Elephant Pharm, which opened in Berkeley six years ago as a pharmacy promoting holistic health merchandise, has closed and declared bankruptcy, blaming the economic downturn and the tightening of the credit market, according to a notice posted at its 1607 Shattuck Ave. location on Tuesday morning. 

Kathi Lentzsch, Elephant CEO, said in a statement that the company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy after failing to raise capital and will seek liquidation. 

“The company has been burdened with obligations that were quite difficult for a company of our size to carry,” she said. 

“The current management team and board of directors worked diligently to grow the company to a size that could bear these obligations, but due to the current economic conditions and the tightening of the credit market, it has not been possible to raise the capital required to continue the business.” 

Lentzsch said that the company, which has 190 employees, had been in continuous discussions with potential investors over the past twelve months and cut costs significantly by closing its Los Altos location in September and downsizing corporate staff but was ultimately left with no other choice but to close its stores. 

The company’s other locations at Walnut Creek and San Rafael also closed down today. 

"We are extremely proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish in the 6 years since we opened,” Lentzsch said. “We would like to thank our vendors and our very loyal customers for their support over the years. Elephant has been both a leader in its industry as well as a reflection of a greater societal movement for healthy change." 

Former employees told the Planet that stocks started dwindling at the Berkeley store—a 13,000 square feet space—almost four months ago. 

Customers and clients who came to the Berkeley store Tuesday morning to get their prescriptions and shop said they were surprised—and in some cases frustrated—to hear the news. 

Anastasia Russell, who came to pick up her prescriptions from Elephant around 11 a.m., stood in front of the store’s sliding glass doors with her hand on her head. 

“I received a call from the corporate office that they were closing down so I rushed here to get my vitamins,” she said. “But I didn’t get anything. I buy all my medicine here. Now I don’t know what to do. They had excellent customer service—it was a perfect spot. I am so much in shock. I have a heavy heart—I am really appalled.” 

Suzy and Eric Johannesson, returning a movie in the drop-box located in the pharmacy’s parking lot, stopped a few feet away from the building before walking up the steps to read the notice. 

“We were just returning a movie when we noticed people taking pictures,” Suzy said. “It’s really very sad ... We have bought a lot of stuff from here and like their products.” 

The couple, who live on Shasta Road, said they shop in the Gourmet Ghetto regularly. 

“Another Berkeley business is going vacant,” Eric said. “We are going to go home and have a drink to drown our sorrows. What else can we do?” 

Starbuck’s recently closed across Shattuck Avenue from Elephant, and down the block, Waddle and Swaddle, a locally owned clothing boutique for babies and expectant mothers, which has been in Berkeley for eight and a half years, also had a out-of-business sign, its “Buy Local Berkeley” sticker still visible on the storefront. 

At Elephant, around 10 or 15 employees shuttled in and out of the store to collect their belongings and a couple of managers could be seen talking to clients inside. 

Gabe Dour, a former employee who was laid off Monday night, was handing out discount coupons for the Shen Clinic, a herbal pharmacy on the corner of Shattuck and Rose Street, where he works part time. 

“It’s a shame,” said Dour. “It was the hub of the community great model for what pharmacies could be and one of the first of its kind.” 

Dour said that he had started looking for a job almost four months ago when management stopped replenishing merchandise. 

“They have been telling us for a while that we could close but that there was still some hope,” he said. “Then they told us a week or so ago that we should look for a job. Apparently they made some phone calls to employees last night but I haven’t checked my messages yet. It’s a dicey situation since we have a lot of part time students working here as well as full time practitioners.” 

Dour said that the Berkeley location had around 60 employees, not counting its practitioners and teachers. 

“I know that everyone has been paid for the hours they worked,” he said, blaming the closing on the financial meltdown, explaining that it was becoming hard for the company to find investors who would finance the new construction. 

A few customers took pictures of the “closed indefinitely” sign which read: 

“It is with a heavy heart that we post this notice: Elephant Pharm, which has served over 1 million customers in four Bay Area markets, has closed indefinitely. As a small business, we’ve been hurt by the terrible turn the economy has taken and the tightening of the credit market. It’s been a very special six years since we started this drugstore revolution, and we certainly couldn’t have made it as far as we did without you—our customers. We hope that you will continue your pursuit of a good, long life, well lived.” 

The notice also directed customers to the company’s website www.elephantpharm.com for further details and asked them to contact their doctor to have their prescriptions filled or re-filled. 

“We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause you,” the notice’s end read. 

Sara Horowitz, another customer, waited in front of store for 10 minutes before finally taking off. 

“I was hoping to buy some lavender chocolate,” she said. “I came all the way from Lake Merritt just to come to Elephant Pharmacy. I don’t get it. I am totally confused.” 

Stuart Skorman, who also started Reel.com, started Elephant in 2002, focusing on offering health-conscious consumers a health- and wellness-minded product selection, good customer service and easy access to information through a free customer education program, selling merchandise that included over-the-counter drug store remedies, bulk herbs, vitamins, supplements, yoga gear, gifts, books and more. Skorman has no longer has any connection to the business. 

In the fall of 2005, Elephant raised $26 million from Tudor Investment and the JPMorgan Bay Area Equity Fund, according to a company statement. National drugstore chain CVS also invested in Elephant. 

The store also offered a team of wellness practitioners who offered free, one-on-one consultations everyday and brought in local and visiting experts to lead hundreds of free classes and clinics every month at each store. 

“This is terrible, It’s my neighborhood,” said Elizabeth Wright, who has lived in North Berkeley for over 40 years. “It makes me feel very, very sad. I shopped here for myself and my grandchildren. My dog shopped here too. I am a great supporter of the local neighborhood and Elephant had such a lovely feeling of community. I shall miss that very much. I hope that something positive will happen so that they can open again.”

Acknowledging that Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield, charged with murdering UC Berkeley graduate Chris Wootton in May, posed a threat to the community and a flight risk, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson set his bail at $2 million Monday. 

Jacobson explained that the excessive amount would guarantee that family and friends who raised it would ensure that the defendant showed up at his pre-trial hearing in two weeks. 

The judge also ordered Hoeft-Edenfield, who lives on San Pablo Avenue in West Berkeley with his mother Eileen, to stay 300 feet away from UC Berkeley and its fraternities and sororities, in light of the fact that the very actions that had put him behind bars had started from a frat row fight last May. 

Hoeft-Edenfield’s private attorney Yolanda Hwang asked the judge to set bail at $60,000, explaining that anything higher than that would make it unaffordable for Hoeft-Edenfield’s mother, who was employed at a nonprofit, and his father, a construction worker. 

She added that his parents did not own any property, saying that “if he posts bond it would be because of the faith and support of the community.” 

Alameda County deputy district attorney Stacie Pettigrew requested the judge to set bail at $3 million. 

Hoeft-Edenfield was denied his previous request for bail on Aug. 25 after Jacobson ruled that there wasn’t substantial evidence presented to prove that he had acted in self-defense, as his lawyer asserted in court documents. 

“After reading the police report my presumption is there is a substantial amount of evidence that he is guilty of the offense charged,” he said. “Evidence available in the case supports first degree murder, so I have to keep the charge of murder in mind. The [sentence on the ]maximum potential charges may be 26 years to life—that’s a factor that shows that his incentive to flee is great.” 

Jacobson then asked Hwang about the defendant’s proximity to the UC Berkeley campus from where he lives in Berkeley, to which she replied two and a half miles. 

“I have some concerns that if the defendant is free and makes his way around Berkeley, he may encounter young men again, and may pose a threat,” he said. “I am to consider potential danger to others.” 

However, Jacobson also noted that Hoeft-Edenfield did not have a prior criminal record. 

“I know that he has spent his entire life in Berkeley, has family and friends here, has gone to school here and has significant attachment to the community,” he said. 

Hwang informed the judge that Hoeft-Edenfield had been admitted to an outreach program in the sheriff’s department but said that she was unable to produce the letter in the courtroom that afternoon. 

Hoeft-Edenfield’s mother and his friends—a few from Berkeley City College, where he was a student—were present in the courtroom during the bail hearing at 2:30 p.m. along with a group of 10 or 12 supporters, mostly friends and family, of Wootton. 

Jacobson said that there was enough evidence at this point to have Hoeft-Edenfield locked away for “many many years.” 

“Looks to me like people have a lot of evidence,” he said. “If the jury finds him guilty of manslaughter, the possibility of significant incarceration is real.” 

Jacobson said that Hoeft-Edenfield had given three different versions of the incident to investigators at the police station, the first two being “two rather difficult to believe versions,” and the final one leading to the self-defense story. 

He said that the defendant had lied to one of his friends while talking to him on a cell phone, denying involvement in the incident. 

After stating his concerns, Jacobson set the $2 million bail and also ordered Hoeft-Edenfield to stay away from drugs and alcohol and restaurants and bars which served alcohol, warned him against carrying any dangerous weapons or firearms and restricted his use of knives to cutlery. 

Caltrans will fund $2 million in improvements to Highway 13 in Berkeley as part of the settlement of a lawsuit by civic activists challenging the state’s plans to drill a fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel. 

That sum doesn’t include $750,000 Caltrans had already committed to the city street improvements. 

The agreement, signed by Caltrans Jan. 23, is the second pact signed by the state transportation department to compensate for impacts of the tunnel project. 

An agreement with Oakland was signed last June under threat of a lawsuit, giving that city $8 million in mitigation projects to offset project impacts. 

Highway 13, known for the greatest part of its course through the city as Ashby Avenue, turns into Tunnel Road east of Claremont Avenue. The highway carries traffic to and from the city, intersecting with Highway 24 not far from the tunnel. 

The Berkeley funds are to be spent on traffic signals and signal timing, and for improvements that make the road safer for cyclists and pedestrians, according to the 11-page agreement filed with the court of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch. 

According to the agreement, “[p]rojects will be selected by the City of Berkeley,” with the approval of the Fourth Bore Coalition (FBC) and subject to final approval by Caltrans based on safety and feasibility. 

The FBC is an alliance of the Berkeley Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association, East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Friends of Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt, North Hills Phoenix Association, Parkwoods Community Association and the Rockridge Community Planning Council. 

FBC chair Ann Smulka signed the agreement, as did FBC attorney Stuart Flashman, Caltrans Director Will Kempton and Janet Wong, the agency’s lawyer. 

I came across the article today about the shots shutdown at the GAIA building on Friday night. I was walking home through downtown Berkeley when the shots were fired. It was disappointing to have no mention on it from ANY bay area news source over the entire weekend. The berkeley police don't even appear to mention it in their bulletin. We had no idea what was happening - or what happened.. Police were out in force and even closed off the streets... Allston, Center, etc. Anyway, the article raised doubt as to how many shots were fired. I came across this video taken during the shots fired... there were 3 - they happened just after halfway. -- Moni

While protesters and the family of Oscar Grant III reacted with anger and anguish to the announcement that former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle would be granted bail Friday afternoon, the most significant action taken at last week’s bail hearing may have been the words directed to the former officer by the Alameda County Superior Court judge in charge. 

The 27-year-old Mehserle, who quit the BART police force to avoid cooperating with a BART internal investigation, has been charged with murder in the New Year’s Day shooting death of the 22-year-old father and Hayward resident Grant. On Friday, despite a somewhat tepid no-bail request from prosecutor John Creighton, Judge Morris Jacobson ruled that Mehserle could be released on $3 million bail. 

Mehserle is being represented by high profile Bay Area attorney Michael Rains. 

Flanked by grim-faced family members, Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, left the courtroom immediately after the judge’s decision with tears streaming down her face, shouting “That ain’t right! That ain’t right!” over and over. 

Earlier, overflow crowds in the courthouse hallway just outside the seventh-floor courtroom bail hearing chanted “I am Oscar Grant” so loud it could be heard inside the courtroom during the hearing. 

The Oakland Tribune reported nine individuals were arrested in angry protest demonstrations in downtown Oakland in the hours following the bail hearing, with at least one Oakland Police Department squad car damaged by vandalism. The Oakland Police Department did not return telephone calls requesting information on the arrests. 

But it was Jacobson’s words inside the courtroom, as the first judge to look into the details of the Grant shooting, that may have the greatest long-term effect on the legal aspects of this case. 

With Mehserle standing in a red Santa Rita County Jail jumpsuit in the dock at the side of the courtroom flanked by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies, Jacobson called the defendant a “danger to society” and a “flight risk,” with a “character flaw” and a “clear propensity for violence.” In addition, the judge said that the inconsistent statements reportedly made by Mehserle and listed in his attorney’s bail hearing brief “creates a level of mistrust about any promises [Mehserle] would make to return to this court” if the defendant were freed on bail. 

Jacobson appeared particularly concerned about the widely varying reasons attributed to Mehserle in his bail brief for his reasons for shooting Grant. 

In a statement included in the brief given by BART Officer Tony Pirone, “Pirone said he heard Mehserle say, ‘Put your hands behind your back, stop resisting, stop resisting, put your hands behind your back.’ Then Mehserle said, ‘I’m going to taze him, I’m going to taze him. I can’t get his arms. He won’t give me his arms. His hands are going for his waistband.’” 

But later in the brief, Pirone’s statement continues that “after the shooting, Pirone was standing away from the shooting location. Mehserle approached Pirone and said, ‘Tony, I thought he was going for a gun.’” 

Pirone is the officer seen in the widely viewed cellphone videos punching Grant in the head and then placing his knee on Grant’s head after the man was down on the pavement. 

Mehserle himself has yet to give a statement to authorities about his actions in Grant’s death. 

But Jacobson said that the two statements attributed to Mehserle by Pirone—that he thought Grant was going for a gun but that Mehserle intended to use his taser, not his own gun—“appear inconsistent” and an indication that Mehserle was “attempting to avoid consequences. He is adding to his story and changing his story.” 

But even though he characterized Mehserle as a danger to the community, Jacobson said that under the California constitution, the former officer was entitled to bail. The judge ordered that Mehserle’s two personal weapons—a 40 and a 45 caliber Glock—be surrendered and that he not have in his possession or control any dangerous weapons while on bail. Jacobson did not order that the officer surrender his passport.  

Jacobson, who said he will not be handling the Mehserle case when it goes to trial, set a preliminary hearing for March 23.  

Dereca Blackmon, co-founder of the Committee Against Police Executions (CAPE) and one of the organizers of the two Grant protest rallies that have taken place since Grant’s death, said that while she was “disappointed that [Mehserle] received bail, it was extremely high bail, and we have to look at this as a victory.” Blackmon, who was in the courtroom during the bail hearing, said it appeared to be “a mismatch between the District Attorney’s office and a high-powered, high-priced lawyer [representing Mehserle]. The DA did not handle his case very well.” 

And speaking at a press conference outside the courthouse following the bail hearing, Oakland attorney John Burris—who is representing the Grant family and other persons who were detained on the BART platform the night Grant died—said that while he thought $3 million bail was a high amount, “it was our view and hope that it would be no bail. But since I knew [Mehserle] had a right to bail, I thought it should be at least $5 million.”  

Asked by a reporter if he thought a special prosecutor might be in order to handle the Mehserle prosecution, Burris said, “I don’t see that the prosecutor is not doing a good job, so far. I don’t see at the present time that an independent prosecutor would be better. I haven’t seen enough evidence to justify that.” 

Meanwhile, representatives of the broad coalition formed in the Grant case--including CAPE and several local ministers--have broadened their demands in the case to include the firing of BART Police Chief Gary Gee. Earlier last week, Burris’ office circulated a memo to BART police officers on BART stationery giving information about how officers could put money in Mehserle’s jail account at Santa Rita County Jail.  

In an accompanying message, Burris called Gee’s conduct “unacceptable,” adding that "the chief should be terminated. I can appreciate that BART police officers and union members, out of friendship, may want to visit and or make financial contributions to Mehserle; however, it is unacceptable for the police chief, who ostensibly is investigating Mehserle and other officers, related to their conduct on the night that Oscar Grant was killed, to encourage officers to visit and make financial contributions to Mehserle.” 

That call for Gee’s termination was taken up at the weekly Oscar Grant Town Hall meeting at Olivet Baptist Church in West Oakland, where Grant coalition members have been handing out information and plotting strategy. Local minister Dr. Harold Mayberry said that even while the Gee letter was being circulated to BART police officers, the BART police chief was assuring a meeting of coalition members last week that “there is no effort by BART to help Mehserle monetarily.” 

Earlier, at Mehserle’s bail hearing, his attorney, Michael Rains, said that the officer’s legal defense is being paid for in part by the California Police Officers Association. 

While Blackmon said that in the light of continuing events in the expanding Grant case, including the call by BART Board members Lynette Sweet and Tom Radulovich for the ouster of Gee and BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger, CAPE and other members of the Grant coalition will be “exploring the expansion of our demands.”  

At least one group participating in the Olivet Grant Town Hall meetings and other parts of the Grant protests has already moved forward with one new demand. Outside the Alameda County Courthouse during Mehserle’s bail hearing, members of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) carried placards reading, “Wanted: Tony Pirone For Racist Execution Of Oscar Grant.” 

Berkeley planning commissioners will be back at work on the new Downtown Area Plan Wednesday night, this time looking at access and streetscapes and open space. 

The commission has saddled itself with a series of special meetings as they rush to meet the deadline to send their revisions of the plan to the City Council. 

Councilmembers will make a final pick from two competing versions, one drafted over the course of nearly two years by Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee and the second being the commission’s own revisions of the DAPAC draft. 

The council must pass the final version by noon on May 26 or the city will lose some of the UC Berkeley funds designed to offset impacts of the university’s downtown building plans. 

Commissioners are scheduled to finish their revisions of the plan by March 25, if they follow a schedule drafted by downtown planner Matt Taecker. 

The panel will adopt any last minute changes at their April 15 meeting, when they are also scheduled to review the plan’s environmental impact report. 

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  

The chapter and the agenda are available at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/. 

The Berkeley Police Department shut down yet another party at the Gaia Arts Center in downtown Berkeley Friday night, after it attracted a large unruly crowd which blocked streets at Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, and led to gunshots being fired in its aftermath, authorities said Saturday. 

Lt. Rico Rolleri of the Berkeley Police Department said that the party had started out “OK” with 150 to 200 teenagers inside the venue, but turned uncontrollable when at least 100 others tried to crash the event by entering through the Gaia Building garage, climbing over a back fence and pushing their way through the front door. 

Rolleri said that police officers patrolling the neighborhood had come across the large crowds and contacted the organizers—whose name Rolleri was not able to confirm— who admitted that they were unable to handle the situation. 

At least 20 Berkeley police officers began dispersing the crowd around 9:04 p.m., a process that took them about two hours, Rolleri said. 

“People were very uncooperative and large groups were pushing one another,” he said, adding that 45 minutes into the officers’ efforts to send everyone away someone fired a gun three or four times on the 2200 block of Shattuck. 

Rolleri said that nobody had been injured in the incident and that police had not been able to track down the person discharging the firearm. 

No one has yet reported any damage to property. 

Last October a similar incident forced Berkeley police to declare the Gaia Arts Center, located on the lower floors of the Gaia Building at 2120 Allston Way, a public nuisance after its owners failed to control the rowdy behavior of the guests, some of whom tried to crash the party by climbing through the windows of Anna’s Jazz Island, another first floor tenant in the building. 

The notice of nuisance which was posted at the door of the facility in October states that the city would impose a fine on the owners if a similar incident occurred within the next four months. 

The Gaia Building’s owner, Equity Residential—headed by real estate magnate and Tribune Co. proprietor Samuel Zell--has leased the Gaia Arts Center premises back to Berkeley developer Patrick Kennedy, who built the building and sold it to Equity in 2007. 

Calls to Kennedy at his real estate firm Panoramic Interests and to the Gaia Arts Center were not returned. 

At least three Berkeley residents have sued the city in the past for failing to impose the cultural mandates outlined in the Gaia Art Center’s use permit.  

The center’s website www.gaiaarts.com lists theatre and mezzanine space available for art exhibits, business meetings, conferences, concerts, private parties and weddings—all at rates ranging from $350 to $1,800—and notes that all events are required to be staffed by a Gaia Arts representative at all times. 

Anna de Leon of Anna’s Jazz Island, the other ground floor tenant in the building, said that she has repeatedly complained to the city that the arts center was unlawfully renting space out to churches, weddings and private parties. 

At a Zoning Adjustments Board meeting last year to determine whether the owners were violating a condition on their original permit requiring a certain amount of cultural activities in the arts center in exchange for higher density, zoning commissioners voted to give Equity Residential six more months to promote culture use in the space. 

Kennedy, and subsequently Equity’s lawyer Allen Matkins, have informed city officials that finding tenants who would use the space for cultural use has proved difficult in the past. 

De Leon told the Planet that Friday’s party had once again exceeded the expectations of its hosts—just like the one in October—and that college-aged people started “mobbing” outside the Gaia Building when they weren’t able to get in, forcing her to call the police around 9:15 p.m. 

“There were hundreds of young people all around, and I knew there was going to be a problem,” she said, adding that one of the party organizers told her that they were going to shut down the party early. “My customers were not able to get in.” 

De Leon said by the time the police arrived, the situation had turned pretty bad, prompting Berkeley police supervisor Sgt. Katherine Smith and several police officers to shut the party down. 

There were at least six to seven police cars on the scene, de Leon said, and part Shattuck Avenue had been closed down, making it difficult for anyone to access the neighborhood restaurants and bars. 

“After the streets were cleared, the police made everyone leave the party,” she said. “Then I heard gun shots on Shattuck and everyone ran back inside the Gaia Building. But the police told everyone that they couldn’t stay there and made them leave again, and told me to keep my customers inside.” 

De Leon said that the city’s and the owner’s failure to control these parties and the lack of a resolution about the building’s cultural use permit were unacceptable. 

“The city must like these parties—that’s why they approve them,” she said. “They’d rather have me move out of town, because that’s what I am thinking of doing.” 

Jorge Saldana, who owns Cancun restaurant on Allston Way next to the Gaia building, said that he too was frustrated with what he called the Gaia Arts Center’s poor management and lack of respect for its neighbors. 

“One of my managers called me last night around 8 p.m. and said that he was going to shut down the restaurant early because the party was going out of control,” he said. “He said that the people were looking aggressive and he didn’t know whether he should sell them alcohol. He was afraid they would turn violent or break in. So I told him to shut down the restaurant for security.” 

Saldana, who said Cancun usually stays open until 10:30 p.m. on weekends, closed the restaurant almost two hours early Friday. 

“I am very concerned that these parties are hurting my business,” he said. “I don’t know why they continue to be held. On top of that they are violent and close the streets. I am losing my customers.” 

Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, who represents the downtown district, said that he was sympathetic to the businesses being affected by these parties. 

“It’s ridiculous that another uncontrollable party is happening at a place that should not be holding them,” he said. “I feel bad that Cancun, Anna’s Jazz Island and other restaurants have to deal with so many people. Is that good for the city, for the downtown?—No.” 

The struggle over the West Berkeley’s future brought a packed house of worried small business owners, craft workers and artists to the Planning Commission on Wednesday. 

Everyone who rose to speak had one overarching concern: a proposed change in rules that could reshape most of the city’s remaining land zoned for production. 

City planning staff have proposed a new process that would allow changes in the rules for development of more than half the acreage now zoned for manufacturing and light industry—all of it located in a compact 1.5-square-mile freeway-hugging belt. 

And adding to the complexity of the issue, although only mentioned in passing, is the city’s prediction that car traffic in West Berkeley is expected to reach gridlock conditions in seven years. 

“Cars will reach gridlock conditions by 2016,” said Debra Sanderson, the city’s land use planning manager. “They will overwhelm our local streets,” bringing more pollutants in their wake as well, she said. 

West Berkeley itself “is not very big,” Sanderson said. “It’s less that 10 percent of the area of Berkeley itself.” 

But it is a well-organized 10 percent, as commissioners learned once again during their Wednesday night session. 

One after the other, artists and owners of businesses ranging from recycling and industrial parts production to lumberyards, laboratory glassware manufacturing and printing rose to protest changes in the Master Use Permit (MUP) process that would be allowed on all parcels of two or more acres. 

Rick Auerbach, advocate for the West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies (WEBAIC) alliance, said the proposal would cover between 52 and 60 percent of Berkeley's manufacturing and industrially zoned land. 

While the recommendations presented to the commission by city Principal Planner Alex Amoroso declared that revisions would “revitalize and protect the three industrial districts (M, MM, MULI) with strong emphasis on manufacturing, warehouse, wholesale, and material recovery use,” audience members weren’t reassured. 

The MUP changes, Amoroso told commissioners, “are part of this flexibility we’ve been talking about.” 

So contentious has “flexibility” become that planning staff had previously changed the very name of their task from “West Berkeley Flexibility” to “West Berkeley Project.” 

The flexibility proposed would allow developers to deviate from established limits on uses, building setbacks, structure heights, parking requirements and other conditions in exchange for unspecified benefits to the city. 

Developers like the idea, including the company representing the owners of the area’s largest relatively undeveloped parcel, the old American Soil Products site, bordering the northern end of Aquatic Park. 

James Bohar of the international real estate brokerage Cushman Wakefield didn’t speak during the meeting, though he had sent commissioners a set of recommendations backing MUP revisions. 

Other developers in the audience didn’t speak, either, leaving the podium for the sole use of critics plus one lone speaker—Harvey Sherback—who urged commissioners to back his proposal to close at least one city street mornings and evenings for the use of cyclists. 

Sanderson told commissioners that anything allowed into West Berkeley would have to be clean, since the area already draws in, thanks to the prevailing winds, significant amounts of particulates from freeway and rail traffic. 

Development would also have to be “tight,” given that the area lies within a zone where the water level is high, the bay is rising and an earthquake could liquefy the soil. 

Amoroso said he envisions that changes will be made to two chapters of the zoning ordinance after “a period of extensive public review.” 

One change might allow for an increase over the current height limit of 45 feet, while others might allow greater flexibility in floor area ratios, required setbacks from property lines, and changes in allowable uses, including those allowed when a site sits astride zoning district boundaries. 

Amoroso promised further meetings with three stakeholder groups—WEBAIC and its allies, with a developer and land owner group, and with members of the West Berkeley Project Area Committee (PAC)—before a return visit to the commission later this month with a revised proposal. 

“We’re looking to see if the concept makes sense, and are we missing any major areas of specific concern,” he said. 

John Curl, a cabinet maker and WEBAIC activist, said he was concerned that city staff seemed to have pulled back in recent weeks from what had been “a very constructive relationship.” 

While staff has raised the minimum size for MUP projects from one acre to two, Curl said “three or three-and-a-half acres makes a lot more sense,” while still freeing up “almost a million square feet for development.” 

But the two-acre minimum “would have a devastating impact on West Berkeley,” accomplishing “just the opposite of what the West Berkeley Plan set out to do,”, he said. 

Bernard Marzalek of Inkworks printing said the proposal threatened businesses like his worker-owned shop, which has been in the city since 1982. “We’re not some big box retail that’s here today and gone tomorrow. We’re a stable, sustainable business.” 

Corliss Lesser, an artist who lives with her family in a live/work studio at 800 Heinz Ave., said she worried that the process was threatening “something we are all being asked to move toward in this country: the small, the local.” 

It would be a crime, she said, to implement changes that would drive artists out of the city. 

“We should leave the West Berkeley Plan alone,” said Primo Facchini of Pacific Coast Chemical. “We shouldn’t change it for some capricious reason.” 

“I’m new to the full-on contact blood sport of Berkeley land use politics,” said Jim Mason, owner of the Shipyard, an artists’ space that has had its own problems with city regulations. 

He said staff should be looking at ways to make it easier for small scale activities to ensure the area’s “tremendous diversity of artisans and activities.” 

“I’m very concerned about the watering down of the West Berkeley Plan,” said Ashby Lumber owner Jeff Hogan, a business which he said employs more than 50 people, who receive living wages. 

Hogan, like most of the other speakers, urged at least a three-acre minimum for the MUP. 

Seth Goddard, chair of the West Berkeley PAC, urged the commission to figure out a way to address greenhouse gas emissions in whatever solution they devise. 

Dan Baker, owner of a business at Fourth Street and Channing Way that has fabricated industrial moldings for the last 55 years, said he was concerned that proposals on the table “would deny businesses like mine.” 

Adolfo Cabral, recently ousted from the West Berkeley PAC by City Councilmember Darryl Moore, said he feared the area was being sacrificed in a drive to bring more revenue and tax money into city coffers. 

“I don’t want a scenario where there will be more and more seven-story buildings blocking my view of the Bay or forcing out industries and artists,” he said. 

Cabral is the second appointee ousted by Moore in recent weeks. He also forced Roia Ferrazares off of the planning commission. Both had questioned some of the projects which a City Council majority seems intent on pushing through. 

Many of those who had come to the meeting weren’t familiar with the speaking process and hadn’t filled out cards. 

Chair James Samuels initially said he wouldn’t let anyone address the commission who hadn’t filled out one of the salmon-colored submissions, despite please from two commissioners.  

Comment had already taken up more than an hour, but after the break he agreed to give a minute to everyone else who wanted to speak. 

That left little time for commissioners at the end of the meeting. 

David Stoloff asked Amoroso if there were any other criteria in the MUP proposal than acreage. 

“The short answer is no,” said the planner, adding that others might be added as the result of further stakeholder meetings. 

Samuels asked city Economic Development Director Michael Caplan how long major development sites in West Berkeley had been vacant 

Naming the “largest, most obvious sites,” Caplan cited: 

• Flint Ink, a four-acre property, had been vacant since 2002. 

• The 8.2-acre American Soil site, which has one occupied 40,000-square-foor building, “has been vacant for years.” 

• The much more complex seven-acre site partially occupied by the Marchant Building. Though the main building is in Berkeley and partially occupied, the site also includes surrounding land in Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland and could require a joint powers agreement between all three jurisdictions, Caplan said. 

• The now largely vacant 3.5-acre McAuley Foundry site, which includes 350,000 square feet of existing structures. 

• Finally, the Peerless Lighting factory site, a 5.5-acre property which lies astride two zoning districts, is “a huge opportunity site for West Berkeley,” Caplan said. 

Commissioner Patti Dacey called the MUP proposal “a radical rewriting of the (West Berkeley) Plan.” She asked Amoroso “why this is not an amendment to the plan and why wouldn’t it require an environmental impact report?” 

Amoroso acknowledged “there may be environmental impacts” which would be assessed once the direction of the changes is clear. 

Dacey said she was skeptical of any benefits that would be given the city after the MUP was issued, “because right now the city has 100 percent discretion whether or not to enforce a use permit.” 

Sanderson nodded agreement. 

“To me, this is cultural density bonus redux,” Dacey said, referring to the long battle before commissions, the City Council and the courts over use of space in the Gaia Building supposedly dedicated to cultural uses by in reality used primarily for private functions such as parties. 

“I don’t quite get how the MUP would benefit the M zone,” said Theresa Clark, who was in her second meeting at Moore’s new commissioner. 

Amoroso said M zones were included because they contained some of the sites that had been vacant for several years, and because the permit would “allow for different development patterns on those sites.” 

Some of the sites also include both the M (manufacturing) and MULI (manufacturing and light industrial) zones. 

By the end of the meeting, there were still questions aplenty, and even the minimum size for an MUP development was still in play. 

And one issue briefly mentioned still hangs over everything. Just how attractive will development remain in an area where traffic gridlock is predicted by the end of the decade? 

The Malcolm X kindergartener who was hit by a car Friday morning on her way to school in South Berkeley came out of surgery at Children's Hospital in Oakland around 1 p.m. and is expected to recover soon, authorities said. 

Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department, said that a distraught man called 911 around 8:14 a.m. to report that he had hit the girl with his truck in the crosswalk of Ellis Street and Ashby Avenue. 

When Berkeley police arrived at the scene, they found the 6-year-old unconscious at the intersection and the driver sobbing near his Toyota 4 Runner. 

Paramedics from the Berkeley Fire Department took the girl to Children's Hospital, where she was reported to be in a serious condition and later underwent surgery for two hours for a fractured skull and fractured clavicle, among other things. 

Mark Coplan, spokesperson for the Berkeley Unified School District, said that doctors had spent the majority of the time performing cosmetic surgery on cuts on her face from the accident. 

She was given a breathing tube for bruises on her lung at which point she reached out for it with her hand, Coplan said. 

“That showed that she had got her motor control back,” he said. “All signs indicate that she will have a good recovery.” 

Coplan said that the mother of the girl did not want her daughter's name released at this point. 

Police said that according to the driver of the Toyota-who authorities said remained at the scene and cooperated all along-and eyewitnesses, the student was walking to school with her 8-year-old brother. 

The two children were heading south on Ellis Street in the crosswalk crossing Ashby Avenue.  

The Toyota was going north on Ellis, making a left turn onto Ashby Avenue when it struck the girl. 

According to the 8-year-old brother, who was found later in his classroom and interviewed by police officers, he and his sister were on the north side of Ashby at the intersection with Ellis, preparing to cross Ashby.  

Kusmiss said that the two children had not yet stepped off the curb when the school bell rang, and the girl-who was slightly ahead of her brother-looked back and dashed from the sidewalk to the crosswalk. 

Initial investigations, Kusmiss said, revealed that the little girl was at fault. 

“It's hard to say what goes on in the mind of a 6-year-old when she hears the school bell,” Kusmiss said. “The driver is still very very upset.” . BPD Traffic Enforcement officers have ruled out drugs and alcohol as a factor in the accident 

Authorities said that although Ellis Street is controlled by stop signs on the north and south, there are no traffic controls for Ashby Avenue at the intersection. 

Classes at Malcolm X went on normally Thursday. Coplan said City of Berkeley mental health workers were on hand to provide counseling to parents and students if needed and a counselor had been with the young girl's brother all morning. 

Malcolm X principal Cheryl Chin said that although there were no traffic guards at the intersection of Ashby and Ellis, they are stationed at Ashby and King Street, which she described as Malcolm X's safe route to school. 

Across the street from the school, a group of regulars at the South Berkeley Senior Center discussed the morning's events. 

Ron Brill, a city employee, said that he had given the girl first aid in the morning right after the accident happened. 

“I was fixing the water fountain around 8:15 in the morning, and I went out and saw a young black female, approximately 6-years-old lying on the street in a semi fetal position,” he said. “She had a pulse and was still breathing and her eyes were open, fixed and dilated. She had facial injuries-there was a cut on her cheek, but not a lot of blood involved.” 

The family lives on the 2900 block of Ellis. Shortly after the accident the mother of the girl who was hit came to the scene. 

“I didn't touch her and kept everybody away till the paramedics arrived,” he said. “When you see something like that you automatically assume spinal injury or damage to the head. I kept the mother away as well. The paramedics arrived within three to four minutes and after they took her away, I controlled the scene.” 

Brill said that he and two others controlled the traffic till the police took over the intersection where the accident happened, after which he moved to the next intersection. 

“Cars were getting backed up, some people were trying to get through by going around the scene and a couple of idiots were in a rush to get out of there,” he said. 

Brill described the driver of the car as a white man in his 40s “who was completely distraught” by the incident. 

“He was curled up in a ball sitting on the ground behind his truck and crying,” he said.  

Patty Thomas, director of the senior center, said that she had been in the building with her staff when one of the seniors came in and told them what had happened. 

“One of our drivers-she called the ambulance,” Thomas said. 

”It's dangerous for seniors too—are they going to put up a stop sign out there?” asked a young woman who works at the center. 

The intersection has a history of tragedy. In 2003, Fred Lupke, 58, an activist for the disabled community, was killed when his wheelchair was struck by a car on Ashby Avenue near the Ellis Street intersection.  

Coplan said that although the city and the school district work together to develop an effective traffic enforcement formula, the Berkeley Police Department was responsible for the placement of crossing guards. 

“It gives me goosebumps to say this, there was a crossing guard once on that street but she was always afraid to go out there because of the cars,” said a visitor at the senior center who did not want to be named. “She used to hold a stick in front of her before she went out there.” 

Mary Bell, who was sitting in her wheelchair in the senior center lobby, said that even with a traffic light the intersection, would still be dangerous. 

“It's a scary little corner,” she said. “It needs some kind of recognition, especially since there are children right across the street.” 

Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) announced Thursday afternoon that it will turn over its internal affairs investigation to an independent third party which will inspect the actions of all the officers involved in the events leading up to the killing of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day at the Fruitvale station in Oakland. 

Grant, 22, was shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle while he was returning from a party with a group of friends in the early hours of Jan. 1. 

The transit agency’s decision comes after weeks of protest by community members, some of them not so peaceful, who say they are frustrated with, BART’s failure to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. 

BART board member Carole Ward Allen, who chairs the recently formed Board of Directors BART Police Department Review Committee, said in a statement that it was imperative to determine whether the actions of the BART officers on the Fruitvale platform violated the policies and practices of the BART Police Department. 

“A lot of people have said they have no faith that the BART Police Department can police itself,” she said. “By authorizing an independent, outside investigation, we hope to reassure the public that we are transparent and accountable.” 

Joel Keller, a BART board member and the vice chair of the BART Police Department Review Committee, said that “While we have every confidence in the capabilities of our BART Police Department to investigate its own officers, we believe that handing off this investigation to an independent third party will assure the public that we take this investigation extremely seriously and its outcome will be credible.” 

Keller added that the BART Police Department and the agency need to work on rebuilding trust with the public, explaining that “one way to do that is to hand this off to a third party and let the facts take us wherever they go.” 

There are currently two investigations going on regarding the shooting. 

The internal affairs investigation, as outlined in a BART press release, is looking into whether the actions of any officer on the platform violated the policies and procedures of the BART police, and its results could lead to changes in policies and procedures, retraining or disciplining action, up to and including termination. 

The second investigation is being headed by Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff, with the help of the evidence BART police turned over to him on Jan. 12, which resulted in Mehserle being charged with murder. 

The DA is also using evidence from separate independent sources as well as the Oakland Police Department’s investigation to build his case. 

According to today's press release, BART’s role in the criminal investigation is on-going, and will include examining what physical force was used to restrain the individuals on the platform, the results of which will be turned over to the DA who will decide whether any of the officer’s actions need to be criminally prosecuted. 

BART also promised a “top to bottom, independent review of the BART police,” including having the BART Police Department Review Committee ask experts in the field of law enforcement to conduct a complete review of all BART Police policies and procedures and recruitment, hiring and training. 

The agency has not yet decided who will conduct the independent internal affairs review or the “independent expert top-to-bottom review of departmental policies and procedures.” 

“Whatever consultants we choose, they will include local experts who know and reflect this community and who understand the deep rooted concerns minorities in my district have about police profiling and brutality,” said Allen. “My committee's goal is to make sure what happened on New Year's Day never happens again.” 

The Berkeley Board of Education, at a public meeting Wednesday, unanimously approved a $50,000 contract with the non-profit Berkeley Alliance to oversee the process of developing a city-wide plan to close the achievement gap for minority students, as outlined by the 2020 Vision, a partnership started by the City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Unified School District and a group of community organizations in June. 

Bill Huyett, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District, said that the Alliance had asked for $150,000 to complete the work assigned to them, but that the district was only able to contribute the amount in the contract. That amount was made possible by a one-time $400,000 Program Improvement Corrective Action grant the school district received as part of the millions of dollars in intervention funds awarded to 92 school districts by the state Department of Education in October. 

“The Program Improvement grant is also to close the achievement gap so we took it out of that fund,” he said, adding that the city—which he called an “equal partner in the 2020 Vision”— had committed about $20,000 to fund the Alliance, and were looking at getting to $50,000. 

School board vice president Karen Hemphill said that it was important to pressure the city to put up the $50,000 and urged other board members to lobby their district representatives. 

Huyett informed the board that the Alliance was in the process of writing grants and soliciting funds to cover its expenses in case the city and the school district were unable to do so. 

Lisa Caronna, Berkeley’s Deputy City Manager, told the Planet Thursday that the city was trying to include a $25,000 commitment to the Alliance as part of its upcoming budget discussion. 

“The school board had a grant and they were able to apply it very quickly,” she said. “We don’t have a grant like that. The city supports the Alliance but in terms of future commitments we haven’t really talked about the needs because we don’t even know yet what they are. It’s too early.” 

District officials said that the money set aside for approving the contract with the Alliance would go toward funding the three-day retreat at the Berkeley Yacht Club starting today, which will launch an All City Equity Task force and pay grant writers and the salary of the Alliance’s outgoing executive director Tracey Schear, who is shepherding the project. 

The Alliance, under a $61,800 one-year contract with the city to provide services for the 2020 Vision, among others, formed the 2020 Vision Planning Team in August, comprised of 19 members drawn from the city, the school district, United in Action, BayCES, UC Berkeley, Berkeley City College and Schear herself, to draw up an action plan, including forming the task force. 

Although the Alliance is posting dates and agendas for all the task force meetings on its website, www.berkeleyalliance.org, as it is required to do under the Brown Act, it has not posted information about the weekend retreat it is in charge of organizing. 

Messages left for Schear at the Berkeley Alliance office were not returned. 

District officials and community members called the event a “private, by invitation-only” affair, where around 60 to 80 individuals from the district, the city and the community would get together and brainstorm some strategies for the 2020 Vision, before taking it to the broader community. 

Both Huyett and Caronna said that although they couldn’t speak for the Alliance on whether it was violating the Brown Act by not making the meeting public, they were under the impression that since it was going to be a training session about education, it did not have to comply with the Brown Act, which states that all public meetings have to be noticed. 

“It’s related to youth and youth services and we are going to be discussing data from the city and the school district,” Caronna said. “There’s going to be a lot of people who may not even be in the final task force.” 

However, Terry Francke, an attorney for Californians Aware who is an expert on the Brown Act, said that since the resolutions which created both the planning committee and eventually the task force were approved by both the school board and the City Council when Vision 2020 was first initiated in June of 2008, the upcoming meeting is subject to the Brown Act and therefore should be public. 

“Without the City Council’s direction and approval this task force would not have been formed,” he said. “The school district’s and City Council’s fingerprints are all over this task force, and for that reason it’s subject to the Brown Act.” 

In a sometimes testy meeting that lasted until after midnight, the Berkeley City Council approved a compromise two-year agreement with 3M Corporation for maintenance of the city library’s electronic book monitoring system, granted City Manager Phil Kamlarz an 8 percent raise, and told staff that more work needed to be done before complicated modifications to the city’s condominium conversion ordinance can be passed. 

The council also failed—once more—to take action on an appeal from the Zoning Adjustments Board for a 10-antenna Verizon cellphone facility at 1540 Shattuck Ave. If the council does not take action on the matter at its next meeting, ZAB approval of the facility will automatically go into effect. 

In another action, the council referred to the city manager, without comment, recommendations by the Sunshine Committee for a 40-page draft Sunshine Ordinance. The ordinance is designed as a comprehensive law on public access to Berkeley government activities. The council is not scheduled to deliberate on the proposed ordinance itself until later this year, after staff returns with an evaluation of the possible legal and financial implications. 

3M contract 

In the library issue, the Board of Library Trustees and the director of library services were asking the council for up to a five-year contract with 3M Library Systems (three years on the initial agreement, with the option of two one-year extensions) for maintenance of the library district’s existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) book-tracking system. The RFID system uses embedded electronic chips to monitor the library’s book inventory and is used in the library’s checkout and theft-prevention systems. 

RFID has been controversial itself over the years, with detractors charging that the chips can be used by intelligence agencies for various monitoring purposes. The Berkeley library RFID system gained an additional complication last year when Checkout—the company with which the library system originally contracted for the purchase and maintenance of the RFID readers—sold its operational rights to 3M. That company engages in nuclear weapons work, and the City of Berkeley has banned itself from doing business with such companies through the city’s Nuclear Free Ordinance.  

The library has a maintenance contract with Checkpoint through June, but would have either had to contract directly with 3M after that point or immediately find a checkout and book security alternative. 

The library sought the five-year contract with 3M while it explored alternatives, asking the City Council for a waiver to the city’s Nuclear Free Ordinance. 

The waiver was opposed by the city’s Peace and Justice Commission, which said that the library should explore alternatives, including “a replacement system from another RFID vendor, or a non-RFID system, such as the system that was operational in the library prior to 2004.” 

The contract was also opposed by a long list of public speakers who waited late in the night to make their point. One speaker, Berkeley resident Kay Bernier, urged the council to vote against the waiver, saying that unless the council did so, “you’ll be the laughingstock of the whole country” for violating the city’s own Nuclear Free Ordinance. 

Director of Library Services Donna Corbeil said that her office and the library commission understood the opposition to 3M, but saw no current alternative to a 3M maintenance contract. City Manager Phil Kamlarz estimated that it would take two and a half years, through the request-for-proposal process, for a new checkout and security vendor to be found and brought under contract with the city. 

With the council periodically extending the meeting at 15-minute intervals past the 11 p.m. statutory ending time, councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Jesse Arreguin sought to put off the vote until the next meeting, with Worthington saying that there was “no urgent necessity to vote on this item tonight; before we rush into this we should get our facts right” and Arreguin arguing that there were inconsistencies in some of the cost and time estimates submitted by the library. 

But after Councilmember Daryl Moore accused Worthington of trying to monopolize the short remaining meeting time asking questions of staff and library representatives, Mayor Tom Bates cut off Worthington’s question time. 

In the end, the council agreed with Councilmember Linda Maio’s contention that while everybody involved—the library staff and board included—were unhappy with the 3M contract, the library needed time to develop an alternative and, according to Maio, “We have to be sure we don’t interrupt library service—I’m not willing to do that.”  

The council rejected Worthington’s motion to table the issue until the next meeting on a 3-6 vote (Worthington, Arreguin, and Max Anderson voting yes), and then passed Maio’s compromise motion to grant a two-year contract to 3M on a 6-2-1 vote (Worthington and Arreguin voting no, Anderson abstaining). 

City manager raise 

Earlier in the evening, Bates and Worthington clashed over the proposed raise for City Manager Phil Kamlarz which Worthington had pulled for discussion from the consent calendar. 

Bates, who authored the salary raise request, said he had done so at council’s direction, and agreed with a collection of speakers that it was it was bad timing to give the city manager a raise in such difficult economic times, but said that “the timing is never right to raise salaries.”  

Bates defended the proposal by saying, “We have one of the best-run cities in the country. We are blessed to have Phil Kamlarz as city manager,” and argued that the proposed 8 percent raise was intended only to bring Kamlarz’ salary in line with that of other city managers in the region, and that without the raise, Kamlarz was working for the same amount of money he could get from his pension if he retired.  

“Basically, he’s working as a volunteer,” the mayor said, adding that it would cost the city $50,000 to conduct a national search for a replacement. 

Other councilmember spoke up for the raise, with Maio saying that “we need an experienced city manager to shepherd us through this period. We can’t afford to lose him,” and Wozniak adding that “he’s running a $300 million enterprise and we’re arguing over $20,000; he’s worth every penny we pay him.” 

But Worthington said that while he agreed with Kamlarz’ value to the city, the issue was process. “The City Council has only two responsibilities,” Worthington said, “to pass a budget and to evaluate the city manager.”  

Worthington argued that the council had never done a written evaluation of Kamlarz, calling it “totally irresponsible” to give a raise without such a written evaluation. 

But several councilmembers said that a four-member council team made up of Moore, Maio, Laurie Capitelli, and the late Councilmember Dona Spring had evaluated Kamlarz last year, and though no written report had been produced, the committee’s verbal approval of the city manager’s work was sufficient. The result of that evaluation process was the request to Bates to prepare a salary raise proposal. 

When Bates told Worthington that a written evaluation was not necessary because “we did it orally,” Worthington replied “that’s not professional.” Bates snapped back, “So what?” 

The council approved Kamlarz’ raise on a 6-2-1 vote (Worthington and Arreguin no, Wengraf abstaining with the explanation that while she supported Kamlarz’ work, she was not on the council during last year’s evaluation process and so did not feel competent to vote on the issue). 

Condo conversion 

On the condominium conversion issue, the council has been considering complicated amendments to the city’s existing ordinance for several months. At Tuesday’s meeting, the council received new recommendations of alterations for the Rent Adjustments Board, sending those back to staff for review along with penciled-in suggestions by Mayor Bates. No other action was taken, and the council will revisit the condominium conversion issue next month..

The Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker factory in West Berkeley will be closing this year, leaving 150 employees without work. 

The Hershey Co., which bought Scharffen Berger in 2005, announced Tuesday that the plant will be closed, but the chocolates will still be made at their primary production facility in Robinson, Ill. 

“We're consolidating production into our other existing facilities,” said Kirk Saville, a Hershey spokesman. “The majority of Scharffen Berger products are already made in Illinois.” 

Saville would not elaborate whether or not the production consolidation is a result of the general decline in the economy. 

Laid-off workers will receive a “competitive” severance package and career transition assistance.  

Employees of the Sharffen Berger facility in Berkeley contacted by the Planet declined to comment, instead referring all questions to Saville at the Hershey headquarters in Pennsylvania. 

“We will be assisting our employees through the transition,” Saville said. 

The Scharffen Berger factory has been a West Berkeley staple since 2001. The facility offers tours and houses a store where visitors can buy the high-quality, locally made chocolates. 

The company was founded in 1996 by Robert Steinberg, a family physician with an interest in European chocolate making, and his former patient, John Scharffenberger, a California farmer and winemaker. The company’s first chocolates were manufactured in Steinberg’s home using a coffee grinder, mortar and pestle, an electric mixer, and a hair dryer. Once they achieved a professional quality of chocolate, the partners moved into a South San Francisco factory before transferring to the larger facility in Berkeley. 

Deborah Kwan, the company’s public relations consultant from 1997 until 2003, credits Steinberg and Scharffenberger with changing the way Americans think about chocolate. 

“John and Robert offered tours to demystify and educate people about the chocolate making process,” she said. “They allowed the public to come in and see how chocolate was made.” 

Kwan said the founders never envisioned their company as part of a national corporation, but wanted to enlighten people about the science and art of high-quality chocolate-making. 

“They started it because they liked this chocolate and thought other people should too,” she said. 

Saville could not offer an exact date of the factory’s closure, but said that it will happen later this year. The company’s San Francisco Ferry Building store will remain open, and the factory’s store will remain open for the time being. The chocolates will also remain available for online purchase. 

“We will continue to maintain the highest quality and use the best cacao beans,” Saville said. 

Nevertheless, the chocolates will no longer be a local product. 

“The Bay Area is such a fertile place for creativity, and this is really a great loss,” Kwan said. “At the same time, they really started this new wave of micro-chocolate-making, and their legacy will be with us for a long time.” 

After spending the last two weeks dealing with the sometimes violent aftermath of the Fruitvale BART station shooting death of a Hayward man by a BART police officer, Oakland turned its attention to its own law enforcement problems this week with the suddenly embattled chief of police announcing his retirement, two prominent civil rights attorneys threatening to initiate contempt of court charges against the city because of failure to fully implement a court-imposed police settlement agreement, and Mayor Ron Dellums calling for a 10 percent reduction in crime over the next year. 

At a hastily-called 9 a.m. City Hall press conference Tuesday morning attended by Dellums, Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker announced his resignation effective Feb. 28. 

The announcement came only hours before four city councilmembers—City Council President Jane Brunner, council Public Safety Chair Larry Reid, and Desley Brooks and Pat Kernighan—had planned to push for a no-confidence vote on Tucker. 

Tucker was hired in 2005 out of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department by former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. 

The Oakland Police Department has been under an escalating series of public scandals in recent months, including charges of a botched investigation into the 2007 murder of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey and a warrant-fabrication debacle that recently led to the firing of 11 Oakland police officers.  

The final political blow against Tucker, however, came when it was revealed that the officer he picked as head of the department’s Internal Affairs Division last year—Capt. Edward Poulson—had been determined by OPD investigators several years ago to have himself interfered in an Internal Affairs investigation into an incident in which Poulson allegedly beat an arrestee who later died from the injuries after being released from custody. 

At his Tuesday morning press conference, a defiant Tucker took aim at the City Council, charging that the council had only paid “lip service” to requests for financial support for the police department. 

It had been widely speculated that Dellums would make announcements about major city staff firings and hirings at his State of the City address, which took place the evening before Tucker’s resignation press conference. Two weeks ago, in releasing the city reorganization plan authored by former Oakland City Administrator Robert Bobb, Dellums had said that he would make those announcements during the week of Jan. 26.  

Former Dellums Budget Director Dan Lindheim has been serving in an interim capacity as city administrator following the firing of former administrator Deborah Edgerly last year. Lindheim has been thought to be one of the persons being considered by Dellums for the permanent city administrator position, as well as Bobb, but Bobb took himself out of the running this week with the announcement that he is accepting a management position with the Detroit schools. 

Dellums made no mention of hiring decisions in his State of the City speech, instead spending much of his time on public safety issues. The mayor called for full implementation of the police settlement agreement growing out of the 2003 federal Allen v. City of Oakland lawsuit (the so-called “Riders” lawsuit), asking that the city attorney explore the legality of the appointment of a citizen commission to review and speed up the police reforms called for in the agreement.  

Dellums also called on citizens and city officials to “come to an agreement” on reorganization of the city’s Community Police Review Board so a better police monitoring system can be put in place, and spent several minutes speaking on the violence plaguing Oakland’s streets. 

“We rallied to bring peace in the world—we need to rally to bring peace in our community,” Dellums said. “Our community is teetering on the brink,” he said and then, referring to the recent nights of vandalism and violence following the Oscar Grant shooting death, added that “we’ve already seen an explosion.” 

It was at this point that Dellums called for the city to rally to effect a 10 percent decrease in Oakland crime over the next year. 

Dellums was interrupted twice during his speech over public safety issues, once by what appeared to be an organized group of hecklers saying that Oakland was living in a “police state,” and again by another man who said that many Oakland citizens were “afraid of the police.” 

Meanwhile, the two attorneys who brought the Allen v. Oakland lawsuit are threatening to take the city back to court if the police reforms called for in the settlement agreement are not implemented. 

That agreement is scheduled to end in January 2010, but attorneys Jim Chanin and John Burris told a Tuesday afternoon East Oakland press conference that they have little faith that the extensive reforms will be implemented at that time, and will be seeking a voluntary agreement with the City of Oakland to extend the time. Otherwise, the two civil rights attorneys said, they will ask U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson—who is overseeing the agreement—to order an extension. 

Burris said that the Poulson revelations—which are the subject of an FBI investigation following complaints to the FBI about the 2000 beating incident by Oakland rank-and-file police officers—shows that “the checks and balances we thought were in place were not working. These are the types of complaints that should have gone through the chain of command and been dealt with.” 

And Chanin said it was clear that the officers went to the FBI with their complaints “only because they were trying to embarrass Chief Tucker. They should have come forward because they were concerned about the violations of a citizen’s civil rights.” 

Burris and Chanin said that implementation of the Allen v. Oakland police reforms had gotten better after Tucker was hired in 2005, with Burris saying that while “Tucker was not entirely successful, he made a good faith effort.”  

Both Burris and Chanin called on the city to implement a nationwide search to replace the chief, calling on the city to “not appoint any existing command staff to the permanent position of chief of police.” 

The $819 billion federal economic recovery package that the House approved Wednesday will inject California’s public school system with nearly $10 billion in federal aid over the next two years, providing funds for scholarships, child-care development, at-risk children, Head Start, school renovations and other programs. 

Under the proposed stimulus package, the Berkeley Unified School District is set to receive a little over $4 million over the next two years in combined construction, special education and Title I funding increases, with $2.5 million allocated for 2009-10 and the remaining assigned for the next fiscal year. 

Other East Bay school districts, such as Oakland Unified and Alameda Unified, will receive a total of about $64 and $4.5 million, respectively. 

Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan said that funds for the different school districts were based on enrollment, adding that a lot of time was being spent to analyze how California—which received some extra money compared to others, since it was an “economically distressed state”—would use the funding. 

The news comes at a time when the state’s public education system, like that of many other states nationwide, is reeling under the threat of possible state budget cuts that would take away billions of dollars in federal spending from school districts, including roughly $9 million from Berkeley Unified in the next two years. 

“Everyone is anxious to see additional money come in,” said Jordan. “This is one-time money, and we can’t use it for ongoing costs. The feds want everyone to spend it quickly. The whole idea is to stimulate the economy. As soon as the final bill is released, we will have to press the governor to release the money to the Department of Education, so that it can get it into the hands of the districts. However, exactly how this money is going to be used is not clear.” 

Some district educators said that the two-year investment in public schools by the federal government could reduce the cuts by half in the district and even curtail lay-offs. Others said that they were fearful the state would take away money to address its own budget problems. 

Bill Huyett, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District, said that of the total amount assigned to Berkeley, $1.2 million was for construction, which would leave the district with $3 million and do nothing to alleviate its budget problems. 

“It will do nothing to relieve this year’s cuts, which are going to be around $3 million,” he said, adding that the district had already started the process of determining cuts and lay offs. 

Huyett said that cuts for the 2009-2010 fiscal year were topping $6 million. 

Nancy Riddle, president of the Berkeley Board of Education, said that although the news was very positive, the district would not be relying on the stimulus package for its initial planning on how to deal with the budget cuts. 

“I am hopeful about what we are hearing in Washington but won’t count on it,” she said. “There aren’t any details yet and there are usually strings attached with whatever Washington says.” 

Riddle said that the proposal itself was very encouraging since it would fund previously neglected programs such as special education, providing a boost to children who require special care and attention to succeed but don’t always have the financial capabilities. 

“The federal government spends so little on education, that to have them target things like early childhood education and school renovations—which would create jobs for a lot of people—is really great,” she said. “I am hopeful that they will do something about K-12 education as well.” 

Of the $14 billion set aside for K-12 repair and modernization, California will receive about $1.7 billion over the next two years to be used for health and safety repairs, revamping educational technology and infrastructure and facility upgrades for disabled students. 

Board vice-president Karen Hemphill said that she was happy that the United States finally had a president who recognized the importance of federal support in public education. 

“I welcome the fact that President Obama wants our children to be competitive globally,” she said. “It’s the first time in many years that the federal government is stepping up to its plate and providing money with mandates.” 

Hemphill said that although federal law required school districts to provide appropriate education to special education students—which could range from going to a speech therapist to accommodation in another school district—the government has always underfunded the program, leaving school districts with no choice but to use general fund money. 

“To read that the federal government is signing an increase in funds for special education means that they finally realize that the mandates are costly and it needs to be a part of paying for those services,” she said. 

The stimulus plan would provide $13 billion over two years to increase the federal share of special education costs and prevent these mandatory expenses from forcing states to cut other areas of education. 

It also sets aside $600 million to help districts serve children with disabilities age 2 and under. 

California is expected to receive $1,422,484,000 in special education funds over two years. 

Cathy Campbell, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, said that an increase in federal aid to special education would free up general fund dollars which pay for teacher salaries, leading to fewer cuts and lay-offs. 

“This is helpful but doesn’t change the fact that the state government is completely failing the students of California irrespective of this money,” she said. “Their lack of action is going to lead to a high number of layoffs.” 

State law mandates that teachers be sent layoff notices by March 16 this year.

Berkeley police are asking the community to help them track down a serial sexual predator accused of assaulting at least three college women around UC Berkeley’s South Campus area early Saturday morning. 

The suspect, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss of the Berkeley Police Department, staged a similar attack on each of his victims, springing on them from behind, lifting their skirts, attempting to penetrate their vaginas with his finger and then running away. 

Kusmiss said that since the suspect had approached the girls from behind, they had been unable to get a good look at him but had generally described him as a white male in his 20s or 30s, 5’6” to 5’9”, with medium build and short dark hair. 

“We encourage all women who have had similar experiences, even though it may be humiliating for them, to report it to the police,” said Kusmiss, who called the crimes “attempted sexual penetration with a foreign object.” 

Two of the assaults, which took place at Channing Way and Piedmont Avenue, and Bowditch Way and Channing Way, respectively, after midnight, were not reported until the day after, Kusmiss said. 

The third incident, which took place on the 2400 block of Warring Street at 2:30 a.m., was reported the same day. 

None of the women was physically injured, Kusmiss said, adding that it was extremely unusual for crimes of this nature to occur in Berkeley. 

“We do have sexual battery from time to time where male suspects will try to grab a woman’s breasts or her thighs,” she said. “But the kind of incidents we saw last Saturday are usually earlier crimes of an escalating sexual predator.” 

Sex crime detectives investigating the situation believe that a similar incident that took place on Oct. 31, 2008, at Haste Street and Piedmont Avenue was related to last week’s cases, based on the modus operandi, Kusmiss said. 

According to the police, such crimes often go unreported, because of the stigma attached to them. 

A victim who did not report a similar crime or a witness to any of these crimes can contact the BPD Sex Crimes Detail at (510) 981-5735/5734.  

If the caller wishes to remain anonymous, please call Bay Area Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS. All Bay Area Crime Stoppers calls are completely confidential. For crimes in progress, call 911 or 981-5911 from your cell phone when in the City of Berkeley. 

MediaNews, the region’s dominant newspaper publisher, Wednesday ordered all its Bay Area employees to take a mandatory unpaid week off during the next two months. 

The move followed a financial crisis at the company’s flagship Denver Post, which had to borrow $13 million from the parent company to meet its payroll last month. 

In addition, the company told employees of the San Jose Mercury News that it wants an additional major permanent pay cut as part of any new contract with the California Media Workers Guild. 

The privately held company, controlled by high-profile media magnate Dean Singleton, has held several rounds of layoffs at its Bay Area newspapers, which ring the region from San Rafael to San Jose and from Oakland to Vallejo. 

According to the Rocky Mountain News, the Denver Post had to borrow to cover its newsroom payroll, an act the News owners claim violated a joint operating agreement governing operations of the two papers. 

The News, owned by the Scripps chain, may close its doors unless it is able to find a buyer in the next few weeks.  

Singleton gained control over the two cornerstones of this Bay Area empire, the Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times, when he bought them from the Sacramento-based McClatchy chain, which in turn had bought them in a buyout of the old Knight Ridder chain. 

McClatchy’s sale of the two Bay Area papers wasn’t enough to save the chain from major financial woes, since McClatchy had bought Knight Ridder just as the American newspaper business was entering an economic collapse that was to foreshadow the larger collapse ignited by the bursting of the mortgage industry bubble. 

McClatchy stock, which traded for $74.16 a share four years ago, was selling for 85 cents a share Wednesday afternoon. The company informed the SEC that its April 1 dividend would be the last to shareholders “for the foreseeable future.” 

McClatchy has managed to hold onto more workers than Singleton, and held its first round of layoffs last year, reducing its staffs by 20 percent. 

By comparison, at least one Singleton paper in his Bay Area News Group-East Bay has reduced its newsroom by nearly 60 percent during a series of ongoing layoffs. 

Many of the editing jobs have been consolidated outside local newsrooms, with stories now being edited by journalists who may not be familiar with the local communities. 

For the San Jose bargaining unit, Singleton’s negotiators told representatives of the California Media Workers Guild that they want a pay cut as part of any new contract. 

Under the proposal now on the table, according to a union e-mail to staff, “The salary of veteran reporters, editors and advertising sales people earning the current scale of $1,279.51 a week would find their pay cut $383.86 every paycheck, issued every other week. The scale for experienced copy clerks, now at $598.53 a week, would be reduced $179.56 per pay check.” 

The one bit of good news for BANG-EB reporters came in a union announcement that no additional layoffs are planned for the near future. 

Announcement 

David Rounds, BANG-EB president and publisher, announced the mandatory unpaid leave in a package of documents e-mailed to employees. 

“In a further effort to help offset the continuing decline in revenue and position the company for future financial success while mitigating further job losses, I am announcing the implementation of a mandatory one week furlough,” he wrote. 

Rounds said all along executives and managers would be included, and that “from what I am hearing across our company ... ‘a brief period without pay is better than many more layoffs” (ellipsis in the original). 

The executive told employees “I am hopeful that an unpaid furlough will go a long way toward keeping further layoffs, if any, to a minimum.”

Despite protests from neighbors and community members about traffic impacts and height, the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board approved local developer Ali Kashani’s five-story mixed-use project last week. It would bring 98 condos, 7,770 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 114 parking spaces to a 43,210 square-foot lot at 1200 Ashby Avenue, on the corner of San Pablo. 

At a Dec. 11 meeting last year, the board held a public hearing on the project and, after listening to Berkeley resident Steve Wollmer’s objection to the wording of its proposed permit’s handling of affordable units, voted to continue the discussion to Jan. 22 to allow city planners additional time to revise the density bonus calculations and inclusionary housing units. 

Aaron Sage, the City of Berkeley planner assigned to Kashani’s proposed project, informed the board that Kashani had withdrawn his request for a concession, under the state’s density bonus law, not to be required to provide any inclusionary units on the fifth floor. 

During the meeting, Wollmer noted recent changes in the state density bonus law—Government Code Section 65915—that took effect Jan. 1, which clarify the way the law is implemented, and reinforce the City of Berkeley’s past practice in implementing it. 

Wollmer said that he was under the impression that a general plan’s density limits should be applied to projects on a parcel-by-parcel basis, rather than to districts as a whole. 

Steven Ross, the city’s principal planner, and Sage contended that Berkeley’s General Plan states that the density standards should be applied to a broader area, because not every property would be redeveloped to the maximum density allowed under zoning. 

Both planners explained that this was consistent with the way the planning department had evaluated similar projects in the past, including some which had withstood legal challenges. 

Some neighbors on Carrison Street criticized the project, saying that it would bring congestion to the area, and requested a traffic diverter or other traffic calming measures for their street. 

Ross said that traffic concerns were almost always raised by immediate neighbors, whether the addition was 10 units or 100. 

He referred to the traffic study carried out by a firm hired by Kashani—which was reviewed and approved by the city’s Transportation Division—which shows a slight increase to the volume of traffic on Carrison, primarily because of the residential driveway on that street, and not by the commercial driveway on Ashby. 

Although both planners advised the zoning board that the small increase in traffic on Carrison did not require a traffic diverter or other calming measures, the board ultimately approved a second motion requesting the Berkeley City Council to consider evaluating a traffic diverter on Carrison. 

This was not a condition of the project’s approval, but a recommendation to council. 

Those in favor of the project called it a “gateway” to West Berkeley, arguing that it would help to clean up the property, which they described as a “blight” to the neighborhood. 

Two environmental groups filed suit Monday in an effort to block construction of a casino resort and condo complex at Richmond’s Point Molate. 

Richmond attorney Stephan Volker filed the action in Contra Costa County Superior Court on behalf of Citizens for Eastshore State Park and the Sustainability, Parks, Recycling and Wildlife Legal Defense Fund (SPRAWLDEF). 

The action seeks to block the plan backed by the Richmond City Council to allow a consortium of a corporation controlled by Berkeley developer James D. Levine, teamed with two Native American tribes, to build a massive gaming, hotel, shopping, entertainment and condo complex on a prime stretch of Richmond shoreline. 

Named as defendants in the action are the city, the City Council, the Department of the Navy, the Guidiville Rancheria Band of Pomos, who would own the land as a reservation, and the Rumsey Band of Wintuns, who Levine and partner John Salmon have said would bankroll the project and run the extensive gambling operation. 

Gambling giant Harrah’s Entertainment withdrew as financial backer and was replaced by the Rumseys, who own and operate the Cache Creek Casino and resort in Yolo County. 

All depends on a series of other approvals, including a decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that would grant the land in trust as a reservation for the Guidiville Rancheria Band of Pomos, who also plan to build a tribal ceremonial center on the site. 

If granted reservation status, the tribe must also gain approvals to operate a casino from the BIA and negotiate a gambling agreement with the state. 

City failure? 

The approval process that sparked the litigation is what Volker called “the City of Richmond’s failure to prepare an environmental impact report on developing a mega-casino at Point Molate as required by the California environmental Quality Act (CEQA).” 

The lawsuit charges that the city and the navy breached CEQA when they reached an early transfer agreement giving most of the site to the city, and again on Sept. 2, when the city and Upstream, Levine’s company, signed a remediation agreement in which Upstream agreed to pay for the remaining cleanup or containment of hazardous materials remaining from the naval operations. 

“My biggest concern is that the city is trying to get around what they had signed in the settlement agreement,” said Norman La Force, president of SPRAWLDEF and a CESP board member. 

But Levine said no CEQA agreement was required for either approval. 

In fact, he said, he has been in negotiations with both groups on a mitigation agreement that would provide for parks and open space elsewhere in the area. 

“They told me that the statute of limitations on their chance to file an action was about to expire, so they filed to preserve their options in case we don’t work out an agreement,” Levine said. 

But La Force said, “We could do a lot better than a casino at Point Molate,” describing the Levine proposal as “not appropriate, and one that will do a lot of harm to the community.” 

“We want people to know beforehand all of the environmental and economic impacts,” he said. “Upstream and the tribe have made a lot of promises, but when you look at the history of urban casino gambling, these things don’t pan out.” 

In the lawsuit, Volker charged that implementation of the cleanup agreement depends on funds from the Wintuns and essentially commits the city to the project. 

Levine said the funding agreement didn’t constitute an action covered by CEQA and said the impacts will be addressed by an EIR prepared for the property transfer from the city to Upstream. 

Last autumn the developer told a community oversight group that has been monitoring the navy cleanup effort that the combined state EIR and a federal environmental impact statement would be ready by December. He said Tuesday that the BIA is now on track to release the document next month. 

Volker’s suit also alleges that the city’s approvals breached the Land Use and Open Space and Conservation elements of the Richmond General Plan as well as its zoning ordinance.  

The suit also contends that the agreements breached a state government code section requiring that, before a city or county can hand over waterfront land to a developer, it must first make a finding that the land is not suitable for a public beach or park. 

Earlier suit 

Volker won another CEQA lawsuit against the city last year, overturning Richmond’s $335 million agreement with a tribe that is planning a second casino in unincorporated North Richmond. 

The city has appealed that ruling, issued Sept. 2, the same day the city approved the cleanup agreement with Levine for Point Molate. 

The ruling by Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga struck down the city agreement with developers on the grounds that the city hadn’t first conducted an EIR on the impacts of providing emergency services and roadway improvements for the Scotts Valley Pomos’ Sugar Bowl Casino, a much less lavish project without the hotels and condos of the Point Molate proposal. 

The Sugar Bowl would be a $200 million casino with 1,940 slot machines and a parking structure and lots to hold 3,500 cars. 

The Point Molate resort would be much larger—a total of two million square feet of construction built at the cost of $1.5 billion. The project also includes an upscale shopping center, deluxe hotel facilities, including private cottages, and a gambling resort in a restored Winehaven building, once California’s largest winery. 

The project also calls for private condos, solar power, a biofueled ferry service—all creating what Levine said will be California’s greenest-ever major construction project. 

Upstream team 

Levine has two partners in Upstream Investments: former Secretary of Defense and Maine Sen. William Cohen, and Napa developer Salmon, former director of the Governor’s Office of Asset Management and, previously, vice president for property development and sales of Santa Fe Pacific Realty Corp., now know as Catellus Development. 

Levine and Salmon have been partners in at least one other venture, Encapo Technologies, LLC, which patented a chemical process to trap heavy metals in soils so they can then be used for structural fill materials.  

While Napa resident Salmon is an enthusiastic backer of a casino in Richmond, he played to anti-casino sentiments during a talk four years ago to Napa Rotarians, when he was reported as saying the Richmond casino was a good deal for the Napa Valley, because it would relieve pressure that might otherwise lead to a gambling spa in the heart of Wine Country. 

According to the March 5, 2007, Napa Rotagram, Salmon told the club, “Pt. Molate will bear a likeness to Ghirardelli Square, and with its high-end qualities, will take the pressure off Napa and other North Bay locations that may face future casino proposals.”  

Point Molate was a U.S. Navy refueling station on the shoreline near the foot of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge. Though the City of Richmond had bought the base for $1 under terms of the federal Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1988, cleanup is still under way under the supervision of the navy, conducted by Levine’s former firm, LFR Inc. (for Levine Fricke Recon) of Emeryville.

The public is now able to comment on the Berkeley citywide pools master plan, which was released on Friday, a week later than it was originally promised. 

The master plan seeks to renovate the crumbling infrastructure at the Willard Middle School lap pool and build new pools at King Middle School and West Campus, including a warm-water pool for the East Bay’s disability community, which currently uses the warm pool at the Berkeley High School Old Gym. The Old Gym is scheduled for demolition in June 2011 to make room for athletic facilities and 15 classrooms. 

A task force put together by the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Unified School District, as part of a resolution to find a site and draw up plans for the warm pool and possibly other pools, came up with three options for the master plan, all of which include new pools at King and West Campus—the proposed site for the new school district headquarters—and renovated facilities at Willard Middle School. 

The draft states that, while preparing the plan, the task force was determined to maintain the current distribution of neighborhood pools, particularly in the underserved neighborhoods of West and South Berkeley, since a “reinvigorated neighborhood pool system would contribute to a more close-knit community.” 

It adds that the new and renovated pools would also stimulate the city’s economy by bringing in revenue. 

The proposed improvements at King and Willard are the same in all three options. The West Campus site would have different pool dimensions and configurations in each of the following options. 

• Option 1 would provide a new 25-yard by 25-meter competition pool at King, a renovated lap pool and a dive pool converted into a shallow play pool with a slide at Willard and a 2,790-square-foot, 92-degree indoor pool at West Campus for a total cost of $19.5 million. 

• Option 2 proposes the same idea for King and Willard but throws in a 2,600-square-foot, 86-degree indoor lap pool along with the warm pool. The total cost for this plan is an estimated $26.3 million. 

• Option 3 keeps the King and Willard plans intact, but decreases the size of the warm pool to less than half—1,200 square feet—and increases the lap pool to 4,190 square feet, for a sum of $26.7 million. 

At King, all three options would include removing the existing instructional and dive pools and constructing a new competition pool in its place, upgrading the locker rooms and adding new decks, fencing, outdoor lighting and landscaping for $4.8 million. 

According to the draft blueprint, one of the reasons the task force opted for King as the site for a new competition pool was because Berkeley Unified hopes to provide, and potentially expand, swimming programs at King and Willard middle schools. 

It also states that the new state-of-the-art facility will open up opportunities for the city to host swim meets and allow the Berkeley Barracudas and other local swim teams to train in competition-size pools. The city is investigating off-site parking requirements for King since the school district lacks additional sites for on-site parking. 

If the final master plan is approved, Willard will get a renovated swimming pool and convert its existing dive pool into a shallow play pool with a waterslide, an idea the task force feels will attract more children and create a welcoming environment for families. Lockers and decks on the campus will get a facelift, and new underwater lighting will be installed. Capital costs for this project are $4 million. 

At West Campus, all three options developed by the task force include demolishing the existing instructional and dive pools and constructing a new, LEED-certified building to house the indoor pools, which would include an energy-efficient lobby and administrative office, common changing rooms and privacy shower cubicles, assisted dressing rooms, and abundant deck space for viewing, wheelchairs and attendants. 

Task force members explained that, since West Berkeley was a relatively neglected part of the city, a new pool in addition to the warm-water pool would help neighbors to get involved in exercise and recreation programs. 

Capital costs for a new single warm-water pool, as proposed in the draft master plan’s Option 1, would cost $10.6 million. It would be used primarily by seniors and the disabled, unlike entire pool complexes, which would attract a more diverse crowd. The total cost for a new warm pool and an additional lap pool, as proposed in Option 2, is estimated to be $17.4 million. The third option for West Campus, which reduces the size of the warm pool and expands the lap pool, would cost $17.9 million. 

The cost of operating all the pools is still being chalked out, city officials said. 

After including community feedback in the draft master plan, the task force will forward it to the Berkeley City Council and the Berkeley Board of Education in March for approval, following which it will be subject to environmental review. 

The city’s Disability Commission, Youth Commission, Commission on Aging, and Parks and Recreation Commission will also weigh in on the plan as part of the environmental review process, which is expected to last from May 2009 to Jan. 2010. 

Once the City Council and the School Board adopt a final citywide pools master plan—expected to take place in January and February 2010—the City Council will probably put it on the ballot for the June 2010 election in an effort to fund pool improvements. 

To view a copy of the citywide pools draft master plan visit: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=28522. 

To view an earlier story on the pools draft master plan visit: 

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-01-15/article/32009?headline=City-to-Release-Pools-Draft-Master-Plan-This-Week 

Comments will also be accepted in writing and via e-mail through Feb. 2 at tstott@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

The 2020 Vision program, initiated in June as a collaboration between the City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Unified School District and community organizations to close the achievement gap in the schools, will launch an All City Equity Task Force during a three-day retreat at the Berkeley Yacht Club today (Thursday). 

Organized by the nonprofit Berkeley Alliance, which entered into a $61,800 one-year contract with the city in October to provide services for the 2020 Vision and other partnerships between the school district and UC Berkeley, the private workshop will bring together more than 50 people from the city, Berkeley Unified and several organizations to brainstorm strategies before sharing them with the broader community. 

The contract states that the Alliance—which began in 1996 as a result of cooperative efforts between the City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley, with the school district taking part as well—will work with the city to develop and implement programs for the new citywide initiative, which “emphasizes a coordinated school, agency and community approach that leverages and weaves school and community resources in a comprehensive manner and focuses on tangible outcomes for all students.” 

The district is recommending that the School Board approve a $50,000 grant on Wednesday for the Alliance to lead the new citywide task force. 

In August the Berkeley Alliance formed the 2020 Vision Planning Team, comprising 19 members from the city, the school district, United in Action, BayCES, UC Berkeley, Berkeley City College and the Alliance itself, to craft an action plan for the 2020 Vision, including putting together the All City Equity Task Force. 

No information about the retreat, its participants or its agenda is available on the Alliance’s website, which lists all meetings related to the 2020 Vision. 

Calls to the Alliance’s outgoing director, Tracey Schear, and to its Berkeley office for comment were not returned. 

Schear resigned from the Berkeley Alliance late last year, after working there for three years, and continues to work on the 2020 Vision as a consultant while the organization’s board of directors manages the transition. 

The Alliance has begun its search for a new executive director—estimated to earn $85,000–$96,000 annually—and hopes to have someone on board by the end of March. 

Michael Miller, director of Parents of Children of African Descent and a member of United in Action, said that 80 invitations had been sent out for the retreat, even though there are places for only 50. 

“The goal is to come up with some specific strategy and then go to the community and discuss what we have,” he said. 

“We want to have a deeper conversation about the economics of it and the relationships. There’s some push-back in the community about who’s involved and who’s not involved and what it means for students who are already successful. There are some controversial issues and some confusion. We want to clear all that.” 

Santiago Casal of United in Action, the multi-ethnic community group which first proposed the 2020 Vision to the district, said the plan was to “involve everybody.” 

“To mobilize the entire community is a big endeavor,” he said. “The sheer energy of us coming together and talking is quite exciting. In terms of actually implementing something, it probably won’t be until next year, when the class of 2020 will be in  

second grade.” 

The Alliance, according to the contract, is also responsible for developing the funding blueprint for the 2020 Vision program, including a targeted strategy to tap private foundation contacts in the Greater Bay Area and nationally and submit at least three citywide grants by the end of the financial year 2008–09. 

At a community meeting at Berkeley Technology Academy last week, Bill Huyett, superintendent of Berkeley Unified, briefed more than 50 parents and community members about the progress made in drafting strategies to eliminate the achievement gap. 

Miller acknowledged that there was no silver bullet that would solve the achievement gap in standardized tests, explaining that a student’s academic success was possible only with a “total community approach.” 

Huyett said that it would take the city, the school district and the community at least six more months to come together and start working as a group, adding that once the strategies for the 2020 Vision were finalized, all 16 public schools in Berkeley and their staff—including classified workers—would have to work the plan into their daily schedules. 

Some district educators said that the Berkeley High School redesign plan—which would implement block schedules and advisory periods if approved by the Berkeley Board of Education—would be an important part of turning the Vision 2020 into reality, although some parents continue to question the loss of instructional minutes that would result from it. 

One of the strategies outlined in the 2020 Vision update includes developing a more robust and coherent curriculum, instruction, assessment and intervention, and identifying problem areas and alternative structures that would help educators relate to children better. 

The superintendent also talked about training Berkeley Unified staff in a way that would help them cope with a diverse student body, including providing them with professional development to improve culturally responsive teaching and initiate a positive behavioral support system, which would increase student engagement and achievement and reduce inequities in discipline. 

Other ideas include strengthening early childhood education and hiring and retaining teachers and administrators of color, something the district has been trying to do this past year by sending out teams to scout for talented African-American teachers and trying to offer them attractive enough packages to encourage them to work in Berkeley. 

Miller said that some of the major concerns from parents included questions about raising performance levels for teachers who were underperforming, having parent liaisons at schools and easier access to information for families who did not have Internet access or e-mail at home. 

“We can’t say we are on target, because we don’t quite know what our target is,” Miller said. “It’s shifting, depending on our priorities and our economic climate. One of the things folks don’t understand is that it’s difficult to come up with strategies with a large group of people.” 

School Board member Beatriz Leyva-Cutler echoed his thoughts. 

“It’s taking a lot more time than anticipated, but it’s still going forward,” she said. “At this point a lot of parents are concerned about how the 2020 Vision will affect their children. We need to look at data to come up with strategies and the schools have to plan their activities around it.” 

For more information on Vision 2020 visit: www.berkeleyalliance.org.

The proposal for the Berkeley High School redesign—which has generated controversy so far but has been moving at a brisk pace since it was first unveiled in November—is scheduled for public discussion to give the community and district officials a chance to comment on its strengths and weaknesses. 

Berkeley Board of Education director John Selawsky said that he could understand the sense of urgency on the part of high school officials to understand better where the plan was headed, since they were intending to implement it in the new school year starting in August. 

The first of two public sessions was scheduled for Wedneday. The next one is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 4. 

District officials have described the advisory programs in the redesign as an important part of the 2020 Vision—an effort by the school district, the City of Berkeley and some community groups to close the achievement gap. 

The Berkeley High School Governance Council on Jan. 21 approved a revised version of the redesign plan, which will be presented to the School Board at a special study session Wednesday. 

As to whether the board was going to take any action on the plan that day, Selawsky said there was still some work left to be done before that could happen, adding that that it was more likely that it would be brought before the board for action on Feb. 11. 

Under the revised plan, the advisory periods and the community access periods would be combined into a single period within the eight-week block schedule. 

Two of the combined periods per week would begin with a 30-minute advisory, with the rest of the time available for the community access period—which would be supervised by advisors, who would be able to assert more control over the entire process. 

Some parents had earlier been concerned that if students were unsupervised during the community access periods—as outlined in the original plan—it would lead to chaos and confusion, and maybe even a complete waste of time. 

Also, under the new version, advisory programs would occur by grade level, and advisors would work with each group of students for only a year. 

Professional development would take place on Monday mornings instead of Wednesdays, and the Tuesday-through-Friday schedule would be the same every week, with late-start Mondays alternating between periods 1 through 4 one week and 5 through 8 the next. 

Ninth- and tenth-graders would take eight classes—including the combined advisory and community access period—which would give students an extra elective. 

Juniors and seniors would be given the option of doing something similar. Students would also be able to combine their community access time with another period if they were interested in attending class at a community college or pursuing other interests. 

The exact details of this aspect of the proposal are still being worked out, according to an e-mail sent out to the Berkeley High community by the school’s Parent, Teacher and Student Association president, Mark van Krieken, Thursday. 

Another feature, which has created some amount of discomfort among a group of parents, is the elimination of science labs by including them in science classes. 

Science classes that have traditionally had a zero- or seventh-period lab will now have to fold it into a regular class, which would result in a 33 percent reduction in instruction minutes for students in AP classes. 

Teachers have been asked to submit proposals for double periods to address this. 

Although the revised plan has been called “tighter” than the original one by some board members and parents, others remain skeptical about the loss of instructional minutes. 

Parents and other community members will be able to comment on the redesign at a public forum being hosted jointly by the Berkeley High administration and the PTSA on Feb. 3. 

Speakers from within the district and elsewhere are expected to be present to give an overview of how the plan will benefit students at Berkeley High. 

The Joint PTSA and BHS administration public forum will be Feb. 4, 7 to 9 p.m., at Berkeley High School Library, 1980 Allston Way. 

For more information on the Berkeley High redesign plan visit: 

http://bhs.berkeley.net/index.php?page=berkeley-high-redesign-plan 

bhs.berkeleypta.org/docs/redesign/redesign.htm) 

groups.google.com/group/bhsredesign 

UC President Mark Yudof named a key ally of new U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s to fill the secretary’s former post as head of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

Chemist Paul Alivisatos had been serving as deputy director of the lab and chief research officer. He will be interim director of the lab until a permanent director is found. 

At Chu’s direction, Alivisatos and fellow lab scientist Jay Keasling drew up the blueprint for what became the Helios Energy Research Facility, which has given birth to a $500 million research program funded by British petroleum giant BP and a plan for a controversial laboratory above Strawberry Canyon, which is currently undergoing environmental review. 

The BP-funded Energy Biosciences Institute is researching a variety of alternative energy programs, but most of the research is focused on turning non-food crops into fuels, using patented microbes to break down cell walls into transportation fuels. 

EBI research includes the use of engineered microscopic “nanomaterials” as catalysts in the fuel-making process, one of Alivisatos’s research specialties and one of the reasons Chu named him to head LBNL’s nanotech research facility, the Molecular Foundry, from 2001 to 2005. 

Like fellow biofuel resesearchers Keasling and EBI head Chris Somerville, Alivisatos is an entrepreneur and was a founder of at least two private-sector nanotech businesses, Quantum Dot Corp. and Nanosys Inc. He also serves on the board of a third company, Solextant, Inc., according to a UC press release. 

Nanoparticles are themselves controversial, with some research indicating that some of the resulting particles may have cancer-causing properties similar to those of asbestos. 

While a UC Berkeley faculty member, Alivisatos will manage the lab on behalf of Chu’s Department of Energy. LBNL is one of three Berkeley-run DOE laboratories, the others being Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos. 

UC announced that the formal search for Chu’s replacement will commence “in the coming weeks” to advise Yudof on a permanent replacement. 

UC is proposing to pay Alivisatos $406,980 a year as interim director, a 14 percent bump over his current salary of $357,000. He’s also set to receive an $8,916 annual car allowance as well as the option to participate in UC’s home mortgage program, according to the university. 

“Like many others, I have been inspired by Steve Chu’s vision of how the work at our lab could overcome some of the most difficult challenges of our time. I share that vision and welcome the opportunity to lead this great national laboratory at such an historic moment,” Alivisatos said in a prepared statement released by the university. 

Alivisatos “is a preeminent scientist with superb leadership and management experience,” Yudof said in the same press release. “I am confident that he will provide excellent leadership for the Berkeley laboratory during this transitional period as it continues addressing some of the greatest scientific and energy challenges confronting our country.” 

The first draft of the key regulatory document required before the city and UC Berkeley can sign off on a new downtown plan is now available online. 

The draft environmental impact report for the Downtown Area Plan is posted on the city’s website. 

The document is also available for physical examination at the city’s central library and in the planning department offices at the Permit Service Center, 2120 Milvia St. Copies are also available for purchase at the center. 

The massive document, prepared by Oakland consulting firm Lamphier-Gregory, will undergo one revision after public comments have been heard. 

The Berkeley City Council must certify the final EIR incorporating the public comments and the university must also give its approval before the document can become final. The unusual dual approval process results from the settlement of a suit by the city challenging the university’s Long Range Development Plan 2020. 

In exchange for settling the suit, the city will receive mitigation payments from the university, while the university gets to have veto power over the plan. 

The university will scale back on payments if the City Council doesn’t approve the EIR and the plan by May 25. 

The suit was sparked by the university’s revelation that it plans 850,000 square feet of new off-campus construction in the city center, including offices, parking facilities, a museum and other facilities. 

The EIR provides a maximum framework for new development downtown that can be approved without the need for developers to prepare a separate EIR on many of the impacts of their projects, City Planning and Development Director Dan Marks told planning commissioners earlier this month. 

The commission will conduct a public hearing on the draft EIR during its regularly scheduled Feb. 18 meeting. 

Members of the public may make comments on the plan by e-mail or post to Matt Taecker, the planner hired by the city and UC Berkeley to help develop the document. The addresses are mtaecker@ci.berkeley.ca.us or his office at the Department of Planning and Development, 2120 Milvia St., Berkeley, 94704. 

The draft environmental impact report for the Downtown Area Plan is posted at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=33630.

BB attack 

At 4:55 p.m. Jan. 25 on Acton Street near Russell, a 46-year-old Berkeley man called in to report that several young people had shot him with a BB gun while he was riding his bicycle. He saw a spring-loaded BB gun fire at him and felt the sting of the pellet against his inner forearm. Since he was wearing a jacket, he was not injured. Attempting to find the perpetrators, he cycled around and saw a group of six 9- to 14-year-old boys and girls laughing at him. As they started to run away, he called Berkeley Police and officers arrived at the home in which the youngsters went into. The mother handed over the pellets to the officer and the three young people were questioned. The man decided not to file charges.  

Broken window 

On Jan. 26 at 10:36 a.m., a school secretary at the School of the Madeleine on 1225 Milvia St. called in to report that someone had broken the window of a door at the school with a rock sometime over the weekend. It was a wooden door with glass in the middle on the east side of building. No suspects have been identified. 

Battery 

At 4:12 p.m. Jan. 27, a 28-year-old Berkeley man was arrested for grabbing the breasts of an 18-year-old UC Berkeley student on the 2000 block of Allston Way. The woman was walking down Shattuck Avenue near Center Street, when a man started walking beside her and asking if she was upset. He tried to grab her chest with his right hand. The woman took a step back and watched the man walk into Beckett’s pub. She called 911 and Berkeley police arrived and arrested the man until he could provide proof of identification. After finding identification, they released him on a misdemeanor citation and he is awaiting a court hearing.  

Tresspass and assault 

At 4:05 p.m. Jan. 27, an employee at the Acme Bar at 2115 San Pablo Ave. called in to report that a man had trespassed at the bar and assaulted her with posters and a muffin. She arrived at the business to unlock the security gates and open the doors. Going outside the business for a moment, she came back to find a man who had walked to the front of the bar. After telling him that the bar was not open, he refused to leave and called her several derogatory names. Additionally, he began to throw bar posters at her and then a muffin. The employee called 911, but the man had already escaped by the time that officers arrived. He remains on the loose. 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson scheduled a bail motion for former Berkeley City College student Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield—accused of murdering UC Berkeley nuclear engineering student Chris Wootton in May—for Feb. 2. 

The pre-trial hearing for the case, which was originally scheduled for Monday, has been postponed to March 23. 

Hoeft-Edenfield’s first request for bail was denied on Aug. 19, after Jacobson ruled that the evidence presented before him in court was not sufficient to prove that he had acted in self defense. 

Wootton, 21, a Sigma Pi fraternity member, was stabbed once in his upper chest, between his ribs, in front of a group of students outside the Chi Omega sorority house on Piedmont Avenue on May 3. 

Hoeft-Edenfield, 20, was arrested later that day. 

Yolanda Huang, Hoeft-Edenfield’s private attorney, told the judge Monday that the Supreme Court had ruled that her client was entitled to a hearing and to bail. 

She said that the Alameda County District Attorney Stacie Pettigrew—who will be prosecuting Hoeft-Edenfield—did not object to the bail request. 

Jacobson said that since he did not have sufficient paperwork to determine anything that afternoon, he would be carrying the bail motion over to next week. 

He added that Huang had made a series of requests which would require Pettigrew to interact with the Berkeley Police Department for answers. 

The judge also asked for a progress report on the matter by the next court date and announced that he had received documents from the University of California Police Department and the social website Myspace.com, where Wootton had written several blog entries. 

The courtroom was filled with family and friends of Hoeft-Edenfield, who appeared around 3 p.m. wearing a yellow jumpsuit. 

While a Berkeley man was charged last week with murder following the death of the victim of a Jan. 11 West Berkeley shooting, a 47-year-old woman originally charged with the shooting has been released. 

Berkeley Police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said on Jan. 22 that the district attorney’s office decided there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Rhonda Reid in the death of Lee William Payton. 

Lee Freddie Green, 50, was already in custody at Santa Rita County Jail on a charge of attempted murder for the shooting, and the charges were raised to murder after 27-year-old William Payton died of his injuries in Highland Hospital. 

Police responded to 911 calls reporting a loud argument in the 1100 block of Parker Street shortly after 8 p.m. on the 11th. As officers were searching the area, they heard gunshots and soon found Payton bleeding from his injuries as he lay in the parking lot at the rear of the Bank of America at 2546 San Pablo Ave. 

Reid was arrested near the crime scene after a search by police from Berkeley and Richmond, assisted by officers from the California Highway Patrol. 

Green turned himself in the following morning after he learned that police were looking for him, Sgt. Kusmiss said. He remains in custody.

Berkeley’s downtown had a big event in the midst of the Great Depression.  

Business openings were few and far between in 1934, but one of Berkeley’s most magnificent chain stores arrived in January of that year. The new Kress store at the southeast corner of Shattuck and Addison provided not only a new business but also a structure that is a downtown landmark today, 75 years later. 

“For years our stores have been known in the larger cities everywhere,” Kress said in a full-page ad in the Berkeley Daily Gazette, Jan. 23, 1934. “And now we are ready to introduce Kress to Berkeley because we have absolute confidence in the future of Berkeley as evidence by the up-to-the-minute store building we erected.” 

The store opened with 125 tons of new goods in 15 departments, everything “tastefully and attractively arranged … in a scientific manner, in plain sight…” 

In the first half of the 20th century, “five and dimes” like Kress were ubiquitous in the American retail landscape. Kress, Kresge, J.J. Newberry’s, Ben Franklin, McLellan’s, W.T.Grant and Woolworth’s all provided a merchandise mix of low-priced goods including cosmetics and hygiene supplies, some clothing, small kitchen items, toys, candy, packaged food products, various household goods and “notions.”  

In sum they sold what Kress called, in its Berkeley opening day ad, “complete stocks of everyday necessities.” Berkeley had several five and dimes, including a National Dollar Store just north of Kress, and a Woolworth’s downtown.  

“The policy of S.H. Kress & Company has been to strive continually to improve their service to the public by bigger values, lower prices, better store buildings in which to shop, consideration for the comfort of our patrons and our employees…” the 1934 advertisements noted. “Kress merchandizing methods are new to most of the people of Berkeley, but they have made Kress stores outstandingly popular everywhere…” 

Five and dimes put the goods out where customers could pick them up themselves rather than following the older business model of customer requesting items from a clerk behind a counter. 

The building, called “modernistic” in design by the Gazette, was and is a two-story above-basement concrete and steel structure, covered in buff brick and terra cotta ornamentation. Almost all of the original exterior has survived, down to the “5 - 10 - 25 Cent Store” incised in gold over the doors, the “Verde antique marble” bulkheads below the display windows, and elaborate fire escapes that are both functional and decorative. 

It’s one of Berkeley’s best-preserved and most outstanding Art Deco era structures. Edward Sibbert, one of the in-house architects for the Kress chain, prepared the design. 

The current building is actually the third commercial structure on the site. A three-story 19th century wooden building with a corner turret was demolished and replaced in 1923 with a neoclassical bank. In 1932 the Kress Company bought the bank structure and, ultimately, decided to demolish it and build the current structure. 

A useful history of the site, the Kress Company, and the Berkeley building design, accompanied by historic pictures, was prepared by writer Daniella Thompson in 2007 and can be found at berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/kress.html 

The Kress store had a main sales floor at street level, with the basement given over to storage, including “rat and vermin proof candy rooms.” The upstairs was used for store offices, “an additional stock room … as well as rest rooms and a cloak and lunch room for the sales girls.” 

The district manager for Kress in 1934 referred to the sales staff as “an exceptionally high type of girl.” The claim that all 100 were also Berkeley residents presumably helped lubricate local welcome for the new business in the midst of a dire economic era. 

However, in some ways that welcome also seemed curiously muted. It was typical practice for new Berkeley businesses in the early 1930s to buy a large display ad in the Berkeley Daily Gazette; that investment would be rewarded elsewhere in the same issue with a laudatory “news” story on the business opening.  

Both appeared in the Jan. 23, 1934 Gazette. However, the paper did not add an editorial extolling Kress, and smaller congratulatory ads by other local businesses were few in number.  

Possibly the Gazette—a big promoter of locally owned-businesses—leavened its traditional welcome with an unspoken fear that the big chain might steal customers from existing local merchants, just as many Berkeleyans today anguish at the arrival of any new chain store in town.  

The Kress organization may have realized this at the opening, for their district manager carefully observed, “Establishment of a Kress store here will, I feel, react to the mutual good of the store and the community, in that it will, to a large extent, encourage buying at home.” 

The Berkeley Kress branch did become a local fixture that endured nearly a half-century. In 1978 historian Betty Marvin would write in a summary description of Berkeley’s Kress Building, “across America a Kress store is part of what makes any middle-aged downtown look like a downtown.” 

In 1964 the basement was converted to additional sales space. The wide staircase descending from near the front entrance to the lower level has now disappeared along with the lunch counter that used to run along the southern inside wall, and the extensive display fixtures and finishes of the original store. In 2000-01 the interior was substantially altered. 

Those who remember the store in its last years in the late 1970s and early 1980s will recall that by then the basement had tightly packed aisles lined with discount goods. A small assortment of live tropical fish and goldfish was sold in the southwest corner, below a large cage containing the pet monkey of a store employee.  

After the Kress commercial empire was liquidated in the early 1980s, Newberry’s, another venerable five and dime, took over the store. Gradually the business lost its luster. In its last days the front of the store had booths where small vendors sold cheap jewelry, watches, and the like, and staffing seemed so minimal and tired that I recall the odd but repeated experience of seeing few customers, but still waiting in long, slow, lines to check out. 

While the Kress business itself no longer exists, the business model continues. Today’s Target Stores, for instance, are a lot like the old five-and-dimes, selling inexpensive household and seasonal goods, clothing, some packaged food, and even featuring a modern “lunch counter” in the form of a pizza stand.  

And the Berkeley Kress building has also endured, sans the founding business. It was designated a City of Berkeley landmark in 1981, and later bought by local second-generation commercial real estate broker John Gordon, who converted the upstairs to separately rented office space. The basement, entered from Addison Street, became a custom designed headquarters for Berkeley’s Jazzschool. 

Gordon kept the main sales floor vacant, patiently looking for the right tenant. His search took so long, I remember, that some people began to point to the renovated but empty storefront as an example of the decline of Downtown. And some also said, as they say today, that decline of that sort can only be cured with extensive demolitions and new construction; that is, clearing, not converting, Berkeley’s older commercial streetscape. 

They could not have been more wrong then, or now. In 2005, Gordon lured Half Price Books from Solano to Downtown, where it joined three other bookstores on the block (one around the corner on University, three, including Half Price, facing Shattuck).  

Half Price Books has appeared to be a solid tenant and a good draw. I don’t know anything about their profitability, but each time I’ve visited I’ve seen a fair number of customers in the store.  

The business and its historic building anchor the upper corner of the Arts District on Addison Street. The Arts District proper is a visually bland place with a number of banal 1970s, 80s and 90s arts or office buildings along Addison, but its upper, Shattuck Avenue, end is bracketed by three handsome restored historic structures, the Kress Building, the Golden Sheaf Bakery Annex, and the Francis Shattuck Building.  

And, if you stand in front of the Kress Building and look around nearby Downtown, you’ll see something interesting and instructive. 

Every building nearby on Shattuck is an older structure from the architectural heyday of Berkeley’s Downtown, and most every commercial space is either occupied or expecting a tenant. On the three corners adjacent to Kress you’ll find the upscale Downtown restaurant in the refurbished and expanded Francis Shattuck Building (1901), Pollo restaurant in the old Greyhound station (1940), and preparations underway for a new restaurant in the ornate Shattuck Square Building (1926). 

Just to the east, at Addison and Shattuck Square, the Studio Building (1905) and the Mason-McDuffie Building (1926, now housing Scandinavian Designs) provide further historic anchors for this six-cornered intersection.  

Up and down Shattuck, and along most of the cross streets, the story is the same; refurbished old buildings in newer uses, giving Downtown a uniquely Berkeley sense of place.  

As the Historic Survey of Downtown noted in 1987, “Downtown Berkeley is rich in history, commercial life and architectural tradition.” Berkeley is fortunate that’s still so. 

I turned 43 on Friday. Woo hoo! Age doesn’t scare me, in the just-a-number chronological sense: I hope never to lie about my age—ridiculous vanity. Wrinkles don’t scare me: peaches are sweet and delicious, but so are raisins. Gray hairs don’t scare me: gray is a lovely neutral. I’ll look fab wearing chartreuse. The fact that I am, technically, old enough to be my 3-year-old son’s grandmother doesn’t scare me. 

Well, OK, that last one scares me a little bit. 

But here’s the thing. I did something (I don’t even remember what) to wrench my shoulder a few weeks back. It hurts when I lift my arm this way, but not that way. It hurts when I sleep on my stomach, but not on my back. Just a weird annoying temporary injury, of the sort I’ve experienced more than once in the past. And in the past, it’s gone away in a day or two. Maybe three. Did I mention this happened a few weeks ago? 

It still hurts. 

I keep telling myself that it’s just because I haven’t eked out more than half a dozen total hours of exercise over the last three years since paid full-time work plus an active and clingy three year old equals constant exhaustion, and thus my otherwise enviable gym-queen fitness level ((cough)) (I heard that!) has taken a nose dive, but that once I return to a daily workout routine, it will come back. I’ll be fine. Just like before. Right? 

Hello? 

Well, even without your volumes-speaking silence, dear reader, I am starting to doubt my own assurances. The physical evidence is attacking me from all quarters. 

My whole life, I had never used lotion. Never needed to. Then last winter, my arms got so red and dry and itchy I wanted to tear them off. I scratched them raw. I wondered if I might have contracted a bizarre Amazonian rain forest skin infection when I used the restroom at SF MOMA. (Hey, there were people from everywhere seeing Frida!) I went to the doctor expecting a course of amoxicillin and prescription strength cortozone cream. She took one look and gave a satisfied, "Ah. Dermititis. Eczema. Use more lotion. Here." She slathered my arms with plain old Vaseline. Just keep them moist, she counseled. Put a bandage on the area to keep from scratching. 

That’s it? Dry skin? But it worked. And when the skin over my right eye and above my upper lip were similarly struck, I slathered. I improved. It was just aging. 

"JUST" aging. 

I know I should—and do—count my blessings that I have not been hit harder (yet) by the march of time. There are 40-somethings who look, move, feel, and act older than I do. There are 40-somethings who have faced breast cancer and heart attacks. It feels petty to quibble with dry skin and slow-healing aches. So I won’t quibble. But I won’t surrender, either. Without resorting to surgical or biogenetic augmentation (unless I win the lottery—then hey, even cryogenic preservation is on the table), I’ll do whatever I can to stay as healthy, mobile, pain-free, and, er, moist as I can as the decades pick up speed. 

I once told my mom that the thing that made me saddest about dying was not that I would miss the people in my life or my own life experiences, but I’d miss seeing how the whole damn thing played out and one day ended—the story of humankind. If I believed in eternal or afterlife that wouldn’t be a problem, of course, but I don’t. So I’ll just buckle in and go as far on the ride as my train car will take me. Until I run out of steam or the wheels fall off. 

Or they figure out how to throw the damn thing into reverse. 

Sonja Fitz is a Berkeley native now living in Oakland with three different age versions of herself coexisting inside her: 12, 25, and whatever the calendar says.

On Monday morning this week we groaned to discover that one of our local National Public Radio stations has launched another pledge drive. This is in addition to listing what seems like 17 different commercial sponsors for every quarter-hour segment all day long. We knew that it was just a matter of time before the other NPR station followed suit, and that KPFA wouldn’t be far behind with another pledge drive of their own. We’ve also gotten letters complaining that some stations which shall be nameless have been selling individual recorded talks by newsmakers instead of playing them for free on the air for everyone to hear.  

Not only that, the formerly major metropolitan dailies, which are now seldom worth reading anyhow, are getting thinner and thinner. Also, Katha Pollitt quips in this week’s Nation that “as ads dry up, magazines are folding, or at least slimming down—pretty soon they’ll be able to slip Time and Newsweek under your door, like a takeout menu.”  

The Nation, because of its independent politics and mouthy columnists, has never had many ads anyhow. Victor Navasky wrote a book about this, A Matter of Opinion, which explained the difference between non-profit, for-profit and supposedly-for-profit-but-money-losing publications and gave his strategies for turning Category 3 into Category 2. They worked for The Nation under his leadership. But his witty and optimistic book was published during what we might now call the Neo-Gay Nineties, and we’re now winding up what could be called the Awful Oughties, so even The Nation is scratching around for funds again.  

Here’s the rub: newsgathering from scratch costs money. Real money. It is fondly imagined that Internet news distribution will replace other forms of journalism, because it’s a relatively cheap way of shooting information around.  

But recently people have started to notice that their favorite snarky sites tend to be what’s called “aggregators”—that is to say they just gather up news that has been reported elsewhere, most often in the few remaining print papers, and repackage it. Old water in new bottles—but what will we do when the well runs dry? 

A wag in The Atlantic predicted that the New York Times would be out of business by May. Don’t bet on it, but don’t bet against it either. The Los Angeles Times is evaporating before our eyes, and big cities like Detroit no longer have newspapers at all. 

Without the NY or the LA Times or the Washington Post and a few more, what would Arianna Huffington do for copy? Yes, she’s now hired two or three reporters, but her bread-and-butter continues to be repeats from other media. 

Paper and printing do consume a certain amount of cash—at the Planet roughly a third of the total cost—but for any news publication, print or online, the real money goes to pay reporters and editors. As Richard Brenneman recently noted in these pages, when he started his career there would be three reporters at a small town’s planning commission meeting—and now he’s in lonely splendor as the sole chronicler of the slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am rezoning of just about all of Berkeley. If he hadn’t been at the last Berkeley Planning Commission meeting, how would we know that a newly appointed commissioner believes that “the market” should decide how many skyscrapers can be jammed into downtown Berkeley?  

Do we even care? Well, we’re currently suffering the consequences of an out-of-control national finance market which was both unregulated and underreported. Maybe, just maybe, if citizens knew what government was up to and where it was falling down on the job they’d do something about it. 

After some weeks of study, we at the Planet, like our peers across the country, have determined that advertising simply isn’t going to pay for the cost of reporting the news any more. It’s not really the fault of the advertisers—a recent report predicted that 25 percent of all retailers would close in the next year. When it’s a choice between shoes on the shelves and ads in the newspaper, a shoe store sometimes has to skip the ads, even though that means that the customers don’t know when the shoes are on sale. It’s a no-win situation.  

Online advertising is no panacea, since even at the New York Times it still brings in just 10 percent of the revenue of print advertising, and more like 5 percent at most papers. That seems better for the advertiser, but it’s hopeless as the means of supporting a news operation. The cover price of print papers returns just a small fraction of what it costs to report, produce and distribute them, which San Francisco Chronicle Editor Ward Bushee estimated on a recent radio program at close to $10 or even $20 for a copy of a typical Sunday paper.  

The Planet’s call for subscribers has gotten 50 or 60 responses at $10 a month, but we’d need at least 3,000 subscribers to pay the bills even for our small paper. The logistics of selling individual copies would be complicated, and the price for the reader would have to be pretty high to make a dent in our costs. For the Planet, news reporting costs at least $25,000 a month when you factor in modest salaries and benefits for reporters and editors.  

As we’ve said before in this space, something around here will have to change. We still hope to put together a group of advisers who might come up with some new ideas, and we’ve already started asking people around town for advice informally over the holiday period. What we’ve gotten so far is a consensus that some form of sustainable journalism—perhaps “Community Supported Journalism,” along the lines of “Community Supported Agriculture”—will have to emerge if citizens are to continue to get any local news at all.  

Looking for a model, we’re taking a leaf from Victor Navasky’s book and setting up a special “Fund for Local Reporting” to which individual readers can contribute whatever amount they can afford. There will be a special category, a la NPR, where commercial and professional sponsors can be listed. This fund will be used only to pay the direct cost of news reporting.  

At the moment, the fund doesn’t have nonprofit legal status, so contributions aren’t tax deductible, but we’re investigating whether it would be possible or desirable to change that, and we’re keeping contributions separate in case we do create a non-profit arm. We’re also asking supporters to volunteer to help with this fundraising effort even if they can’t contribute money.  

Our bet is that readers will appreciate the value of professionally reported news, and will contribute accordingly. We’ll continue to rely on advertising sales to cover printing, including printing reader-contributed opinion content, and distribution.  

In the two or three minutes I listened to the NPR pitch before I turned the radio off, I heard the announcer say “newspapers have advertisers, but we on the radio need to rely on our listeners to support us.” Sadly, that’s no longer true. For newspapers as well as radio stations, in print or on line, it’s becoming increasingly clear that consumers of news will have to shoulder the major part of the cost of the product, or soon there will be no news at all—and no news is not, contrary to the proverb, good news. 

BRAINS WIN! 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Despite the misinformation and conspiracy theories of the loonies in the room last Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council overrode the Peace and Justice Commission's recommendation by granting a two-year waiver to 3M to provide the maintenance contract to the Berkeley Public Libraries RFID inventory and security system. In doing so, the council avoided trashing its million dollar investment made by taxpayers three years ago and the necessity of investing at least another $500,000 in a replacement. 

The loonies contended that allowing 3M the measly $70,000 annual contract would lead to nuclear ruin. 

In other news, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran could give a damn what Berkeley morons think and they will continue with their nuclear weapons programs. 

Jonathan Wornick 

Peace and Justice Commissioner 

• 

TIME FOR AN ORGANIC REVOLUTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

With unemployment, food scares and demands on food banks all up, the time is now for an organic revolution. President Obama and Congress are currently considering a massive financial stimulus package to rescue our economy. Absent from the discussion has been any reference to supporting a sustainable and organic food system. 

Our economy and national security depend on relocalizing our food system, shifting away from chemically dependent industrial agriculture, and assuring that the food system supports living wages for farmers, farm workers and other workers in the supply chain. 

Redirecting the billions of dollars in farm subsidies away from corporate farms and industrial biofuels toward a just and organic food system is a solid long-term investment in America's future. 

David Hartley 

• 

ADVERTISING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Daily Planet is one of the few contemporary and local weekly papers that are free of charge that do not have advertisements for escort services. To quote your paper 'advertising doesn't cover all of our costs.' 

Does advertising cover the costs of the other free papers out there? Is this because these papers run advertisements for escort services?  I would like to know. I appreciate the Planet, as your paper accurately reports on Berkeley and other community events. I also appreciate that there are no escort services advertised in this paper. I had considered such services a necessary evil; perhaps they are not so necessary. Those advertising the services are generally earning money for personal survival; but those making the largest amounts of money from these services, the industry they serve, are exploiting people for profit. 

I thank the Daily Planet for not running advertisements for escort services.  Aside from violating my principles, advertisements for escort services depress me, so I skip over them. In the Daily Planet, I have much less to skip over. 

Ardys DeLu 

• 

DURAFLAME SUES AIR BOARD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the Duraflame lawsuit against the EPA, how are we supposed to discern what type of smoke is spewing out of people's chimneys on the few "Spare the Air" days?  Even if Duraflame can prove their product does not create toxic particles to be released, we should not burn anything on "Spare the Air" days, period.  Let's keep working to clear the air we breathe.   

Tori Thompson 

• 

U.S. CANNOT CHOOSE PALESTINE SPOKESPERSON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I voted, supported and helped the Barack Obama campaign for president.  And so I want to give the man a chance given that he's facing such an  incredible array of crises. Nevertheless, I  issue this prognostic warning: If President Barack Obama continues to assert that Mahmoud Abbas (whose term as PLO president expired on Jan. 7 and who, as ex-president is now as unpopular among Palestinians as George W. Bush is among Americans) is somehow the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people—while also claiming that Hamas is little more than a terrorist organization—he will find himself a one-term president, his hopes for real change defeated somewhat in the cast of President Lyndon Johnson. LBJ, recall, could not see his way out of Vietnam and so declined to run for a second full term in 1968. Today the road to peace for the world runs through Jerusalem.  Obama and the United States have to come to terms with Palestine's real history and current reality, not the fables of a European-Zionist narrative or the relentless aggression to ethnically cleanse Israel forever of indigenous Palestinian people.   

Marc Sapir 

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RAISES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Following on the heels of the executive branch's elimination of raises for those making over $100,000, and of Robert Clear's letter to the editor discussing free-floating CEO "compensation," we now find that the Berkeley and Oakland city managers will both get raises, to over $230,000, to coordinate municipal messes of very different scales and geographies. How can this be explained? Ah, the Berkeley boss has to deal with the whole Planet, and its insightful investigations! 

Jeff Jordan 

• 

BLAGOJEVICH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

We are all having an uproarious, entertaining time, being amazed at the naked greed of governor Blagojevich. The message is that here's a one-of-a-kind, unique, politician who got caught with hands and feet in the cookie jar. And then there's his audacious reaction, claiming that he's innocent and wishes to join the ranks of MLK and Gandhi. But let's face it, in spite of the corporate press and corporate late-night hosts' hoo-hah, seeming to assure us that this guy is a rarity, he most certainly is not. The governor is not unique; he represents a significant percentage of more careful politicians who are loyally following the basic tenet of our capitalist economy: "Maximize the profits of the office, however, wherever and whenever you can." Blagojevich turns out to be a much too arrogant tippy-top of the iceberg.  

Robert Blau 

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RECESSION IMMUNITY? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Is Berkeley immune from the recession? One would think so when the mayor wants an 8 percent increase in the city manager's salary (now over $230,000) without public discussion. The fact that President Obama froze the salaries of White House staff earning over $100,000 has had no apparent effect of the perspective of the majority of City Council members. While a single act of fiscal imprudence does not justify the recall petition beginning to circulate, the city manager's pay raise is symptomatic of the council's unwillingness or inability to control the wages of city employees, including police and fire personnel. 

Robert Gable 

• 

JAN. 29 DeFREITAS CARTOON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

We all know all that Obama, serving at his masters' will, is stuck maybe trying to do some stuff we need done, and not being able to do half enough. This is, after all, a capitalist system. It is not a charity. In fact it is what we see over and over: Capitalism is not a victimless crime. A different president might limit it here or there but will certainly not have any long lasting or major effect. The wars will continue; there is no economy of production of what we need and like by us—certainly not at wages that make any sense, certainly not in gentle care of Earth. 

The deprivation will continue—maybe more slowly—but I think not. Unfortunately we have this critic to tell us how out of place we are for knowing these are how we're living, and ridiculing us for knowing it. 

A major problem since the communist advance of 1917 has been the incessant and insistent derision, marginalization and criminalization of any left, progressive, oppositional force. A result has been all phases, from accommodation/capitulation to extremist ranting, leaving us without any root in struggle. 

It'd be helpful to have that kind of criticism be enlightening instead of just stupidly derisive. 

Norma J F Harrison 

• 

TAXI TACTICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On reaching their destination, Berkeley senior citizens attempting to use their taxi scrip can expect that it will be rejected. Drivers assume passengers will be unwilling or unable to jump out of the vehicle without producing cash. And putting the Berkeley senior citizen on the spot does sometimes work. Some old persons can indeed be counted on to dig deep and pay the fare (the rate recently increased.) Few respond to intimidation tactics by simply exiting the cab. I fear that many more will cease using their scrip while curtailing needed trips. City fathers may wrongly assume from the amount of scrip being redeemed that fewer seniors now need scrip, as illogical as that would be in these times. 

As the expiration date approaches, taxi drivers, bluntly ask for (demand) "your leftover scrip." I wonder whose name and city "rider's ID number"—if any—they record when redeeming them. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler 

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SCHOOL CROSSING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing about the near-tragedy at Ashby and Ellis, in which a 6-year-old was struck by a vehicle. While it is a relief to hear that she will recover, I find it absurd that the police should place the youngster at fault. If little children are truly responsible for their own safety, they should be permitted to vote, so they may elect legislators who will protect them from being run over on their way to school.  

I hope by the time this letter is published, the parents at Malcolm X School will have taken steps to protect their children and the friends of their children. I have two suggestions. First: Two parents with stop signs should place themselves at the Ellis Street intersection, one on each side of Ashby, to act as crossing guards. Any vehicle that violates the crosswalk zone gets its picture taken and license number noted, to be turned over to the police. Second: Any parent who now drives their child to school should seek out at least one other child who would feel safer to be picked up.  

Malcolm X parents, these are two steps which can be taken now, without any action by the city. It is your school; these are your children. Take responsibility for them all and take charge.  

Chuck Heinrichs 

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MAKING REPUBLICANS HAPPY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The tax cuts really do not have great economic stimulative value, but were just inserted to make the Republicans happy. However, it appears that nothing makes the Republicans happy except pandering to their base of right-wingers and plutocrats. So let's make their day less lank and long, and give them something else to grumble at. Anyone 

looking at the job-loss figures should understand the importance of immediate action. 

Harold Lecar 

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HOW TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is generally agreed that one of the most important ways to stimulate the economy is by increasing consumer spending. One simple way to do this would be via a lottery each month that would reimburse the winners for certain purchases they had made that month—cars, TVs, houses, say. Each purchaser would fill out a simple, one-page form and send it to the government. If the form were randomly chosen (there could be more than one random selection in each category, of course), the government would verify that the purchase had indeed been made, then send the buyer a check.  

The chance that a car or TV or house might turn out to be free, would, I think, motivate a significant number of people to buy. 

Peter Schorer 

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WAITING TO EXHALE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Waiting for something dire or wonderful to happen I hold my breath, sometimes literally: When I put $20 on black at the roulette table; when I pick up the mail and there’s a letter from the IRS; when my wife is wheeled into the hospital delivery room with our firstborn; when my son plays solo in his middle school concert.  

I desperately hope he will lead us out of domestic and global hellholes created by his predecessor (aided by a spineless Congress and abetted by the dominant media). I deeply fear that the job is too much for such a young, inexperienced chief; I worry that his best efforts will just make the hellholes deeper.  

I’m afraid he’ll fail and I’m afraid of what will happen if he does.  I’m afraid to exhale. 

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

• 

GOP MENACE TO SOCIETY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Anti-tax Republicans have become a menace to society. In California, a handful of GOP politicians have used their minority status and an archaic law to hold California and its fiscal budget at bay. A group of fiscal fanatics that is forcing its will on the majority of residents. 

In the nation's capital, Congressional and Senate Republicans, all, every one of them, voted against a stimulus plan meant to help America out of its financial doldrum. 

When will the people protest and stop being cowards in the face of this band of political neanderthals. 

Ron Lowe 

Nevada City 

• 

BART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a former Berkeley resident, and Bay Area native, I used to ride the BART system all the time. Then I was guided by God to move up here to Siskiyou County. I'm glad I did this before they started carrying tasers on BART. America and BART have become entirely too paranoid since 9-11. It's downright scary in the cities. 

My question is, "Why are they carrying tasers on BART?" Isn't that overkill (no pun intended)? 

Linda Smith 

Weed, CA

THANK YOU, RICHMOND 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What a glorious day we lived in Richmond on Jan. 20. What formidable struggles led us to this day. Many of these struggles took place right here in Richmond. 

The story of the Gary family, who in the 1950s fought against racism and housing discrimination with the support of a broad coalition, is just one of the steps along the way to President Obama’s inauguration (www.jovankabeckles.org/GARYstory.pdf ). How proud I am to be African American. How thankful I am to all those in Richmond and elsewhere who made this new era possible. The cheers and joy we shared at the Richmond Convention Center on Jan. 20 will be with us forever. I am grateful to the City of Richmond and the Neighborhood House of North Richmond for sponsoring such a wonderful celebration of unity, pride, hope, citizenship, and vision. 

Now it is time to do what we were asked by our president: We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. Let us, all Americans, embrace and act locally on the duties we have to ourselves, our city, our nation, and the world. 

Jovanka Beckles 

• 

STICK TO THE FACTS ABOUT HAMAS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is obvious from your letters column that Berkeley folk have lots of opinions about Israel’s actions against Hamas in Gaza. Fine. We can argue and disagree. But let’s not argue about the facts—or neglect them. Here are four indisputable facts that should help the open-minded decide whether Israel’s actions were proportionate and justified. 

1. Hamas is a terrorist organization—so declared by the U.S. and the European Union, and factually demonstrable by its constant rocket attacks targeted solely at Israeli civilians. That’s the very definition of terrorism. (Ironic, isn’t it? Israel was daily condemned for targeting civilians in Gaza—which it does not purposely do—while Hamas, which openly does target civilians, gets a free pass from the international community.) 

2. Hamas is dedicated to the annihilation of Israel and Jews. This is no secret: Destruction of Israel is part of the public Hamas charter. (When somebody is bombing your country with the avowed purpose of destroying you, you do what it takes to stop them. Far from being disproportionate, it would appear that Israel has not yet done enough.) 

3. Hamas believes in global jihad. As a fundamentalist Islamist organization, with ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbollah and Iran, Hamas wishes to impose Shari’a—Islamic law—upon the world’s people. As such, it is the enemy of all nations that don’t subscribe to the tenets of fundamentalist Islam, including the U.S. (and Egypt and Saudi Arabia). Again, Hamas makes no secret of its jihadist mission or its list of enemies. 

4. Hamas militia hide among Gaza’s civilians, risking the lives of thousands of innocent people. Hamas does not deny this tactic—indeed they revel in it, citing the willingness of Palestinians to martyr themselves for the cause. Example: An Israeli response to Hamas rocket fire last week hit a U.N.-sponsored school in Gaza and killed several people. According to the NY Times, a Palestinian witness reported that the rockets were fired just 25 yards from the school. 

As obvious as these facts are, it’s astounding that the press, Daily Planet readers, many world leaders and NGOs completely ignore this reality. 

Given the facts, here’s my opinion: The world would be well served if Hamas were put out of business once and for all. We can only hope that President Obama and Barbara Lee support Israel’s effort to do just that. 

Jim Sinkinson 

Oakland 

• 

CHARTER SCHOOLS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is frustrating as a liberal to read a self-identified liberal, Daily Planet Executive Editor Becky O’Malley, in her Dec. 17, 2008 editorial, taking to task Arnie Kohn for his “blanket condemnation” of charter schools in an article appearing in The Nation magazine criticizing Arne Duncan, the new secretary of Education. 

I believe all liberals (and many conservatives) should also hold a blanket condemnation of undemocratic charter schools. 

Why don’t liberals see that charter schools are a legal entity called a corporation and thus have no requirement to be democratic? Corporations are responsible to their board of directors and their stockholders. While corporate charter schools don’t have stockholders supplying cash, are they not publicly funded and privatively run?  

Apparently, the editor of the Berkeley Daily Planet, and other liberals, are as blinded to these structural facts as occupants of Harry Potters’ world are to his presence when blanketed by his cloak of invisibility. 

And, it is ironic that O’Malley argues for holding schools and teachers accountable for students’ failure but is blind to the reality that charter schools are not held accountable for their test score successes. Because charter schools receive little or no oversight when administering their high-stakes tests, corporate charter school test scores are as problematic as banks holding subprime mortgages. Lack of testing regulation provides less than honest corporate charters with an Enron like opportunity to game the system and milk the taxpayers. 

Corporate papers change the relationship of a charter school from a school directly accountable to public institutions, such as democratically elected school boards, to a school accountable to a corporate board of directors, normally appointed by the persons organizing the school.  

Corporate papers legally insulate corporate charter schools from both democratic institutions and the children and parents of the neighborhood community where they reside. Corporate charter schools are a legal organization providing public funding for de-regulated private management lacking public accountability.  

Yes, Ms. O’Malley, without question there are good and bad charter schools but presently unregulated, undemocratic corporate charter schools deserve the public’s blanket condemnation. 

Jim Mordecai  

• 

STATE REPUBLICANS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If you think anti-tax Republicans are ready to put taxes on the table, consider new taxes, throw in the towel, you’ve been drinking too much joyjuice. The GOP minority is wedded to it’s “no new taxes for the rich” and could care less if millions of Californians suffer. 

Anti-tax guru Grover Norquist must be smiling as his anti-tax brood of GOP politicians hold the state of California and its residents hostage once again. 

Republicans have yet to publicly support any kind of realistic revenue solution that would close the $42 billion state budget deficit. Do you know the names of these GOP politicians who are gumming up the works? 

California desperately needs an infusion of revenue that only taxes can bring. But, don’t count on Republicans to help solve the financial crisis at hand until their feet are held to the coals. 

Ron Lowe  

Nevada City 

• 

NON-BELIEVERS  

ACCEPTED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Although he’s going to make a number of overdue positive changes, as an Obama-skeptic I’m afraid our new president will be pretty much circumscribed in the basics as a political prisoner of the military-corporate complex, the empire, and its warfare state. 

Yet I was pleasantly surprised when President Obama said in his inaugural speech, “We are a nation of Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.” So we non-believers are perfectly acceptable partners in the president’s perspective of public inclusion. 

Contrast that to the pariah status we were consigned to by President George H. W. Bush when he said, “I don’t know that atheists should be accepted as citizens nor should they be regarded as patriots. This is one nation under God.” 

So we free thinkers, secular humanists, skeptics, agnostics and atheists have every right to hold our heads high and act as voices of reason and sanity in a world plagued by ancient superstition and irrelevant dogma that keep so many billions of our fellow humans enthralled in the intellectual middle ages. 

Harry Siitonen  

• 

ARETHA’S HAT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Much has been said and written about the spectacular hat Aretha Franklin wore at the Obama inauguration. Now that was a hat! Or should I have called it a “chapeau”? No, it was more than that. It was a bold statement: “I’m proud to be a black woman, proud to be singing at the inauguration of this country’s first black president.” 

Watching Aretha’s rousing performance, completely fascinated by the hat, I thought to myself, “Now, I’ve seen that hat before. But where?” Then a bulb went off in my head. Of course; I had seen that exact hat at the Berkeley Hat Co. on Telegraph Avenue, at Dwight Way. I therefore made a bee-line for the shop, and there it was—an exact duplicate. So I stopped in to talk with the owner, Carol Lipnick. She and her husband have been in business at this location for more than 30 years and are an important part of the Telegraph Avenue scene. 

Carol obligingly filled me in on details of “the hat.” It had been designed by a young Korean, Luk Song. Just as Michelle Obama’s lovely white ball gown will undoubtedly advance the career of its designer, Jason Wu, I suspect Mr. Song’s reputation as a creator of sensational hats will also take off. 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Last week, state Sen. Loni Hancock invited public suggestions regarding the California Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture. On Jan. 12, the San Francisco Chronicle had a story entitled, “Business souring fast in state’s dairy industry.” Yesterday, a close relative informed me his wife has breast cancer, and will undergo surgery after a few months of chemotherapy. 

It is very sad when people feel it is easier to remove body parts than to remove animal protein from their diet. Sadly, cancer is mostly a lifestyle choice, like so many other major diseases and early deaths by “natural causes.” 

Raising animals is an inefficient, heavily subsidized business, which depletes water and topsoil, pollutes our waterways, is a major source of global warming, and makes universal healthcare very expensive. Please take every possible step to remove animal-farming subsidies from our state budget. 

Months ago, a Berkeley Daily Planet letter-writer suggested the profitable petroleum industry should bail-out the auto makers. Similarly, let the profitable benefactors of the cholesterol-clogging animal-protein business bail-out their upstream farm partners. How many erectile dysfunction and other drug commercials must Americans endure? 

Mitch Cohen 

• 

CITY MANAGER’S RAISE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

At a time when everyone in the private sector is tightening their belts, and Berkeley looming budget cuts, why is it appropriate to throw money at Berkeley’s city manager, one of its highest-paid employees? Has he threatened to resign unless he’s paid more? If he did resign, would Berkeley be unable to fill his position with a qualified replacement at his current salary? 

Before the City Council approves or denies the mayor’s request to pay the city manager more, I suggest the city auditor (not the city’s personnel department, which reports to the city manager, raising the potential for a conflict of interest) answer the following question: How many qualified candidates for city manager were other cities in the Bay Area able to attract, offering the same or less pay than Berkeley does? That should more accurately tell the city council whether the city manager’s current salary is adequate. 

Keith Winnard 

• 

LIMBAUGH IS A TOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Obama doesn’t care if he’s doing Rush Limbaugh a favor by citing his “I hope he fails” quote. We forget that Limbaugh was just a crazy-right freakshow until “President” Bush’s election forced us to take Limbaugh seriously, just like it opened up space for Ann Coulter to perform. He doesn’t represent Republican strategic thinking. Obama is using him to embarrass Senate Republicans, like he used Bush on McCain (but not necessarily to beat them in the next election, just to raise that specter to encourage some of them to behave). 

The only president to seriously misunderestimate Limbaugh was Bush’s father, who carried Limbaugh’s bags to the Lincoln Bedroom when he had him over during his re-election campaign. Limbaugh toadied to Bush until he lost, and then gleefully reported how mortified he had been to see the president doing the labor of servants. 

Dave Blake 

• 

HERPES ZOSTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Due to a copyediting error, my Jan. 15 commentary, “Senior Power,” stated that “…it should be possible to provide geriatric-related immunizations (e.g. flu, pneumonia, herpes)…” It is herpes zoster, specifically, that is relevant to senior citizens. Wikipedia’s several articles provide details of herpes’ numerous types. In particular, the article, “Varicella zoster virus” is about herpes zoster, often referred to as shingles. In the past the vaccine has been very expensive; it is only recently that the vaccine is affordable and some times available in one’s physician’s office. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler 

• 

CB2 STORE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

You can shop and do good for the Berkeley schools this week at the new CB2 store on Fourth Street! From opening day on Thursday, Jan. 29 through Sunday, Feb. 1, a percentage of sales will be donated to Berkeley Public Education Foundation (BPEF), which supports all Berkeley public schools by providing grants, volunteers, and program assistance. BPEF is supported entirely through contributions from individuals and businesses, and is proud to have been selected by CB2 as a charity valued for its community-wide engagement and impact. 

CB2 is a division of Crate and Barrel and features affordable modern furnishings for apartment, loft, home. The Berkeley store is one of only five now open, in New York, Chicago, and the Bay Area. If you are looking to enliven your living space, this weekend is a great time to do it while also supporting Berkeley IS greatest asset—our 9,000 wonderful Pre-K through 12th grade students and their teachers! 

Thank you, CB2! 

Molly Fraker 

Executive Director 

Berkeley Public Education Foundation 

• 

‘SO WHAT’? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When deciding if the city manager should get a raise, Kriss Worthington brought to everyone’s attention that it is in the city’s charter that a comprehensive written evaluation is required when giving a raise to the city manager. I am not sure of the exact words, but Kriss wanted to go by the regulations and bring this item back to the council after the appropriate procedures were followed. Kriss was not saying the city manager didn’t deserve a raise, only that we need to follow procedure. When showing Mayor Bates the paper that showed this information, Mayor Bates pushed it away and said, “So what.” Way to go, King Bates! I’ll let others comment on the mayor trying to convince the city that the city manager is working for free. 

Lori Kossowky 

• 

CITY MANAGER’S RAISE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Zelda Bronstein’s Jan. 22 commentary demonstrates how the solution to a problem is determined by the manner in which it is framed. The mayor’s argument in support of raising the city manager’s salary is the same as is found in almost any proxy statement. Every company claims that their CEO is an individual with rare and valuable talents. To make sure they can retain this individual, companies do extensive research on what other comparable companies pay their CEOs. Companies fear the loss of their talent if their pay scale is not competitive. 

It all sounds very reasonable. However, proxies never compare their CEO’s compensation to the compensation of CEOs of smaller or bigger companies, or (heaven forbid) to those of other employees. This means that CEO salaries are free to float increasingly above other employee’s salaries. In fact, using comparable salaries to set salaries has a built-in positive feedback loop that drives all CEO salaries higher. If a company strives to improve its position by raising CEO compensation so it can get talent, then this shifts the relative position of other companies, who then have to pay more to retain their position. 

This process is ultimately unsustainable, which suggests that we need to broaden the framework within which we view this problem. Consider, if we increase upper management compensation in times of declining revenue, then we will have to cut back on the very services that upper management supposedly manages. 

Some CEOs get 100 times what city managers make, and thus are presumably more talented or more critical to the organization’s success. People like myself, who make another factor of 10 less than city managers, are considered interchangeable and replaceable. But the system has no way to ensure that these valuations across jobs are correct or even reasonable. Nor do high salaries necessarily assure competence. 

The inverse is also true. As a parent I have seen some great teachers. Teachers, even talented teachers, are not that handsomely paid, so presumably the talented ones are not there just for the money. If Berkeley wants to compete, without breaking the budget, it needs to make its jobs worthwhile for more than just their salary. 

Robert Clear

In his Jan. 22 UnderCurrents column. “Oakland’s Test In the Aftermath of Oscar Grant’s Death,” J. Douglas Allen-Taylor says that Oakland is being tested. I agree that people in Oakland, and the Bay Area, are being tested, but not in the way he describes. The important question is, when people rise up against brutal injustice, what stand do you take? Do you stand aside and criticize? Or do you join the struggle, and see it through? 

In the last three weeks, people in Oakland and the Bay Area have begun to stand up, speak out and vigorously protest the blatant police execution of Oscar Grant. High school and middle school students have walked out, and for this they have been brutalized and arrested. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor ignores these new injustices, and pours cold water on the struggle. He chastizes the protesters, including the RCP, while he goes out of his way to give “mad props” to Oakland police (!) and city officials for “keeping Oakland safe.” But how safe was Oakland for Oscar Grant? How safe was Oakland for the seven people killed by police in the last 15 months? How many parents saw the cellphone video of the murder and thought, “That could have been my son?” 

What should Allen-Taylor and others like him be criticizing? Police murder! 

Who should he be praising, supporting and joining? The brave youth and others who have stepped up to fight this battle. 

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that there are about 100 police killings of citizens in California each year. And it has been documented that at least 2,000 lives were stolen by law enforcement in the 1990s nationwide, and hundreds more since then.  

While Oscar Grant’s life was being stolen by BART police in Oakland, way across the country, in New Orleans, police killed another young black man, Adolph Grimes. Grimes was shot 14 times—12 times in the back—while sitting in a car outside his grandmother’s house. Meanwhile, in a Houston suburb, Robbie Tolan, son of a famed baseball player, was shot and severely wounded by police while he was in his own driveway. 

Three young black men shot by police in one horrific night. Welcome to 2009 in the USA. If you search the Internet for the words “police shoot” or “police kill” you will see that dozens of people have been shot by police around the country since the new year began. 

Why is this the consistent modus operandi on a city, state and federal level? Precisely because this problem is systemic. And yes, the whole damn system is guilty. 

This country was founded on slavery, and suffered through the days of Jim Crow and lynchings. Today it is mostly the police who carry out the system’s brutality and terror against black youth and and other people of color. 

The systematic oppression of black people is so deep and so integral to the U.S. system of capitalism that the only way it can be uprooted is through a revolution that gets rid this system and brings into being an entirely different and far better socialist system as a part of emancipating all of humanity. 

The struggle for justice for Oscar Grant has accomplished a great deal. Not only have charges been brought against a murdering cop—an all too rare occurrence—but a light has been shined on the intolerable situation faced by black and Latino youth today. It has challenged the passivity in society where too many people have learned to live with the unacceptable. It has given heart to those who live under the constant threat of police terror. It can call forth many more people to join in taking this on. And it can be a powerful force in building a revolutionary movement aimed at getting rid of this murderous system. (For those who want to dig into questions of revolution, come to the program “Making Revolution in the USA” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at Laney College and check out the pamphlet “Revolution and Communism: A Foundation and Strategic Orientation,” available at Revolution Books.) 

And this struggle is far from over. The Revolutionary Communist Party does indeed want dialogue with others who seriously want to end the epidemic of police murder and I invite everyone to come to Revolution Books to engage. The callous and unbelieveable assertions by BART, police, and higher authorities that people should stand by and put their faith in the process, that they are “fully investigating this case” have been exposed at every turn as untruthful. Only the people’s struggle can advance the cause of truly getting justice for Oscar Grant, including making sure all the officers involved in the murder are held accountable. The eyes of people around the world are on Oakland. Let’s not fail this test. 

Reiko Redmonde manages Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way, Berkeley. 848-1196. 

The capitalist state has two roles long recognized by political thinkers. First, like any state it must provide services that cannot be reliably developed through private means, such as public safety and orderly traffic. Second, the capitalist state protects the haves from the have-nots, securing the process of capital accumulation to benefit the moneyed interests, while heavily circumscribing the demands of the working populace. 

There is a third state function seldom mentioned. It consists of preventing the capitalist system from devouring itself. Consider the core contradiction Karl Marx pointed to: the tendency toward overproduction and market crisis. An economy dedicated to speedups and wage cuts, to making workers produce more and more for less and less, is always in danger of a crash. To maximize profits, wages must be kept down. But someone has to buy the goods and services being produced. For that, wages must be kept up. There is a chronic tendency—as we are seeing today—toward overproduction of private sector goods and services and underconsumption of necessities by the working populace.  

In addition, there is the frequently overlooked self-destruction created by the moneyed players themselves. If left completely unsupervised, the more active command component of the financial system begins to devour less organized sources of wealth. 

Instead of trying to make money by the arduous task of producing and marketing goods and services, the marauders tap directly into the money streams of the economy itself. During the 1990s we witnessed the collapse of an entire economy in Argentina when unchecked free marketeers stripped enterprises, pocketed vast sums, and left the country’s productive capacity in shambles. The Argentine state, gorged on a heavy diet of free-market ideology, faltered in its function of saving capitalism from the capitalists. 

Some years later, in the United States, came the multi-billion-dollar plunder perpetrated by corporate conspirators at Enron, WorldCom, Harkin, Adelphia, and a dozen other major companies. Inside players like Ken Lay turned successful corporate enterprises into sheer wreckage, wiping out the jobs and life savings of thousands of employees in order to pocket billions. 

These thieves were caught and convicted. Does that not show capitalism’s self-correcting capacity? Not really. The prosecution of such malfeasance—in any case coming too late—was a product of democracy’s accountability and transparency, not capitalism’s. Of itself the free market is an amoral system, with no strictures save “caveat emptor.” 

In the meltdown of 2008-09 the mounting financial surplus created a problem for the moneyed class: there were not enough opportunities to invest. With more money than they knew what to do with, big investors poured immense sums into nonexistent housing markets and other dodgy ventures, a legerdemain of hedge funds, derivatives, high leveraging, credit default swaps, predatory lending, and whatever else. 

Among the victims were other capitalists, small investors, and the many workers who lost billions of dollars in savings and pensions. Perhaps the premiere brigand was Bernard Madoff. Described as “a longstanding leader in the financial services industry,” Madoff ran a fraudulent fund that raked in $50 billion from wealthy investors, paying them back “with money that wasn’t there,” as he himself put it. The plutocracy devours its own children. 

In the midst of the meltdown, at an October 2008 congressional hearing, former chair of the Federal Reserve and orthodox free-market devotee Alan Greenspan confessed that he had been mistaken to expect moneyed interests—groaning under an immense accumulation of capital that needs to be invested somewhere—to suddenly exercise self-restraint.  

The classic laissez-faire theory is even more preposterous than Greenspan made it. In fact, the theory claims that everyone should pursue their own selfish interests without restraint. This unbridled competition supposedly will produce maximum benefits for all because the free market is governed by a miraculously benign “invisible hand” that optimizes collective outputs. (“Greed is good.”) 

Is the crisis of 2008-09 caused by a chronic tendency toward overproduction and hyper-financial accumulation, as Marx would have it? Or is it the outcome of the personal avarice of people like Bernard Madoff? In other words, is the problem systemic or individual? In fact, the two are not mutually exclusive. Capitalism breeds the venal perpetrators, and rewards the most unscrupulous among them. The crimes and crises are not irrational departures from a rational system, but the converse: they are the rational outcomes of a basically irrational and amoral system. 

Worse still, the ensuing multi-billion dollar government bailouts are themselves being turned into an opportunity for pillage. Not only does the state fail to regulate, it becomes itself a source of plunder, pulling vast sums from the federal money machine, leaving the taxpayers to bleed. 

Those who scold us for “running to the government for a handout” are themselves running to the government for a handout. Corporate America has always enjoyed grants-in-aid, loan guarantees, and other state and federal subventions. But the 2008-09 “rescue operation” offered a record feed at the public trough. More than $350 billion was dished out by a right-wing lame-duck Secretary of the Treasury to the biggest banks and financial houses without oversight—not to mention the more than $4 trillion that has come from the Federal Reserve. Most of the banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon, stated that they had no intention of letting anyone know where the money was going. 

The big bankers used some of the bailout, we do know, to buy up smaller banks and prop up banks overseas. CEOs and other top banking executives are spending bailout funds on fabulous bonuses and lavish corporate spa retreats. Meanwhile, big bailout beneficiaries like Citigroup and Bank of America laid off tens of thousands of employees, inviting the question: why were they given all that money in the first place? 

While hundreds of billions were being doled out to the very people who had caused the catastrophe, the housing market continued to wilt, credit remained paralyzed, unemployment worsened, and consumer spending sank to record lows. 

In sum, free-market corporate capitalism is by its nature a disaster waiting to happen. Its essence is the transformation of living nature into mountains of commodities and commodities into heaps of dead capital. When left entirely to its own devices, capitalism foists its diseconomies and toxicity upon the general public and upon the natural environment—and eventually begins to devour itself. 

The immense inequality in economic power that exists in our capitalist society translates into a formidable inequality of political power, which makes it all the more difficult to impose democratic regulations. 

If the paladins of Corporate America want to know what really threatens “our way of life,” it is their way of life, their boundless way of pilfering their own system, destroying the very foundation on which they stand, the very community on which they so lavishly feed. 

Michael Parenti’s recent books include: Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader (City Lights); Democracy for the Few, (Wadsworth); and God and His Demons (forthcoming). For further information, see www.michaelparenti.org. 

Through the thick, almost impermeable blanket of censorship imposed by the Israeli army, a few haunting images emerge from Gaza. As a citizen of Israel I have become used to these images; hordes of young men frantically running the desolated streets carrying the limp bodies of their compatriots, mothers bellowing in anguish over the loss of their beloveds; the ominous sirens, resonating through hollow neighborhoods and the silence that ensues. The rubble, garbage, and piles of shredded metal, crumbled concrete and filth that blend into the scenery as if part of a chaotic design; but above all, the images of pain, that piercing gaze of injustice and loss. 

I have grown accustomed to these images as inevitable, if not warranted outcomes of war. Through my carefully regimented prism of information, I observed the horrors inflicted onto my neighbors and remained indifferent. For years, through childhood and military service, I questioned nothing—not the actions of my government nor the moral aptitude of my leaders. I accepted all measures as security measures, necessary and pragmatic, as I looked on my brothers with the eyes of a predator—strategic and cunning. 

I was guilty then, as many of my peers are today, of chronic, and almost sickening, apathy. With my sense of compassion rendered naïve, and my moral compass pointing in every direction but toward its user, I slowly matured. Like my father before me and his father before him, I delved into the accepted story, blissfully embracing our nation, our land, our morals and responsibilities. With little doubt and ever less resistance I was empowered to follow.  

Had I stayed on this course I would have emerged a patriot, fighting for land and country, praising valor and the glory of war. It seems the path towards patriotism is heavy with clichés and false adages and has managed to bind thinkers much greater than me. With great compassion I look back at those I left behind and dream of illumination; with great sorrow I look inside myself and see much of their view still embedded within.  

With mixed emotions I recall the path I have taken—a journey that has complicated the manner in which I view myself. Whether through guidance or chance, I stumbled across a slight hub of skepticism somewhere along the way, which, in a roundabout manner, led me halfway around the globe. Like many lost souls in this world, it took me about a decade, five thousand miles of ocean, numerous friends lost, and many nights sleep surrendered to contemplation to separate self from country; ethos from popular truisms; as the inner voice, the one left to mature independently, slowly came forth. 

Although my nebulous past is still looming, I now see myself with surprising clarity and am both pleased and tormented by the findings. I am a proud Jewish, Israeli man; a thinker, a lover, a son and a brother, I carry both pride and guilt before me and dare not render them inconsequential for all that I am stems from my past. All that is good in my people and their ideologies still lay within me. A wisdom and vision engraved in my heart. Yet with the potentially good comes inherit conflict. I find it increasingly difficult to defend the actions of my country, to fend off those who would name us inhumane, barbaric, and obtuse. Israel lives within me, and criticism towards the state is internalized with the force of a nation desperate for reconciliation. With progress made and milestones reached I develop as a man, and simultaneously, am filled with notions of hypocrisy and demur. I view the nonchalance in which the fates of our brothers are determined and shutter with disbelief. How can a people proclaimed chosen inflict suffering they spent the past half-century passionately condemning? In an ironic and almost unbelievable twist the horrors of the Holocaust have both acted as a national reminder of our scared past, and as the prime, underlining rationalization concerning the implementation of similar injustices. I am disappointed by how far we have steered from our path and bewildered by the methods we chose to partake. The question must be posed: have we become our oppressors?  

In light of recent events and increasing global criticism regarding Israel's invasion of Gaza, I am, somewhat paradoxically propelled to defend my country. I cannot do this on a political level, nor can I advocate the ethical validity behind the killing of innocent people. As I sit here removed, I have become aware that my arsenal of defense has been depleted and overused; no cliché, axiom, or witty argument will blind the world of apparent injustice and wrongdoing.  

Thus, I am left with a plea: understand us! Understand our history and know that we have been raised in the shadow of war and militarism; understand that the entire educational system in Israel is geared towards military service, perpetuating valor, honorable death, sacrifice and war folklore in the most subtle, yet effective manner. Understand that we all have relatives who died in combat; understand that we all have witnessed more funerals than weddings. From early on we are taught that the land is holly and therefore worth defending. We are taught about the opposition as an evil, primal front; devils from the East out to destroy us. We laugh about our moral superiority and innate righteousness as we define ourselves through the ones we despise. Our people prescribe to overused propaganda with limitless zeal and empathy; such is the mindset of a soldier. Understand that our Generals, Politicians, Rabbis and even Pacifists have all, at one point, worn a uniform. Understand that with the militarization of a people comes the abolition of true deliberation for in a strategic environment consequences are always overshadowed by procedure and objectives. Finally, understand that although we are wary of war what truly frightens us is the prospect of peace for in a world devoid of conflict we are without identity.  

And now, as the tanks retreat from the streets of Gaza I sit here once again removed, haunted by other images to which I also have grown accustomed. I view Israel’s finest making their way back from combat, wrapped in Blue and White, Star of David close to their hearts, marching with pride singing victoriously, exuding confidence achieved only through blindness, unaware of the catastrophe left in their wake. I see these images with overwhelming ambivalence; every caption deepening a rift in my heart established long ago, every pose enhancing my own disappointment. 

With hollow dreams I face my people knowing we now speak in different tongues; knowing my words might be reduced to the rants of a leftist fanatic. Yet there are thousands like me; scattered, in exile living this conflict from afar, with intensity and passion undiminished. Sustained by our ideals and encumbered by our desertion, the streets of Gaza lay before us every day, the rolling of the tanks tremble in our ears, the cannons shatter our concentrations, and the cries distort reality. Like the people of Israel and Palestine, our identity is rooted in war and loss. My heart goes out to my countrymen abroad and to all living out altercations geographically distant—I know the burden you endure. 

Finally, the burden I speak of is not easily managed, yet it is also not entirely negative. It is the burden of kings and true thinkers, the burden of those who dare to believe. It is the burden of those who are not afraid to stain a predetermined story, it is a burden entangled with vision and hope. As mirrors show our ambivalent selves do not deny your reflection; our voice is valuable for it reflects a truth not easily found. We carry the burden and pride of our nation comprehensively and with honor, let us not disrespect ourselves by remaining silent, for perhaps through the same guidance or chance that dislodged us we might now contribute; let us speak out and share with the world all we know. Let us never be quiet again! 

Avi Criden is an El Cerrito resident. 

Though I missed the thrill of being there, I felt privileged to experience the historic 44th inauguration (I wish we could get rid of that monarchial word) through the lens of various media cameras. The Channel 4 talking heads even had a surprisingly impassioned “pre-show” discussion about the significance of a black presidency and articulately placed the event upon Dr. King’s shoulders and upon the shoulders of the Civil Rights Movement activists who shed their blood, sweat and tears for this day. Protests and marches were discussed in an almost surreal heroic and positive light. I had the feeling that dissent might even become fashionable for the mainstream, in which case I could give it up and move on to other things. 

I keep reading President Obama’s speech. His repeated use of the term “we” rather than “I” often includes people beyond our borders. This refreshing recognition that the United States is part of an interdependent, international community, not everybody’s boss, is in itself a move forward. Like Elizabeth Alexander’s Praise Song for the Day—which I loved—the speech is a poem, a gripping, narrative snake poem inspired by swift, light strokes of personal color, sound and slivers of history slithering back and forth between we-rose-up-then stories of the past and we-can-rise-up-again calls, while stitching and suturing our hopes to our dreams with repetitive calls for patience, courage and service. The speech offers almost no specific plans, but being delivered by the first black president, the spell of “all good is actually possible” manages somehow to prevail. Rev. Lowery’s ancient, whimsical and wise benediction of love and forgiveness crowned a rare and wonderful experience which happened to be only incidentally framed by a pompous Washington, D.C. event. 

The stories from the mall were especially moving. Gwen Ifill and others interviewed people who had been crying all day, people—elders, and boomers—who were finally able to shed the bitterness, distrust and pain of having been lifelong victims of deep down racism. A mother talked about how her child could do anything now. Children talked about how they could do anything now. Whatever the future may bring, the relief and joy that came from this symbolic moment of breaking free from our collective black pain and white guilt and releasing it into the universe (even from my warm, comfortable couch), feels like the parameters of possibilities for everybody everywhere have expanded. 

I’m sure for the lucky people who were there, the experience was hotter and colder and many more times intense than for those of us on the couch. However, they may have missed the camera shot of a distinguished senator blowing her nose between introductions at the Inauguration, Bill and Hillary Clinton fawning all over the elder and younger Bush’s and dramatically shunning Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. They may have missed the sight of Michelle’s brother stifling a yawn before the Inaugural Address and the surprised look on Barack’s face when he glanced down at one point during the parade to see Michelle slip briefly out of her shoes. 

Laura Santina is an Oakland resident. 

As director of the Asylum Project at the East Bay Sanctuary, I see those who want to escape marriage and be free and those who want to be free to marry. We represent women who have fled forced marriage and wife inheritance—both sometimes including female circumcision—and domestic violence. Apart from the lack of love and the slavery aspects of forced marriage and wife inheritance, they can be death sentences in polygamous societies where AIDS is rampant. Domestic violence can be a long, slow death sentence, or a sudden one. We also represent clients who have suffered lifelong and truly horrible persecution on account of their sexual orientation. 

Many of our female clients who have fled forced marriages and domestic violence are religious and probably supported Proposition 8, the amendment to the California Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. Our LGBT clients would like to marry, given the opportunity. 

Although not religious, I work with religious people and for a faith based organization, which perhaps gives me a unique perspective on Proposition 8. The more fundamentalist religious communities argue that it would be an intrusion of the state into religious affairs if same-sex marriages were legalized. And, at least in part, the anti-Prop. 8ers have argued that the proposition is a violation of the separation of church and state. 

That there is a separation of church and state is a comfortable myth we fall back on when we choose not to look at the reality of our society. Although it was never our forefathers’ (our foremothers were not consulted) intention to create a Christian nation, our forefathers, while advancing the principal of separation of church and state, were so blinded by tradition that they did not recognize all the ways that church influenced the affairs of state. Similarly, the Catholic kings failed to eliminate all Moorish influence from Spanish culture because they no longer recognized all that was Moorish. Only recently has our society achieved enough tolerance to include mosques and temples under the heading of church in the church and state equation. 

Islamic clerics (often simply pious Muslims), rabbis, preachers and priests, all undoubtedly religious, exercise the right to marry couples in religious ceremonies, and these marriages bring state benefits to the couples in the form of tax relief, property rights, child custody rights, visitation rights and inheritance benefits. In other words, this religious rite yields state benefits: undeniably an intrusion of religion into the civil arena. 

Buddhists, perhaps more concerned with spirituality than sexuality, generally believe that marriage is not a religious act, although monks can perform the ceremony. 

Pious Muslims, rabbis, preachers and priests perform many religious rites that are not recognized by the state and bring no civil benefits: naming ceremonies, coming of age rituals, and last rites (going out of age rituals). And religious actors, under civil law, cannot undo acts recognized by the state such as marriages, not even the marriages they performed. Divorce is solely a civil or state action, as is death, and religious actors cannot sign death certificates. Only state actors have that authority. 

Perhaps the solution to the battle over Proposition 8 is to truly separate church and state. Religious actors should be able to marry couples that meet their religious criteria, and those marriages should bring religious benefits but not state benefits. The state should marry couples that meet its criteria and those marriages should bring state benefits but not religious benefits. Those who want both religious and state benefits could have civil and religious ceremonies. If a religious person does not meet the qualifications to be married in his or her religion, she or he should consider changing his or her religion, in both senses of the phrase. 

Once we have truly separated church and state, all that’s left to fight over is a semantic question: marriage versus civil union. The church side wants intellectual property rights on the word marriage and the state side aren’t completely satisfied with the term civil union. This is a reflection of modern society in which we religiously believe that words can be owned. A compromise would be the use of a more complete description: “religious marriage” or “religious union,” and “civil marriage” or “civil union.” That way everybody gets to use the words they want, except those of us who are neither married nor unionized. 

Oakland resident Michael Smith is the director of the East Bay Sanctuary’s Asylum Project. 

California’s fiscal state frustrates anyone who pays attention. The discontent comes from two angles—either someone is fed up that Republicans insist on not raising taxes, arguing that paying taxes is an important duty of all citizens, or someone is upset that California cannot live within its means as it continues to spend more and more and then cries for help when revenues deviate from expectations.  

Given the tremendous bickering among smart people in Sacramento, I can only assume it must be extremely difficult to cut budgets. The Republicans standing in the way of increased taxes have a valid point—every time California gets into this situation, the solution has been “raise taxes.” This cannot go on forever. On the other side, government provides many public goods, and someone is always asking for more. This increase in scope also cannot go on forever. However, focusing on these differences masks the underlying problem: Politicians never act like we hope they will, and to understand why, we must look at the root of the problem. 

Small details, although blamed, are not the root of the fiscal problem. Spending mandates from voter initiatives aim to fix legislators’ behavior, but Californians are just as frustrated with them as ever. Nor do I consider the inherent variability in the wealthy’s income taxes the problem, where in good times, tax revenues increase sharply but in slower times, they plummet. I also do not believe voter incompetence to be the issue, where some suggest that voters always want more without wanting to pay (do these people really exist?).  

Furthermore, it is too easy to make blanket statements like “governments are inept.” But year after year, we elect smart people and then ridicule them every time. Lest we forget, this has been happening in various forms for many years. In 1872, the Stockton Daily Independent said the following: 

When the Legislature convenes it is usually pronounced a superior body of men, and when it adjourns it is most generally denounced as excelling all of its predecessors in incompetency and corruption. It is to be presumed that the Legislature just adjourned will not be an exception. 

Putting our frustration in historical context, it is easy to further dismiss common scapegoats—the root of the problem is not Prop. 13, prison unions, Three Strikes laws, spending mandates, or a lack of competitive districts. 

The root of the problem lies with the incentives politicians face. Primarily, it is because they are spending someone else’s money and not nearly as careful with it as they would be with their own. This is true of everyone—look at any business traveler dining out on the company’s dime and compare that check to the check when they eat at restaurants and pay themselves. But with politicians, this wastefulness is exacerbated because they spend someone else’s money in hopes of fixing someone else’s problem. How could we possibly expect them to perform efficiently when they lack personal information about the problem as well as the incentives to spend money effectively?  

It is pretty clear that this centuries old problem is inherent in our system—electing new people will not change it. All is not hopeless, however. If we reduce the level of spending, politicians have less to work with, and therefore less to mess up with. Of course this is not easy—unions and other special interests have behaved like parasites, sucking up the waste from politicians’ spending to a point where they are utterly dependent upon government. The whole system is bloated, and simply (painfully) must be cut. To reduce spending, I refer to the late Milton Friedman who said the following: 

I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible. The reason I am is because I believe the big problem is not taxes, the big problem is spending…The question is, “How do you hold down government spending?” The only effective way I think to hold it down, is to hold down the amount of income the government has. The way to do that is to cut taxes. 

So, instead of continuing along with our failed legislative system, why not try something that has the chance of alleviating our frustration? Cut, cut, cut—everything—and start anew. Yes it’s painful and difficult in the short run, but the alternative status quo is painful all the time.  

Damian Bickett studies agricultural and resources economy at UC Berkeley.

With the coming of the new Obama administration, much has been said about how much change and hope he will bring to this country. Indeed, Barack Obama did accomplish quite a creditable victory over his Republican opponent. Many thousands of starry-eyed individuals enthusiastically cast their votes for the Democratic candidate, with the hope of electing a government which would be more responsive to people’s needs. While it is quite a historic occasion to have the first black man elected to this country’s highest office, my concern is what he actually intends to do once he is there. Careful examination of Obama’s rise to power, his past voting record, and those who have supported and advised him, sadly indicate that the majority of the American public has fallen for a grand deception. 

Once his nomination was ensured, Obama suddenly shifted his positions rightward. The breaking of his pledge to vote against the FISA bill on telecommunications surveillance, as well as his suddenly not accepting public financing for his campaign, show Barack Obama to be the calculating opportunist that he really is. Indeed, during the presidential debates, almost half of Obama’s answers were: “I agree with Sen. McCain.” Following his election, Obama quickly named the members of his cabinet. His first choice was Congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, who is a staunch supporter of the Iraq war, Wall Street, and especially the Israel lobby. Hillary Clinton, who publically proclaimed that Iran should be obliterated, was chosen as secretary of state. He also kept on Bush’s Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and has made a point of putting former Clinton administration officials in most of the major cabinet positions. It should be noted that foreign policy hawks Zbignew Brzezinski and Madeline Albright closely advised Obama during his campaign. And it’s especially interesting that former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, whose policies led to the present housing bubble, has been a prominent advisor on economic policy. 

So why has Obama set forth on this path of betrayal? The answer lies in events that occurred 25 years ago. For those of us who are old enough to remember the 1984 presidential campaign, there was at the time a growing rebellion from within the ranks of the Democratic Party. Enraged at the Reagan administration, many Democratic voters wanted a more populist and grass roots alternative to the run of the mill party candidates. Insurgent candidates like Sen. Gary Hart, and especially Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition, challenged the Democratic status quo. This development concerned the party bosses so much that the following year saw the creation of a group known as the Democratic Leadership Council. The stated purpose of the DLC was to move the Democrats toward the political “center,” in order to make them more electable. But the real and hidden purpose was to stifle populist movements from within the party itself, in other words, to keep the Democrats in line and under control of powerful moneyed interests. The founding members of this body consisted of a coalition of a group of Wall Street supporters, such as Senator Joseph Lieberman, and a number of Southern Democrats, among them then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. The DLC has been called the Trojan horse from within the Democratic Party. They receive massive amounts of corporate funding, and select their candidates using the very same processes as the Obama transition team. In fact, the vast majority of Obama’s cabinet choices are current or former DLC members. 

The noted scholar and political commentator Noam Chomsky once spoke of the difference between the conservative Republican and the liberal Democrat. The conservative will look one straight in the eye and say: “Thus far and no further and we mean it.” Whereas the liberal will smile and say: “Thus far and no further, and look at all the freedom you have.” No real difference here. And when all is said and done, Obama is just as much in the thrall of the same moneyed interests as Bush and those who have preceded him. In other words, he will be merely an office minder. While there will indeed be a few token policy changes under his administration, Obama will still be dancing to Wall Street’s tune. It’s the same play with the same script, but with a different cast of actors. 

But what is most outrageous is Obama’s continuing silence during the present slaughter in Gaza, which ironically began shortly after his electoral victory. The issue of Palestinian rights is one that he avoids and skips around. It is indeed the real “third rail” for him or any other American office holder. And Obama’s recent noncommittal statement on the matter proves beyond a shadow of any doubt that he is being kept on a leash, and also the identity of his masters. It’s not difficult to ascertain this when one examines who Obama’s closest advisors are—all staunch supporters of the Israel lobby. On a personal note, I find his apparent indifference to the suffering of an Arab population under siege to be just as outrageous as Bush’s neglect of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. And while dozens of children were blown to pieces in the streets of Gaza City, and worshipers were killed at a mosque, President Elect Barack Obama played a pleasant game of golf in Hawaii. 

In all frankness, the man ought to be ashamed of himself. 

John F. Davies is a Berkeley resident. 

He’s gone. George Bush has left the White House; it’s safe to come out of hiding. But, before progressives take a deep breath and begin attacking Barack Obama for not pursuing our pet issues vigorously enough, let’s stop and applaud those of us who, for the last four plus years, have fought the good fight against Bush’s fascism: the heroes of the resistance. 

Political Heroes: In the dark days after Bush defeated Kerry, it was Nancy Pelosi who rallied Democrats. First she organized opposition to Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security. Then, like the Eveready bunny, she trudged around the country raising money and generating enthusiasm for Democratic House candidates. While Bush’s popularity plummeted after Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, it was the Congressional Democrats return to power in 2006 that finished him politically. 

Another political hero was Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who convinced Dems to compete in every state. At the time, this defied the conventional political wisdom, but it tilled the soil for the Obama presidential campaign, which provided the boots on the ground required to win in traditional Republican strongholds like Indiana and North Carolina. And kudos for Chuck Schumer who guided the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the past two elections; as a result, the DSCC fielded outstanding progressive winning candidates like Sherrod Brown, Amy Klobuchar, and Mark Udall. 

The BB “Croix de Resistance” goes to Representative Barbara Lee, who led the way on every important issue—beginning with her solo opposition to give Bush carte blanche power to invade Afghanistan—and who was the first major black politician to endorse Barack Obama. 

Movement Heroes: In the darkest days of the Bush administration, MoveOn.Org was always there inspiring progressives to fight back against the latest conservative outrage. They built a virtual community of activists who otherwise might have felt alone and, in the process, built a powerful populist lobby. Kudos to Joan, Wes, Eli, and all the other members of the MoveOn staff, who were an inspiration to million of Americans. 

Media Heroes: Although Countdown with Keith Olbermann started in 2003, it didn’t hit it’s stride until August of 2006 when Olbermann aired the first of his special comments and progressives found a voice rivaling the arch-conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. MSNBC, Olbermann’s cable home, added other liberal voices; the latest being Rachel Maddow, who shows signs of becoming the first progressive media star. 

As the print media died, the blogosphere grew. First came The Daily Kos and then a host of liberal web sites, most notably the Huffington Post. Conservatives may claim the domain of talk radio, but progressives own the Internet and this gave a voice to millions and fueled Obama’s campaign. 

There are now so many liberal columnists that it’s foolhardy to focus on one, but only Paul Krugman has won the Nobel Prize—and now the BB “Croix de Resistance.” Krugman consistently cut through Bush administration obfuscation and dissected our financial system, in particular, and American society, in general. His lucidity would be valuable in any era, but was particularly important in the darkest days of the Bush reign. 

Activist Heroes: While most Americans hunkered down, many progressive issue groups stolidly kept doing their thing, fighting Bush policies at the local level. While it’s impossible to name every group that kept fighting the good fight, here are a representative few: 

The ACLU and other progressive legal groups defended human rights, in general, and the Bill of Rights, in particular. After 9/11, many Americans ignored wiretapping and the plight of those who were imprisoned at Guantanamo and black holes around the world, but civil rights attorneys kept after the Bush administration to grant all prisoners due process. As a result, public opinion changed and America now seems prepared to rejoin the civilized world. 

The Bush era was guided by the maxim, “Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy,” and by the contention that global climate change was unproven. The tide turned when Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth became a media phenomenon. 

For eight hard years, environmentalists slugged it out with Bush-inspired profiteers. Groups like the Sierra Club and the National Resources Defense Council—to name only two—stopped construction of new coal-fired and nuclear plants. In the process they shifted public opinion; Americans embraced conservation and alternative energy. 

Everyday Heroes: Finally, the election of Barack Obama would not have been possible without the involvement of millions of people—many of whom are reading this column. You contributed your time and money and chose hope over fear. This is your moment. Revel in it. 

Bob Burnett is a Berkeley activist. He can be reached at bobburnett@comcast.net.

In the immediate aftermath of the public release of the first cell phone video of the New Year’s Day Oscar Grant shooting death, we were cautioned by “police experts” that conclusions should not be immediately drawn from the videotaped scene of the horrific event because the video lacked context. 

“Strictly on the basis of this video, it is impossible to determine whether the shooting was justified, because the officer who fired the shot might have seen some imminent threat to his or others’ lives that the camera does not detect at that distance, angle and resolution,” the Oakland Tribune quoted University of Wisconsin law professor Michael Scott (a former police officer) as saying in a Jan. 5 article. And in the same article, former law enforcement and police trainer Curtis Cope said, “There are so many things we don’t know [from the video alone]. We certainly don’t know the reason why they decided to put him prone on the ground. We don’t know what reactions were taking place, what orders were being given and whether or not he is then complying or not complying ... You need to look at every possible angle of it. Those angles all take time.”  

These statements appeared—the operative word here is “appeared”—designed to provide some sort of excusable reason why BART police officer Johannes Mehserle pulled out his pistol and shot the unarmed Mr. Grant in the back while Mr. Grant was lying subdued on the BART platform. Still, there was considerable truth to the assertion that the original Grant shooting videos—showing little more than the shooting itself—failed to answer the question of how and why Mr. Mehserle came to commit such an act. This was especially true because, prior to the shooting, neither Mr. Grant nor Mr. Mehserle exhibited any of the type of aggression one would expect to see in such a situation. And so, even while condemning Mr. Mehrserle, many observers were left wondering what might have induced or motivated him to pull his gun and then the trigger and propel a bullet into a young man’s back. 

But with television station KTVU’s release of a “second” video this week, we have been provided insight into the events immediately preceding Mr. Grant’s death. 

This “second” video (there have actually been several released videos from that night, but this appears to be the first one publicly released that reveals what happened before Mr. Grant was on the ground) shows that it was a second BART officer—identified by KTVU as Tony Pirone—who appears to have precipitated the events that led up to the shooting, walking aggressively across the Fruitvale BART platform to confront Mr. Grant and then punch him in the side of his head. Prior to Mr. Pirone’s appearance, Mr. Grant and two Latino companions were standing up against the platform wall and being detained by a female BART police officer, with no apparent problems. 

KTVU—which did an excellent job of putting the video in context—then showed the familiar video of the Grant shooting, identifying Prione as the officer with his knee on Mr. Grant’s head or neck as Mr. Grant lay on the ground. Watching the shooting video in this new context, it now appears that Mr. Pirone was speaking to Mr. Mehrserle immediately prior to Mr. Meherserle’s pulling out his weapon and shooting Mr. Grant. What Mr. Pirone may have said cannot be heard on the video. 

Over the past couple of weeks, some local individuals and organizations—oddly enough—have tried to put the focus of the Grant shooting protests on the City of Oakland, even though Oakland has no responsibility over BART police officers or any of the events leading up to or immediately following Mr. Grant’s New Year’s Day shooting death. But the release of the new cell phone video puts the focus of attention back where it belongs, on both BART and the office of the Alameda County District Attorney. 

In a Jan. 26 article, the Tribune reports that “BART officials [have] responded [to the release of the new video] by announcing a new investigation,” presumably into the actions of Mr. Pirone. But the question is, why did BART not include the actions of all of the BART police on the Fruitvale platform that night as part of its original investigation? That, after all, has been one of the demands made by the various organizations staging the protests in the wake of the Grant shooting, and it seems a reasonable and prudent request. Included in that investigation should have been details of the reports of the alleged fight that BART officials said caused them to stop the BART train at the Fruitvale Station that night, as well as how BART police determined which individuals to take off the stopped train and out onto the platform. Were these individuals supposedly still fighting on the train when it was boarded by BART police, were they pointed out as the fight perpetrators by other passengers, or did police just make assumptions on which individuals on the train may have been a part of the fight? All of these questions should have been—and continue to be—important in understanding and judging the events that led to Mr. Grant’s death. 

For their part, at least some part officials are now implying surprise that any other officers besides Mr. Mehrserle were culpable in the events leading up to the death of Mr. Grant, with the Tribune reporting in its Jan. 26 article that “at no time during [the] initial investigation [into the Grant shooting] did any witnesses or officers raise a complaint about any officer other than Mehserle using unreasonable force, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.” 

If that was true, then the “initial” investigation was slipshod and shoddy. 

In the same Jan. 5 article that reported the release of the first shooting video, the Tribune quoted a witness to the shooting who indicated the involvement of other officers, writing that “Mario Pangelina Jr., whose sister had a 4-year-old daughter with Grant, said he was on the same train as Grant that night, but on a different car. He said he saw Grant’s interactions with police immediately before the shooting. ‘First, an officer grabbed Oscar by the neck and pushed him against the wall,’ Pangelina said. ‘Oscar didn’t fight him, but he didn’t go down either. He was like, “What did I do?” Then another officer came up with his Taser and held it right in his face. Oscar said, “Please don’t shoot me, please don’t Taser me, I have a daughter,” over and over again, real fast, and he sat down.’” 

In hindsight, Mr. Pangelina’s description of the officer “grabb[ing] Oscar by the neck and push[ing] him against the wall” may have actually been Mr. Pirone punching Mr. Grant in the side of the head, which Mr. Pangelina could not clearly see because he may not have been in a BART car as close to the scene as some of the cellphone video operators. But it is clear from BART spokesman Johnson’s statement that BART investigators either failed to read witness statements in early newspaper accounts of the Grant shooting—something any competent and serious investigator would do—or else decided to ignore them. 

But even as the release of the new cellphone video leads to the possibility that one of the central demands of the loose collection of organizations protesting Mr. Grant’s death—that all of the BART police officers on the Fruitvale platform that night be publicly identified and their actions investigated—serious disagreements are emerging that may fracture the public facade of a cooperative, unified coalition. And, ironically, the issue over which the organizations are fractioning have nothing to do with the demands about the Oscar Grant death or BART itself. Instead, the disagreement is centering over whether to embrace or condemn the two nights of downtown Oakland vandalism that followed two protest demonstrations of the Grant shooting death, as well as what to do about the upcoming trials of the 160 or so individuals arrested those two nights. 

The Oakland-based Coalition Against Police Executions (CAPE) organized the two Wednesday night marches and rallies earlier this month—the last one drawing a crowd estimated at 1,500—and have centered their demands in this case primarily around the arrest and conviction of Mr. Mehserle, the identification of the other BART officers on the platform the night of Mr. Grant’s death, and various reforms to the BART police force. CAPE officials, as well as many union and merchant representatives and public officials who supported the two marches and the CAPE demands, have condemned the window smashing and car burnings that followed the two CAPE marches and rallies. 

But an even looser coalition of organizations to the left of CAPE—including the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC), the New Black Panther Party, and the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)—have added another demand to the list: amnesty for all of the persons arrested in downtown Oakland during the two nights of vandalism following the Oscar Grant marches and rallies. These groups are also calling for people to show up at the arraignments and eventual trials of those individuals, which will soon be taking place. Representatives of this group insist on characterizing the downtown violence as a “rebellion” rather than a “riot,” and argue that without the violence, justice in the Oscar Grant case would not have moved forward at all. (I have some thoughts on that, but will have to reserve those for another time.) 

It would seem impossible for CAPE to support the demand for amnesty for the arrested-at least for those who were charged with vandalism-since such a demand would fracture the coalition around CAPE and destroy the unified front it has built for its BART demands. But there is a wider leadership struggle taking place, as well. Many participants in a POCC-organized open forum held last week at West Oakland’s Black Dot Café spent considerable time denouncing CAPE, charging that the organization does not represent “the people” and ridiculing the two Oscar Grant marches as “parades” in which people sang “kumbaya.” Some speakers said that groups were being recruited to come to Oakland in the coming weeks to begin organizing and action efforts, and hope that the city will reprise its ’60s-’70s role as a national radical battleground. 

How all of this will affect any future action surrounding the Oscar Grant death and BART, of course, remains to be seen. 

The parrot reports keep coming in. (For anyone who got here late, I had asked readers for any information on the red-and-green parrots, conures, or parakeets that frequent northwest Berkeley. Based on the response, the flock consists of four mitred parakeets, AKA mitred conures, and they’re seen most often in the vicinity of James Kenney Park. Most of the sightings have been fairly recent, although Steve Halflich has been observing them for 19 years.) 

Here’s an origin story, from M. Chapelle: “Years ago I lived on University Avenue near Martin Luther King Jr. Way. This was ‘85 to ‘89. One day I heard a large crowd of people outside and went to see them all standing around a tree, looking up at four noisy parrots. I mentioned this to a friend and long-time Berkeley resident. He told me they were known locally as the ‘gang of four’ and that they had escaped from the Lucky Dog Pet Shop on San Pablo Avenue near University.” 

So maybe there never were all that many. Even a small number of parrots can seem like a crowd. But Ruth Bird, on Curtis near Cedar, writes: “There have been four for about two or three years. Before that, there were eight.” What’s clear is that the Berkeley parrots, unlike the red-masked parakeets in San Francisco, haven’t been reproducing lately, if at all. Male and female mitred parakeets are identical in size and plumage, so it’s entirely possible that the survivors are all of the same sex-or they may simply be too old. (Closely related parrot species have lived into their early 30s.) 

The Lucky Dog, where the cult science fiction writer Philip K. Dick used to buy frozen horsemeat for personal use, has changed hands since then, and I doubt that the current owners would know anything about long-ago escapes. (As you may remember from the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie, San Franciscans have a variety of stories about how that flock came to be, including several variants of the escape from the pet store.) 

I reported last week that the parrots have been visiting a bird feeder on Tevlin Street near Gilman. Carol Beth identifies another recent feeding site, as well as a roost: “At least five years ago, some of the wild parrots moved into the eaves of an apartment house at 1013 and 1011 Delaware Street. They moved out a family of grackles and took over their ‘house.’ I watched all this from our backyard as the back of the apartments border our yard. We’ve seen them there until this winter when I noticed they seemed to be gone. A man in the 1800 block of 9th Street always fed them, but I haven’t seen them at his feeder this winter either…When I checked today, there was no feeder on 9th Street.” 

Beth also recalls the birds roosting in palm trees on Gilman near Talbot which were subsequently cut down. I didn’t think we had grackles in Berkeley, but then I wasn’t aware of the nesting white-tailed kites until recently. My hat is off to any bird that could displace a grackle. 

Phyllis M. (looks like Malondra—this is a handwritten note), who lives on 6th between Channing and Bancroft, has noticed four parrots flying into or over her neighborhood from the north for the last three years. “They have especially shown up in early winter when a big eucalyptus in a neighboring yard is in bloom—they seem to be eating the flowers.” That may be exactly what they’re doing; the San Francisco parrots go after cherry blossoms. I guess it’s possible they’re attracted by insects in the flowers, but that seems unparrotlike—and some parrot species are specialized nectar feeders. Diane Joy has heard that they also eat pyracanthus berries. 

An acerbic comment from Michael Bakeman: “There’s no need for legends and rumors as requested on the back page, that’s what the front page of the Planet is for.” Bakeman reports “a few wild parrots that frequent the palm trees on Tremont Street between Prince and Essex,” most recently heard around New Year’s Day. Alan Tong has also seen them in that area, which appears to be close to the home range of a lone yellow-headed amazon. 

Again, my thanks to everyone who contributed parrot memories or recent sightings. I know this is a lot of space to devote to a non-native species. But the parrots aren’t competing with vulnerable native birds (grackles are far from vulnerable) or threatening valuable resources. There are only four of them; surely they can be spared a few persimmons. And they seem to have given pleasure to a lot of Berkleyans over the years. Enjoy them while you can. 

Berkeley is a city filled with “Custom Homes.” This is a term I hate, but in the absence of something better, there it will have to lay on the page, windless and mundane. To me, the term “custom home” brings to mind brochures filled with hackneyed images of rock jawed builders (plans rolled up under one arm, a pipe smoking in one hand) as they explain procedure and rectitude to their adoring clients. Custom homes are those that are built on site on an individual basis rather than as part of some larger group, tract or prefab model to be shipped out to an awaiting customer in Tuscaloosa. 

Unlike many communities, ours is one in which the majority of the houses had their own set of plans and were built on site with a minimum of premanufacturing involved. There are, however, notable exceptions, such as the marvelous premanufactured “built-ins” that inhabit many of our early 20th century homes. 

For most of us, the idea of something other than individually designed and built homes seems odd and, for some, even repellant. Visions of trailer parks come to mind for some of us and for others, images of the Levittowns of the late 40’s, which, while novel and popular in their time signify uniformity and lack of personal identity. People didn’t turn on, tune in and drop out in Levittown, did they? 

This notion of personal expression through our homes is somewhat recent for we Americans. In the past we were quite happy to ally ourselves with our neighbors in a common sense of architectural expression. I have to admit that I’m very much a part of the culture of the 1960s that ran screaming in the other direction and I myself fled the suburbs just as quickly as I could, seeking a life in which perfect houses were less important than personal ones. Again, this is merely one part of a social psychology that expresses itself in too many other ways to list, but certainly includes the ways we form families, dress ourselves, work and shop. 

Ours is a culture strongly oriented toward individuality. Some, such as Will Wright in Sixguns and Society, would even say a culture of outlaws. We like to think of ourselves as being bold and individual as we stand in line at the Sizzler, and our treatment and purchase of homes is no different. 

Sadly, one of the things that this has precluded, or at least inhibited has been the development of more affordable premanufactured housing. Again, this form tends to smack of a sort of uniformity that Americans don’t care for, but I would argue that we tend to build houses in a relatively uniform manner anyway, and fail (when we stick-build houses) to take advantage of the several ways in which factory premanufacturing can not only save us money, but potentially provide an improved product. 

Premanufacturing or kit-form housing has a long history and begins in this country with those, fleeing England to avoid religious persecution, who took their disassembled houses with them. (and you thought a second carry-on bag was expensive).  

Some historians cite the Gold Rush as the time when the first American kit houses are seen and many recall the Sears kit homes of the early 20th century (circa 1908), of which roughly 100,000 were sold and built. These Sears homes are a good example to study. Sold for a small fraction of the cost of a contemporary “custom” home, they offered quick assembly (with a pretty good 75 page instruction book) and excellent quality (many still stand today). 

Though kit houses fell from popularity in the 20s, the ending of the WWII created a huge need for housing and brought forth plenty of premanufactured contenders. These included modular homes prebuilt in sections and delivered to their sites in manageable chunks, manufactured housing (generally used as a euphemism for mobile, sectionalized housing—Think of single-wide, double-wide and even triple-wides) that would be delivered to a site and bolted together.  

There was even the trés “Forbidden Planet” Futuro from Finish architect Matti Suuronen. The Futuro looks something like a space ship with its squashed spheroidal shape annointed with a rim of ovaloid plastic windows (actually the whole thing is fiberglass reinforced polyester). Only about 100 of these were made so they were more whimsical experiment than a commercially practical offering. 

Not surprisingly, Buckminster Fuller, the geodesic dome guy (and self-promoter extraordinaire), had more than one market entry under his “Dymaxion” brand (which I liken to the various film and audio technologies of the 50’s such as “dynavision” and “megasonic” but what’s in a name). The dymaxion houses included a model designed to hang from a central mast by a series of cables cinched in place to minimize the impact of high winds and earthquakes. While fun and intriguing, this was one more model that did little more than explore the problems involved in modern human habitation. 

Another futuristically named house, the Lustrum was a bit more practical. They actually built over 2,500 of these in late the 1940s in a converted aircraft facility near Columbus, Ohio. Lustron owner, Carl Strandlund, had built prefab gas stations using metal fabricating techniques and applied these methods to single family houses. The buildings featured enameled steel for the various parts (inside and out), eliminating the need for painting and were promoted as being rodent-resistant and rust-proof. Apparent Lustrons still stand in 30 states evincing their viability though the company failed only two years after inception. It is posited by some that a band of competing builders conspired to kill Strandlund’s business in a manner comparable to the demise of Preston Tucker’s eponymous sedan. Owners of Lustrons claim that the enameled metal roofing shingles are still keeping their houses dry today proving that prefab isn’t necessarily low in quality. 

A client of mine last year showed me an add for Details, a California-based builder of what they call Prefab Green homes. Details builds prefab homes using what are called SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), a common method for the manufacture of low cost prefab homes these days. SIPs are premade in the factory to specific sizes using oriented strand board (OSB) panels. These panels are themselves a factory-made product filled with one of several types of polyurethane foam, and utilizing very small chunks of wood (more fully exploiting each tree) that would have been garbage in the past. SIP are quite strong, low in cost and extremely good at retaining heat, making them quite green. In my never humble opinion, the jury is out on how these materials will affect the health of their inhabitants, but these materials seem promising, if mundane. They also seem destined to fail if not protected from moisture adequately, and so, good, basic building wisdom is required. Once again, there is no such thing as a perfect material (and one size never fits all). 

The really cool thing about Details is that they seem to be doing what virtually none of the other premanufacturers that I’ve seen have done. They have designed buildings using modern methods and very old fashioned designs. Somewhere around 1950, the pattern of the mass manufacture of houses took us on some sort of Jetsons track and led us through a series of hyper-modern (or what we considered to be modern) designs that eschewed the many important design features that had created cozy, dry, safe habitation over the last several hundred years. Elements such as eaves and deeply recessed windows, large casings and fat fascia boards. 

While these things speak to us subconsciously of an earlier time, they also serve practical functions that modern houses, having forgotten these lessons, suffer by lacking. Eaves protect walls and windows by shielding against pounding rain and excessive sunshine. Fatter casings, protect junctions more fully and by shear size, resist torque, sun and fungal decay. The same is true for the other large trims we find on older homes. 

Modernity is too often demarked by its nakedness. And while I enjoy the notion of deconstruction and of paring the object down to its essentials, I believe that we have failed to notice the value of what we were removing (don’t they say all the vitamins are in the peel). 

Christopher Alexander, whose book A Pattern Language, I have frequently mentioned in this space, speaks a large volume to this subject with his many Patterns such as “Thick Walls.” While Mr. Alexander might take offense at the idea of a foam and OSB house made by computer driven saws and routers (this is part of how these cheaper prefab houses are cut and shaped) being designed in accordance with his principles, I see this as the middle way and the answer to the question of how we proceed forward into what is inevitably a future populated by such strange creatures as SIPs and PreFabGreen homes. 

I’m quite sure that Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) would have been wildly offended (even more than Mr. Alexander) by the notion of SIPs, and in good “Craftsman” fashion, would have railed against the notion of premanufacturing houses. I suspect he would have found a Details home to be relatively attractive, if not fully aesthetically soulful. He might even have agreed that the fact that such a thing can be more readily presented to the lower classes by virtue of its cost, which would help to justify the offenses of it’s manufacture. Who can say? What I can say is that I believe that kit and premanufactured homes have a place in our economy and our world; that everyone cannot afford a “custom-built” home but does deserve an attractive, safe place to call home.  

My wish is that we continue to stir the pot and to mix new technologies (and test them hard) with designs that provide rich, pleasing spaces to their occupants and that we apply these forms to not just single family dwellings (which I believe are the dinosaurs of architecture) but to the varied multi-family or multi-person dwellings that will eventually overtake our built environment. 

Maybe one of you will be the first to live in a Details-like co-housing community, planned in a community meeting, carved by a computer in a factory, shipped to the site on a truck and popped together like leggos by your grandchildren. Far fetched? I don’t think Buckminster Fuller would have said so, nor Matti Suuronen, nor Carl Strandlund. 

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

Copyright 2009 Matt Cantor

THURSDAY, JAN. 29 

FILM 

Dziga Vertov “The Man with a Movie Camera” with a lecture by Jean-Pierre Gorin at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Philip Kan Gotanda “Yohen” A bilingual Japanese-English reading of excerpts from his play, followed by discussion at 4 p.m. in the Durham Studio Theater, UC campus. Free, but reservations recommended. tdps.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kaki King at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Jim Malcolm at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Plum Crazy, Turbine at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Joe Reilly at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Sacred Profanities at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Vanessa Lowe and Val Esway at 7:30 p.m. at 33 Revolutions, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 898-1836. 

Kim Nalley at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, JAN. 30 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Exit the King” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Feb. 21. Tickets are $12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Art” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Feb. 7. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Betrayed” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., at 2081 Addison St. to March 1. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. auroratheatre.org 

Masquers Playhouse “Absent Friends” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, and runs through Feb. 28. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Poor Players “Leave of Absence” at 8 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 2 and 8 p.m. at Berkeley CIty Club, through Sun. Feb. 1. Tickets are $20. 415-664-4305. www.poorplayers.org 

Shotgun Players “Macbeth” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Feb. 1. Tickets are $18-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

Edgardo Cozarinsky “One Man’s War” with a lecture by Jean-Pierre Gorin at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bay Area Classical Harmonies “The California Honeydrops” at 7:30 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$18. 868-0695. www.bayareabach.org 

Bobi Cespedes at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Pascal Rioult Dance Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$48. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

Falso Baiano and special guests at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Darryl Henriques at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Full Time Beret, Carmen Gutierrrez at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Tempest, Pandemonaeon at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $12. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

All Ones, jam band, at 8 p.m. at 33 Revolutions, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 898-1836. 

Pansy Division, Kepi the Band, Secretions, Boats at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

Guns for San Sebastian at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Hip Bones at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Bobby Hutcherson with special guest Anthony Wilson at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 31 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Joe Reilly, nature songs, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Pippi Longstocking” Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., through Feb. 9. Tickets are $14-$18. 296-4433. activeartstheatre.org 

Blake Maxam “The Wizard of Ahhhs” magic show, Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

THEATER 

“Love Can Build a Bridge” a drama by Kevin Killian and Karla Milosevich at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

EXHIBITIONS 

Kala Open Studio with Artists in Residence from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. 

FILM 

“Letter to Jane: An Investigation of a Still” with a lecture by Jean-Pierre Gorin at 6 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kitty Burns Florey introduces “Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Penmanship” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Youssoupha Sidibe, Senegalese Kora master, at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $11. 841-2082.  

Pellejo Seco at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$13. 849-2568.  

Bayside Jazz with Dan Hicks at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ.  

Baba Ken & the West African Highlife Band at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. African dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Evelie Posch & Friends at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Thump at 9 p.m. at 33 Revolutions, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 898-1836. 

David Jacob-Strain at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

The VNote Ensemble at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

The P-PL at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Mark Lemaire, folk rock, at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7-$10. 558-0881. 

Hunx and his Punx, Thorns of Life, Revolts at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, FEB. 1 

CHILDREN 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Pippi Longstocking” at 2 and 4:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., through Feb. 9. Tickets are $14-$18. 296-4433. activeartstheatre.org 

Colibri at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“L.A. Paint” Tour of the exhibition at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sarah Fran Wisby author of “Viva Loss” and Roxane Beth Johnson, author of “Jubilee” read from their respective books of prose poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Bee Eaters at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Pat Parker Allstar Memorial Tribute at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Intronaut, Bastard Noise, Thousandswilldie at 4 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

Teresa Tudury & Eric Swinderman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Community Roots, hip hop, funk, roots at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9-$15. 525-5054.  

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

Bobby Hutcherson with special guest Anthony Wilson at 2 and 7 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

MONDAY, FEB. 2 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre Company “The First Grade” by Joel Drake Johnson at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. Part of the Global Age Project new works initiative. Free. 843-4822.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Etel Adnan and Kathleen Fraser read thier poetry at at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Reese Erlich reads from “Dateline Havana: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Future of Cuba” at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Beth Lisick reads from “Helping Me Help Myself: One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Zydeco Flames 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.  

Marco Benevento Trio with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4 

FILM 

Film 50: History of Cinema “I Was Born, But ...” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Connie Kim, contemporary piano, at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Free. 642-4864.  

“Glory of Venice” Organ music of Andrea Gabrieli at 12:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Free, donations welcome. 525-1716. 

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

Ellis Island, klezmer, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. www.lebateauivre.net 

The Helladelics, Agapi Mou, Balkan, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11. 525-5054.  

Rumbache, salsa, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down LowCost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

El Cerrito & Portola High Jazz Bands at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, FEB. 5 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Beth Lisick on “Helping Me Help Myself” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Greatful Dead Night at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Chuck Brodsky at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Kelly Park & Friends at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

The Tony Mayfield Experience at 6 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082  

Sheppard’s Krook at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Ledisi at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200.  

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Exit the King” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Feb. 21. Tickets are $12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Art” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Feb. 7. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Betrayed” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., at 2081 Addison St. to March 1. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep “In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)” at 2015 Addison St., through March 15. Tickets are $33-$71. 647-2949. berkeleyrep.org 

Black Repertory Group “Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” at 3201 Adeline St., through Feb. 22. Tickets are $15-$44. 652-2120. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Nine (The Musical)” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through March 28. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Impact Theatre “A Midsummers Night’s Dream” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through March 14. Tickets are $10-$17. impacttheatre.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Absent Friends” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, and runs through Feb. 28. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Bond of Perpetuity: Oakland and the Lincoln Legacy” An exhibition commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in the Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library, 125 14th St. 238-3222. 

“Collections from Within” Drawings, paintings and mixed media by Chela Fielding and “Evidence of Love” by Ce Ce Landoli. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 Grand Ave. at Broadway., Oakland. 701-4620. 

“Orchard Views” Paintings by Sonia Gill on display in the lobby gallery, 1947 Center St., through Feb. 27. 981-7533. 

“Forty Four Presidents” Works by Lena Reynoso. Reception at 7 p.m. at Blankspace Gallery 6608 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. www.blankspaceGallery.com 

“Lineage” An installation by Kimberly Campisano. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at the Red Door Gallery, 416 26th St., Oakland. 374-0444. 

Studio One Art Center, with ceramicist Blanks Soltys, and other artists exhibiting in “Fluid Mastery Part 2” at 6:30 p.m. at 365 45th St., off Broadway, Oakland. 597-5096. 

“Something About Love” Photography project by Ace Lehner. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Shibumi Gallery, 1402 Fifth St. 528-7736. 

“A Farewell Kiss” Mark Byron and Bruce Yurgill revisit the Bush era with their political art. Opening recption at 7 p.m. at Oakopolis, 447 25th St., Oakland. 663-6920. 

“Oakland Treats” Paintings by Cleo Vilett. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Awaken Cafe, 414 14th St., Oakland. 836-2058.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mardi Horowitz describes “A Course in Happiness: Mastering the Three Levels of Self-Understanding That Lead to True and Lasting Contentment” at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Yiyun Lee reads from her novel “The Vagrants” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tony Lin, romantic piano, at noon at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Free. 642-4864.  

Winds Across the Bay “A Night at the Opera” Youth wind ensemble at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $5-$15. 243-0514. 

SF Renaissance Voices Hildegard von Bingen’s “Ordo Virtutum” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. www.SFRV.org 

Barefoot Chamber Concerts at 6 p.m. at Parish Hall of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Cost is $15. www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/48826 

Benefit for Richmond’s Jane Doe, a lesbian who survived a brutal hate crime in December, Fri. and Sat. at 7 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $10-$99. 857-7562. 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau at 5 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. 

Taylor Eigsti at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $15-$25. 642-4864.  

Uptones, Hectic and The Street Vendors at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

John Scott Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Sister I-Live at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054.  

Chuck Prophet, Jerry Hannan, Jim Bruno at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761.  

The Watertower String Band, Squirrelley Stringband at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $12. 841-2082.  

Justin Ancheta at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Jennifer Berezan, Julie Wolf, Michaelle Goerlitz and others at 8 pm. at Rudramir, 830 Bancroft at 6th. Cost is $15-$25. 486-8700. 

Lagtime at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

CHILDREN  

Muriel Johnson tells African-American folktales for ages 3 and up at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd flr community room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Gary Lapow at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Black History Weekend with storyteller Kirk Waller, Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Pippi Longstocking” Sat. and Sun. at 2 and 4:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., through Feb. 9. Tickets are $14-$18. 296-4433. activeartstheatre.org 

Andy Z at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 10th St. Cost is $8. 526-9888. 

THEATER 

Stone Soup Improv Comedy at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $7-$10. www.stonesoupimprov.com 

FILM 

“Screenagers” Bay Area High School Film and Video Festival at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition open reading from 3 to 5 pm. at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street. 527-9905. 

African American Celebration through Poetry from 1 to 4 p.m. at West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Oakland. 238-7352. www.oaklandlibrary.org 

Women’s Poetry Reading with Offer, Grafton, Rudge, Wells, Weiss, and Wyneken at 2 p.m. at Lakeview Library, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland. 238-7344. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Classical and Romantic Chamber Music Clarinet Trios by Beethoven and Brahms at 7:30 p.m. at Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. at Sacramento. Free.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Midwinter Magic” Music by Mendelssohn at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $30-$72. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

Tanya Vegvary Plescia, pianist at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Donation $8-$12. www.trinintychamberocncerts.com 

Chus Alonso and Potaje Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$44. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ed Reed Birthday Celebration at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Benefit for Richmond’s Jane Doe, a lesbian who survived a brutal hate crime in December, at 7 p.m. at Rose Street House of Music, 1839 Rose St. Donation $10-$99. 857-7562. 

Saturday Afternoon Gallery Acoustic (SAGA) music open mic series at 2 p.m. at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru St., Alameda. 931-7646. 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Burlesque ‘n’ Brass, featuring Hot Pink Feathers & Blue Bone Express, Orleans-inspired jazz, at 9 p.m. at Café Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $10. 763-7711. 

DF Tram at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Go Home with Ben Goldberg, Charlie Hunter, Ron Miles and Scott Amendola, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Lisa Mezzacappa, Kasey Knudsen Septet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Gateswingers Jazz Band at 7:30 p.m. at 33 Revolutions Record Shop and Cafe, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 898-1836. 

Steve Carter Jazz Trio at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Jacques Ibula at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Chris Waltz, Lee White, Jason Pollack at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

High Country, Mighty Crows, Ahlambra Valley Band at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Ledisi at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 

CHILDREN 

5th Annual Circus for Arts in Schools at 1and 4 p.m. at Kofman Auditorium, 2200 Central Ave. Alameda. Tickets are $10-$15, children under 3 free. www.circusforarts.org 

Asheba at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

FILM 

Josef von Sternberg: Eros and Abstraction “The Salvation Hunters” at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Talk Cinema Berkeley Preview of new independent films with discussion afterwards at 10 a.m. at Albany Twin Theater, 1115 Solano Ave., Albany. Cost is $20. http://talkcinema.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Artist and Curator in Conversation: Paul Chan and Elizabeth Thomas at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Marcia Falk reads her poetry at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

“Discovering Robeson” with performer Tayo Aluko at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Poetry Flash with Marc Hofstadter and Josh Rogow at 3 p.m. at Diesel, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. 653-9965. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Midwinter Magic” Music by Mendelssohn at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $30-$72. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra “Clarinet Crazy” at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Free. www.sfchamberorchestra.org 

Larry Schneider, saxophonist, at 4:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Tickets are $20 at the door. 

Pulse Brasil at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Tito y Su Son “Cafe Havana” at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

The Claire Lynch Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The woods decay, the woods decay and fall, 

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground, 

Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath, 

And after many a summer dies the swan. 

So Tennyson opens his long poem on the hazards of immortality, placed in the words of the Trojan hero, Tithonos, a man doomed to immortality by his lover Eos, the goddess of Dawn—doomed because Eos, in her request for unending life, forgets to include never-ending youth. Each morning, the goddess wakes renewed in splendor, while her lover grows that much older, wizened and shrunken until, finally, there’s not much left of him but a tremulous voice. Mercifully, perhaps, she turns him into a cricket. 

Composer Allen Shearer and librettist Claudia Stevens have used this myth to create a new opera, The Dawn Makers, which will be performed this coming Wednesday as part of Composer Inc.’s 25th anniversary celebration.  

In the mode of new opera, Shearer and Stevens’ piece takes a more ironic and raucous path. Eos and Tithonos have been updated to Gloria and Victor; the new Dawn-lover on the scene is a groomsman and former pool cleaner named Bo; and Gloria’s steeds, which draw her lustrous chariot across the sky, are two young fillies with Valley Girl accents and a hormonally rich attraction to their studly keeper, Bo. The setting is Olympus, but the time is now. 

This stew of place and time allowed the Berkeley-based duo to enrich the opera’s meaning with comedy. In a culture in which facelifts and body carvings are the everyday practice of its idolized celebrities, humor makes discussions of decay and death more palatable. And perhaps more relevant.  

The mélange also allowed Shearer, through the shifts in Stevens’ text and characterizations, to use a variety of musical approaches in his composition. Shearer, a baritone as well as a composer, is known for a composition style that is both lyrical and complex. In the opera, however, Shearer has gone for a “broader” approach—“I haven’t allowed myself as much complexity.” Intricacy, however, is present in shifts in vocal character and text, which in turn cause shifts in compositional style. Even rock and roll winds itself here and there into the music. “There is a lot of rhythmic detail,” adds Stevens.  

Shearer and Stevens, as husband and wife, spend a lot of time collaborating, and input on each other’s work is fair game for both players. Shearer had originally been taken with the idea of a singer physically diminishing onstage until there was nothing left but a voice. He laughs, “Of course, it wouldn’t be a great thing at all.” Tithonos, however, does transform onstage, giving Shearer the opportunity to create music like that of “a grasshopper in flight.” 

In fall 2006, the couple rallied forces to realize Shearer’s idea into an opera. Their main attraction to the myth was that it was a “good story,” though Stevens comments that it is “also a story about moral choice”—an ability intrinsic to mortals: “The mortal gets to choose.” Bo can choose, like Tithonos, for immortality—hopefully with enough foresight to include youthfulness in the packet. “The gods,” she continues, “have a [different] moral dilemma: they have to go on and on.” 

Stevens is a pianist, singer and musician who incorporates her various talents into monologues that often pose ethical questions in a historical personification. Her monologue as a woman who has survived Hitler’s camps by playing and singing for the Nazis has been performed in many venues nationwide.  

In the course of writing the opera, Shearer had two singers “firmly in mind—their voices, their bodies, and their personas”—for the lead roles of Eos (Gloria) and Tithonos (Victor). soprano Christine Brandes for the “quality of her voice, her range and her lyricism,” and tenor John Duykers for his “ability as a performer and his extremely strong presence on stage.” Both singers accepted the roles, so the audience will have the great pleasure of hearing Brandes and Duykers in roles that were written for them.  

In another brilliant bit of casting, the vibrantly voiced baritone Eugene Branconeauvu sings the hunky Bo. Soprano Anja Strauss and mezzo-soprano Erin Neff complete the cast as the fillies, who, according to Stevens, are “always going to be trotting and cavorting, with their little hoofs up.” Joining the singers is an ensemble of seven of the Bay Area’s finest musicians conducted by J. Karla Lemon.  

Brian Stauffenbiel, who recently recreated Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar in a splendid 2007 San Francisco production, signed on as director. Matthew Antaky and Richard Battle have the enviable jobs of designers: the former, of scenery and lighting, the latter, of costumes. Who wouldn’t want the costume challenge of turning lovelies Strauss and Neff into snorting horses and the formidable John Duykers into a cricket? 

With the opera in its final week of production, Shearer and Stevens are happy to leave it in the hands of their excellent production team. And what are their hopes for the opera?  

“Our hopes are for a brilliant premiere,” answers Shearer.  

“And lots of fun,” chimes in Stevens. 

After San Francisco Opera’s announcement on Monday that it would be confining its season choices to one “break-away” opera per every three Italian operas, meaning a 2009-10 season of the mostly tried and true, it’s heartening that new opera continues in the Bay Area, and that composers and singers continue to experiment and provide operas that, by their nature, are more truly of our time and understanding. 

THE DAWN MAKERS 

One performance only: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Pre-performance talk at 7:15 p.m. $20 general admission, $14 student, senior and disabled. For tickets, call (415) 512-0641 or see www.cityboxoffice.com.

The King is Dead ! Long live the King!” Was Ionesco thinking of that traditional cry of mortality and the mantle passed on, when he wrote Exit the King, now onstage at Live Oak Theatre, produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, at the start of Ionesco’s centennial year? 

The play opens with Jose Garcia, cutting a fine figure as The Guard, towering in his bearskin by the proscenium, hailing “Long live the King!”—as Norman MacLeod, regally appointed, strolls onstage, and just as vaguely, wanders off. 

That cry, and dozens of comic variations, will punctuate the action and repeat scraps of the dialogue, ad absurdum, until just before the denouement. 

“Theatre of the Absurd”—Martin Esslin, at one point at Stanford, formulated that moniker to label what Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov and others were doing in the postwar Paris theater, something that would spread around the world, and not just in theater—aided in no small way by such a tag on the goods.  

The movement, really less movement than phenomenon, was originally dubbed “Le théâtre nouveau,” to indicate a use of prewar avant-garde techniques without whatever ideology. In this case, the dislocations, surprise conjunctions, non sequiturs, tautologies and oxymorons of Surrealism are apparent. But Esslin copped the term Kierkegaard introduced into literary and philosophical lingo in the mid-19th century, revived by Heidegger and the Existentialists: “The Absurd.” It sold the goods, but has ever since snarled up the reactions of spectators, worried they can’t enjoy what’s onstage without some weighty footnote explaining the sad gravity (and erudition) of it all. (In particular, the appreciation of Beckett has suffered from this sort of free-floating guilt.) 

But Ionesco’s plays are like farces further parodied by playing with theater convention. “Absurd” Theatre mixes “Legitimate Theater” with vaudeville, conventional dialogue with the conversational, dream logic with rational plot lines, fusing opposites so that, as Antonin Artaud said of Euripides in distinction to the other Tragedians, “We don’t know just where we are.” 

King Berenger (the name for several of Ionesco’s reluctant heroes, besides the famed bourgeois poet and songwriter of the 19th century) strikes a good chord, MacLeod playing him a little in the style of English Panto, a fairytale told familiarly, tongue-in-cheek. The King—who seemed young only yesterday—needs to be told, one of his consorts opines (Beth Chastain as Queen Marguerite), that he must die: “The sun’s already deaf to his commands” ... and there’s the hint the Queen is impatient with him. She is backed up by The Doctor (also Astrologizer and a slew of other titles, portrayed somewhat floridly by Alecks Rundell). Queen Marie (Satya Soleil Starr, playing a true ingenue), the other consort, who “can only laugh or cry,” tries to block the news, then charm the old monarch—splendid in his ermine cloak, sash with medals and blue pajamas—making sure she’s always the center of his attention. Melanie Curry is sympathetic, when she’s not waspish, as Juliette, court maid and general factotum. 

Over the top Surrealist burlesque alternates with emotional, almost maudlin scenes of the King falling down, but denying any infirmity, unable to stand up. This produces the peculiar pathos the Absurdists are known for, with Ionesco’s personal stamp. The audience is never sure—unlike Queen Marie—whether it should cry or laugh. 

Finally, the cardboard-patched throne room begins to disappear, and the doomed monarch, now blind, is divested of his outward accouterments by Marguerite—Beth Chastain’s best moments—and, at her prompting, must learn to walk on his own again, towards his end ... 

Jerome Solberg, AE boardmember and a familiar face onstage and off, makes his maiden voyage as director; Roger Shrag likewise as producer. Shu Ping Guan’s set makes a virtue of Ansurdist juxtaposition, self-propelled thrones backed by cardboard. Phil Ramey’s sound design is spot on. Alecks Rundell, The Doctor, also designed the lights. And Helen Slomowitz’s costuming is, as always, excellent. 

EXIT THE KING 

Presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (and at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19) at Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave. $10-$12. 649-5999. aeofberkeley.org.

Two unusual events, a musical and poetic tribute to the memory of one influential local poet, and the joint reading of two others, take place in Berkeley this week. 

The Pat Parker All-Star Memorial Tribute will be at La Peña Cultural Center, at 7 p.m. Sunday, with poets, musicians and singers honoring the memory of the activist poet and benefiting her daughter. Parker, who was involved with black, women’s and lesbian issues, died of breast cancer 20 years ago. 

The second event, Lebanese-American poet, essayist, visual artist—and UC Berkeley alumna—Etel Adnan, and poet and teacher Kathleen Fraser, will be at Moe’s Books at 7:30 p.m. Monday. 

Performing in the annual Pat Parker Tribute will be singer Linda Tillery, pianist Mary Watkins and poet Judy Grahn—all Parker collaborators—joined by poets Ginny Lim and Leslie Simon, singer-guitarist Blackberri, singer-songwriters Melanie DeMore and Kayiah Marin (also a poet), pianist-vocalist Anna Maria Flechro, Diosa Mamacoatl and members of Avotcja and Modupue, Avotcja (poet, percus- 

sionist), Sandi Poindexter (violinist), Dee Spencer (pianist) and Matu Feliciano (percussionist). Proceeds of the tribute will benefit Anastasia Dunham-Parker. 

“If I could take all my parts with me when I go somewhere,” Pat Parker wrote in Movement in Black, “and not have to say to one of them, ‘No, you stay home tonight, you won’t be welcome,’ because I’m going to an all-white party where I can be gay, but not Black. Or I’m going to a Black poetry reading, and half the poets are anti-homosexual, or thousands of situations where something of what I am cannot come with me. The day all the different parts of me can come along, we would have what I would call a revolution.” 

Born in Houston in 1944, Pat Parker came to Oakland in the 1970s. From 1978-87, she was medical coordinator of the Oakland Feminist Women’s Health Center, which went from a single clinic to six locations while she held that post. Parker was involved early on with the Black Panther Party and the Black Women’s Revolutionary Council and participated in the formation of the Women’s Press Collective. She was an activist locally and nationally on Civil Rights, as an Anti-Vietnam protester, on gay and lesbian issues, as well as for women’s health issues, especially those around domestic and sexual violence. 

Parker’s poetry has been described as narrative, often employing call-and-response from “working class and black [oral] traditions,” often using simple (and frank) language, and saturated with humor. Her celebrated readings began in 1963, during her marriage to playwright Ed Bullins. In 1968, she joined forces with poet Judy Grahn, reading at women’s bookstores and bars, coffeehouses and festivals, as well as in recordings.  

Parker produced five published collections of poetry, including Womanslaughter (written after the poet’s elder sister was killed by her husband) and Jonestown and Other Madness, published before Parker’s death from breast cancer in 1989, ending with poems like “Maybe I Should’ve Been a Teacher”: “maybe/the next person/who asks/’Have you/written anything new?’/just might get hit.”  

Etel Adnan, of Syrian Muslim and Christian Greek parents, came to UC Berkeley from Beirut in 1955, later attending Harvard as a graduate student, then taught philosophy at Dominican College in San Rafael from 1958 to 1972. Her much-translated, widely taught novel, Sitt Marie-Rose, takes place during the Lebanese Civil War.  

Poems of hers have been set to music by Henry Threadgill, Annea Lockwood, Gavin Bryars, Tania Leon and Zad Multaka. Currently, she lives in Sausalito and in Paris.  

At her Moe’s reading, Adnan will read from her latest book, Seasons (Post-Apollo, 2008). “It’s a series of small paragraphs, between prose and poetry, focused not only on seasons, but how they affect our minds. I’m eager to find how the mind is in contact with the outside world, through phenomena, events ... As water affects fish, the seasons affect us—we swim in them. Seasons is a mixture of description and philosophy, a blend of both.” 

Kathleen Fraser has 16 books of poetry, including Witness, with mixed media drawings by Nancy Tokar Miller (Chax Press, 2007). She’s also collaborated on books with artists Sam Francis, Mary Ann Hayden and David Marshall. Her collected essays, Translating the Unspeakable: Poetry and the Innovative Necessity was published by the University of Alabama in 2000. 

Etel Adnan said of Fraser, “She is a poet who has done a lot for poetry, both through her work when she was director of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State, and as a teacher. Among her students are many well-known poets today, who always refer to her as their teacher. Her poetry’s very personal, going off in tangents of her own. It’s very refreshing writing.” 

La Peña 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568. $10-20 sliding scale, tickets available online at www.lapena.org, at the La Peña box office Wednesday through Saturday from 1-6 p.m., or half an hour before showtime. 

Moe’s Books 

2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. moesbooks.com. Admission free. 

One of the more annoying subterfuges of American journalists is that reporters present themselves as “objective” blank slates on which the “news” etches itself. Under that artifice, the U.S. media wage a clandestine war against things they don’t approve of: Palestinians fighting for their own nation; uppity presidents of former client states, like Venezuela; virtually anything that has the slightest tinge of “Left.” And most of all, Cuba. 

What makes it so refreshing to read the work of seasoned reporter Reese Erlich is that he makes no bones about having a point of view and is not the slightest bit shy about telling the reader exactly what it is. And when that honesty of purpose is combined with more than 40 years of reporting experience, it provides a revealing look at that small island off of the coast of Florida, which has plagued Washington policy-makers and successfully resisted almost half a century of U.S. hostility. 

“The ideals of the Cuban Revolution remain valid: land reform, ending racism, ending U.S. domination, economic equality and self-sufficiency, among others,” writes Erlich, “but the Cuban Revolution has made serious mistakes and hasn’t progressed nearly far enough.” 

That line would get you tossed out of any mainstream media newsroom in the country. A reporter who expresses an opinion of what makes a revolution “valid” and what constitutes “progress”? Get out the garlic and wooden stakes. 

In reality, of course, all reporters have a point of view; they just lie about it. Erlich is upfront, not only about his politics but also about how they have altered over the four decades that he has been reporting on Cuba. That kind of honesty allows the reader a place at the table, in essence the right to see the information Erlich is reporting through a different prism than the writer’s. Dangerous stuff. And very good. 

Dateline Havana is part history, part contemporary politics, and part personal journey. But it’s not one of those self-indulgent personal journeys that are more about the writer than the subject matter. Erlich has visited Cuba 11 times, from 1968 to 2008. The “personal journey” includes the people he drinks rum with in the countryside, the dissidents, the U.S. congressman, the activist in Miami’s Cuban community. In short, there are lots of people in this book, and they talk and argue and tell jokes, and Erlich sits among them. That kind of “personal.” 

The book is also an amazingly concise history of U.S.–Cuban relations, a history that is a blur for most Americans but not for Cubans. This history is woven throughout the book on topics ranging from organic farming to democracy to racism. In fact, there are few “hard” subjects Erlich avoids: artistic freedom, gays, democracy, you name it, and he asks people questions about it.  

Erlich’s major focus is to challenge the idea that Cuba presents some kind of “strategic threat” to the U.S., and he demolishes the politics behind the stupidity and cruelty of the blockade. It would be nice if the incoming Obama administration read this book. After doing so, it would be hard to imagine its members continuing the policies of the past 40 years without being at least awfully embarrassed about it. 

But this book is not just about the bad gringos to the north. Erlich has strong ideas about things like the importance of democracy and grassroots power, which lead him to be critical of a number of Cuban institutions. While overall he is an admirer of what Cuba has accomplished, he is not one to sport rose-colored glasses.  

“In reality, Cuba is neither the totalitarian hell depicted in the United States nor the socialist paradise claimed by some of its admirers,” he writes. 

This is not to suggest Erlich is crippled by that other infirmity afflicting American journalism: even-handedness. He makes no bones about who is right and who is wrong in the long history of hostility between the two countries, but he feels that his job as a member of the Left and as a reporter is to write about what he sees, ask hard questions, and let people talk. One can only wish this brand of journalism would spread to the New York Times. 

The book is written on the occasion of the Cuban revolution’s 50th anniversary, but Erlich is as much interested in the shape of the future as in the story of the past. As he says in his introduction, Cuba is entering a period of “great uncertainty:” its leadership is aging, and neither the world nor the region look like they did even a decade ago. Erlich’s long-time experience on the Island—in the old colonial days they would have called him a “Cuba hand”—gives him a perspective that makes it possible for the reader at least to discern what some of the choices of that future might be. 

DATELINE HAVANA: THE REAL STORY OF U.S. POLICY AND THE FUTURE OF CUBA 

By Reese Erlich. PoliPoint Press, LCC. $22.95. 

Peabody Award-winner Reese Erlich is also the author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East and a writer for mainstream and alternative media. He will be speaking throughout the Bay Area from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4. Berkeley readers can hear him at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2 at Black Oak Books.  

“Your head tells you and keeps on telling you, ‘You can’t fix it.’ But your heart won’t believe it.” It starts with the disappearance of Harriet, wife and mother, who apparently has just walked away from home. Is it the bad news Hank, her husband, told her abruptly over dinner, about the company going bankrupt, his retirement both imposed and scaled back in pension, putting her dream of a trip to Paris in doubt? Or the steady lessening of communication with Hank and two of their three sons? Or is it the effects of age, along with a lifetime of taking up the slack for a dysfunctional family? 

It’s all mulled over and reenacted in Leave of Absence, James Keller’s play, directed by the playwright, at the Berkeley City Club on Durant just through this weekend. A brief, packed run for a show that should be seen. 

Keller’s an accomplished playwright; Leave of Absence is the middle—though freestanding—play in a trilogy, Nebraska Blues, bookended by Child’s Play and work-in-progress Aunts and Uncles. He directs a fine cast, familiar faces to local theatergoers: Martha Luehrman, Harold Pierce, Ket Watters and Sarah Meyerhoff, engaged from the start in a tightly played series of duets that telescope into trios, dialogues between the older couple and/or their youngest son and his wife, all centered around the kitchen table, where the four sit, facing one another in silence for a brief moment at the start, piano chords resounding.  

(“But the offstage characters, who never appear, are important too,” says Keller.) 

That tight staging, the timing of the dialogue and tradeoff of interlocutors, both tells the story and reveals the characters in different facets as they speak to different relatives about other subjects under a variety of circumstances. Hank, for instance, diffident or blustering and imperious with Harriet or Tom, becomes wistful, charming—if self-derogatory, melancholic—around Tom’s gentle schoolteacher wife, who can see the subliminal traits Tom’s picked up from the father he feels estranged from. 

The dialogue creates and recreates this human situation in its complexity, brooding questions and repeated dodges only adding to the skein of fiber that’s unwound and rewound, over and over. Keller says he’s fascinated with the Greek tragedians, who wrote sparely, dialogue and choruses set in a particular space, and his staging, the dynamics between his cast members, make the City Club a site that embodies past and present, with the growing intimation of a living future that will step out of the shadows cast by obsessive memory. “We’re all haunted. We all have ghosts. We just have to learn to live with them. Can we?” 

“I’m fascinated by the situation of three or four siblings who share the same tragedies, the same root experiences, yet are different,” Keller says. He teaches Humanities at Berkeley Adult School, and says, “The people I teach are all retired, but if someone had told me I’d write about senior issues, I’d have laughed at them.” 

The issues are there, big as life, as black and white as newspaper headlines: forced retirement, pension and medical plan cutbacks, lost dreams, a generation gap in communication (especially with the two sons resembling their father), dementia ... but Leave of Absence discovers—and runs on—an inside track, a well-worn if secret footpath that winds through the tentative engagement of conversation, dialogue, argument even, the soliloquies of musing, monologues of groping self-explanation.  

It’s a humane, thoroughly unprogrammatic piece of theater, somewhat over an hour of continuous exploration, which reveals just what Aristotle meant by Action, the soul of drama, which can be a thoroughly internal movement made visible by dialogue and simple gesture. 

LEAVE OF ABSENCE 

8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 and 8 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 1 at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. $20. (415) 664-4305. www.poorplayers.org. 

Oakland Magic Circle has been in the business of prestidigitation since 1925. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, they will put on their 84th annual Installation Banquet and Gala Show, featuring European magic and quick-change team Stoil & Ekaterina, plus comic magician, juggler and unicyclist Frank Olivier, veteran of Broadway and the Johnny Carson show, and others. Bjornson Hall, 2258 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland. Dinner & show: $25 ($20 for kids 12 and under), advance tickets required: brownpapertickets.com (800) 838-3006. Show only, $20 at door from 7:30-8 p.m. 

Berkeley is a city filled with “Custom Homes.” This is a term I hate, but in the absence of something better, there it will have to lay on the page, windless and mundane. To me, the term “custom home” brings to mind brochures filled with hackneyed images of rock jawed builders (plans rolled up under one arm, a pipe smoking in one hand) as they explain procedure and rectitude to their adoring clients. Custom homes are those that are built on site on an individual basis rather than as part of some larger group, tract or prefab model to be shipped out to an awaiting customer in Tuscaloosa. 

Unlike many communities, ours is one in which the majority of the houses had their own set of plans and were built on site with a minimum of premanufacturing involved. There are, however, notable exceptions, such as the marvelous premanufactured “built-ins” that inhabit many of our early 20th century homes. 

For most of us, the idea of something other than individually designed and built homes seems odd and, for some, even repellant. Visions of trailer parks come to mind for some of us and for others, images of the Levittowns of the late 40’s, which, while novel and popular in their time signify uniformity and lack of personal identity. People didn’t turn on, tune in and drop out in Levittown, did they? 

This notion of personal expression through our homes is somewhat recent for we Americans. In the past we were quite happy to ally ourselves with our neighbors in a common sense of architectural expression. I have to admit that I’m very much a part of the culture of the 1960s that ran screaming in the other direction and I myself fled the suburbs just as quickly as I could, seeking a life in which perfect houses were less important than personal ones. Again, this is merely one part of a social psychology that expresses itself in too many other ways to list, but certainly includes the ways we form families, dress ourselves, work and shop. 

Ours is a culture strongly oriented toward individuality. Some, such as Will Wright in Sixguns and Society, would even say a culture of outlaws. We like to think of ourselves as being bold and individual as we stand in line at the Sizzler, and our treatment and purchase of homes is no different. 

Sadly, one of the things that this has precluded, or at least inhibited has been the development of more affordable premanufactured housing. Again, this form tends to smack of a sort of uniformity that Americans don’t care for, but I would argue that we tend to build houses in a relatively uniform manner anyway, and fail (when we stick-build houses) to take advantage of the several ways in which factory premanufacturing can not only save us money, but potentially provide an improved product. 

Premanufacturing or kit-form housing has a long history and begins in this country with those, fleeing England to avoid religious persecution, who took their disassembled houses with them. (and you thought a second carry-on bag was expensive).  

Some historians cite the Gold Rush as the time when the first American kit houses are seen and many recall the Sears kit homes of the early 20th century (circa 1908), of which roughly 100,000 were sold and built. These Sears homes are a good example to study. Sold for a small fraction of the cost of a contemporary “custom” home, they offered quick assembly (with a pretty good 75 page instruction book) and excellent quality (many still stand today). 

Though kit houses fell from popularity in the 20s, the ending of the WWII created a huge need for housing and brought forth plenty of premanufactured contenders. These included modular homes prebuilt in sections and delivered to their sites in manageable chunks, manufactured housing (generally used as a euphemism for mobile, sectionalized housing—Think of single-wide, double-wide and even triple-wides) that would be delivered to a site and bolted together.  

There was even the trés “Forbidden Planet” Futuro from Finish architect Matti Suuronen. The Futuro looks something like a space ship with its squashed spheroidal shape annointed with a rim of ovaloid plastic windows (actually the whole thing is fiberglass reinforced polyester). Only about 100 of these were made so they were more whimsical experiment than a commercially practical offering. 

Not surprisingly, Buckminster Fuller, the geodesic dome guy (and self-promoter extraordinaire), had more than one market entry under his “Dymaxion” brand (which I liken to the various film and audio technologies of the 50’s such as “dynavision” and “megasonic” but what’s in a name). The dymaxion houses included a model designed to hang from a central mast by a series of cables cinched in place to minimize the impact of high winds and earthquakes. While fun and intriguing, this was one more model that did little more than explore the problems involved in modern human habitation. 

Another futuristically named house, the Lustrum was a bit more practical. They actually built over 2,500 of these in late the 1940s in a converted aircraft facility near Columbus, Ohio. Lustron owner, Carl Strandlund, had built prefab gas stations using metal fabricating techniques and applied these methods to single family houses. The buildings featured enameled steel for the various parts (inside and out), eliminating the need for painting and were promoted as being rodent-resistant and rust-proof. Apparent Lustrons still stand in 30 states evincing their viability though the company failed only two years after inception. It is posited by some that a band of competing builders conspired to kill Strandlund’s business in a manner comparable to the demise of Preston Tucker’s eponymous sedan. Owners of Lustrons claim that the enameled metal roofing shingles are still keeping their houses dry today proving that prefab isn’t necessarily low in quality. 

A client of mine last year showed me an add for Details, a California-based builder of what they call Prefab Green homes. Details builds prefab homes using what are called SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), a common method for the manufacture of low cost prefab homes these days. SIPs are premade in the factory to specific sizes using oriented strand board (OSB) panels. These panels are themselves a factory-made product filled with one of several types of polyurethane foam, and utilizing very small chunks of wood (more fully exploiting each tree) that would have been garbage in the past. SIP are quite strong, low in cost and extremely good at retaining heat, making them quite green. In my never humble opinion, the jury is out on how these materials will affect the health of their inhabitants, but these materials seem promising, if mundane. They also seem destined to fail if not protected from moisture adequately, and so, good, basic building wisdom is required. Once again, there is no such thing as a perfect material (and one size never fits all). 

The really cool thing about Details is that they seem to be doing what virtually none of the other premanufacturers that I’ve seen have done. They have designed buildings using modern methods and very old fashioned designs. Somewhere around 1950, the pattern of the mass manufacture of houses took us on some sort of Jetsons track and led us through a series of hyper-modern (or what we considered to be modern) designs that eschewed the many important design features that had created cozy, dry, safe habitation over the last several hundred years. Elements such as eaves and deeply recessed windows, large casings and fat fascia boards. 

While these things speak to us subconsciously of an earlier time, they also serve practical functions that modern houses, having forgotten these lessons, suffer by lacking. Eaves protect walls and windows by shielding against pounding rain and excessive sunshine. Fatter casings, protect junctions more fully and by shear size, resist torque, sun and fungal decay. The same is true for the other large trims we find on older homes. 

Modernity is too often demarked by its nakedness. And while I enjoy the notion of deconstruction and of paring the object down to its essentials, I believe that we have failed to notice the value of what we were removing (don’t they say all the vitamins are in the peel). 

Christopher Alexander, whose book A Pattern Language, I have frequently mentioned in this space, speaks a large volume to this subject with his many Patterns such as “Thick Walls.” While Mr. Alexander might take offense at the idea of a foam and OSB house made by computer driven saws and routers (this is part of how these cheaper prefab houses are cut and shaped) being designed in accordance with his principles, I see this as the middle way and the answer to the question of how we proceed forward into what is inevitably a future populated by such strange creatures as SIPs and PreFabGreen homes. 

I’m quite sure that Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) would have been wildly offended (even more than Mr. Alexander) by the notion of SIPs, and in good “Craftsman” fashion, would have railed against the notion of premanufacturing houses. I suspect he would have found a Details home to be relatively attractive, if not fully aesthetically soulful. He might even have agreed that the fact that such a thing can be more readily presented to the lower classes by virtue of its cost, which would help to justify the offenses of it’s manufacture. Who can say? What I can say is that I believe that kit and premanufactured homes have a place in our economy and our world; that everyone cannot afford a “custom-built” home but does deserve an attractive, safe place to call home.  

My wish is that we continue to stir the pot and to mix new technologies (and test them hard) with designs that provide rich, pleasing spaces to their occupants and that we apply these forms to not just single family dwellings (which I believe are the dinosaurs of architecture) but to the varied multi-family or multi-person dwellings that will eventually overtake our built environment. 

Maybe one of you will be the first to live in a Details-like co-housing community, planned in a community meeting, carved by a computer in a factory, shipped to the site on a truck and popped together like leggos by your grandchildren. Far fetched? I don’t think Buckminster Fuller would have said so, nor Matti Suuronen, nor Carl Strandlund. 

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

Copyright 2009 Matt Cantor

THURSDAY, JAN. 29 

Public Hearing on the Mental Health Services Act Prevention & Early Intervention Plan for Berkeley and Albany at 5 p.m. at 2640 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Mental Health Auditorium. A copy of the plan can be obtained at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/PressReleaseMain.aspx?id=33000 or call 981-5222. 

“Tied in a Single Garment of Destiny” An evening of conversation, cuisine, culture and community in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. at 6 p.m. at Regent’s Theater, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Presented by the YMCA of the East Bay. 451-8039, ext. 457. 

“The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces” Panel discussion at 3 p.m. at the Geballer Room, Townsend Center for the Humanities, Stephens Hall, UC campus. 

Haymarket Books Forum “Economic Crisis: What Caused it? Who Can Solve It?” with Todd Chretien and Deborah Goldsmith at 7 p.m. at 105 Northgate Hall, UC campus. 415-336-5034. 

Free Prostate Cancer Screening from 8 a.m. to noon at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 3100 Summit St., Oakland. For appointment call 869-8833. 

Emergency Preparedness: Berkeley Cache Network meets at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarians, Cedar and Bonita, 2nd flr, to discuss forming an organization to benefit Cache groups and assist partially- and un-organized neighborhoods. 540-5616. 

McCullum Youth Court Social at 5 p.m. at Linden St. Brewery, 95 Linden St., Suite 8, Port of Oakland. 832-5858, ext. 301. www.youthcourt.org  

Baby & Toddler Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

Free Meditation Class at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarians, 2nd flr., 1606 Bonita Ave. 931-7742. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Thurs. at 10 a.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

FRIDAY, JAN. 30 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Howard Gruber, M.D on “Poverty in Paradise” the Global Healing Program in Rotan, Honduras. Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 524-7468. www.citycommonsclub.org 

Let it Snow! Build igloos out of snow blocks, experiment on ice using salts and watercolors, and make real snow at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. Cost is $7-$8. www.habitot.org 

Post Inaugural Pink Follies with CodePink Music, dance, comedy, theater at 6:45 p.m. at Berkeley UU Fellowship Hall, 1925 Cedar St. at Bonita. Suggested donation $10, no one turned away. 540-7007. 

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. 

Three Beats for Nothing Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Fri. at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Hearst at MLK. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Fri. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150.  

SATURDAY, JAN. 31 

Wildlife Emergency Response Training A day-long class covering the fundamentals of wildlife rescue held at the Golden Gate Audubon Society, Berkeley. Cost is 40. Pre-registration required. 831-869-6241. www.ibrrc.org 

The War Comes Home with Aaron Glantz and Norman Solomon at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/52728  

“Water: California’s New Gold” a forum on the state’s water crisis with State Senator Lois Walk and others, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MetroCenter Auditorium, 101 8th St., at Oak, Oakland. Cost is $15-$39. 839-1608. www.lwvbayarea.org 

Free Smoking Cessation Class for the LGBT community meets Sat. from 10 a.m. to noon at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St., through March. 14. Acupuncture option available. to register call 981-5330. QuitNow@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

NorCal Peace Corps Association Annual General Meeting and pot luck at 5:30 p.m. at South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. Career Transitions Workshop for RPCVs at 1:30 p.m. 237-0231. www.norcalpca.org 

Common Agenda Regional Network, working to reorder federal priorities from the military to human and environmental needs, meets at 2 p.m. at Gray Panther's office, 1403 Addison St. 524-6071. 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Art Explorations Meet the artists of Bentley High and learn about the techniques they use in their ceramics and painting classes, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Making Revolution in the USA” a presentation by the Revolutionary Communist Partyat 2 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Tickets are $15, sliding scale. 848-1196. www.revolutionbooks.org  

Albany Berkeley Soccer Club Spring Registration from noon to 5 p.m. at Cornell School multipurpose room, corner of Cornell and Solano Ave., Albany. Bring a birth certificate or passport. Cost is $70-$130. www.abscsoccer.com 

Solo Sierrans Emeryville Marina Walk Meet at 3 p.m. at the back of Chevy's Restaurant, by picnic tables for an hour walk through the Marina on a paved trail, wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. 234-8949. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. 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, FEB. 1 

Flyway Forays A 2.5 mile walk to discover why thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl overwinter San Francisco Bay, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Albany Bulb, Eastshore State Park. 525-2233. 

Life Under Logs Discover the micro-habitat of critters living under dark, damp fallen trees, for ages 5-12 at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Berkeley Rep Family Series “Language, Poetry, and Rhythm” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Nevo Education Center, 2071 Addison St. Free, but bring a book to donate to a school library. 647-2973. 

Mindful Parenting with Natalie DaSilva at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

“African American Participation in Ending World War II” with Burl Smith, Robert Edwards and Lillian Edwards at 10:45 a.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Sr. 841-4824. 

Tibetan Buddhism “Preserving a Wisdom Tradition” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, FEB. 2 

Informational Meeting on Air Quality at Berkeley Schools at 6:45 p.m. at Rosa Parks Elementary School. concernedberkeleyparent@gmail.com 

“The Legacy of Berkeley Parks: A Century of Planning and Making” with Louise Mozingo at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. at Arch. Free. 843-8724. 

What To Do about Water with Richard Harris of EBMUD on “The Drought and What to Do about It” and Becky Sutton of Environmental Working Group on “Bottled Water: Cleaning Up the Source, Getting Back to the Tap” at 7 p.m. at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin. Free. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Earthquake Preparedness and Safety with Suzanne Tateosian from Earth Shakes at 12:30 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. Part of the Brown Bag Lunch series. 526-3720 ext. 16. 

“Castoffs” Knitting Group meets at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. New members are always welcome. 524-3043. 

East Bay Track Club for girls and boys ages 3-15 meets Mon. at 6 p.m. at Berkeley High School track field. Free. 776-7451. 

Small-Business Counseling Free one-hour one-on-one counseling to help you start and run your small business with a volunteer from Service Core of Retired Executives, Mon. evenings by appointment at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. For appointment call 981-6134. www.eastbayscore.org 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group, for people 60 years and over, meets at 9:45 a.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave, Albany. Cost is $3.  

Morning Meditation Every Mon., Wed., and Fri. at 7:45 a.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way at 6th. 486-8700. 

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. 

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets Mon, Wed., Thurs. at 6 p.m. Sat. at 10:30 a.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth Mon.-Wed. from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Classes cover woodworking, boatbuilding, and boat repair. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 

Tuesdays for the Birds Tranquil bird walks in local parklands, led by Bethany Facendini, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Today we will visit Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

Nutrition Workshop: Kicking Sugar with Sandy Der, Chef and Certified Nutrition Consultant at 7 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Free but registration required. 601-4040 ext. 111. www.wcrc.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at Fast Response, Classroom 145, 2075 Allston Way. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Lawyer in the Library at 6 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. Cosponsored by the Alameda County Bar Association. Advance registration required. 526-3720 ext. 5. 

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. 

Green Chamber of Commerce Business Mixer at 5:30 p.m. at LJ Kruse, 920 Pardee. Cost is $10-$20. greenchamberofcommerce.net 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

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. 

Sing-A-Long Group from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave., Albany. 524-9122. 

Rhythm Tap Exercise Class Tues. at 5 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. Donation $2. 548-9840. 

Ceramics Class Learn hand building techniques to make decorative and functional items, Tues. at 9:30 a.m. at St. John's Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, materials and firing charges only. 525-5497. 

Yarn Wranglers Come knit and crochet at 6:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll uncover the secrets of hibernation from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Tilden Explorers An after-school nature adventure program for 5-7 year olds. We will search for amphibians from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Emeryville Public Art Walk Meet at 10 a.m. at Ruby’s Cafe, 6233 Hollis St. at 63rd for a flat and moderately paced walk. 528-3246. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Locavore Corps Workshop with Cheryl Koehler, of the magazine Edible East Bay, at 6 p.m. at 100 Behrens St., El Cerrito. Cost is $10-$50 sliding scale, no one turned away. 832-4625. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/52143 

Urban Farmer Pro Class: Drip Irrigation with Tom Bressan at 10 a.m. at Urban Farmer Store, 2121C San Joaquin St., half mile from Central Ave., Richmond. Free, but registration required. 524-1604. www.urbanfarmerstore.com 

“From Leavenworth to Lhasa: Living in a Revolutionary Era” with Prof. Robert Scalapino at 5 p.m. at Institute of East Asian Studies Conference Room, 2233 Fulton St., 6th flr. 642-2809. 

West Contra Costa Community for Quality Education March to Save Our Schools Meet at 5 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library at the corner of MacDonald and Civic Center. wcccqe@yahoo.com 

East Bay Innovation Group “Best Practices SIG: Productivity Beyond The Code” at 6 p.m. at RHI, 1999 Harrison St., Suite 1100, Oakland. Cost is $10, free for eBig members. Register at www.ebig.org  

“Divinity Within and Without” with Alex Pappas at 7:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Optional pasta dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. for $6, children free. To make dinner reservations call 526-3805.  

Playreaders Program for Adults meets Wed. at noon in the 3rd flr community room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. To register call 981-6241. 

Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 594-5165. 

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. 

Theraputic Recreation at the Berkeley Warm Pool, Wed. at 3:30 p.m. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley Warm Pool, 2245 Milvia St. Cost is $4-$5. Bring a towel. 632-9369. 

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 

Teen Chess Club from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6133. 

Berkeley CopWatch Drop-in office hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, FEB. 5 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll uncover the secrets of hibernation from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Tilden Explorers An after-school nature adventure program for 5-7 year olds. We will search for amphibians from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

“The Situation in Israel and Palestine” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. 841-4824. 

Urban Micro-Farming Classes meet Thurs. at 6 p.m. at Oakland Housing Authority, 935 Union St. at 10th St. Learn how to grow vegetables on your apartment porch or deck. Cost is $10. 655-1304. 

“Keeping Elders Safe” An elder abuse program for older adults, their families and caregivers at 1:30 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“Personal and Global: Feminism, Sexual Liberation, and Contemporary Struggles” A panel discussion with Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Silvia Federici, Paola Bacchetta and others, at 6:30 p.m. a the Free Speech Movement Café, Moffitt Library, UC campus. 643-6722. 

Baby & Toddler Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club at 6:45 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. namaste@avatar.freetoasthost.info  

Free Meditation Classes Tues. and Thurs. at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarians, 2nd flr., 1606 Bonita Ave. 931-7742. 

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Thurs. at 10 a.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

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 

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Walk at Jewel Lake in Tilden. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the parking lot at the north end of Central Park Dr. for a one-mile, two-hour plus stroll through this lush riparian area to see wintering waterfowl. Sponsored by Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. ggas@goldengateaudubon.org 

“Causes and Consequences of the Israeli Aggressionon Gaza” with Dr. Hisham Ahmed, PhD. at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church Chapel, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations accepted. 499-0537. 

“The Legacy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Where Do We Go from Here?” Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with William F. Schulz, former executive director of Amnesty International, at 7:30 p.m., in the Social Hall, Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Free, but RSVP requested. rsvp@uusc.org 

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. 

Three Beats for Nothing Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Fri. at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Hearst at MLK. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Fri. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Geocaching on the Paths Learn treasure hunting with a GPS unit. Meet at 10 a.m. at the top of Fountain Walk, Marin (Arlington) Circle. 528-3246. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland “New Era/New Politics” highlights African-American leaders who have made their mark on Oakland. Meet at 10 a.m. and the African American Museum and Library at 659 14th St. 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Nature’s Valentines Join a short nature walk to collect leaves, then make leaf prints and handmade paper, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Lunar New Year Celebration and Parade, beginning at the top pf Solano Ave. at 11 a.m., and ending with performances at the Main Stage, Cornell School, Solano and Cornell. 527-5358. www.solanostroll.org 

Bird Watching Bike Trip: East Shore State Park and Aquatic Park Meet 8:30 a.m. at the southernmost pond at Bay and Potter sts. Bring bicycle lock, sunscreen, lunch, and liquids. Bicycle helmet required. All levels of birders and bicyclists welcome. RSVP to 547-1233, kathy_jarrett@yahoo.com  

The Cooperative Grocery Winter Workshop on Beans How to use them for a healthier diet, at 2 p.m. at The Cooperative Grocery, 1450 67th Street, Emeryville. Bring a small plate and eating utensil for tasting the dishes, Free, but RSVP required. winter@thecog.org, http://thecog.org 

“Let’s Talk: The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas” A community discussion at 2 p.m. at the African American Museu and Library, 659 14th St. Free. 637-0200.  

California Shakespeare Theater theater classes for youth and adults start at Cal Shakes Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heinz Ave. and in Orinda. Cost is $130-$275, scholarships available for youth. learn@calshakes.org 

Berkeley Public Library Authors Dinner at 2090 Kittredge St. For details and reservations call 981-6115. 

“Future of Sequoias: Sustaining Parklands in the 21st Century” Exhibition opens at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“The Great Kehilla Sing-&-Dance-Along: Fiddler on the Roof” at 7 p.m. at Kehilla Community Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont. Cost is $18, $5 for children. 547-2424, ext. 100. www.KehillaSynagogue.org 

A Jewish Celebration of Trees for Very Young Children at 10:30 a.m. at Jewish Gateways, 409 Liberty St., El Cerrito. Free, but RSVP requested. 559-8140. 

“Imperialism and the Crisis in Gaza” with the Political Affairs Readers Group of the Communist Party, at 10 a.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Libaray, 6501 Telegraph Ave, between Alcatraz and 66th St. 595-7417. 

Friends of the Albany Library Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720. 

Beginning Guitar Lessons at the James Kenney Recreation Center, 1720 Eighth St. Youth classes Sat. at noon, adults at 1 p.m. Cost is $89 for the month. To register call 981-6650. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Oakland Artisans Marketplace Sat. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jack London Square. 238-4948. 

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, FEB. 8 

Birding at Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline, Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland from 10 a.m. to noon to see Clapper Rails. Meet at the last parking lot at 9:30 a.m. Sponsored by Golden Gate Audubon Society.  

Winter Warm-Up Hike Join a fast-paced three mile loop in Tilden Regional Park, Inspiration Point, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring a snack to share and water. Heavy rain cancels. 525-2233. 

Greywater Design and Installation A day long workshop in Berkeley Cost is $30-$100 sliding scale, work-trade option available. To register see http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/events.html  

Black History Month: Feminist Leadership: From Africa to America” with Dr. Amina Mama of Mills College at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Aristide and the Endless Revolution” A flim about Haiti at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. Suggested donation $10. 841-4824. 

Old Time Radio East Bay Collectors and listeners gather to enjoy shows together at 4 p.m. at a private home in Berkeley. For more information please email DavidinBerkeley at Yahoo.  

Sweets for the Sweet Learn the basics of truffle making and discover the natural history of chocolate from 1 to 3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Cost is $14-$16, registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Little Farm Open House Come grind some corn to feed the chickens, pet a bunny, groom a goat or help out in the Kids Garden, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., at the Little Farm, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Get on the Road to College” Workshops with the Gooden Family Scholarship Fund at 1 and 3 p.m. at De Jean Middle School, 3400 MacDonald Ave., Richmond. Registration required. 526-1985. 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum building and grounds at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

The Princess Project is collecting new and nearly new formal gowns and accessories to give to local girls for their proms. Dry-cleaned and bagged dresses may be dropped off at Crossroads Trading Co., 2338 Shattuck Ave., Kate’s Kouture Bridal, 82 Shattuck Square or Crush, 5550 College Ave., Oakland, until Feb. 14. For other locals or for more information see www.princessproject.org 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to repair a flat, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Introduction to Golf from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Tilden Golf Course. For ages 14 and up. Cost is $50-$56, includes free range card. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

“The Rumi Secret: Spiritual Lessons of History’s Most Revered Poet” with Victoria Lee at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

“Where is the Stranger?” with Rev. Kurt Kuhwald on hospitality and its spiritual and ethical meanings at 10:45 a.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. 841-4824. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Jack van der Meulen on “Awakening Loving Feeling” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 4 to 8 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Fri. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Thurs., Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers. 981-7368.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Jan. 22, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.  

City Council meets Tues., Jan. 27, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5434. 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Jan. 28, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484.  

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., Jan. 29, at 5 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5217. 

ONGOING 

Help Low-wage Families with Their Taxes United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! needs Bay Area volunteers for its 7th annual free tax program. No previous experience necessary. Sign up at www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org