requested. For locations and directions see www.womanswill.org or call 420-0813.

This is not strictly a Berkeley or Bay Area story, although it begins here with the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes regalis). You probably know the basics: eastern and Canadian foxes brought to the Central Valley during the 19th century by would-be fur farmers, some escaping and taking to the wild where they’ve become serious predators on a roster of endangered species.  

Red foxes were first sighted in the South Bay in 1986, about the time the California clapper rail population began to crash. The light-footed clapper rail of Southern California was similarly decimated. The foxes will also take western snowy plovers, California least terns, Caspian terns, gulls, shorebirds, and herons, and they prey on their smaller relative, the San Joaquin kit fox. 

Unlike most native mammalian predators, introduced red foxes don’t mind getting their feet wet. They’ll kill more than they can immediately eat and cache the surplus. What to do about foxes in the Bay’s tidal marshes has become a cause celebre between animal-rights types and genuine conservationists. 

But there’s another, less notorious fox that’s a California native: the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator), shy, elusive, and vanishingly rare. Unlike the introduced type, this fox isn’t always red: it comes in “black,” “silver,” and “cross” color morphs. No one is really sure how many Sierran foxes are left: it’s possible the only survivors are in the Mount Lassen area. 

It used to be assumed that any red foxes below the 3000-foot line in the Sierra were part of the introduced population; above that, likely natives. That held up until Ben Sacks at UC Davis’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory began looking closely at California’s red foxes. He was interested in patterns of gene flow between different fox sub-populations and whether they were self-sustaining. And he had occasion to look at a lot of museum specimens collected along the coast and up and down the Valley. 

Sacks found something unexpected: the foxes of the Sacramento Valley were more like the native necator than the introduced regalis. The frontier between those foxes and the aliens appears to lie along the Delta and the American River. He also found records of red foxes north of that line dating to before the fox-farming area.  

Were these Sierra Nevada foxes that had adapted to the hot, dry flatlands, or a distinct indigenous population? It appears to be too soon to tell, but Sacks is still looking for data. Anyone who spots a fox in the Sacramento Valley, dead or alive, is asked to report their findings at foxsurvey.ucdavis.edu. 

All this has interesting wildlife management implications. Animals once considered pests—threats to other wildlife—may now have to be treated as an endangered species, or at least a distinct population segment. But science can cut both ways. 

Consider the plight of the Guadeloupe raccoon. Mammalogists used to recognize three island-endemic species of raccoon in the West Indies: on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Guadeloupe, and Barbados, the last now extinct. As the only presumed-native carnivores in the Caribbean, they were always something of a mystery. They looked more like the familiar North American raccoon than the South American crab-eating raccoon, which would have been the more probable parent species. And their bones never showed up in fossil deposits or pre-Columbian archeological sites. 

But they were considered natives in good standing, and the Bahama and Guadeloupe species were declared endangered. The Guadeloupe raccoon, in fact, became the flagship species of local conservation programs and the island’s national park system.  

Then in 1999 came a DNA study reporting no differences between the Guadeloupe raccoon and the North American stock. 

Four years later, Don Wilson of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Kristofer Helgen of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology examined museum specimens of island and mainland raccoons, and concluded that what were supposed to be distinctive traits of the Bahama, Guadeloupe, and Barbados raccoons also occurred in Georgia and Florida populations. The island raccoons had apparently—who knows why?—been introduced, as had a whole Barbadian zoo of mongooses, green monkeys, and camels. 

Helgen and Wilson also pointed out the damage these critters could do by raiding the nests of endangered ground-dwelling birds and digging up the eggs of endangered sea turtles. I don’t know whether the raccoons’ own endangered status has been revoked, but it’s surely only a matter of time and bureaucratic process. 

A cautionary tale, in any case. In the harsh world of conservation biology, you’re only as good as your last genetic study.

TUESDAY, JULY 3 

Alternative Fourth of July Celebration commemorating Frederick Douglass’ Independence Day Speech, at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, 1852, with a concert and BBQ dinner at 6 p.m. at Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St., downtown Oakland. Tickets are $20-$30. www.opcmusic.org 

Fourth of July Celebration with music by the Milt Bowerman Band at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

The Red Oak Victory Ship BBQ and Fireworks Viewing at 6 p.m. at 1337 Canal Blvd., off Hwy 580, in Richmond. Cost is $20. For information and reservations call 222-9200. 

Insect Discovery Lab See and touch live bugs as you learn more about them at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Tuesday Documentaries at 7 p.m. at the Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Donation of $5 benefits the Berkeley Food and Housing Project. 665-0305. 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 1247 Marin Ave. 524-9122.  

Family Storytime for preschoolers and up at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704.  

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

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 

Fourth of July at the Berkeley Marina from noon to 9:30 p.m. with live entertainment, arts & crafts, food, and activities for children. Alcohol-free event. Free admission. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.  

Celebrate Inter-Dependence Day with a vegetarian potluck from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Laurel Picnic Area in Tilden Park. Bring a vegetarian dish to share. Dogs and musical instruments also welcome. Sponsored by The Network of Spiritual Progressives 644-1200. www.spiritualprogressives.org  

People’s World Barbeque “Que Viva Cuba!” with report-backs from recent visits, music, and Cuban and BBQ food, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 2232 Derby St. Cost is $10. 548-8764. 

Fireworks on the Bay Canoe Trip An easy paddle to see the wetlands before the fireworks show. All boating equipment and instruction is provided. Mimimum age is 10. Cost is $35-$45. For reservations call 452-9261, ext. 119. bayevents@saveSFbay.org  

Fourth of July on the USS Hornet with live music, games for all ages, and tours of the aircraft carrier, and firework viewing, from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 707 W. Hornet Ave., Pier 3, Alameda. Tickets are $10-$25. 521-8448, ext. 282. www.hornetevents.com 

Walking Tour of Jack London Waterfront Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley Marina. Wear warm, waterproof clothing and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. www.cal-sailing.org 

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

THURSDAY, JULY 5 

People’s Park Community Workshop on the future design and programs for People’s Park, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. Pre-registration required. RSVP to 415-288-3390. taylor@mkthink.com 

“From Gaza, With Love” with Palestinian physician and human rights activist, Dr. Mona El-Farra at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita at Cedar. 548-0542.  

California Telephone Access will display phone equipment for those with vision, hearing and mobility issues from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Cope with Creativity shows the video “The Gifts of Grief” at 6:30 p.m. at 4401 Howe St., Oakland. To register call 888-755-7855, ext. 4241. 

El Sabor de Fruitvale Farmers’ market, salsa making, and live music with La Familia Son from 3 to 7 p.m. at Fruitvale Transit Village, 3411 East 12th St., Oakland. 535-6900. 

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.  

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club meets at 6:45 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. Free, all are welcome. namaste@avatar.freetoasthost.info  

FRIDAY, JULY 6 

“Native Plants of Yosemite” A slide show and talk with Ranger Erik at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

“The Spirit of John Muir” A performance highlighting Muir’s adventures in the western wilderness at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

“Pint for a Pint” Blood Drive Blood donors will receive a coupon for a free pint of gelato from Gelato Classico. The blood drive will be in Conference Room A from noon to 6 p.m. at Alameda Hospital, 2070 Clinton Ave., Alameda. To schedule an appointment call Louise Nakada at 814-4362. 

“The Iron Wall” A documentary with interviews with prominent Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, farmers, soldiers and political analysts at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 1640 Addison. Free. Sponsored by The Fr. Bill O’Donnell Social Justice Committee. 499-0537. 

International Working Class Film Festival with “Maquilapolis,” “My Bicycle,” “No Te Rajas,” and Estamos Aqui” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Estacio Libre and Collectiva Zapatista Ramona Film Fest at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:45 to 1:30 a.m. at the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Ave. 981-5332. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253.  

SATURDAY, JULY 7 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Neighborhood Walking Tour of the F.M. “Borax” Smith Estate from 10 a.m. to noon. Meets at the redwood tree, corner of McKinley Ave. and Home Place East. Tickets are $10-$15. info@oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Canyonero Hike A three-mile hike across habitats up to Wildcat Park, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Led by Meg Platt, naturalist. For information and meeting place, call 525-2233. 

Bicycle Trip Along the Hayward Shoreline Meet at 8:30 p.m. at San Leandro Marina Park for a 14-mile round trip excursion, partly paved. Bicycle helmet required. Bring bicycle lock, lunch and liquids. For information email Kathy_Jarrett@yahoo.com, www.trasit.511.org 

“Ice Scone” Benefit for Save Berkeley Iceland, at the Cheese Board, 1504 Shattuck Ave. All proceeds from the sale of this special scone will go to saving the family-friendly community center for ice skating. 599-4591. www.SaveBerkeleyIceland.org 

Artists Funding the Arts Silent Auction to benefit the SF AIDS Foundation. Bidding begins at 10 a.m. at 4th St. Studio, 1717D 4th St. Bidding closes Sunday at 8 p.m. 527-0600. 

Kensington Police Department Program for ages 3 and up at 2 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

“Brainiacs” An interactive neural anatomy lesson, at 1 p.m. for ages 7 and under, 2:10 p.m. for 8 and older at Hall of Health, 2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level. Cost is $5, no one turned away. 705-8527. 

Community Festival at The Way Christian Center with music, health and college fairs, and activities for children, from noon to 4 p.m. at 1222 University Ave. Free. 848-2117. 

Preschool Storytime for 3 to 5-year-olds at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext. 17. 

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.  

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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, JULY 8 

People’s Park Community Workshop on the future design and programs for People’s Park, at 1 p.m. at First Church of Christ Scientist, 2619 Dwight Way. Pre-registration required. RSVP to 415-288-3390. taylor@mkthink.com 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Neighborhood Walking Tour of the Mountain View Cemetary from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at Chapel of the chimes, 4400 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. info@oaklandheritage.org 

Solo Sierrans Walk to Explore the Albany Bulb and discover the unique works of art here. Meet at 2:30 p.m. at the entrance of the Bulb at Buchanan St. and I-80. Optional dinner afterwards. RSVP to Therese at 841-5493. 

“Open Garden” Join the Little Farm gardener for composting, planting, watering and reaping the rewards of our work, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233.  

“Green Sunday” Upholding Our Rights to a Healthy Community A discussion on the California Healthy Communities Network and how its work affects our community, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. 

Berry Tasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kensington Farmers’ Market, 303 Arlington, behind ACE Hardware, Kensington.  

Family Day at the Magnes Museum, including tours of current exhibitions, at 11 a.m. at 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. 

Social Action Forum with Jacques Verduun on programs offered inside San Quentin Prison at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to keep your bike in excellent working condition through safety inspections, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Betty Cook on “King Ashoka: An Ancient Model of Buddhist Social Responsibility” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, JULY 9 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com (Code: UCB). 

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

Drop in Knitting Class at the Albany Library Work on your own project or make pet blankets and children’s hats to be donated to charity organizations. Yarn and needles provided for donated items. At 3:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., July 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5400.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs. July 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7419.

Healthy Living 

As part of an ongoing effort to print stories by East Bay residents, the Daily Planet invites readers to write about their experiences and perspectives on living healthy. Please e-mail your essays, no more than 800 words, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues. 

East Bay Guide 

The Daily Planet invites readers to contribute to a guide for newcomers to the area. Please e-mail your essays, no more than 800 words, describing a favorite or little-known aspect of East Bay life, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues.