Planning commissioners finished the easy part of their West Berkeley zoning changes Wednesday night, but the hardest part will be on their agenda after their August break. 

Skeptics of the City Council directive aimed at easing development restrictions in the city’s only sector zoned for industry and manufacturing won on one key vote governing the breakup of space within existing sites, but they may face a tougher road on the larger issue of the master use permit. 

Master use permits would govern multi-use development on larger sites, but how large and how many are key questions commissioners will address starting in September in meetings likely to provoke semantic firestorms. 

The controversy pits a coalition of West Berkeley’s smaller manufacturers and artisans against developers with big hopes for the area and a City Council allied with UC Berkeley in a vision of the sector as home to a building and revenue bonanza tied to “green tech” patents created by UC scientists and spun off to start-up companies. 

The outcome of the contest will determine the shape of West Berkeley. 

During Wednesday night’s meeting, commissioners faced an audience overwhelmingly composed of members of West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies (WEBAIC) and their allies. 

WEBAIC and two of West Berkeley’s leading real estate brokers, John Norheim and Don Yost, have emerged as allies, pitted against the areas major developers and some—but by no means all—commercial property owners. 

Commissioners Wednesday disposed of one key issue by adopting a proposal formulated by WEBAIC, Norheim, Yost and former city Office of Economic Development Director Neil Mayer on rules for subdividing (“demising,” in planner-speak) space within existing sites. 

The choice facing the commissioners was what level of oversight should govern the demising process. 

The first, a zoning certificate is a simple process, acquired by a simple exchange at the counter of the city Planning and Development Department and requires no extensive review. 

The second level of oversight governs the administrative use permit, where scrutiny by city staff is required before a permit can be issued. 

The third and most complex level is the use permit, where applicants must submit to a staff review, followed by a public hearing before the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

The two proposals from planning staff would have made the administrative use permit the highest level of scrutiny for demising buildings and allowed a zoning certificate only for the largest divisions of the smallest of three categories of buildings, based on square footage. 

The third and ultimately prevailing alternative from WEBAIC and its allies created a simpler system based on the number of proposed subdivisions of a structure. 

Breakup into two to five spaces, regardless of square footage of either the building or the newly created spaces, would be allowed with a simple zoning certificate. Subdivision into six to nine spaces would require an AUP, while breakup into 10 or more spaces would mandate a full use permit with a public hearing before the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

Before the vote. Michael Ziegler, owner of the Temescal Business Center at Seventh and Heinz streets, urged commissioners to grant demising permits with a simple zoning certificate.  

Rick Auerbach, WEBAIC’s lone staff member, said his group’s proposal would ease the process for owners of small buildings, while “people with large buildings have resources owners of smaller buildings don’t, and that’s where oversight should be concentrated.” 

Auerbach said oversight would be concentrated on breakup of large buildings into 10 or more spaces, “because the reality is that more spaces means that disproportionately more people are packed in, more people are parked on the streets.” 

“We’re really liberalizing” the rules, he said. “Over 10 is really where it gets controversial.” 

Asked by commissioners, Alex Amoroso, the city planner assigned to what is now known officially as the West Berkeley Project, said he had no objections to the WEBAIC proposal, and commissioners voted unanimously to approve it. 

Commissioners also voted unanimously to ease regulations on existing manufacturers who want to open retail outlets to sell the products they make. Under the current city zoning code, they can create “incidental retail” outlets on site only with a full use permit and zoning board hearing. 

Commissioners voted unanimously to lower the requirement to an administrative use permit from the current use permit level. 

Two other unanimous votes would allow site owners zoned for Material Recovery Enterprise (recycling), Manufacturing, Warehousing or Wholesale to freely interchange uses of floor space among the categories with a use permit and to switch the numerical categorization of businesses from the current but outmoded Standard Industrial Code to the North American Industrial Classification System. 

The four votes, held within a few short moments, were followed by a burst of applause from the WEBAIC-dominated audience. 

Master use permits 

By far the hottest potato on the commission’s plate is the master use permit, as it will apply to future development in West Berkeley. 

For the council majority and its allies UC Berkeley and in the development industry, the stated goal is allowing development of as many sites as needed to accommodate the anticipated bonanza from high-tech solutions to the energy and global warming crises. 

For WEBAIC and its allies, the professed desire is to preserve West Berkeley as a place where artists, small industries and current residents can continue to thrive and not be priced out by rising real estate prices from the anticipated green-tech bonanza. 

Under the master use permit, a developer can build in stages as the market warrants while only facing one regulatory process at the very beginning rather than a new one each time something new is built at the site. 

While both sides agree the master use permit is a useful development tool, they remain strongly divided as to how many should be issued and on what sites. 

Other issues involve the height and massiveness of buildings allowed under the MUP process, with developers asking for taller and bulkier buildings than WEBAIC wants, how much parking should be required for each project, what uses should be permitted on MUP sites and what benefits developers should give the city in exchange for the right to build their projects. 

Steve Goldin, a principal at SWERVE, a West Berkeley furniture manufactory and software company and a proponent of greater development in the area, said, “It’s an economic issue. There is a subtle bias against developers,” but “we need to have flexibility to make a deal with the city to make it work.” 

Darrell de Tienne, a developer’s representative who has appeared before city bodies representing Wareham Properties, Seagate Properties and would-be West Berkeley developer Douglas Herst, said critics “take a rigid point of view” of development. “But you need to know you’re getting a new world” with the demand for technology to meet energy needs and global warming, he said. 

Ziegler built his business center with a master use permit, and remains a strong advocate for the process. 

Amoroso recommended the city allow a floor-to-area ration of 4, double the current city maximum. Heights would be increased from the current 45-foot maximum to 70, and allowing up to 90 feet for projects that meet “special considerations and needs.” 

He proposed allowing master use permits on all four-acre sites, and granting up to 10 in the five years after the zoning changes are adopted. Developers would also be able to buy up adjacent sites to meet the minimum threshold. 

Master use permits could also be granted on sites smaller than the minimum acreage so long as the encompass an entire city block. 

Auerbach said four acres is too small, with WEBAIC proposing a four-and-a-half acre minimum. “Four-acre sites would mean 42 percent of West Berkeley. Instead of six master use permits in five years, Auerbach said, “six projects in 10 years would be a lot.” 

WEBAIC wants the city to hold with the current 45-foot height limit and a maximum FAR—floor to area ratio, which compares a building’s total square footage to the site area—of 2, “and we want guaranteed benefits.” Higher FARs mean taller, denser buildings. 

While the commission majority seemed to favor the staff proposal during their discussion, the issue was not resolved, and Amoroso will return to the commission in September with draft language for the revisions.

The latest round of proposed state budget cuts to public education did not come as a surprise to the Berkeley Unified School District. 

California lawmakers reached a deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger July 21 to close California’s $24 billion budget deficit by making deep cuts in almost every area, including $6 billion in education. 

In February, the state Legislature passed a preliminary budget which left Berkeley Unified with a $8 million deficit. The governor’s May revision to this budget created an additional $6 million budget shortfall in the school district for the next two years. 

Berkeley Board of Education President Nancy Riddle said Berkeley Unified had prepared its 2009-10 budget according to the May revision, which was similar to the cuts proposed in the legislators’ plan. 

“We haven’t seen the details [of the final budget] yet, but we anticipate it will be the same,” Riddle said. “Unless, of course, cuts are made in different places. We are watching it very closely and if something changes we’ll be ready to pounce.” 

A report prepared by district Deputy Superintendent Javetta Cleveland show that the total cuts in the district from the February budget and the May revision amount to $13.6 million, of which $7.4 million has been addressed with the help of federal stimulus funds, state flexibility funds and budget reductions approved by the board.  

Riddle said the district is still figuring out what the cuts at the county level will mean for its budget. 

District Superintendent Bill Huyett is on vacation and could not be reached for comment. 

Proposition 98 funding 

Although the proposed budget cuts will not eliminate Propostion 98—a voter-approved measure which sets a minimum level of funding for California schools—it will slash $7.6 billion from it, resulting in larger class sizes, canceled summer school, a shorter school year and no new textbooks. The preliminary budget passed in February took away $11.6 billion from public school funding leading to teacher layoffs, program cuts and other hardships in school districts statewide. 

The legislators’ plan will provide $49 billion for the 2008-09 fiscal year and $50 billion for the 2009-10 fiscal year in total Prop. 98 funding, according to the California Department of Education. 

“I fully recognize that given the magnitude of our state fiscal crisis, the pain for schools could have been worse than that created by the agreement that was reached,” said state Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell. “Nevertheless, the reductions that our schools must absorb now will heighten the challenge educators face in trying to increase student achievement and close the achievement gap, and I fear that the last decade of progress in statewide student test scores will be interrupted.” 

The new state budget proposal also excludes the California High School Exit Exam requirement for disabled students to provide school districts with some funding flexibility, a move O’Connell called unfortunate. 

“Many thousands of students with disabilities have passed the exit exam, and many more will continue to take and pass this test,” he said. “Eliminating this requirement for students with disabilities who are on a diploma track does nothing to help prepare these students for success after high school.” 

Is Berkeley mean to its homeless? A new study by two national homeless advocacy groups says so. 

“Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities,” a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless ranked Berkeley as the 10th meanest city in the country for penalizing homelessness. 

Los Angeles topped the list, followed by St. Petersburg and Orlando. San Francisco came in at number seven. 

The report said that though most cities do not provide enough affordable housing, shelter or food for their homeless population, many of them use the criminal justice system to punish people for simply trying to survive on the streets. 

Other cities have prohibited panhandling, selectively enforced laws against loitering and jaywalking and enacted legislation making it illegal to sleep, sit or store personal belongings in public spaces.  

These kinds of penalties are increasingly common in today’s economic climate, the report says, with more people falling victim to foreclosures, layoffs and, eventually, homlessness. 

Berkeley made the top 10 primarily because of its Public Commons for Everyone Initiative, which aims to “clear the streets of aggressive and disruptive behavior.”  

According to the report, this law penalizes individuals for a wide range of behavior, including lying on or blocking sidewalks, smoking near doorways, littering and drinking, urinating, defecating and shouting in public. 

The report states that while opponents of the law say it unfairly targets the homeless, its supporters argue it will affect everyone. 

The Daily Planet asked members of Berkeley’s homeless community, homeless advocates and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates whether they thought the city was mean to its homeless. This is what they had to say: 

• “San Francisco, yes. Berkeley, no,” said Albert Karow, 46, who has been homeless for “quite sometime” and suffers from frequent seizures. “A lot of people have drug problems, alcohol problems. From what I have noticed, people who drink a lot get into trouble with the law,” he said as he sat in his wheelchair selling Street Spirit at the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph.  

• “I have been homeless in Berkeley quite a few times and it’s not mean,” said Donald Cirlin, 52, who left his job in December and is homeless by choice.” 

“It’s underfunded and the city has a lot on its plate, especially with the state budget deficit. As far as homelessness is concerned, Berkeley happens to be one of the kinder places, because when I started coming here in the 1980s—I was homeless a few times in the early ’80s—they used to have a thing here called the quarter meal. If you could get a quarter, you could have a whole meal here. The breakfast that they have now at the Trinity Church is a joke. It’s from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and then you’ve got to be out of there—Boom! They don’t need to be that severe. They have a perfect opportunity to do something with these people, but they just hustle them in and out. On that level there is some insensitivity, but it’s not just with Berkeley. In L.A., they let people sleep on the sidewalk there, right next to the police station. The cops pretend like they don’t even exist. 

“I have been homeless in a lot of different places, and I personally don’t feel there’s anything wrong with sleeping outdoors. I think the city should provide a safe place to sleep outdoors, like a campground, and in exchange for staying there if you don’t have money, people could do services for the city—help an old person, or a disabled person, or pick up trash.” 

Cirlin, whose family owned an apartment building at 2632 Piedmont Ave. in the 1940s, spoke from his perch in front of T-Shirt Orgy on Telegraph Avenue Tuesday, listening to the radio.  

• “What about Fresno? They throw people out of the streets there,” said Russell Grant, a member of Berkeley’s homeless community. 

“The cops here are nice to me, at least most of the time. The people are nice too, but they don’t want to give any money. All I have here is this (a penny) and I have been here since morning. The thing that drives me mad is that they shut the bathrooms next to the bus stops during the night and I have to do it on the streets. We need outhouses next to the bus stops. There’s a suitcase clinic and it comes in handy. Lots of volunteers doing a great job. I have gone there for haircuts. They do a footwash thing, too—you have to be pretty humble to do that. A lot of people are not that clean, you know. I think I will go get my foot cleaned tonight.” 

Homeless for 20 years, Grant talked to a reporter as he sat in front of Smart Alec’s with his dog Gabriel reading a book. 

• “They offer an easy ride,” said W, who didn’t want to give his full name. Homeless for the last seven months, he had just moved to Berkeley from Oregon. 

Berkeley “offers free food—though it’s small amounts and not served often,” W said. “They have free showers at Willard Park, but it’s not hot. The Trinity Church serves breakfast in the morning at 8—it’s not cuisine or anything, but it’s pretty good. The city has a policy of profiling some people which I don’t like. The governor’s cutting funding, so it’s just a matter of time before they cut the services. I heard they are going after the elderly now.” 

• “It’s kind of like people become callous about the homeless,” said Phat Andy, 19, who has a place to sleep in Oakland but often crashes with friends. “When you ask for spare change, they learn to tune out. I haven’t been in trouble with Berkeley police, but I have felt discriminated against, even when I am just sitting on the streets. A lot of it is like profiling,” he said Tuesday while visiting friends at People’s Park after shopping at Buffalo Exchange. 

• “In 1992-1993, five or seven years after I first moved to Berkeley, there was such a backlash against criminalizing the homeless. It was so nice to see,” said Dan McMullen, a Berkeley resident who is with the Disabled People’s Outside Project. 

“A lot of people were advocating for them. Now they [the city] can get away with doing anything to the homeless. The citizens of Berkeley no longer care. There might be 10 or 15 people standing up to speak on homeless issues at City Council compared to hundreds in the past. This town was really nice and compassionate at one point, now you get dirty looks at Berkeley Bowl.” 

• “It’s an unfair characterization of the city,” said Mayor Tom Bates. “We have continued all the services and even extended some of our services. We have started programs for at-risk youth. An Alameda County study indicated we made great strides in reducing chronic homelessness. We spend more money per capita on homeless services than any other city in the country. 

“People have tried to characterize the Public Commons for Everyone Initiative as criminalizing the homeless. We established more toilet facilities for people, added new benches around town and addressed street behavior. The initiative was not directed at any particular population. It was directed at a lot of people causing difficulties on the street. And they are not always the homeless.” 

• “I read an article on the subject and from what I can see, the city’s laws are aimed at criminalizing those who trespass, loiter or harass others,” said James Reagan, another member of Berkeley’s homeless community. “These are often people who come to Berkeley from other areas and really don’t respect what the locals have accepted. 

“I believe the laws are too tough on the homeless in general. However, the police are there not only to serve and protect the community, but they do protect the needy as well. I am against the harassment, but some of it is brought upon those who fail to accept authority; and in the most part, those who fail are usually mentally challenged and taken to John George.” 

• “I was happy to see Berkeley at number 10,” said boona cheema, executive director of the Berkeley-based non-profit Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency. 

“I was expecting it to be much higher on the list based on Berkeley's long history of introducing and passing laws which might not have the intention of criminalizing the homeless but in actuality do. Berkeley has always found a way to sweeten these laws by adding services, which keep the service providers from going up against the city when civil and human rights of the homeless are abused, for every street outreach person we also need advocates who insure that street people’s rights are not being violated.”

While Berkeley suffers from the same impacts from a beleaguered economy as do other East Bay cities, the effects seem to be milder, says Michael Caplan. 

As the city’s economic development manager, Caplan keeps his pulse on the Berkeley economy, watching a range of factors, including retail and commercial vacancies and store openings and closings. 

The faltering economy has definitely had impacts here, he said Wednesday, 

“Upper Solano Avenue has been struggling,” he said. “They’re having a harder time” than downtown Berkeley. 

While the city center has lost one eatery in recent weeks—the Downtown Restaurant at 2102 Shattuck Ave.—Caplan said that a new restaurant has opened at the Shattuck Hotel, a new wine bar has started up across the street, and a lease has been signed for the long-vacant UC Theatre at 2036 University Ave. 

Overall though, Caplan said, “We probably have seen an increase in commercial vacancies. But I’m an optimist about downtown, much more so now.” 

Berkeley is faring much better than San Francisco, which Caplan said is struggling with large commercial vacancies, often where owners bought at the top of the market and haven’t been able to charge rents high enough to cover their mortgages. 

“The amount of the leases doesn’t cover their holding costs,” Caplan said. 

Pay cuts just implemented by the UC Board of Regents will probably give the local economy a further hit, he said, although Berkeley consumers are more likely to spend locally than residents of many other cities. 

“Still, even at City Hall, we see a lot more people bringing their lunches to work,” he said. “People are saving more, and that’s happening nationally.” 

Caplan said he’d been pleasantly surprised by the fourth-quarter sales tax figures for last year. “We were one of only three cities in Alameda County to show an increase, even if it was only one percent.” 

The City of Alameda was another gainer, boosted by the opening of a new shopping Center. Caplan said he didn’t know the reason for the spike in the third community, Union City. 

“With three large institutional employees, Berkeley is better off than many other cities, because employment tends to be more stable,” he said. The big three are the university and its associated national laboratory, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and the city itself. 

“They’re not as susceptible to market forces,” he said.  

While the city keeps track of commercial vacancies, Caplan said he relies on Colliers International, a commercial brokerage, for data on office vacancies. “They’re in contact will all the property owners,” he said. 

While Colliers hasn’t released second quarter figures for 2009, first quarter figures actually showed a decline in vacancies for the first quarter over the final quarter of 2008 for downtown Berkeley, the rate dropping from 16.7 percent to 14.2 percent.  

In the same period, office vacancies in West Berkeley increased by only three-tenths of a percentage point, rising to 13 percent. 

By way of comparison, vacancies jumped a full three percentage points in Emeryville, from 12.3 percent to 15.3 percent. 

The highest vacancy rates were recorded at Marina Village in Alameda, with 30.2 percent, and at Oakland International Airport, with 24.3 percent. 

UC Berkeley added two city office buildings to its inventory in the same period, the Golden Bear at 1995 University Ave. in the first quarter and a six-story office building at 2850 Telegraph Ave. in April.  

West Berkeley is losing another tenant, the energy snack company Clif Bar, which announced this week that it would be moving its 180 employees to Emeryville. 

Indicators 

Recent reports have shined a spotlight on problems facing commercial and office building owners. 

The Sacramento Business Journal reported July 17 that office vacancies in that city have topped 20 percent, the highest since the CB Richard Ellis brokerage began tracking empty spaces there in 1989. 

Moody’s Investors Service reported Monday that national commercial real estate prices fell by 7.6 percent in May, and the Wall Street Journal reported on the same day that lenders may be taking write-offs of $30 million on commercial properties by year’s end.  

Vacancy rates at malls and strip malls are also edging up and rents are dropping, Reuters reported earlier this month, hitting records not seen since the dotcom bust.

Two of the three food vendors at the Bear’s Lair Food Court have accepted a new lease agreement and will stay on. The third, Healthy Heavenly Foods, rejected the offer and plans to move out by December. 

The Store Operations Board of UC Berkeley’s cash-strapped Associated Students of the University of California Auxiliary recently proposed raising rents for the vendors in order to boost the ASUC’s revenue. 

The board also asked for store improvements and mandated that the vendors produce $400,000 in annual sales by the end of their two-year lease. At least two of the vendors protested, arguing that it was impossible for small family-owned businesses to pay more rent or meet the board’s other conditions.  

A group of students and community members have supported the vendors, asking the university to help support independent businesses rather than drive them out amid a difficult economy. 

At a July 16 Store Operations Board meeting, Arnoldo Marquez, owner of Taqueria Tacontento, asked the board for a longer lease so that he could improve sales after investing in upgrades for his shop. 

Marquez said he was concerned that the auxiliary’s plans to renovate Lower Sproul would interfere with his business and drive his customers elsewhere. 

Although boardmembers did not agree to Marquez’ request for a five-year lease, they agreed to grant the vendors an extension to meet the new sales target in the event their businesses were affected by construction. 

They also agreed to let the vendors pay just half of their rent for the months of June, July, December and January because most students are away on vacation during that time and business is usually pretty slow. 

Both Marquez and Ann Vu, who has owned Healthy Heavenly Foods at the food court for the last 20 years, asked the board for more time to come to a decision about the lease agreement. 

Dr. Nad Permaul, executive director of the ASUC Auxiliary, said that the Store Operations Board had given the vendors more than enough time to make up their minds, but that they had missed a few deadlines. 

“The board has given them support and assistance,” he said. “There has never been a situation when the vendors have never been directly spoken to. They know what’s going on.” 

Vu said unless someone agreed to partner with her to save Healthy Heavenly Foods, she would have to start looking for a new job in December. 

“I cannot do it alone—it’s too much for me,” she said. “It will be too hard for me to take over a two-year lease. I don’t know how the construction will affect my business or if I can earn $400,000 in two years. I don’t think next year will be good. Times are tough.” 

Vu said her experiences with the ASUC Auxiliary over the lease agreement had left her frustrated. 

“My English is not very good and it was really difficult to deal with them,” she said. “It’s too stressful.” 

Joshua G. Genser, an attorney who is advising Vu on the issue, suggested that this could be a good opportunity for Vu to take her business elsewhere. 

“Rents are down in other places, she may be able to get another restaurant space on Telegraph for less money,” he said. “What I don’t get is why the university is raising rents during a recession in the first place.” 

ASUC Chair Will Smelko said the rent hike had been fair. 

“For many years, the ASUC has been pricing rents at far below the market value for that space,” he said. “Given the current economic crisis and the across-the-board cuts that were made to our vital student groups last year, the board has agreed it is time to update our rent agreements to be in line with current standards.”   

Marquez said he had no choice but to accept the new contract. 

“I have to try, my business is all I have,” he said. “I know the board will help me during the construction, but my customers will not wait for me to reopen. They will go somewhere else. The board is asking for too much and not giving us anything.” 

UC Berkeley officials announced Tuesday that Assistant Police Chief Mitch Celaya will be promoted to chief Aug. 1. 

Celaya, 48, had been one of two final candidates for the position, along with Oakland Deputy Police Chief David Kozicki.  

“Managing public safety at a campus like UC Berkeley has unique challenges,” UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom said. “By size and complexity alone, our campus is a small city, with all the attendant public safety issues common to both urban and park-like settings. I believe that Mitch Celaya, with his extensive campus experience, his collaborative style and his commitment to the highest standards in police work, is uniquely qualified to lead the department forward.” 

In February, the university began a national search for a replacement for outgoing police chief Victoria Harrison. After the top two candidates met with senior campus leaders, the executive leadership of Brostrom's office, and held a town-hall meeting with the community, Brostrom, in consultation with UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgenau, announced that Celaya had been selected as the new top cop at the university. 

In June, senior campus officials announced a temporary suspension of the police search because they were looking into plans to merge the UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco Police departments under one chief. However, Janet Gilmore, UC Berkeley spokeswoman, announced Tuesday that the plans had been dropped. 

“Both the UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco police departments decided not to pursue it since it did not result in significant savings,” said Gilmore. 

Celaya joined the UC Police Department in 1982. Over the years, he moved up in rank from officer to lieutenant to captain. Since 2006, he has served in the capacity of assistant police chief and press information officer. In 1992 he received a UC’s Meritorious Service Award for his response to the attempted assassination of then Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien. 

Celaya will receive $165,000 a year. Former police chief Victoria Harrison, first hired in 1985, received about $192,000 a year, according to past compensation reports from the university. 

“Besides loving my job, the campus culture, and the community,” said Celaya in a June interview with the Daily Planet, “I am in tune to the culture and what people expect from the department. I would like to enhance the interactions with the student community. Some students feel that they have not developed relationships with us and we want to change that, working with the Associated Students of UC Berkeley and setting up mentor groups.” 

Celaya says that robbery and street crimes will be his top priority. 

“My biggest priority will be the reduction of violent street crime in and around campus,” said Celaya. “With budget restraints, we will do our best as a department. We will continue to put emphasis on building rapport with students and faculty and staff.” 

The Berkeley City Council holds a rare Thursday meeting today, with a light “mopping up” agenda planned before the summer break. 

The council will meet at 5 p.m. at the Maudelle Shirek Building on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in downtown Berkeley. 

Included on the agenda are three time-sensitive public hearings on actions taken by the Zoning Adjustments Board and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

Also on the agenda are several items carried over from the marathon July 14 council meeting, including one that would begin the process of naming the I-80 pedestrian-bicycle bridge for the late Councilmember Dona Spring, adjustments to the city’s regulation of massage therapy establishments, and a somewhat controversial proposal to simply the granting of permits to property owners for minor encroachments on public space. 

Councilmember Jesse Arreguín, who holds the council district seat formerly occupied by Spring, introduced the resolution to name the pedestrian-bicycle bridge in her honor. At the July 14 meeting, Mayor Tom Bates said that he would support the resolution, but added that a companion item should be added to name the new Berkeley Animal Shelter for retired Councilmember Betty Olds. Spring and Olds, who were frequently at odds on the council, united in support for animal rights causes, including the construction of the new shelter. 

The council will not meet again until Sept. 22. At that time, they are expected to take up the probable hits to Berkeley’s 2009-10 budget caused by the pending passage of this year’s state budget bill. That could mean some cutbacks in city services, as well as increased fees to Berkeley residents to make up for a possible state reduction in moneys passed back to the City of Berkeley. 

Meanwhile, two councilmembers have moved forward with plans to try to ease some of the burdens of actions taken this winter and spring to balance the 2009-10 budget. At the July 14 meeting, the council approved a resolution by Councilmembers Gordon Wozniak and Darryl Moore to reduce the late fee penalties for city parking violations, as well as to extend the time limit before those late fees go into effect. Earlier this year, in an effort to counter actions taken by the state, the council twice increased the city’s parking fine fee rate. Several weeks ago, Wozniak said that he felt the penalty rates and time limits were an unfair burden on Berkeley drivers. The Wozniak-Moore resolution went to the city manager’s office for study of its fiscal effects, and is expected to come back to the council for approval sometime this fall. 

Plans to revise the city’s ordinance regulating the placement of cellphone towers was on the agenda for several meetings this spring, but was eventually pushed back to the fall. 

Even without the cellphone tower ordinance revisions, this has already been a productive year for the council. In June, the council approved the city’s Climate Action Plan setting detailed benchmarks and requirements for reducing Berkeley’s greenhouse gas emissions. And in July, the council passed the ambitious Downtown Area Plan that sets the boundaries and direction for downtown Berkeley development. The Downtown Area Plan had serious citizen opposition, however, and a petition drive calling for a referendum to block the plan is expected to begin as soon as a final version of the approved Downtown Area Plan is published.

The East Bay Community Scholarship Fund (EBCSF) will provide $70 worth of school supplies to 3,500 Berkeley Unified School District K-12 students starting next spring. 

EBCSF’s School Supply Initiative (SSI), launched in March 2008, funds school supplies for students who receive free or reduced lunches. Their goal is to help every eligible student in Berkeley, Oakland and Richmond within the next four years. 

Their packages contain items ranging from binders, pencils and highlighters to lunch boxes and tissue packets. 

Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett said the program will be very beneficial to the schools. 

“I think it is wonderful that there is a group that is willing to do something like this,” Huyett said. “It sends a nice message to both students and the schools. To the students, the message is that people care about your education and will help provide you with those tools if you can’t afford them. To the schools, it says that there are people in the community who support education.” 

Benito Delgado-Olson, EBCSF chair and director, said, “Our goal is to serve as many local students as we can,” he said. “There is no city or municipality in the state or in the immediate area that supplies low-income students the tools to take advantage of their education. Once we demonstrate that this is possible on a regional level, we plan to assist other organizations in expanding it to other regions. Students go to school every day without the proper tools to learn. It brings real urgency to the issue.” 

Distribution follows a four-step plan. Once or twice every school year, EBCSF will purchase supplies in bulk through their business partner, “Give Something Back,” then transport them to three storage facilities where volunteers from UC Berkeley will assemble packages of school supplies for all thirteen grade levels.  

Volunteers will distribute the packages at sites throughout city, including James Kenney Park, San Pablo Park and the South Berkeley YMCA. The organization has also set a 5 percent limit on overhead costs. 

EBCSF works in partnership with a UC Berkeley student organization, “EBCSF at Berkeley.” While board members and business staff are unpaid, a few UCB students receive modest stipends, Delgado-Olson said. 

Peter Hsiue, a Cal senior and campus coordinator for EBCSF at Berkeley, said the program is very important for students in the city schools. 

“School supplies are vital,” Hsiue said. “In Berkeley, we knew that school supplies were given out at a smaller scale in the fall, but our supplies drive” provides them to all low-income K-12 students in the fall and spring. “Our partners are very enthusiastic about helping us out.” 

EBCSF at Berkeley currently has eight volunteers who take part in the large-scale assemblies of school supplies twice a year in addition to meeting twice a month. 

“I was approached by Benito, who is a good friend, a couple years ago to lead this group,” said Hsiue. “I like that this effort is new and innovative. It has the ability for us to give back to the community on a larger scale. I hope it succeeds.” 

“We have gotten wonderful responses from everyone at the university,” Hsiue said. “We have even become the primary beneficiary of the Cal Greek Philanthropy Fund.” 

The organization also receives funding from businesses, including Whole Foods of Berkeley and Trader Joe’s, and from the Berkeley City Council and the Associated Students of UC Berkeley. 

“Whole Foods Market Berkeley supported the East Bay Community Scholarship Fund as the recipient of our Bag Refund Donation Program,” said Nick Heustis, marketing and community relations team leader for Whole Foods Market Berkeley.  

“This program rewards our customers with a five cent credit for bringing their own bag, with the option of donating it to a local nonprofit. We chose the East Bay Community Scholarship Fund for several reasons. We were very impressed with the passion and entrepreneurial spirit of their director Benito Delgado-Olsen to make a change in his community.” 

The Berkeley City Council voted 8-1 in June, with Mayor Tom Bates in opposition, to give $10,000 to EBCSF. Bates’ Chief of Staff Julie Sinai said that the mayor voted against a slew of non-profit funding proposals only because the city had not heard back from the state about their funding situation for FY 2009-2010  

In a parallel effort, City Councilmember and SSI Committee Chairman Darryl Moore has also worked with the West Berkeley Businesses Association since 2004 to distribute backpacks with snacks and school supplies to kindergarten and first-graders, but Delgado-Olson said EBCSF’s is the largest scale effort to provide all students in the Berkeley/Oakland/Richmond area with comprehensive school supplies. 

“A lot of programs today don’t address what it means to be poor. This is the first ever effort that I know of to cover every student,” he said. 

Councilmember Jesse Arreguín calls the SSI a worthwhile project. “The difference between other efforts and this effort is that the EBCSF is doing it on a much larger scale,” he said. “They are really reaching out to different local organizations. I think that it is a really good program and I hope and think it will be successful.” 

EBCSF’s first pilot program was the SAT/ACT Preparation Course Scholarship Program, where students could receive money to take Kaplan’s standardized test preparation courses. Their next project—which they hope to start by year’s end, will provide low-income East Bay transfer students money to attend an accredited four-year college or university. 

For community members or businesses interested in learning more about the EBCSF or donating to their effort, see their website at: http://eastbaycsf.org/school_supply_initiative.php. 

Peralta Community College District’s board of directors moved quickly to look into charges of district improprieties raised in last week’s series of Bay Area News Group articles, beginning an investigation by their own inspector general and calling on the state chancellor of the California Community Colleges to appoint a special investigator to look into the charges as well. 

Peralta’s inspector general works directly for the board and not the district’s chancellor’s office, making the Peralta board one of the few—if not the only—local elected bodies with an oversight employee independent of the agency the elected officials are responsible for overseeing. 

The board resolution said the state investigator would have “unfettered access to [district] records, documents, personnel [and] financial information.” Results of the dual investigations are expected to be released to the public in the early fall, and board members said they would reserve judgment and defer any possible action until that time. 

In a series of four articles published July 12, the Oakland Tribune charged, among other things, that “District Chancellor Elihu Harris helped steer a $940,000 no-bid contract to one of his business partners without disclosing the relationship to district trustees,” that Harris broke district rules by raising the pay of “dozens” of district managers in the last year, that Harris himself took pay for which he may not have been entitled, and that district leaders—including some members of the board—“have spent thousands of tax dollars on lavish hotels, East Coast trips and even clothing in the past 18 months.” 

Board President Bill Withrow said that Harris properly noted his relationship with Oakland businessperson Mark A. Lindquist—with whom Harris operates two businesses—on a Peralta disclosure form long before Harris awarded Lindquist the contract in 2007 to oversee the renovations of buildings at Laney College. But Withrow said there are hundreds of such disclosure documents on file at Peralta that are not generally or easily referred to when district contracts let out, and he is proposing now that the district set up a database from the disclosure documents so that the district can certify that “there are no apparent conflicts of interest” when contracts are awarded in the future. 

The money for the oversight contract and for the Laney College renovations came from Peralta’s Measure A, a $390 million bond measure passed by Alameda County voters in June of 2006. 

The Bay Area News Group article stated that there was “no evidence” that Harris personally benefited from the Lindquist contract. 

Withrow said that while the Lindquist contract was awarded by Harris “on a no-bid basis that is both legal and universally exercised,” the district’s inspector general is looking into whether any aspect of the contract itself was “illegal, unethical, or contrary to board policy.” 

One of the Bay Area Newsgroup articles said that “several trustees” were “upset the chancellor had granted the [management] raises without first bringing them to the board,” adding that board president Bill Withrow did not know about one of the raises to Peralta General Counsel Thuy Nguyen “until asked about it” by reporters from the Bay Area Newsgroup. 

In remarks at Tuesday’s meeting, Harris admitted that there may have been an error in at least some of the management raises. 

Saying that he had given raises to managers over the past six years “that may have been in abrogation of board policy and if so, I apologize, and there will certainly be a correction of that action. But I only did it with the idea of being fair.” 

Harris did not say how that correction might take place. One of the Bay Area NewsGroup articles said that earlier this year, the board privately reviewed the issue and agreed to keep the raises in place. 

The district chancellor said that he had approved raises to faculty and staff in 2004 and “found more money” for such raises in 2006 and 2007, but added that Peralta District management employees “make 14 percent less than the average around the state. … I’ve been trying to move the managers slowly and surely towards equity. … I don’t want you to look at the fact of whether or not the managers got raises, but whether or not they are being paid fairly.” 

Several Peralta district staff members and union representatives speaking at Tuesday’s meeting said they were particularly disturbed at the managers’ raises coming at a time when lower-classified district employees were being forced to deal with the effects of district budget cuts. 

While one of the articles said that “Harris declined numerous requests for interviews within the past three months,” Harris on Tuesday night called the articles “a five- month inquiry that ended in four articles for which I have not had a chance to respond. I hope people give me that opportunity whether it is in a public forum or privately, because certainly the public deserves explanations.”  

The $1.5 billion gambling, hotel, entertainment and housing resort planned for Richmond’s Point Molate would only create three significant impacts that couldn’t be readily remedied, concludes the project’s draft environmental impact report (EIR). 

For an EIR, the critical findings for developers and regulators are those which reveal significant and unavoidable adverse impacts resulting from construction. The Point Molate draft EIR finds relatively few in any of the casino-based alternatives. They would arise from: 

• Cultural impacts from demolition of one of the structures in the Winehaven National Historic District. 

• Socioeconomic impacts from diversion of funds from other extant tribal casinos in the great Bay Area. 

• Traffic-related impacts at roadway intersections, roadway segments, and, most critically, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge toll plaza. 

The park-only alternative would eventually cause cumulative impacts at the toll plaza by 2025, and the no-construction alternative would lead to further deterioration of the historic buildings. 

Any finding of significant, unavoidable impact mandates that before the project can more forward, the Richmond City Council must adopt a “State of Overriding Considerations,” declaring that project benefits outweigh the environmental costs. 

In all other areas, impacts would be reduced to a less-than-significant level, the draft document concludes. 

This article, the second of three, looks at the conclusions reached by the EIR, a 5,284-document prepared by Analytical Environmental Services (AES) of Sacramento, a firm that has drafted reviews for many of the state’s tribal casinos. The final article in this series will focus on community responses to the proposal. 

The environment 

Earthquakes shouldn’t be a problem if the buildings are well designed, the report concludes, given a repeat of a temblor of the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake along the Hayward Fault. The report also rules out the danger of soil liquefaction in such an event. 

The document also concludes that the resort fits requirements by several of the agencies with oversight over projects on the San Francisco Bay Shoreline, including the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and the California State Lands Commission, which would have to approve any changes to the pier, which extends into state waters. 

From an ecological standpoint, the site contains eight types of inland habitats and five extending out from the shoreline. 

The EIR states that the site potentially houses a variety of special status plant and animal species—those deemed rare, threatened, endangered, potentially endangered, or of special concern by state or federal agencies. 

Included on the list are 18 special-status plant species and 23 animal species, ranging from morning glories and thistles to owls, osprey and salmon. But only one plant of special concern, the Suisun Marsh aster, has been documented, according to the EIR, along with two birds, the double-crested cormorant and the osprey. 

The aster isn’t on the state or federal endangered species lists. 

While AES saw no evidence of the presence of two critically endangered water fowl, the Clapper Rail and the Least Tern, they acknowledged the site as suitable habitat for the birds. 

Historical impact 

One key piece of federal legislation, the National Historic Preservation Act, will play a critical role in development, given the presence of the Winehaven National Historic District. 

That site includes both the castellated winery building that gives the site its name as well as cottages built for the naval personnel who later took over Point Molate as a fuel base for ships of war. 

In addition, two Native American shellmounds had been identified within the project boundaries in the early 20th century, along with a third archaeological site discovered later. 

The EIR concludes that one mound was likely dumped into San Francisco Bay during site grading and that while traces of the second may remain, it would not be considered of note under either state or federal law. 

The third site may contain significant prehistoric material. 

Winehaven itself flourished for only 13 years, ending with the enactment of Prohibition, which came into effect in 1920. Until the end of America‘s long dry spell, the winery was restricted to a thousand gallons a day of sacramental wine destined for churches. 

The historic district includes the main building (formerly the cellar), an administration building, a warehouse, a power house, a shop, a fire station, the winemakers house and the naval cottages. 

Starting with World War II, the wine cellar became part of a naval supply facility. 

The development proposals call for demolition of the historic district’s second-largest building from the site’s winery days, the former administrative building at Winehaven (which also housed part of the cellars), to make room for the main hotel building—which the EIR calls a significant unavoidable impact in the cultural resources category. 

A second building, which housed the winery’s shops, would be disassembled to make way for one of the parking structures, then rebuilt elsewhere on the site, a move the draft EIR said would reduce impacts to less than significance. 

Another significant, unavoidable impact would come from the presence of several large, modern buildings and associated infrastructure, changes the document declares can be partially mitigated but that would remain significant and unavoidable nonetheless. 

Money and justice 

One of the most controversial sections of the document is certain to be the section covering economics and environmental justice. 

One concern frequently voiced during the public scoping meetings conducted four years ago involved the potential impacts of close proximity to a Las Vegas-style resort in one of the Bay Area’s poorest communities. 

The section on socioeconomic conditions and environmental justice begins with a note that federal law requires an analysis of the project area to determine the presence of minority groups, the poor and Native American tribes, with a minority community defined as one in which more than half the community belongs to minority groups or where minorities comprise a meaningfully greater percentage than found in the surrounding area. 

Richmond, with a 78.9 percent minority population identified in the 2000 census, qualifies under both criteria, with a poverty rate of 16.8 percent—more than twice the county average. 

The City of Richmond, with a 2006 population of 102,120, reported a significantly lower median household income compared with Contra Costa County as a whole—$49,358 versus $74,241. Crime rates are much higher than for unincorporated areas of the county, with more five times as many robberies and murders. 

The Guidiville band of Pomos, who would be the legal recipients of the proposed federal reservation, certainly meet the federal criteria, with four fifths employed at wages below the poverty level and a 13 percent unemployment rate, according to 2003 figures from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

Significant socioeconomic impacts, according to the EIR, are those that adversely impact the housing market or the local economy. An environmental justice impact disproportionately and adversely affects an identified minority or low-income community, or Indian tribe.  

“Because construction and operation of the complex would generate substantial economic activity in the regional economy from expenditures on goods and services. . .[t]his would be a beneficial impact,” declares the EIR. 

Construction impacts from the casino and housing-only alternatives would generation between $869 million and $1.68 billion dollars in direct impacts, the document states, which would be more than doubled by so-called indirect and induced impacts. 

Once built, revenues generated by the ongoing project, including profits for the tribe, developers and operators, would run between $32 million for the housing-only alternative to $804 million for the casino complex plus housing alternatives, with the sums doubled when indirect and induced impacts are calculated. 

Direct wages paid during construction are estimated to range between $272 million and $550 million, with annual wages during operation estimated to run between $11 million for the housing-only alternative to $283 million for maximum development. 

As for tax revenues lost to the state and local governments, the draft EIR declares that they would be more than offset by a payment agreement with the city and other taxes, such as those on worker incomes and supplies sold for construction and operation of the resort. 

The city agreement provides for $8 million a year for the first eight years and $10 million annually thereafter. Other annual payments to the city in lieu of taxes include $10 a day for each hotel room, $5 a year for each square foot of retail space and .285 percent of construction costs for the area operated by the tribal or casino manager and other payments for other areas. 

The document also assumes the state will receive payments of 20 percent of the gross gambling revenues. 

But problem gambling of the addictive sort remains an issue, and the study, while minimizing the issue, acknowledges that Las Vegas reports a significantly higher percentage of addicted gamblers that the general population, even with lotteries in 48 states and illegal forms of gambling everywhere. 

The report also doesn’t note that the Las Vegas percentage would be considerably higher if members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were excluded, given that both drinking and gambling—the two major activities in a casino—are forbidden them and that Mormons constitute a major segment of the Las Vegas population. 

One study cited in the draft EIR reports that addictive gambling is higher where slot machines, the mainstay of casinos, are present. Richmond will be the capital of Bay Area gambling, with slots already available at Casino San Pablo (in the guise of fast-playing bingo machines) and thousands more planned for the projected Sugar Bowl two miles from Point Molate. 

Thus, one of the Bay Area’s poorest communities will be surrounded by slots, with a population least able to afford the losses. 

But the draft EIR declares that proposed mitigations, including confidential referrals to an organization that provides services for problem and pathological gamblers within 10 miles of the casino and support for hiring two licensed counselors. The tribe also offers to create a voluntary exclusion for gambling addicts.  

Such measures would reduce the issue to a less than significant impact, according to the document, which doesn’t note that many such organizations exist in Las Vegas, previously cited as the nexus for slot and table-game addicts. 

The EIR also contends crime is not a problem associated with the presence of casinos, citing a single study which reported that insufficient evidence exists to draw a firm conclusion about law-and-order impacts. 

The report also says that gambling addiction would not result in disproportionately adverse impacts to any minority or low-income communities.  

The project would also bring economic benefits to one specific impoverished community, the document states—the Guidiville Band—as well as thousands of jobs to Richmond and other nearby communities. 

Traffic 

Without mitigation, the casino resort project would create major traffic problems on both sides of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the EIR concludes. 

The maximum project, including the housing, would generate 736 new peak-hour cars trips on weekday morning, 1,534 peak-hour weekday afternoon trips and 2,000 during Saturday’s peak hour. 

In Richmond, the greatest impacts would hit northbound Richmond Parkway to Interstate I-80 at Blume Drive, where resort traffic would account for 27 percent of the weekday peak-hour traffic. 

The mitigation for this literal roadblock would be a restriping of the northbound approach on Richmond Parkway, paid for by the tribe, to raise the level of service from a level E to a D on an A-F rating system. 

The casino would pay only a portion of the cost of fixing the other troubled intersection, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Anderson Drive in San Rafael on the other side of the bridge, already at traffic level F. A wider roadway and improved traffic signals are would be constructed, as already planned by that city. 

The EIR proposes that the tribe will cover between 9 and 15 percent of project costs there, depending on which version of the resort is eventually built. 

Western Drive, the roadway leading to and through the site, including signals or a traffic roundabout at the access to Chevron’s hillside quarry. 

Even with the improvements, travel through some Richmond intersections would be slower, with slowdowns from levels C to D at three interchanges during the peak weekday afternoon hour: 

• Richmond Parkway/San Pablo Avenue. 

• Eastbound I-80 on and off ramps at Marine Street. 

• Westbound I-80 on and off ramps at Richmond Parkway/Redwood Way. 

As for the other significant impact increased delays at the bridge toll plaza, the report offers no guaranteed remedies, since jurisdiction for the bridge is under a separate agency that is not part of the casino development agreement. 

Delays at the tool booths would hit level F stalls during both the morning and afternoon peak hours, the EIR states. 

Other impacts 

While the project would be incompatible with existing General Plan policies for the site, the EIR states that the shift from city to tribal jurisdiction means the prior inconsistency would be rendered insignificant. 

Construction of the Bay Trail extension through the 50-foot city-owned shoreline strip would be consistent with the plan, as would refurbishing the pier as a ferry terminal. 

The project is also consistent with the BCDC plan, according to the report. 

With planned water conservation measures, the resort would not tax the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s water allocation, nor, with tribal fair-share payments, would it’s peak daily wastewater generation of nearly a million gallons adversely impact the Richmond Municipal Sewer District. Similarly, the report says no untoward impacts would be generated by the project’s anticipated 4,925 tons of solid waste annually. 

The previously negotiated city-tribe agreement would ensure no adverse impacts on the city’s emergency services, the EIR states. 

Traffic noise would also increase significantly on Western Drive, rising by 18.5 decibels at two locations. Setbacks, berms and building designs would reduce noise to residents of the housing projected for the third and most intense alternative, the EIR states. 

Because soils were in some areas were contaminated with chemicals and hazardous metals during the site’s use as a naval base, plans will be developed for handling any unanticipated contaminants discovered during construction and site preparation. 

Access to sites where toxins are known to be present after the final phases of the navy cleanup would be barred, and ongoing monitoring of groundwater would be conducted. 

The EIR specifies that sheltering-in-place and evacuation plans will be prepared in the event of any anhydrous ammonia, oleum or flammable chemical releases from the Chevron refinery and General Chemical plants located on the other side of Portrero ridge from the rear of the complex. 

The most likely catastrophe, failure of a chemical tank bleeder valve, is considered likely only once every 725 years, the document states. 

The report also concludes that cumulative impacts, except for traffic at the toll plaza and those cited in the need for a city finding of overriding considerations, would be reduced to less than significant levels.

The Berkeley Unified School District’s Personnel Commission is looking for a new member. 

The Personnel Commission is a non-partisan public body charged with administering a merit system for the selection, retention and promotion of classified employees in the Berkeley public schools. 

Applicants must be a registered voter and a Berkeley resident. They should be aware of the principles of the merit system. BUSD employees and school board members cannot be a member of the Personnel Commission 

Deadline to submit applications ends July 31, 2009. 

Applications are available online at www.berkeley.net and should be submitted to: Berkeley Unified School District, Personnel Commission, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, or to francisco_martinez@berkeley.k12.ca.us.

UC Berkeley wants someone to demolish “approximately 35 structures located at the UC Gill Tract Agricultural Field Station in Albany.” 

The move comes when Albany residents are evaluating two major UCB developments along San Pablo Avenue, one a Whole Foods store and the other a senior housing project with commercial development along the avenue. 

The request for demolition bids came in an advertisement for bids posted by the contracts division of UCB’s Capital Projects department. 

Demolition contractors have until 2 p.m. Aug. 2 to submit bids on the project, which the university estimates will cost about $250,000. 

The site is located just near the Albany-Berkeley border on San Pablo Avenue, and the proposal for bids comes two weeks after the university’s draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the University Village at San Pablo Avenue began its public review period before the City of Albany. 

City review is mandated because the project includes two projects, each with retail. 

The first site, located on San Pablo between Village Creek and Monroe Avenue, would feature a 55,000-square-foot Whole Foods store and parking lot, while the second, adjacent block to the south between Monroe Avenue and Codornices Creek, would have retail along the San Pablo Avenue frontage and 66 units of senior housing to the rear. 

A public hearing on the EIR will be held Tuesday night, July 28, at the Albany Planning and Zoning Commission, which meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. 

The EIR is available online at www.albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=521.

The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s independent student newspaper, can stay put—for now. 

Though the two parties have yet to officially sign off on the agreement, the Store Operations Board of the Associated Students of the University of California Auxiliary confirmed Thursday that half of the newspaper’s debt for rent and utilities will be forgiven and its lease extended by three years. 

The Daily Cal rents office space on the sixth floor of Eshleman Hall from the auxiliary for $5,061 per month.  

Like many newspapers across the country, the Daily Cal is facing tough times and been forced to scale back on its operations. The paper is no longer printing its Wednesday edition and has stopped paying its student reporters the $8 to $15 they previously received for each article. 

Faced with a drop in advertising revenue, the Daily Cal has only paid half its rent since October. 

In May, the newspaper and the Store Operations Board reached an agreement that would extend the paper’s lease by three years and excuse half of the $28,000 the paper still owed for rent and utilities. 

The Daily Cal plans to repay the remaining half—roughly $14,000—and invite a student member of the Store Operations Board to sit on the paper’s board of directors. 

Under its new agreement, the Daily Cal will continue to pay the same rent and utility costs and will continue to give the ASUC one free page of advertising space during the fall and spring semesters. 

ASUC Auxillary Director Dr. Nad Permaul said the paper “will have its utilities monitored and pay the actual costs, and will reduce its custodial services to maintain custodial costs at the current level.” 

When asked about the board’s decision to pardon the Daily Cal’s rent at a time when the auxiliary’s finances were in dire straits, Permaul said that “the Daily Cal has a significant value to the student population at Cal, and has long and close association with the ASUC. ... The campus will not let the auxiliary rent out the office space in Eshleman Hall to any other third-party vendor without seismic improvements to the building, hence this was the best rent agreement the board could negotiate.”  

The auxiliary is currently working on a plan to revitalize the Lower Sproul Plaza—the site of the UC Berkeley student union building—to make it more attractive for students and new businesses.  

Store Operations Board chair Nish Rajan said the paper provided invaluable “educational and informational scope” for students on campus. 

“The board thought it was worth saving,” Rajan said. “We are not a-profit maximizing entity. Our sole purpose is not to increase revenue. We provide a correct mix of services for students.” 

In a May 7 editor’s note, the Daily Cal’s then editor-in-chief Bryan Thomas acknowledged that some readers might question whether the Store Operations Board’s decision to forgive the back rent might bias the Daily Cal’s coverage of the ASUC or the board. 

“Our readers should be assured that this is a temporary arrangement—the board position will expire when the loan has been repaid in full,” Thomas said. “Perhaps more importantly, the Daily Cal Board of Directors has no control in any way over newsroom operations or editorial decisions. The board, made up mostly of our own alumni, is responsible for financial oversight and long-term business operations. We will also seek to acknowledge this arrangement in any coverage when it might be relevant.” 

Calls to Will Kane, the Daily Cal’s current editor-in-chief and president, were not returned by press time.

Berkeley City College has a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.  

BCC is one of only two California colleges to receive the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant. The other was awarded to InterAmerican College in National City, near San Diego.  

“This is incredibly good news during a time when we are in a disaster with funding at the community college level,” said BCC President Betty Inclan. “This in essence, gives us a sense of hope. We have a very fragile population and we want to make sure they can graduate at BCC or transfer to a UC or a CSU.” 

The grant will be used to expand support for students—many of them minorities—who do not meet basic college skill levels. Current BCC assessments show that on average 70 percent of California students who enter community college do not have college-level skills. 

The latest demographic data shows that BCC is 32 percent Caucasian, 22 percent African-American, 14 percent Asian, 14 percent Latino, 2 percent Filipino, 1 percent Native American, and 14 percent other or unknown. 

“It’s definitely been my experience that many who enter BCC do not have college-level skills,” said Tra Holloway Boxer, BCC basic skills counselor. “Many times, students were not successful in the past, so they have this phobia about college.” 

Boxer says that the best way to support students is to try to understand their situation. She meets with students for an hour when they begin the basic skills program to look at not only their academic records, but their family lives and physical and emotional health. 

“One of the first things we do is look at who the student is and how their learning styles vary,” said Boxer, who is also a life coach and licensed psychologist. “We look at their strengths and their weaknesses. The most important thing to measure is their attitude.” 

Boxer says that students are willing to put in the extra effort to achieve a greater education. 

“They really want to change, but many of them don’t know how,” said Boxer. “Many of them are not even kids. Some are adults. ... I have followed up with many kids and they are changing and doing great things. They are walking prouder.” 

“The money will go towards curriculum changes,” said BCC President Incan, “including curriculum development, curriculum assessment, critical literacy across the disciplines, faculty to work with counselors, and the expansion of student tutoring. ... With our money, we also plan to do more outreach to high schools and explain our expectations prior to students’ arrival and to have conversations with high school faculty and counselors about our institution.” 

“The most important aspect is the extra tutoring and student services,” said English professor Terry Tricomi. “We have good classes and good teachers, but too many students in a class. We have a program called ‘Persist’ ... which puts students in study groups. For other colleges, it has been very successful.” 

The Title III U.S. Department of Education Strengthening Institutions Program grant is a competitive program established by the Higher Education Act of 1965. According to the Department of Education, only 60 colleges were awarded this grant in 2009. 

“One of the most challenging things we face as an institution is that Peralta is very underfunded,” said Nicky Gonzalez-Yuen, a Peralta trustee. “Berkeley Community College, among four colleges in the district, has the thinnest infrastructure within personnel. So the question was, if you bring a grant in, how do you staff it? I am pleased that Betty [Inclan] was successful in this effort. In the long term, it shows that we are going to be serving our students a lot better.”

David Teece is having a bad year. 

For a man once dubbed “an economics rock star,” 2009 is shaping up more like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” 

The low-profile Berkeley academic was estimated to be worth $150 million in 2008 by a New Zealand business publication. So far this year, he’s ended up on the wrong end of a $1.84 million IRS tax settlement, watched the stock of an Emeryville company he founded plunge and seen the bankruptcy of a once highly touted firm he owned in his native New Zealand. 

Teece currently serves as professor of business administration at UC Berkeley’s Haas business school, where he also holds the Thomas W. Tusher Chair in global business.  

But for Berkeley residents, his main impacts have been to the city’s skyline in his role as very silent partner in the downtown housing projects of developer Patrick Kennedy—projects recently sold to Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell. 

Teece is also a co-founder and vice chair of Emeryville-based LECG, the Law and Economics Consulting Group, a company which, according to its website, “has provided independent expert testimony and analysis, original authoritative studies, and strategic consulting services to clients.” 

Founded in 1988 by Teece and other UC Berkeley faculty, the company went public in 2003. Its stock has been badly battered in the market crash, though Teece received a $10 million retention bonus, paid out in two $5 million chunks in November 2007 and January 2008, according to the company’s most recent annual report. 

In addition to that one-time sum, he also received another $4,471,000 for his services in 2008—the same year the company reported an $86.9 million loss, down from an $11.4 million profit the year before. 

Share prices, which had peaked at $25.19 in early 2004, have fallen to as low as $1.50 in recent months, reaching at $3.71 during Thursday’s trading to close at $3.69.  

On July 6, LECG announced that “Michael Jeffery has notified the company of his intention to step down as CEO of LECG, effective at the annual meeting of stockholders” later this month. 

Another major Teece holding, Canterbury of New Zealand, has also hit the financial rocks, and his major partner, a Bahrain investment fund owned by the Kuwait Finance House, has forced the company to look for a buyer, reports Karyn Scherer, deputy business editor of the New Zealand Herald. 

Scherer also reported that the sportswear company, which manufacturs rugby gear, lost $5.5 million in 2007—the most recent records available—and $18.2 million the year before. 

But the most damaging blow may have come from Uncle Sam, inflicted in the April 8 decision by federal Tax Court Judge Harry A. Haines in Washington, D.C. 

Haines ruled that Teece underpaid his income tax for 1999 by $1,824,886. 

The judge rejected IRS claims that more taxes were due from 1998. 

The IRS had originally alleged that Teece and his spouse Leigh had owed more than $12 million. Tax cases are frequently settled for smaller amounts than initially sought. 

After the IRS began its court actions, Forbes Magazine writer Janet Novack reported that “An adverse outcome in the cases could hurt Teece’s credibility as a highly paid witness and provide fodder for hostile cross-examiners.”  

Haines’s decision, along with Teece’s problems with Canterbury, leave Novack’s question an open issue. 

Chevron Monday filed an appeal challenging Contra Costa County Superior rulings that forced the company to shut down construction in Richmond. 

On June 5, Judge Barbara Zuniga struck down the environmental impact report (EIR) Chevron had prepared for expansion of its Richmond refinery, as well as the City Council decision approving the document. 

She also ruled that the City Council had erred in giving the company an additional year after the EIR had been certified to prepare an addendum listing the project’s impacts on global warming, a fact state law mandates must be included in all EIRs prior to approval. 

The judge found that the EIR had failed to make clear whether the expansion was, in part, designed to allow the refinery to process a heavier grade of crude oil. 

A second ruling, issued July 1, ordered Chevron to halt construction on the project until a new EIR has been certified. 

Construction has since halted on the expansion. 

In a prepared statement, refinery manager Mike Coyle said, “We believe there is ample factual and expert evidence, as well as law, supporting” the EIR and the expansion.  

“We believe the city correctly approved the project and that its construction and operation should be allowed to proceed,” Coyle said. “We look forward to presenting our case to the Court of Appeal.” 

A coalition of environmental groups, including Earthjustice, Citizens for a Better Environment, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and the West County Toxics Coalition, had sued to halt the project. 

Will Rostov, the Earthjustice staff attorney who litigated the case, was unavailable for comment by the Daily Planet’s deadline. 

Meanwhile, talks about a possible settlement are underway, and Citizens for a Better Environment released a statement Wednesday which said, in part, “We remain open to finding real solutions to safeguard the community's health, but Chevron must ensure real guarantees that its project will not increase public health impacts and environmental harm, agree to build a healthier community, reduces climate change and creates a greener Richmond.”

The July 9 meeting of the Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission kicked off with a bit of improv theater.  

The purpose of the meeting was to review and revise the policy statement in the housing element of Berkeley’s general plan.  

The theatrics were intended to call attention to an agenda item that dealt with affordable housing.  

A relevant issue was introduced by a number of people during the public comment session concerning the provision of affordable housing specifically for very low- and extremely low-income categories.  

The low-income category had been defined as 40 percent of area median income. In the East Bay this is approximately $46,000 a year for a single person, clearly far beyond the incomes of a great number of people, even people with jobs. In planning for housing needs, the state of California requires cities to use a further breakdown of low-income into very low- and extremely low-income, which, it is hoped, would provide for people who are homeless or living under grossly inadequate conditions. Very low is defined for a one person household as 50 percent of median, or about $31,000, and extremely low as 30 percent of median, or just under $19,000. 

Among those with extremely low- or no income at all are many homeless youth who have aged out of foster care or run away from dysfunctional or abusive families. A group of homeless young people who have been getting together as part of a program run by Youth Engagement Advocacy Housing (YEAH) to discuss social justice issues were talking about housing as a human right. Jill Dunner, a member of the Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission and a board member of Everyone Home, and who herself has experienced homelessness, has been working to focus attention on the plight of people with very low and extremely low incomes. She approached YEAH and suggested that the young people make a presentation before the commission meeting. Their creative juices flowing, they made posters and props and prepared a skit.  

They set up a large refrigerator carton which they had decorated and tied with a red ribbon and labeled as the home of Extremely Low Income. (Jill Dunner had procured the carton from a local appliance store.) A young man, “Extremely Low,” lived inside. Someone cut the ribbon while the audience was asked to cheer as Extremely Low came out of the box. But he did not have a voice. The audience was asked to give him a voice—and they did. Several people came up, and standing behind him, spoke into the microphone, symbolically giving him a voice. They described their own struggles, often having to chose between food or shelter or much-needed medical care. Culminating the presentation, Angel, a brilliant, articulate 19-year-old, read a poem she had written, a powerful and heart-stirring description of life on the street, life without even the basics that others take for granted. She spoke eloquently about never having any privacy, about trying to keep clean, finding a bathroom or a place to change clothes, to be alone with her sweetheart. 

Angel and Roger and Ujima and others are part of the YEAH program. YEAH used to stand for Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel when it was operating a winter shelter for young people, aged 18 to 24 years, at the Berkeley’s Lutheran Church of the Cross at 1744 University Ave. Keeping the same acronym they changed the name when they expanded to offer a year-round daytime program Monday through Friday afternoons in addition to the winter shelter.  

“We are an activity-driven space,” said YEAH Youth Services Coordinator Heather Love, “offering opportunities for young people ages 18 to 25 who have experienced or are experiencing poverty, houselessness, and/or landlessness to get access to counseling and services, build community, find stimulation, and be empowered.” 

The commission members were moved by the young peoples’ presentation. The requirement that the housing designated specifically for people with very low and extremely low incomes is now written into the housing element of the General Plan. But those are words; the reality is something else. The obstacles to actually providing anything are fierce. It’s not just a matter of money, which is next to impossible in the current economic crisis; there are issues of zoning, of finding an interested developer and various other problems. And once the plans are in place it could still take a year to have something completed. For homeless young people at a stage in life when they are transitioning into adulthood with no support or resources, this is a very, very long time.  

At this point the only project that is in the pipeline is a 16-unit complex—one unit is for the manager—which is not yet fully funded. To grab another handy metaphor, that’s barely a drop in the bucket.

A 911 call led to an arrest and seizure of explosives by Berkeley police Saturday. 

At 12:30 p.m. July 18, someone dialed 911 from a house in the 900 block of Grizzly Peak Boulevard in North Berkeley and quickly hung up. 

Patrol officers responded to the call but, according to Lt. Andrew Greenwood of the Berkeley Police Department’s Community Services Bureau, did not get a response when they knocked on the door and rang the bell, though they heard movement inside.  

Eventually a man later identified as Emoru Oboke Obbanya, a 27-year-old Berkeley resident, came out and quickly closed the door behind him. Greenwood said Obbanya appeared very agitated and nervous.  

“What was a routine check-up became non-routine due to the conduct of the person,” Greenwood said. “He looked extremely angry right from the very beginning, rather than getting upset with the police gradually.” 

Greenwood said Obbanya repeatedly cursed the officers and refused to confirm that he lived in the house. He did not cooperate with the officers’ efforts to make sure that no one inside the residence was injured or in need of help. 

Concerned about the safety of other residents, and in light Obbanya's behavior, the officers checked inside the house. Though they did not find anyone inside the house who needed aid, they saw signs of possible criminal violations. Greenwood refused to release specific details about the violations, explaining that the investigation was still ongoing. 

After obtaining a warrant, officers searched the house and found explosives, chemicals and other items which could be used to make explosives. 

Greenwood did not release information about the amount of explosives recovered. Berkeley police arrested Obbanya when he tried to stop them from searching the house. 

The officers called the Berkeley Police Department Bomb Squad to “safely conduct the search and seize illegal material,” Greenwood said. After finding the explosives, the officers evacuated the home and neighboring residences. 

The Berkeley Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team, the University of California Police Department Bomb Squad, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in the operation. 

A number of volatile items were safely removed using the UCPD blast transport vessel, Greenwood said. 

Obbanya was charged with four felony counts and one misdemeanor, including possession of an illegal firearm, prohibited possession of a firearm, possession of a destructive device, possession of material with intent to make an explosive device and obstructing a police officer from doing his duty. 

His bail has been set at $121,500. Greenwood said police officers left the house after completing their investigation at midnight Sunday. He added that the 911 number had likely been dialed by mistake, and that police had no reason to believe that there had been a hostage situation at the house. 

Berkeley police are investigating two sexual assaults which took place early Thursday morning. 

At approximately 2:32 a.m., Berkeley Police Department patrol officers responded to a report of a sexual assault which took place on the 2100 block of Cedar Street in North Berkeley. 

A high school-aged girl woke up to find the suspect straddling her and lifting her shirt. The girl’s mother—who was sleeping in the same bed—woke up and fought the suspect off until he ran away. 

The girl’s mother called police to make the report. The suspect was described as 16- to 20-year-old male, between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall, wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt. 

At 7:24 a.m., Berkeley patrol officers responded to another report of sexual assault on the 2600 block of Hillegass Avenue. A college-aged victim woke up to find the suspect on top of her. When she resisted the attack, the suspect escaped from the apartment. 

The suspect was described as a 16- to 20-year-old black male, between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet in height, wearing a gray non-hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. 

The suspects entered the ground-floor residences through unlocked doors and windows in both cases. Police remind resident to lock and secure doors and windows as summer temperatures climb higher. 

Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Andrew Frankel declined to release the victims’ age or details of the investigation. Frankel said a sketch of the suspect would be available by Friday. 

Berkeley police have asked community members with any information on the case to call the BPD Sex Crimes Detail at 981-5734. If the event has just occurred or is in progress, call 911 or from your cell phone 981-5911. 

Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. 

A Berkeley man who had been charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a former friend near the University of California at Berkeley campus three years ago will be released from jail today after serving only 18 months. 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay told 21-year-old Brandon Crowder, “You’re being given a break” after placing him on five years’ probation in connection with the death of 23-year-old Wayne Drummond of Oakland on Sept. 4, 2006. 

Clay told Crowder, who attended a junior college in the East Bay, “I hope I never see you again” and said Crowder will be sent to state prison for a long term if he violates the terms of his probation. 

Clay found that Crowder, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on June 15, testified truthfully for the prosecution in the trial of 23-year-old Nicholas Beaudreaux of Richmond, who was convicted July 7 of first-degree murder and attempted second-degree robbery in connection with the shooting. 

Beaudreaux faces a term of 50 years to life in state prison when Clay sentences him on Aug. 28. 

Berkeley police said they believed Crowder directed Beaudreaux to shoot Drummond in the incident, which began when Crowder and Drummond, who grew up in Southern California but also attended a junior college in the East Bay, got into a confrontation outside Blakes on Telegraph at 2367 Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley shortly after midnight on Sept. 4, 2006. 

But prosecutor Tim Wellman said today that the evidence in the case didn’t support that theory. 

Crowder’s lawyer, Darryl Stallworth, said Crowder had made “idle threats” about doing harm to Drummond before the incident and that those threats made police think that he had directed Beaudreaux to kill Drummond. 

But Stallworth said, “None of those threats had any immediacy. It was just a kid talking.” 

Stallworth said Beaudreux, who has known Crowder since they were in middle school together but didn’t know Drummond, injected himself into the confrontation by trying to protect Crowder and attempting to take Drummond’s wallet. 

Wellman said to jurors in his closing argument in Beaudreaux’s trial that Beaudreaux told Drummond, “I don’t know how to fight, but I know how to use this metal in my waist” and then pulled out a gun, stuck it into Drummond’s neck and demanded Drummond’s wallet. 

Drummond fought back and struggled with Beaudreaux over control of Beaudreaux’s gun and Beaudreaux shot him, Wellman said. 

Clay said today that he doesn’t believe Crowder anticipated that Beaudreaux would insert himself into the situation, attempt to rob Drummond and then shoot him. 

The judge said the shooting “was shocking to everyone there.” 

Wellman said in his closing argument that Drummond’s friends and a Berkeley police officer who came to the scene a few moments later attended to Drummond while he was lying on the sidewalk but they didn’t see any blood and didn’t take him to the hospital because they didn’t realize he had had been shot. 

Instead, Drummond’s friends drove him to a friend’s room at the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority at 2311 Prospect St., near the UC Berkeley campus, where he collapsed and died shortly after 2:30 a.m. that day. 

Beaudreaux and Crowder weren’t arrested until February 2008 because it took authorities time to develop sufficient evidence in the case. 

Crowder, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall, also faced a felony terrorist threat for allegedly threatening a basketball player at a UC Berkeley facility in December 2007, but Wellman dismissed that case. 

Clay said that charge is an example of Crowder’s “hot-headedness.” 

Stallworth said Crowder and Drummond had been good friends and drinking buddies but “got into a feud about name-calling and teasing each other.” 

He said it was “silly stuff” that was compounded by the fact that Drummond had been drinking and Crowder had been smoking marijuana the night of the incident. 

Stallworth said Crowder has matured since the incident and wants to go into computers and real estate after he’s released from jail. 

When you visit the Berkeley Public Library you’ll see staff at the circulation desk, at the reference desk, and others who are shelving books. What you are less likely to see are all those library employees, mostly in offices on the second floor of the Central Library, who move a book along from the time it’s either requested by a patron or a librarian. These are the employees who select, order, catalog, and process the 50,000 items added to the library’s collection every year. 

First stop on a tour of this labyrinth of activity is the office of Marti Morec, the Collection Development librarian. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Library School, Marti has been with the Berkeley Public Library since 1989, mostly in the Art and Music Department. “Though I loved working with the fabulous collection of recordings and books, I’ve also loved the last two years since I’ve stepped up to the exciting job of collection librarian. I still get a kick out of seeing a book arrive that I have steered through the whole process,” she adds. 

A cart of new books sits next to Marti’s office and on her desk are a number of periodicals (Library Journal, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly) along with newspaper book review sections. “All the librarians are responsible for suggesting titles to buy and, of course, we listen to our patrons. Knowing our community helps us select books,” she says.  

Marti coordinates patron requests, plus book selections made by a branch librarian and the Central Library book teams—each team focusing on a broad subject area. She also keeps a close eye on the book-buying budget and monitors the progress of the high-demand books. “Though it takes about four to six weeks from the time we order a book until it gets to the shelves, a hot item may be on the shelf in two weeks,” Marti adds. 

(The library also has an impressive collection of audio books, CDs, and movies, but books still make up the lion’s share of the library’s collections.) 

Marti electronically forwards the lists of suggested purchases to Technical Services, managed by librarian Megan McArdle. Tech Services includes four departments: Collection Development, Order, Cataloging, and Processing. 

In the Order Department, lists are further collated and the best sources determined for buying at particular item. The orders are sent off to an appropriate vendor or jobber using a computerized book ordering system. 

Delivery trucks deliver dozens of boxes of books daily, all of which are opened and the contents checked and rechecked to be sure that what is received is exactly what was ordered. 

A cart, groaning under the weight of two packed shelves of books, with tags sticking out of each book, is parked in front of Yvette Pleasent’s office. She is one of the three people receiving new books. An order tag sticking out of the top of a book titled The Banana Slug: A Close Look at a Giant Forest Slug of Western North America contains 16 items of information which Yvette enters into the library database. A red slip indicates that a patron has already put a hold on the book. (Patrons can check the library’s catalog for titles “on order.”)  

Once Yvette is satisfied that everything is in proper order she pays the bill electronically and Banana Slug, along with the other books, is rolled along into the Cataloging Department. 

“This is where a book is given a call number so it can be shelved with similar books,” says librarian Greg McKean. “A book is also given a bar-code and lots of other information about the book, some of which you see when you look up a book on a computer,” he adds.  

Finally, the book is off to its last stop on this complicated journey—to the Processing Department, a big cheery room with certain aspects of Santa’s workshop, well stocked with tools, labels, tapes, and packaging materials. Sam Zhang, the head of the Processing Department, says, “If a book is one that should remain in our collection but needs repair, we try and repair it here. ... With five employees, someone usually has the requisite skills.”  

At a work table, one employee affixes a mylar strip down the spine of a paperback book. A hardcover book is fitted with a protective cover, stamped “Berkeley Public Library” on the ends of the closed pages, and is given an electronic tag for circulation tracking and security. 

At another table, a technician tries to repair a spiral-bound Russian book, while another employee cleans a dirty CD. “If we can’t repair a book that is both valuable and irreplaceable, we send it to an outside bindery for repair,” says Sam.  

Processed books are finally loaded into crates for twice-daily transport to the branches or on to book carts for the trip to Central’s various departments. 

Now it’s up to the patron, checking out a book, to complete the journey. 

Note: If Banana Slug: A Close Look at a Giant Forest Slug of Western North America has captured your fancy, copies are available in the Children’s Library at both the Central Library and at the Claremont Branch. The call number is 594.3 H213b.

SETTLER MOVEMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing in response to Yisrael Medad’s July 16 letter to the editor. I am thrilled to hear Mr. Medad is writing from Israel. He should be able to go to B’Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, (www.btselem.org for those not in Palestine/Israel) which is located in Jerusalem. He will find that the effort to expand Jewish presence on territory the Palestinians had claimed for their future state is exactly what the goal of the settler movement in the early 1990s was. 

Tracie De Angelis Salim 

• 

ISRAEL’S JEWISH COLONIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Yisrael Medad defends the colonial Jewish settlements by writing from Israel that they are built “within the legally recognized community area.” That is exactly the problem. Israel’s apartheid laws consider the theft of Palestinian lands to build Jewish colonies “legal.”  

Not long after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Ariel Sharon, later an Israeli prime minister, exhorted his followers to “move, run, [and] grab more hills, expand the territory. Everything that is grabbed will remain in our hands. Everything we don’t grab will be in their hands.” 

The same Sharon wrote In 1973, “We’ll make a pastrami sandwich of them. We’ll insert a strip of Jewish settlements in between the Palestinians, and then another strip of Jewish settlements right across the West Bank, so that in 25 years, neither the United Nations, nor the U.S.A, nobody, will be able to tear it apart.” 

People who defend Israel’s colonial settlements under any pretext have no shame. Equally shameful is that the American taxpayer, unknowingly for the most part, subsidizes these colonies by billions of dollars of direct and indirect assistance while many Americans are without healthcare, adequate education or proper infra structure. 

Hassan Fouda 

Board Director, Israeli Committee Against House Demolition  

(ICAHDUSA.org) 

Kensington 

• 

ADVERTISEMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read the ad run by Penny Rossenwasser (who was once booed out of a stadium in Israel) and her ilk with more amusement than the horror it should have invoked, for the ad turned reality on its head and made Israeli children and their parents, the victims of Palestinean terror, appear to be the aggressors. Nice try. It ain’t agonna work. 

So here is one Jew who has had it up to my nose with the radical fringe in the East Bay that sponsored this ad. For every sane American, Hamas is a terrorist organization with the published purpose of destroying Israel.  

In fact Hamas, in the eyes of most Americans, are the ones who victimized Israeli children for years by indiscriminately firing hundreds of steel rockets loaded with high explosives into schools in Israeli cities. Hamas thus committed war crimes, but you would never know it judging by this ad. 

Under international law, Israel has every right to stop rockets from landing in its territory by stopping relief coming in by sea to Gaza, because these vessels could contain military equipment. The Rossenwassers and the hapless Jews who ran this ad would make their buddy Stalin smile if he could see his propaganda machine well oiled and running in Berkleley. 

Alan Stein 

Mendocino 

• 

HIGH COMEDY, LOW INTEGRITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

How entertaining to see Joanne Graham going on at length, responding to a calm well-reasoned letter from the community by saying “blah, blah, blah.” 

How hilarious to read her assertion that you “don’t have a dog in this fight,” when you continue to insist on and practice the repeated publication of hate-fomenting lies directed at the religiously pluralistic, progressive democracy of Israel. 

How typical that you repeat, this time via your staffer Hallinan, the lie that the settlements are the problem. 

That notion fails to explain: the 1922 massacre of Jews in Hebron; the 1936 violent riots by folks carrying signs that read “Palestine for Arabs” (because until 1967 or so there were no “Palestinians”); the laws passed by every Arab nation refusing to grant citizenship to the 600,00 Arab Israelis who left Israel in 1948 at the order of the Chief Imam of Palestine; and the Arab League’s Sept. 1, 1967 refusal to accept Israel’s offer of land for peace. 

And if anyone’s paying attention to the real world: If settlements were the problem, why isn’t Gaza (which Israel left four years ago) in peace? 

Fact and reason have apparently little chance against your committed hate campaign. 

I suspect that my reliance on them will justify your placing me among the list of people you excommunicate, unlike the anonymous source who you published in a half-page screed declaring the “Jews were not impeccable in the death of Jesus.” 

I’m only glad that your influence is as small as your honor. 

David Altschul 

• 

REJECT THE EXTREMISTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

According to today’s news, some Iranian hard-liners are criticizing Iranian president Ahmadinejad for choosing a vice president who once said that Iranians should be “friends of all people in the world—even Israelis.” 

Some of the letters I read in the Daily Planet seem to be from people who agree with these hard-liners, people who would rather spew venom against Israel than look for ways of reaching a peace settlement that would work for both Jews and Palestinians. I am talking about the relatively small number of letter writers who imply that Israel does not have a right to exist because it stole land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians. If you tell a people that they have no right to exist, then you obviously give them no alternative but to fight for self-preservation, and you make a peace settlement impossible. 

There have been many historical injustices on both sides, but there are letter writers on both sides who use the injustices of the others to imply that they do not have the right to live in peace in their own state. Most Jews and Palestinians living today were not around when Israel was founded, and they should not be punished for the sins of their parents or their great-grandparents.  

Instead of looking backward at wrongs that they want to revenge, the Israelis, Palestinians, and Daily Planet letter writers should try looking forward and finding workable peace proposals. I think the Geneva Accords are a good model, negotiated by Jews and Palestinians who genuinely wanted a workable peace and who unfortunately are in the minority in both of their nations. 

As the saying goes, “an eye for an eye leaves us all blind.” We should reject the extremists on both sides who preach hatred and revenge for the past, and instead we should work for peace in the future. 

Charles Siegel 

• 

BALANCED APPROACH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a Jew and support a balanced approach to the situation in Israel-Palestine. I support your right to carry advertisements of various opinions about the events there. I strongly support moves toward a peaceful settlement of the conflict there safeguarding the lives, security and rights of both Jews and Arabs. Both sides must stop aggressive acts against each other, including building settlements and incitement to violence. Each must learn to live with the other, hopefully productively and with respect. Both sides have people who would deny the other the right to security and safety. 

Paul G Shane 

Philadelphia, PA 

• 

IMBALANCED APPROACH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am Jewish and I object to the effort to intimidate the Daily Planet for its free-speech journalism. 

Yet I notice that the full page ad in the July 9 Daily Planet criticizing Israel does not say one word about anything the Palestinians should do to promote peace. What an imbalanced ad. 

And the column by Joel Brinkley in the June 14 San Francisco Chronicle lays the entire blame for intransigence in the Middle East to the settlement issue. There is no mention anywhere that 100 percent of the occupied land (with a small part as an equivalence for the settlements) was offered by Prime Minister Ehud Barak and other Israeli prime ministers and rejected by Yassir Arafat and other Palestinian leaders more than once. 

You know why—because the Palestinians do not want a two-state solution. They want only one state—Palestine, with Israel pushed into the sea. The classroom maps in Palestine still do not depict Israel, and you can imagine why. 

I would like to see Israel stop all settlement construction if only to show the fallacy of the settlements being the stumbling block to peace. 

David Levy 

(not the David Levy mentioned in the ad) 

Hyattsville, MD 

• 

BEYOND RIDICULOUS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The individuals who signed the “We Are Jews…” ad in the July 9 Daily Planet have every right to their opinions. 

But by choosing to express their opinions in such a simplistic manner, they unwittingly leave themselves open not only to ridicule but they also reveal an embarrassing, public lack of common sense. Surely everyone—even in Berkeley—knows that the Israeli-Palestinian situation is one of the world’s most complex, difficult conflicts, one that has defied solution for more than 60 years. So for the signatories to declare Israelis as The Bad Guys and Palestinians as The Blameless Victims is beyond ridiculous. 

Daily Planet readers would laugh at anyone who took out an ad blaming the entire economic crisis on, say, the Bank of America, or who claimed that Britain is responsible for Iranians protesting the validity of the recent election. Such naive statements would reveal the writer’s shocking ignorance of multi-faceted current events or a bizarre bias or maybe both. 

In the case of the ad, the Jewish signatories apparently hate Israel more than they care about peace. If they really cared about the Palestinians as much as they pretend, they’d urge Hamas to stop digging weapons tunnels, stop lobbing rockets (all destined to kill Jews), stop recruiting children as suicide bombers, and concede that a Jewish state has as much right to exist as a Palestinian one. 

June Brott 

Oakland 

• 

WHY I SIGNED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In her July 16 commentary “The Real Issue is Freedom of Speech,” Joanna Graham criticizes the petition signed by 138 members of the local Jewish community which supports free speech and the Daily Planet, as well as criticizing Israeli policies.  

I have often enjoyed reading her commentaries and often concur with her point of view. However, I disagree with her view that the petition should only have been about the freedom of speech issue. 

Since the attack on the Daily Planet is within the context of opinions they have published with regards to the state of Israel, the speech issue does not stand alone. The petition not only supports the Planet and its advocacy of free speech, but it is a plea for justice. As I feel that this is as important as the aforementioned ideals, that is why I signed and donated to the ad. 

Robert Kanter 

Emeryville 

• 

LAUGHING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I haven’t stopped laughing since I read Mark Wetzel’s letter to the editor, in which he claims that Theodore Hertz is the founder of Zionism. We know that Heinrich Hertz is the physicist who discovered Hz, the measure of frequency. 

Theodore Hertz? LOL. Where is Da Ali G when we need him? Certainly he or Brüno could have had some fun with Mr. Wetzel’s mistake. 

Perhaps Mr. Wetzel could research his “facts” more carefully. “Pretty simple, don’t ya think?” 

Rebecca Angel 

Albany 

• 

THE ‘SELF-HATING’ CANARD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If Mr. Colter cared a wit about being honest, he would not have parsed out history and might have attempted to get his facts correct: 

“On Oct. 7, 1985, four members of one of the PLO’s factions, the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak persuaded the hijackers to surrender, but not before they shot to death a wheelchair-bound Jewish passenger from the United States named Leon Klinghoffer, dumping his body overboard.” 

Colter clearly goes on to turn a blind eye to the further consequences of this tragedy: 

“Mubarak allowed the PLF leader and hijacking mastermind, Mohammed Abbas, and the other terrorists to fly to their headquarters in Tunisia. President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. warplanes to intercept the flight, however, and forced it to land at a U.S.-Italian air base in Sicily. The United States and Italy fought over jurisdiction in the case, but the Italians refused to extradite any of the men.” 

The final perversity of Colter’s closing remark regarding the Archille Lauro: “Well no one died yet!”  

Although Abbas was reported to have later died in prison, as a result of his 2003 capture by U.S. Forces in Iraq; Abbas was never arrested. In 1990, he struck again from the sea, with an abortive speedboat attack on bathers on a beach near Tel Aviv. 

Once again, another self-hating Jew heard from. Arguably, there are many continued travesties committed by all sides in this complex conflict, however, to rewrite history to make a point is to allow history to continue to repeat itself.  

David Morris 

DEATH BY TRAIN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If you want to kill yourself and/or make a statement, please don’t throw yourself in front of an Amtrak train, a car, BART, or anywhere where you are going to impact others that have nothing to do with you and your problems. If you need suggestions, I’d be happy to oblige.  

On that same note, I am appalled that the families of these people would ask for anything! Money, a bridge, etc. Excuse me, the estate should be reimbursing the involved innocent parties and taxpayers for the expenses their relative has incurred. When and where did people start thinking they could profit or should be owed money for something that their relative did wrong? If we all lived in a small village, people would not behave this way or expect something without giving. I’m ready for a do-over of our entire social system. We can not keep going like this much longer. 

Terry MacDougall 

Richmond 

• 

NUMBER ONE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Although much has been made of the speech Judge Sotomayor delivered here in 2001, Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), in an attempt to characterize her as out of whack in front of his national audience, went out of his way to associate her with “Berkeley.”  

Good job everybody! From ’60s Free Speech through tree-sitting grandmothers and Marine demonstrations, and we’re still number one! 

David Jaber 

• 

SOCIALISM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

To those who have turned “socialism” into a four-letter word in this ongoing debate about a “single-payer” health system; to those who would prefer insurance agent’s decisions over doctor’s decisions about health care needs; in recognition also, that many are attempting to privatize our (questionable) wars, most of you seem to honor our socialistic American military. 

Gerta Farber 

• 

BERKELEY CONDEMNS  

DOMESTIC TERRORISM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I applaud the Berkeley City Council for voting to condemn domestic terrorism by urging the Senate to denounce violence against providers of reproductive health care. The murder of Dr. George Tiller was unconscionable and I think other cities in the United States should join the call by condemning this violent act of domestic terrorism and supporting Resolution 187.  

Ellen Bartow 

Summer Intern for 

Council Member Kriss Worthington 

• 

UC BERKELEY CO-OP 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks for the article on the new UC Berkeley Student food co-op, and best wishes to the students for a successful venture. The new co-op is not, however, UC Berkeley’s first. As an undergraduate in the late 1980s, I was a sometime volunteer with a student food co-op housed in even lower Sproul—our space was in the underground garage. I don’t know how long the co-op existed, but it was going for a few years before I graduated in 1989, and likely existed a couple of years more. Anyway, it’s great to see this idea resurrected! 

Charles Margulis 

Food Program Coordinator 

Center for Environmental Health 

Oakland 

• 

BERKELEY’S BUDGET NEGLECT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am a retired Assistant Fire Chief from Berkeley, a third-generation Berkeley Firefighter and second-generation assistant chief. I negotiated four union contracts with the city over 14 years. I have had relatives living in Berkeley since 1880. On April 29, I presented a proposal to Assistant City Manager Dave Hodgkins that I had spent three months developing and I firmly believe would save the city a minimum of $5 million a year, without any elimination or changes in the number of employees, or any reduction in city services. It also works out to be an employee benefit. Dave Hodgkins said he would present it to Phil Kamlarz that evening and promised to get back to me within a week, but never has. He has not returned my calls.  

If my plan works for Berkeley, it could also have a major impact towards balancing the state’s budget. 

The plan I call “VESP” is self-building and to date the city has lost $1.3 million by ignoring it. I also offered to oversee the set-up and implementation of VESP.  

Robert G. Petersen 

• 

SOCIALISM REDUX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Finally catching up on a month’s worth of Planets, I was surprised to see Norma Harrison’s letter announcing that the Peace and Freedom Party proposes that its organization put socialism on national ballots without indicating any awareness of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). As a longstanding member of DSA, I would suggest that she invite its national director, Frank Llewellyn, to Peace and Freedom’s Aug. 1 meeting. DSA polled its members a few years ago concerning the feasibility of running people for office versus focusing on building a grass-roots movement. The resulting decision for the latter course has led DSA to conduct a wide range of activities that perhaps Peace and Freedom might be interested in learning about. 

Nicola Bourne 

• 

AIR QUALITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Is there anyone else who is as disgusted as I am about the air and noise pollution coming from the small planes that tow around the big Geico insurance banners? I went out to sit in my backyard and enjoy a peaceful breakfast, but no such luck with this plane circling overhead. It was spewing out probably a week’s worth of car emissions (anybody know the statistics on that?) so that some company owners could make a profit. Even over the A’s games, that’s not excusable—the air quality and traffic noise there are worse than here. Why is this kind of plane even given clearance to fly? And if this company can do it, what’s to stop all the others? There are places that belong to all of us, and that should remain, if not always quiet, disturbed only by a greater necessity than sales pitches. 

May I suggest that anyone who shares my anger and concern also contact Geico. It has a website through which you can send e-mail, and a phone number for reaching a live representative: www.geico.com or 1-800-861-8380. It takes just a couple minutes, but it’s important in protecting our common resources. 

Peggy Datz 

• 

TEACHERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While I welcome open debate on issues, I believe Ove Ofteness’ “cute” little ditty last week on Johnny and his teacher being unable to read is a cheap shot. I would be glad to discuss any issue of education, including teachers’ qualifications, but I am tired of the cheap shots and the looks askance I get as a kindergarten teacher.  

For the record, all teachers in California must have a bachelor’s degree and a credential which takes one to two years to receive. I myself graduated top of my class from UC Berkeley, have a master’s degree from Harvard, and chose to become a teacher instead of going on to become a professor. I believe I can make more of a difference there and I enjoy the ongoing learning I get from teaching all subjects.  

Yes, I learn from the kindergarten curriculum and yes, I can read, in four languages yet. My students, all low-income, facing problems such a foreclosure, parents losing jobs, etc. this year, reached grade level and will be reading by the end of next year. Many are already reading this summer.  

I urge the community to forego cheap shots at teachers and instead to support education so that we may do our job and do it well.  

M. Wheeler 

• 

LASER ACCELERATOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In an opinion piece attacking the proposed laser accelerator at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Mark McDonald refreshes our memories concerning the former tritium research facility there. Presumably to convince us that we can’t trust the LBNL scientists, McDonald avers that “clouds of tritium” streamed out of a stack “10 feet” from the Lawrence Hall of Science play area. He goes on to say that the independent study by Bernd Franke impugned the “professionalism and integrity” of the tritium lab scientists, described their records as a “shambles” and stated that the risks to children attending the museum were underestimated. 

These are serious allegations which deserve comment. Regarding the “clouds of tritium”: The stack which vented filtered air from the tritium lab was 130 feet from the Science Museum, not 10 feet. A study by the Senes Center for Risk Analysis concluded that the amount of radiation from this stack was so small that “no additional cases of cancer” would be expected even for full-time employees working at the museum for 30 years.  

Regarding Bernd Franke’s report: At the time it was presented to the Berkeley community, I was chair of the Community Environmental Advisory Commission and I had ample time to talk with Mr. Franke. In his report he reviewed past practices and suggested a number of alternative methods to monitor the future work of the lab; neither in our conversations nor in his report did he criticize the lab scientists and their work in the harsh fashion McDonald describes. 

Regarding radiation risk for children: Franke recalculated for a variety of worst-case scenarios and concluded that radiation exposure would still be well below dangerous limits. As the previous safety study had concluded, any increased risk to anyone from the tritium lab “would be difficult to distinguish from zero.” 

What I remember most vividly from Franke’s presentation at the public meeting were his statements “I’ve never seen a situation where there was so little risk and so much anxiety,” and “If I lived here and had a child, I would let him attend the Lawrence Hall of Science.” 

Elmer R. Grossman 

• 

OAKLAND SCHOOLS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

“The administrator certifies that all necessary collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated and ratified, and that the agreements are consistent with the terms of the improvement plan specified in Section 7 of this act.” 

The above is quoted from SB 39, the law that governs the steps necessary before returning full power to the Oakland School Board. 

Unfortunately, Oakland State Administrator Vincent Matthews did not certify “…that all necessary collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated and ratified…” 

Because State Administrator Matthews did not perform this step, the memorandum of understanding that was signed by both Jack O’Connell, superintendent of public instruction, representing the state and Noel Gallo, president of the Oakland School Board, is out of compliance with SB 39, the law governing the process for return of local control of Oakland schools. 

The question is how will the state and the board cure and correct this required step that was skipped? 

Jim Mordecai 

Oakland 

• 

UC STADIUM PLANS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I saw your recent article on the UC Stadium development plans. My opinion is that UC should be stopped somehow—because their overall plan is to turn the Stadium into a major year round commercial venue which is not supported or wanted by the neighborhood.  

Kathy Dittmer 

During the City Council and public debate on the downtown, much of the discussion revolved around the super-sized height of the buildings. My comments focused on affordable housing, public transit and environmental impacts such as greenhouse gases. Here I will describe what I see as the super-sized flaws of the Downtown Area Plan. 

1. Super-size prices on million-dollar condos. According to the feasibility study most of the units in the taller buildings would need to charge $900,000 to $1 million dollars per unit to be profitable enough to build. 

2. Super-size loopholes in affordable housing. Many rental projects will continue to have less than 20 percent units affordable as we have seen in multiple loopholes used in previous projects. According to staff statements at the council meeting, condo units are likely to pay fees not to provide affordable housing in their projects. (Four councilmembers supported increasing the inclusionary requirement to 25 percent but it lost by one vote.) 

3. Super-size jobs/housing imbalance. If middle-class and low-income residents can not afford what’s built, the additional employees will need to travel from out of town to work here. 

4. Super-size give-aways to for-profit corporate developers to externalize the cost of open space, child care, and transportation onto the taxpayers. When Sutter and UC executives complained, the plan was changed, even though the change might hurt employees, students, patients or taxpayers. 

5. Super-size traffic problems at 11 key intersections, most of which would get the worst possible (F) rating for level of service. Numerous transit improvements were proposed but not included in the plan. 

6. Super-size abuses of process with neither the public nor the City Council recieving the amendments in the required time before the meeting, so few people had a chance to read or comment on the dozens of last day changes. City Council meetings legally end at 11 p.m. To continue later there must be a motion made to suspend the rules and specify what items will be discussed late. The proper motion was not made.  

7. Super-size vagueness and confusion. While there are good things mentioned in the plan, some are encouraged and some are even “required.” But language suggests there will be a “toolbox” for developers to choose from, not actual clear requirements. Given the notorious complexities of Berkeley zoning processes, this lack of specificity invites more confusion or favoritism, rather than offering clear direction to all involved. 

8. Super-size damange to the EIR process. If a private corporation declared they did not like the environmentallly preferred alternative and adopted a “statement of overriding consideration,” we would demand that they study and fund mitigations to make up for the significant impacts. If they said we’ll compare our choice to building it somewhere else we would laugh or complain. Berkeley is driving a super-sized excuse through the EIR process that may be used as a loophole by many corporations in the future. 

9. Super-size high-rises without appropriate environmental mitigations or adequate affordable housing. According to the EIR with no new plan there would be 1,800 additional units likely to be built. With the plan there will be about 2,900 units. In the 10 buildings from approximately 10 stories to 18 stories there would be about 800 to 900 new units. The financial feasibility study suggests most of these will be million dollar condos. While I personally think more density is a generally good idea, is the gentrifying impact of million dollar condos really the best goal for a Berkeley plan? I care about diversity and democracy as well as density. 

10. Super-size public participation. Many dozens of resident opposed the bad features of the plan and asked for changes. Some changes were made but not enough. I believe Berkeley deserves a better Downtown Area Plan and it is up to you to see if you make it happen.  

If enough voters sign the referendum, the City Council will be forced to fix some of these problems or put the plan on the ballot. Perhaps there is still time to get a plan that is super-sized on fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers, and Berkeley values like diversity, democracy, and greenhouse gas reduction right here in Berkeley. 

Kriss Worthington represents District 7 on Berkeley’s City Council. 

Alliance for a Green and Livable Downtown, a group of Berkeley residents organized in opposition to the recently passed Downtown Area Plan, are collecting signatures for a referendum of the plan. See GreenDowntownBerkeley.org. 

The ethnic diversity of faculty across the campuses of the University of California is the subject of debate and controversy; however there can be little doubt about ethical diversity. It abounds. We need look no further than the present university budget woes, and in particular two competing proposals offered by faculty at Santa Cruz and San Diego.  

The initial proposed salary cuts coming out of the president’s office, a reduction of 4 and 8 percent for faculty and staff making below and above $45,000 respectively, evoked considerable opposition at Santa Cruz. Many consider any salary cuts for those at the lower end of the scale to be obscene, and countered with a far more progressive scale, a scale in which faculty making the proposal would themselves see cuts in excess of 8 percent. 

Farther south, leading faculty members at San Diego spurned any sense of progressiveness. Rather, they sought a draconian solution, as regressive as it is simple. After all, they argue, it is obvious that the entire university consists of three “tiers”—upper, middle, and lower. To save the system and maintain UC’s greatness we must protect the best…the top tier, namely Berkeley, Los Angeles, and, yup, San Diego. If that means jettisoning those too weak to swim in today’s economic and political rapids, so be it. Solution? Close Riverside, Santa Cruz and Merced. Problem solved. 

While unlikely here, systems of triage are not without merit. Indeed, at times they are the only solution. As it turns out, San Diego’s three-tier triage system is simultaneously overly complex and too simple.  

Simply put, there are only two tiers within the UC system. At the top is Berkeley. On some level, all of us know there is one “crown jewel” in the system, located across the bay from San Francisco. The rest of us—yes, San Diego, right along with Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced—will forever look up to the Bears.  

On the other hand, we do rank every element of our lives, from T-Ball to our universities. Within the UC system, there’s a natural desire to rank our nine campuses. And while recognizing the arbitrariness, expanding San Diego’s three-tier scheme by one would provide a superior guide, should the regents ultimately revert to triage.  

Interestingly, such a ranking has an obvious geographical dimension. Berkeley remains at the top of the system academically. Over 400 miles (light years?) south, in second place, is UCLA. The distance between UCLA and number three, San Diego, is less than 400 light years...uh, miles...further south, but 125 miles is no small distance. Indeed, once we’ve gone so far south, the geographical/quality relations break down. But the distances between the remaining six campuses pale in comparison to the San Diego-Berkeley gap. Given the subjective nature of the exercise, and the ensuing political turmoil, the resulting ranking may not be worth the effort.  

Thus, while not that much more sophisticated than San Diego’s three “tiers” version, the above ranking provides an honest estimate of the chasm separating San Diego from Berkeley. It may also induce a modicum of humility at our southernmost campus, and in doing so move the university a small step away from ethical diversity. Certainly a worthy goal! 

David Kaun is a professor of economics at UC Santa Cruz. 

Times are tough. We are all very aware of this inescapable fact. Individual citizens are struggling with unemployment and reduced incomes. Businesses have seen a sharp drop-off in spending by their customers and, of course, government at every level is struggling to balance budgets that have been affected by declining tax revenues of every category, resulting in a scramble to find solutions to budget woes. 

Several weeks ago, in an effort to address these shortfalls, the Oakland City Council made a decision that will certainly provide short term revenues but at the same time will doom many small businesses and eventually devastate every shopping district in our city. That decision was to raise the meter rates to an unconscionable $2 per hour and, even worse, to extend enforcement hours to 8 p.m. In addition, all ticket fines have been increased as has the level of enforcement of violations.  

Our elected representatives have lost sight of the fact that they have been entrusted with the serious responsibility of protecting the viability of businesses located within this city. Consumers have a choice when it comes to patronizing any business and those eho drive have more choices. If any municipality inflicts conditions that result in driving shoppers to adjoining cities, then the consequences can be staggering.  

The Oakland City Council has been discouraging patronage in our shopping districts for years with high parking rates, broken meters, and unreasonable parking ticket fines, but their recent actions have raised the damage to local business to an unsustainable level. Our customers should not be viewed as potential suckers ripe for a municipal mugging, but instead as valued supporters of the economy of our community. Likewise, our residents should not be the targets of the multitude of aggressive and unfair ticketing that has been unleashed in the past few weeks. 

If there is not a prompt correction of this very dangerous course that the City Council has taken, I fear that we will soon see a cascade of failed small businesses in Oakland that will only add to the budget shortfalls by the loss of all of the income that the city receives from each business establishment.  

Once closed, these businesses will never return and each closure represents a devastating blow to those entrepreneurs and their families as well as to their employees. There is now a growing tidal wave of public fury to the transition of parking from being a needed amenity to that of a vehicle for extortion. I am very confident that sufficient outrage is present to support the gathering of signatures to force a recall of the entire City Council. While this would be very disruptive, it becomes the only avenue to change these policies that are so damaging to Oakland residents and businesses.  

During the 28 years that I have been honored to be the operator of the Grand Lake Theater, I have seen many changes in my neighborhood. After the revitalization of the theater with my restoration and expansion efforts in the 1980s, I saw Grand Avenue thrive. There were few storefront vacancies and the parking spaces were filled with customers for local businesses all day long. Parking rates were reasonable and parking violation citations were not draconian. 

Moviegoers from all over the Bay Area made the Grand Lake a special destination for a unique, high-quality entertainment experience in a restored movie palace. Today the situation is quite different. Years of escalating parking fees and fines have succeeded in driving away many of our customers. Today, storefront vacancies abound on Grand Avenue. There are always many unused parking spaces on the street during daytime hours as our customers have gone elsewhere. Free parking in surrounding communities and shopping malls, low cost parking in Alameda and the longtime climate of shoppers being considered revenue generators for the city through the aggressive ticketing process have taken their toll. 

Even the theater has seen a major reduction in attendance due to the more inviting environment created by the civic leaders of Emeryville and surrounding communities. I fear that the extension of meter enforcement until 8 p.m. will eliminate so many customers at the Grand Lake that the theater will not survive. This would also bring the failure of many of the restaurants in that neighborhood. When our shopping districts have died off, how much parking and ticketing revenue will the city then receive? While the city estimates over a million dollars per year in extra revenue from this new policy, they must consider how many dollars of customer spending is being chased out of Oakland. Could it be $50 million? $100 million? The new policy should be named “The City Of Oakland Anti-Stimulus Parking Package”!  

I respectfully implore that the City Council reconsider this hastily conceived change to the parking regulations that so dramatically affect both small businesses and the residents of Oakland. 

The enormous negative publicity and anger that has been generated by these changes can be easily redirected into a high-profile invitation for shoppers and diners to return to an Oakland that values their patronage and wants to be a gracious host to that business activity. This can happen with a roll-back of meter rates to a reasonable 50 cents per hour (like neighboring Alameda) and the elimination of enforcement past 6 p.m. Additionally, all parking citations that have been issued in the past two weeks should be forgiven.  

It is not shameful for the City Council to realize that a mistake has been made and to promptly correct that error. This is an opportunity to revitalize our business districts by extending a very public welcome mat. The resulting economic activity will lead to a more prosperous Oakland in the longterm via increased sales tax, employment tax, property tax, and business license tax revenues. 

I urge all readers of this column to contact their councilmembers to express their opinions, either in agreement or disagreement, and to send letters to the editors of papers that publish this commentary. The future of Oakland is in the hands of its citizens.  

Allen Michaan owns Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater. 

While English language television in the United States mined the minutiae of Michael Jackson’s upcoming funeral, millions watching Spanish, Portuguese and French language media in the rest of the Americas were transfixed by live broadcasts of the Honduran military shooting and killing a 10-year-old boy and other protesters.  

From the U.S.-Mexico border to the southern tip of Argentina and Chile, Latin Americans were besotted by television and internet images of the tens of thousands of Hondurans who risked their lives while staging a peaceful march to the airport where a plane carrying the ousted President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, and United Nations President Miguel d’Escoto was trying to land.  

In the course of mass mobilization by Hondurans, many throughout the continent watched the drama of the police stepping out of the way of the marchers when their chief declared that he “holds the military responsible” for any bloodshed. Shortly after, blood was, in fact, spilled as at least two people were killed by the military and several others were injured, according to Telesur, which broadcast live from the Tegucigalpa airport. 

Public and official outrage in response to the killings and shootings are sure to intensify pressure on the military coup leaders who already face worldwide denunciation and pressure. The Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Honduras’ membership Saturday; The European Union and most countries in Latin America with embassies in Honduras have withdrawn their ambassadors; the World Bank and some governments have either suspended or frozen loans to Honduras.  

But the military coup leaders are still recipients of U.S. economic and military aid.  

As a result, the whole Latin American world is watching Honduras and President Obama, who still has not heeded calls to suspend U.S. military aid to Honduras. In fact, Latin America may well be where the decline and fall of Obama’s global rock star status begins. 

The Obama administration has chosen to respond to the crisis in a manner that will signify little to millions watching the bloodshed taking place in Honduras; While nobody in the hemisphere wants the return of the actions of the Bush era, many already believe that the Obama administration’s inactions mean that the “new” or fundamental “change” Obama promised during his also widely-viewed Summit of the Americas speech last April adds up to little more than this: more militarismo, but with a smile. 

For example, rather than officially declare and denounce the Honduras putsch as a “coup,” which would, among other things, trigger a cutoff of military and other aid, the Obama administration has instead chosen the symbolic act of suspending joint military operations. 

In a region where U.S. military aid, U.S. military training and U.S. political support for dictatorships responsible for killing, torturing and disappearing millions are at the heart of why Obama needed urgently to signal a “new” U.S. policy, Obama’s continued “Si Se Puede” (Yes We Can) to continued military aid for such human rights violation-plagued governments as those of Colombia, Mexico and Honduras will only tarnish his and the U.S. image in the region.  

The president’s inability or unwillingness to call for an immediate suspension of U.S. military aid is already raising questions about the motives and role of Obama administration operatives like Hugo Llorens, the current U.S. Ambassador to Honduras.  

From 2002-2003—the year many in Latin America condemned the attempted military coup in Venezuela—Llorens was the Director of Andean Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC).  

Llorens was charged with advising then President Bush and his National Security Advisor on issues pertaining to Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Although Llorens and the Obama administration do not recognize the current government, they did, apparently, know that the Honduran coup was going to take place.  

That the Obama administration knew of the coup and did not cutoff aid immediately after it took place, makes its claims that it tried to “stop” the coup seem naive, at best.  

That the administration may not cutoff aid even after coup-appointed Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez described President Obama as “ese negrito que no sabe nada de nada” (that little black boy who knows nothing about nothing) is to add political insult to tragic injury before a hemispheric audience; That Obama may not cutoff military aid even after Sunday’s increased bloodshed adds even graver injury to that insult. 

And in Latin America, a region where the word “Honduras” now means “defend democracy,” a region where many know that Democrat-led U.S. regimes have propped up military dictatorships, assassinated leaders and covertly destabilized left-leaning governments with the same zeal and effectiveness as Republican regimes, President Obama and the United States, no longer have the luxury of being on the wrong side of history made on the streets. This hemispheric sensibility was articulated forcefully by Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez, who traveled with the Presidents of Ecuador and Paraguay to El Salvador on Sunday in order support Zelaya. During their late night press conference, Fernandez seemed to speak to and for millions when she stated, “We’re not just defending Honduras. We’re defending ourselves.” The question President Obama must answer as unequivocally and rapidly as possible is, “Who are Latin Americans defending themselves from?” 

After six months as president, Barack Obama has put his own imprint on U.S. foreign policy. That’s fortunate because George Bush broke everything he touched. 

Obama is collaborative; Bush was confrontational. Drawing upon his experience as a community organizer, Obama looks for areas of agreement between the interests of the United States and those of other nations. “The United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences,” he said. 

Bush’s signature foreign policy doctrine was preemptive war. “The United States of America will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons,” he said. Bush’s “axis of evil” speech led to the invasion of Iraq and, if that war had played out as expected, would have resulted in the invasion of Iran and other military adventures. 

Obama is a realist; Bush was an idealist. Over the past few decades, Democrats have been accused of quixotic foreign policy—subscribing to the “one world, one global community” philosophy—while Republicans have been pragmatic—Henry Kissinger introduced the concept of realpolitik to Richard Nixon, leading to the normalization of relations with China. However, the Bush administration returned to cold-war politics based upon dogmatic ideology: U.S. military prowess would produce free markets inexorably followed by capitalism and Christianity. 

Now it’s Barack Obama who champions realpolitik, who has emerged as the pragmatic diplomat. Obama has kept the door open to Iran, as he seeks to build a coalition of containment that includes Russia and China. 

Obama is a globalist; Bush was a nationalist. Obama sees the United States as a powerful player in a complex world; Bush saw America as the leader in a global crusade. Driven by his conservative Christianity, Dubya viewed the world through the prism of good versus evil—“you are either with us or against us.” Because of his rigid perspective, Bush wouldn’t have countenanced continued diplomacy with Iran after June’s election turmoil. 

Obama sees a world of overlapping spheres of influence: military, business, and social. United States military interests require that we collaborate with other nations to combat terrorism and control the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Our business interests require that we regulate trade and oversee the global economy, make sure that poor nations participate. United States social interests require that we encourage the development of civil society everywhere, while we cooperate to control the spread of infectious diseases and respond to the crisis of global warming. 

Bush viewed America as a fortress where barbarians were hammering at our gates. Therefore, his foreign policy perspective was simplistic: America needs to remain the world’s preeminent military power to maintain our security. Dubya had little interest in global commerce and social problems. When questioned he’d invariably respond that they would be dealt with by “the market.” 

Obama believes in diplomacy; Bush saw only military might. Because of his Manichean worldview, George Bush had no use for the State Department and his administration managed foreign policy through the Department of Defense. In Afghanistan the primary emphasis of Bush policy was to eliminate the Taliban and, therefore, few funds were allocated to rebuild civil society, a key element in ensuring the spread of democracy. 

Obama has reinvigorated the State Department and reinforced the primary role of diplomacy in negotiating U.S. interests around the globe. 

When Bush considered the invasion of Iraq, then Secretary of State Colin Powell warned him of the consequences and cited the Pottery Barn Rule—“you break it, you own it.” Bush ignored Powell’s sage advice and authorized an invasion that fractured Iraq. And, after March 20, 2003, American foreign policy was broken as well. As a consequence of the global outpouring of support after 9/11, Bush had an opportunity to strengthen the world community to address common problems such as terrorism and global climate change. Instead, he chose to lead America on an abortive Christian crusade, turning off most of America’s potential allies. 

Now Barack Obama has to fix what George Bush broke. The good news is that Obama understands this. The bad news is that there is a huge amount of work to do. During his recent visit to Russia, Obama had breakfast with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Reports indicated that at one point, Putin launched into a 50-minute soliloquy about U.S.-Russia relations. No doubt the wily prime minister said he formed his assessment of Bush’s character by doing more than looking into his eyes. Putin noted his actions and concluded Dubya was the kind of person who said one thing and did the opposite. Putin probably asked Obama, “After eight years of the Bush administration, why should the United States be trusted?” 

That’s the legacy of Pottery Barn foreign policy. George Bush didn’t care if the rest of the world trusted the United States. Now Barack Obama has to reestablish our credibility before America can again take its position as leader of the free world. 

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

I probably first heard the term “Port Chicago” from a 1982 article by now-UC Berkeley professor Robert Allen and researcher-historian Peter Vogel about “the Port Chicago disaster and mutiny” in The Black Scholar magazine. I did not finish the article at the time. I was interested in all things African-American history in those days, and certainly would have been drawn to the subject of a Black naval mutiny. I’m sure I lost interest when I found that the “Port Chicago Mutiny” mentioned in the Allen-Vogel article was not a mutiny in the sense of the Bounty mutiny or a slave revolt-Black sailors taking over a ship from its white officers at gunpoint-but was more of a work stoppage, and, further, that it had occurred during World War II. I was born just a few years after V-J Day and grew up inundated with the subject. World War II was my parents’ war-or so I thought-and I was of a generation that sought desperately to separate ourselves from our parents and leap over them to a more distant past. 

I also had no idea at the time I briefly looked at the original Allen-Vogel article that Port Chicago had been so close, just up the road from Oakland on Suisuin Bay, between Martinez and Pittsburg. I probably thought it was located somewhere up on the Great Lakes. The name Port Chicago had gone out of local use by the time I was coming up and so I never heard of it, the town of that name abandoned and swallowed up into the post-war Naval complex. 

Mr. Allen put the Port Chicago story into a book-"The Port Chicago Mutiny"-in 1993, but I did not get around to reading it until 2004, when I was doing a story for the Daily Planet on the 60th anniversary commemoration of the event. In that story ("Local Residents Remember Port Chicago Mutiny,” I wrote: 

“Sixty years ago, at 10:18 on the night of July 17, 1944, a massive munitions explosion rocked the wartime naval loading dock at Port Chicago, on Suisun Bay just north of Martinez. The blast was felt throughout the Bay Area, shaking the ground like an earthquake in cities like Berkeley and Oakland. 

“In his 1989 book The Port Chicago Mutiny …, Bay Area historian Robert Allen described the explosion: ‘Loaded with some 4,600 tons of ammunition and high explosives...the [munitions ship] E.A. Bryan was literally blown to bits. ... The [munitions ship] Quinalt Victory was lifted clear out of the water by the blast, turned around, and broken into pieces. ... [A] Coast Guard fire barge was blown two hundred yards upriver and sunk. The locomotive and [munitions-filled] boxcars disintegrated into hot fragments flying through the air. The 1,200-foot-long wooden pier simply disappeared. Everyone on the pier and aboard the two ships and the fire barge was killed instantly-320 men, 202 of them were black enlisted men [who had been engaged in loading bombs and shells onto the two ships]. ... Another 390 military personnel and civilians were injured, including 233 black enlisted men. ... The explosive force of the blast was equivalent to five kilotons of TNT, on the same order of magnitude as the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima just over a year later.’ 

“The two ships were being loaded with munitions by units of segregated black sailors who were commanded by white officers. 

“Three weeks later, black naval personnel survivors of the Port Chicago disaster were ordered to return to their munitions-loading duties at Mare Island near Vallejo. Some 250 refused, citing their fear of unsafe work conditions that they believed caused the Port Chicago explosions. Some 200 were given dishonorable discharges from the Navy, but 50 were singled out and convicted of mutiny in a widely-publicized court-martial on Treasure Island. In the meantime, a Naval Court of Inquiry had absolved Naval officers of any wrongdoing in the Port Chicago explosions themselves.” ("The Port Chicago Mutiny” was out of print at the time of the 2004 article, but has since been republished.) 

I learned from Mr. Allen’s book not only the details of the blast and the mutiny and court-martial that followed, but I also learned how close the tragedy was to my own family. During the war my father was a civilian worker at Mare Island, though what type of work he did there, I never knew. My father never talked about the experience with me, nor about Port Chicago, and by 2004 he was deceased, and so I could not ask him. 

My cousin, Betty Reid Soskin, does talk about those years and one night at her home in Richmond, she told me how she and her husband, Mel, held a party at their Berkeley home the night before the explosion, at which many of the sailors assigned to Port Chicago attended. She and Mel felt the blast the next night, of course-the shock waves traveled as far away as Nevada-and she told me that for the longest she could never read the list of names of those who died in the blast, since she knew that some of them must have been at the party, dancing and having so much fun, and she could not handle putting the two memories together. For several years, that has been my most vivid image of Port Chicago, experiencing in obliquely and from a distance, like listening to the background radiation still present in the universe that emanated from the Big Blast that created it all. 

Now I have another, more bright, and therefore more poignant and painful. 

The National Parks Service for which Cousin Betty works as a ranger has been holding annual commemoration services at the blast site for years, and this year, on the 65th anniversary, she persuaded me to attend. 

The site where the Quinalt Victory was broken and the E.A. Bryan literally disintegrated is now a lonely wharf-point within the Concord Naval Weapons Station, sitting on a stretch of quiet water surrounded by vacant, yellow hills that seem millions of miles away from the nearby teeming highways and bustling cities and suburbs of west Contra Costa County. Where the loading dock once stood, with rail lines connecting the ships to wartime munitions plants, is an empty set of v-shaped pilings that run out into the lapping water and then, simply, stop, as if both all life and all time stops at that point. It is the most appropriate of memorials, saying, in its silence, that this is the ending, and nothing more can-or needs to be-said. 

Leading to the water and the pilings is a circle of paving stones and a small collection of memorials, aerial photos and drawings where you can see the configuration of the ships and loading docks and railways as they appeared both immediately before July 14, 1944 and immediately after, a series of plaques listing, simply, the names of the 320 who died. The site was built and maintained as a monument as an “affiliated unit” of the National Parks Service. But a bill by East Bay Congressmember George Miller passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 15 of this year and is currently pending in the Senate to transfer the 5 acre site from the Defense Department to the Department of the Interior, making it an official part of the National Parks Service, with money to be appropriated for a visitor’s center and a park staff. The park is intended to be operated in coordination with the East Bay Regional Regional Parks Department and the Friends of Port Chicago, a group that has worked to keep the Port Chicago story alive. 

Unfortunately, while future visitors to the park will have the emotional experience of standing on the site of the 1944 tragedy and seeing the proposed exhibition of maps, photographs, memorabilia from survivors, and an “audio-tour with voices of survivors” as envisioned by the Friends of Port Chicago on their website, they will miss the experience that I and some 250 others had last weekend of actually attending a memorial with the last remaining blast survivors. 

Seven of them-William London and Carl Tuggle of Cincinnati, John White and T.J. Hart of Pittsburg, California, Oliver Walker of Baltimore, Sammy Davis of Oklahoma City, and DeWitt Jamison of Richmond-attended last weekend’s event, quiet, dignified, aging African-American men, two of them in wheelchairs, several of the rest arriving and leaving only with the help of walkers and the arms of younger family members. They have been attending the memorials over the past few years in steadily dwindling numbers, and they will soon have all passed beyond our reach. 

Still, the words of the survivors will live on. 

One of the more emotional moments of last weekend’s memorial came from readings of survivor’s words by student members of the Cougar Cadel Drumline Corps of Alameda, a nonprofit organization set up for Bay Area students to perform “in the Southern Drumline style.” One of the students recounted the testimony of Robert Routh, Jr.: 

“When taps sounded [on the night of July 17] I put away my gear where I had been writing. … I had been in my bunk a minute or two when all hell broke loose with the explosion. A humungous bang. I held my head with my pillow in my arm, looking in the opposite direction. When the first explosion came, I sat up and looked towards the dock. … At just about the time I looked up, then the second explosion occurred. I guess in the span of just seven or eight seconds, it was all over. But looking towards the dock brought about a devastating problem for me. Flying glass, compression, and so on lacerated my eyes and the left one was lacerated so badly that it was removed that night. The right one had a laceration that went across the eye and left me eventually with what was called split vision. … From that point, I was rendered as a blind person.” 

Robert Allen, who introduced the young readers, pointed out that they were only a few years younger than most of the African-American sailors who either died in or survived the Port Chicago blast. 

There is more to this story, far more than can be recounted in a single column. 

California State Senator Robert Wright, who spoke at the memorial, first heard stories of the Port Chicago disaster years afterwards from Mr. Routh while growing up in Southern California. Mr. Wright has become one of the steady advocates for remembrance and official recognition for the men of Port Chicago, including exoneration of those who were convicted of mutiny for refusing to load more ships until safety measures were put in place. Mr. Wright described a visit by the survivors the day before last weekend’s memorial to the Golden Gate National Cemetary in San Bruno where the Port Chicago military dead were buried, pointing out that they were in segregated, racially-separated graveplots. 

“We did not bury or have men serve together in 1944,” Mr. Wright said. 

The publicity surrounding the aftermath of the Port Chicago disaster, including the trials and convictions of the “mutineers,” including a spirited public defense by later-Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, was one of the catalysts for President Harry Truman’s order desegregating the military, one of the major events that led to the eventual breaking of Jim Crow racial segregation throughout the country. The events of the night of 17 July, 1944 on the shores of Suisuin Bay have been absent from their proper place in that history. But perhaps, at long last, we are beginning to correct that. 

Joe gave me an antique garden book as a 36th anniversary present. A true antique, over a century old: The Garden Book of California, by Belle Sumner Angier, 1906, Paul Elder and Company. It does not have an ISBN number, nor does the publisher’s address have a ZIP code.  

Last month I read, somewhere, a question regarding an heirloom watch that was having battery trouble. Heirloom watches have batteries? This Ain’t Right, the way It Ain’t Right to walk into an antique shop and see a display of LPs that you remember having sex to.  

The book does have a few uncut pages, which are a truly tantalizing dilemma: Do I preserve the antique value by leaving them uncut, or do I screw up the soft deckled margin by inexpertly cutting them?  

Similarly, I’m wondering if I ought to try “the best general insecticide I know,” per Ms Angier: hellebore. Apparently it was available as a powder at the turn of the last century.  

She also recommends Bordeaux mixture, tobacco dust, and tobacco tea, still used by some of us; and kerosene emulsion: “One part of slightly sour milk, two parts of kerosene: churn together with a syringe or agitate with an egg-beater until a white jelly shows that the two liquids are united. Use one part of the jelly thus made to eighteen or twenty parts of water and spray thoroughly over every part of your plant.” Yikes.  

On the other hand, Ms Angier also fingers “poisonous gas” as a chief menace to houseplants—“Unhealthy houseplants are a vexation to the spirit”—and recommends ventilation of every house for the sake of its human as well as its plant inhabitants. Remember that this book dates from the trailing edge of the gaslight era; she’s using houseplants as coalmine canaries.  

The book has a strong Southern California flavor: “There is scarcely a day in the year in California when we may not enjoy God’s out-of-doors…” and some carrying-on about sunbathing and the difficulty of keeping greenhouses humid.  

I confess I was surprised to see photos of many huge and clearly at least middle-aged blue-gum eucalyptus, particularly after reading the calendar advice to “sow eucalyptus and cypress seeds, for hedges or street rows…” in boxes in September. You’d think the Spanish had been planting them en masse. Angier likes eucs, no surprise, and interestingly recommends them for roadside planting because they’re tall for their width. Roadside trees (streetside trees are a different chapter) for shade: not something foremost in CalTrans planning in the 21st century, I think.  

Some of Angier’s ideas have come ‘round again, though, if differently expressed: “There are qualities which parents desire to promote in the characters of their children, in the formation of which garden work is of great assistance.” Minus a few syllables, she could be promoting school or community gardens here and now.  

She includes a chapter on native plants, too, and suggests guerilla-planting of California poppies “in the vacant lot across the street.” The least current idea there is the presumed existence of vacant lots.

A few weeks ago, I made the dangerous trek out of Berkeley and into Contra Cost County. I took off my tie-dye, trimmed my mustache and put on dark glasses. True, the “Hate is not a family value” license plate holder was still visible but I parked far enough from the house to be safe. It was OK. We avoided politics. For all I know, they voted for Obama. Lots of people voted for Obama and, despite all my joking, they were actually very nice.  

The important things was that we had a common purpose. They were paying too much for electricity and I wanted to stop them from warming the globe. This being our common aim, we started unplugging away. 

Unplugging things is how we start when we want to understand how much power is being used for various things in the home. It’s a time-consuming process but the only way you’re really going to find out what’s making the meter spin is by unplugging or otherwise turning things off. That last part is a bit of a trick too, because just turning things off won’t completely stop them from drawing power. Many devices draw power even though they seem to be off. This can include computers and a host of computerized devices and almost anything that has a transformer or internal power supply. Lots of things like DVD players actually go onto a standby mode and don’t really power all the way off when you turn them off so to start this project, one has to actually unplug most things. If you want to do this, that’s what you’ll need to do. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The place we really want to begin is at your main electrical service. 

Every house has an electrical meter and a main disconnect. The first thing to do is to find yours. When you find the meter, you’ll notice that the meter has a disk that spins around. If everything is off, it won’t be turning at all but this is rare (unless you turn the main breaker off) so it should be moving a bit. In the case of our Contra Costa friends, it was moving so fast that I could barely track it. The method I’m going to show you doesn’t involve reading kilowatt hours, though that isn’t hard to do, but this is easier and actually very simple. It’s just a relative system. This way, you’ll know the relative expenditure of power and, thereby, where your biggest use (or biggest waste) lies. 

Start by turning off everything in the house. Again, it’s going to be best to unplug everything too, although many things like lamps and fans won’t require this. Electronics that have a constant low-level draw will still get a reading. In the case of my friends with the big bill, we chose not to turn off every single item since the usage that I read when these last “ghost” draws were still running was low enough to wash out of the equation. The point here is to figure out what makes up the lion’s share and where there’s room to trim fat. When you understand where the money and energy is going, it might change your behavior. That’s the idea. 

If you take a stopwatch, you can clock how long it takes for the disk in the middle of the meter to spin from one mark to the next. At high-usage levels this will be just a few seconds. If you want to use the fastest (lowest denomination) of the dials on the face of the meter, it’s the one on the far right, but this will take a long time for every test so I’d stick with the disk. 

Now, simply start testing various individual or grouped portions of the electrical system. Start by turning off everything but lighting. Turn on all the lights in the house and go read the meter. Write down the number of seconds it takes for the disk to spin this time. Now go back and turn on everything else in the house but have every light off. This is a big one (and was the lynch pin for our friends). Now try just the refrigerator (typically a very big user), then the TV, the stereo, the hot tub and every other thing you have. Remember that the only fair test will involve actually unplugging everything and plugging things in deliberately as you test your individual and group usage. If you take good notes, you should be able to make a good assessment of where, by percentage, the money and carbon is going. In the case of our friends, it turned out that, despite the two refrigerators and about a hundred other appliances, lighting was, by far, the biggest user. It accounted for roughly 80 percent of their use when we had everything turned on. Now, in fairness, they may have turned off half the lights some of the time but you know how humans are. We talk a good game but, when push comes to pummel, we want what we want and don’t bother me, I’m watching TV. Most people don’t go around turning things off. So….what shall we do? 

If, like my friends, you found that lighting was the biggest user in the house (do a fair test and turn them all on), you might want to take another revised look at the much-improved, LED and compact florescent lights (CFL) that one can find on the Internet or at more and more hardware stores. CFLs use about one quarter of the energy that incandescent lamps (including those little halogen ones) and LEDs use about one tenth. LEDs are currently quite expensive, but, given the fact that they may last a lifetime, think of the cost savings in bulbs as well as power. If you have bulbs that are hard to get to (top of that nasty stairwell), definitely go for one of the LED floods or whatever you’ll need to fit. LED’s are now available to fit low-voltage fixtures and pretty much any style you’ll need. They look odd (for now—I’m sure they’ll get better) and the color may not be right but we have to be flexible today. The earth is warming up and, if the bulb isn’t quite right, well think of it as part of the war effort and tighten your aesthetic belt, soldier. 

Keep in mind that older refrigerators and air conditioners are also big users and there are nice discounts today for Energy Star-rated appliances that can pay for themselves in a year or two. 

I believe that this sort of simple analysis, if taken to real action, can reduce your use by a large measure, perhaps 30 percent or more. Most of our waste is due to lack of attention and today, the payback may not simply be in a lower bill and a higher 401K, it may be in your grandchildren getting a chance to see a Polar Bear.

The sky-blue Victorian villa—part Stick-Eastlake, part Gothic Revival, and proudly holding aloft a tower and weathervane on the northeastern corner of Francisco and Milvia Streets—is a striking sight. 

Passersby who know nothing of its storied past are often captivated by the rows of cobalt-blue glass bottles lined along its window sills. If they raise their eyes, they may admire the handsomely proportioned windows, the classically balustraded balcony, and the numerous curved brackets gracing the house. 

This edifice, popularly known as the Flagg House, has long been the subject of local legends, some of them propagated by local historians. 

George A. Pettitt, author of Berkeley: The Town and Gown of It (1973), had this to say about the house: 

It was built in 1880 for Professor Isaac Flagg of the Greek Department of the University. Twenty years later it was sold to Jonathan C. Wright, proprietor of the Golden Sheaf Bakery, who helped to provide board and lodging for students at the University in the 1870s. The designer and builder was John Paul Moran, a ship’s carpenter who took French leave from his ship in San Francisco Bay about 1870. […] He left the mark of his trade by carving ships’ anchors in the beams, and etching them in the glass of the doors. 

Pettitt was echoing similar lore disseminated by Robert Bernhardi in his book The Buildings of Berkeley (1971). Bernhardi added the following tidbit, published by the Oakland Tribune on Jan. 30, 1972: “Flagg sold to Jonathan C. Wright in 1902, a man who “had absolute disdain of conventional lighting. He contended that gas lamps were too ‘new fangled’ to be trusted … and would go to a small house in the rear to read by kerosene lamp.” 

Both Bernhardi and Pettitt were telling tall tales—delicious to read but remote from the prosaic truth. The house at 2001 Francisco St. could not have been built by John Moran in 1880, since Moran was still living in his native England at that time. Far from being a footloose mariner who jumped ship in San Francisco Bay about 1870, Moran (1852-1904) was a family man who raised eight children, the eldest three born in England between 1881 and 1883. He immigrated to the United States in 1883, his wife and children following the next year, as documented in U.S. census records. 

Nor could the house have been built in 1880 for Isaac Flagg, who was then living in Ithaca, NY, where he served as professor of Greek at Cornell University until 1888. Flagg did not arrive in Berkeley until 1891, when he took up the post of temporary assistant in Latin at the University of California. 

The Flagg family’s first Bay Area residence was at 1469 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. It was not until 1892 that they made their appearance in the Berkeley directory, residing at 2001 Francisco St., in the house that has come to bear their name but which they never owned. 

What can the records tell us about the provenance and history of this intriguing house? 

It is situated in the Janes Tract, Block C. In 1880, the entire block save two lots was owned by Clark Brook, a farmer whose own residence, assessed at $1,200, was the only house then standing on the block. In 1884, a second house appeared on Brook’s land. It was far more modest, assessed at $250. This house was occupied, and likely built, by John P. Moran, a carpenter who was first listed in the Berkeley directory in 1886, residing on the corner of Francisco and Milvia. 

By 1889, Moran had purchased the property from Brook. That year, the assessed value of his improvements was $150. The following year, the value had jumped to $1,800, indicating that Moran had greatly expanded the house. 

In all probability, Moran had intended the expansion as a speculative venture, for he soon sold the house to Jonathan G. Wright and a partner named Leverett, building himself a new home at 1710 Lincoln St. 

It’s interesting to note that Moran consistently listed himself as a carpenter, excepting a few occasions when he called himself a contractor and builder. In 1895, seeking to advertise his business, he paid for a directory listing with his name in capital letters, declaring himself to be an architect and builder. In only three instances—the 1900 census and the 1902 and 1903 city directories—did he call himself a ship joiner. Apparently, he hired himself out at the dockyard when house building opportunities were at a low ebb. 

Jonathan Garrard Wright (1837-1924), the man who bought Moran’s house and who owned the famous Golden Sheaf Bakery on Shattuck Avenue, also began as a carpenter. An Englishman by birth, Wright immigrated to Canada as a teenager. In Toronto he met Hannah Sallows, whom he married in 1860. Two daughters were born to them in Toronto before the Wrights moved to Michigan in 1866. Here they brought to the world two more children, eventually migrating to California in the mid-1870s. In 1877, after three years of carpentry in Oakland, Wright established Berkeley’s first bakery on the west side of Shattuck Avenue between University and Addison. The establishment included a restaurant that came to be known as the Alpha Dining Rooms, and the building was named the Alpha Block. 

If the Wrights took in student boarders in the 1870s as Pettitt suggests, the records say nothing about it. In the 1880 census record, the Wright household included Jonathan and Hannah, their five children, a baker and a cook. In 1900, the census recorded a dozen boarders in the Wright household, most of whom worked at the bakery, with nary a student among them. 

Even after purchasing the Francisco Street property from Moran, Jonathan Wright continued to live above his bakery at 2030 Shattuck Ave. His eldest son, John Cooper Wright, worked in the family business and built his home around the corner, at 2032 Addison St. Constructed about 1898, the handsome Colonial Revival house features twin high-peaked gables and a rotund window bay topped with a miniature Palladian window. 

In 1891, Wright and Leverett leased the house at 2001 Francisco St. to Isaac Flagg, newly arrived in Berkeley. The professor and his wife Mary, then in their mid-forties, had four children aged ten to 22. They resided on Francisco Street for 10 years. In September 1899, Flagg acquired a lot on the corner of Eunice Street and Shattuck Avenue in north Berkeley. Bernard Maybeck designed an adaptation of a Swiss chalet for them, and the family moved to its new house in 1901. 

Jonathan and Hannah Wright, who bought out Leverett early on, waited until 1905 to occupy the house vacated by the Flaggs. Their son John joined the exodus from downtown a year later, moving his Addison Street house six blocks to a lot at 1729 Milvia St., directly across the street from his parents’ new residence. 

The double move no doubt stemmed from the Wrights’ decision to change their sphere of business activities from food to real estate. In February 1907, they sold the bakery for $100,000 to a syndicate of local capitalists that included Christian Mikkelsen and John Berry. Mikkelsen became the bakery’s new manager. 

About the same time that the Wrights settled into the former Flagg home, Prof. Flagg himself, now nearing retirement, was attracting attention through his latest building project. In July 1906, the Oakland Tribune picked up a bit of gossip from a San Francisco newspaper, reporting: 

He is now having a handsome bungalow built but it is too small—just large enough to shelter its owner. Several years ago Flagg, who is a widower with four grown children, had a handsome residence built. He would not allow a telephone put in and refuses to let his children have a piano. Also, he discourages callers—especially young people—to such an extent that the big house became the abode of silence as far as it could be with a flock of healthy young people in it. The eldest daughter married in time, but Flagg, evidently feeling that the other children would be with him too long a time, leased his residence to Mrs. Mary Kincaid, the well known educator. The family—two daughters and a son—ranging from 22 to 30 years of age—have been compelled to quit the parental roof and are sheltered among Berkeley friends, while the father will occupy his tiny bungalow as soon as it is completed. 

Jonathan and Hannah Wright celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary at home on Dec. 27, 1921, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. On the occasion, the Oakland Tribune reported that “Wright, now in his 85th year, is as spry as a man many years his junior.” He died on April 5, 1924, leaving an estate of close to $175,000. In addition to the two houses at Francisco and Milvia, the Wright legacy is evident downtown in the Golden Sheaf warehouse he erected in 1905 to a design by Clinton Day. The brick building, now housing the Aurora Theatre Company, is a City of Berkeley Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Daniella Thompson publishes berkeleyheritage.com for the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). 

THURSDAY, JULY 23 

CHILDREN 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “If You Give A Mouse a Cookie” play based on the book by Laura Numeroff, Thurs. Sat, Sun. at 4 p.m., Fri. at 6 p.m., thruough Aug. 16, at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$12. 296-4433.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Bay Area: Big, Abstract, Digital” an exhibition of new digital prints. Reception at 6 p.m. at the Addison Street Windows Gallery, 2018 Addison St. Exhibition runs through Aug. 23. www.digitalartsclub.com 

“Big Frame Up” An exhibit of early American Tramp Art, carved, painted, and one of a kind frames at The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St. through Sept. 2009. 845-4949. www.amesgallery.com 

FILM 

Free Outdoor Movies at Jack London Square “It Came from Beneath the Sea” Come at 7:30 p.m., movies begin at sundown. Bring blankets and stadium seat. 645-9292. www.jacklondonsquare.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Brendan Constantine, Steve Rood and Cathie Sandstrom at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

David Kessler reads from “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Summer Brenner and Owen Hill read from their murder mysteries set in the Bay Area at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

David Hunter, bass, at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART Station. 

President Brown & The Solid Foundation Band, Andrew Diamond at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Hans York at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Kelly Park Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Five Eyed Hand, Bo Carpenter at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Sacred Profanities at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, JULY 24 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Aug. 15. Tickets are $12-$15. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Spitfire Grill” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Aug. 16. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sage Cohen and other poets on “Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation of Read and Write Poetry” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Opera “Agrippina 2000” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Oakland Metro Operahouse, 630 3rd St., Oakland. Tickets are $22. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Seaon Brostol, soul, at noon at the Kaiser Center Roof Garden, on top of the parking garage, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Free. www.KaiserCenterRoofGarden.com 

The Cataracs, electro pop at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Aaron Bahr, trumpet, at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$10. 845-5373.  

Lady Bianca Blues at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Sila & The Afrofunk Experience at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054.  

Jazzy Soul Collective with Eric Roberson, Anthony David and Angela Johnson at 10 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. 839-6169. 

Bill Kirchen at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Ten Mile Tide, Mad Buffalo at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

The Rhythm Doctors at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Sonando Project Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SATURDAY, JULY 25 

CHILDREN  

“Rabbit on the Moon” A Japanese fairytale, Sat. and Sun. at 12:30 and 3 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $7. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

THEATER 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Les Miserables” Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8-$20. www.brownpapertickets.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“The Moose Must Persuade The Duck” Encaustic drawings and monotypes by Cheryl Finfrock and kinetic art by Sudhu Tewari. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Float Gallery, 1091 Clacot Place, Unit #116, Oakland. 535-1702. www.thefloatcenter.com 

Anthony Holdsworth: Cityscape Paintings Reception at 1 p.m. at Alta Galleria, 2980 College Ave., Suite 4. Exhibition runs through Aug. 20. 414-4485. www.altagalleria.com 

“Ex Libris” Books, objects and assemblages “from the library” by David Patterson on display in the Lobby Showcase at the Rockridge Branch of the Oakland Public Library. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm & Muse music & spoken word open mic with poets Adele Mendelson & Clive Matson at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., between Eunice & Rose Sts. 644-6893. 

“How Art Helps to Preserve & Protect the Landscape for Future Generations” A conversation with Phyllis Faber and Elisabeth Ptak of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, with photographer Marty Knapp, at 5 p.m., followed by sale of photographs to benefit MALT, at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Open Opera “The Marriage of Figaro”at 3 p.m. at John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset Place, off the Alameda. 547-2471. 

Oakland Opera “Agrippina 2000” at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Oakland Metro Operahouse, 630 3rd St., Oakland. Tickets are $22. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Evelie Delfino Sales Posch “Heart Opening Chants” at 8 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. Tickets are $5-$20. 548-2153. 

Sila and Dublin in a benefit for the Solar Maasai Program at 4 p.m. at the Beta Lounge, 2129 Durant Ave. 845-3200. 

Peruvian Independence Day with De Rompa y Raja Cultural Assoc. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15-$18. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Robin Gregory & Her Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Stompy Jones at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Erica Luckett & Ruby at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Vento/Grinder Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Fred Randolph Jazz Trio at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

The Shark Alley Hobos at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Live Dead at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Little Muddy at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SUNDAY, JULY 26 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Municipal Band Concerts from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Bandstand at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Ave. Free. Lawn chairs, blankets and picnics welcome. 338-2818. 

Open Opera “The Marriage of Figaro”at 3 p.m. at John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset Place, off the Alameda. 547-2471. 

Oakland Opera “Agrippina 2000” at 2 p.m. at Oakland Metro Operahouse, 630 3rd St., Oakland. Tickets are $22. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Midsummer Mozart Festival Program II at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Berkeley. Tickets are $30-$60. 415-627-9141. www.midsummermozart.org 

Shirzad Sharif, Kaveh Hedayati & Friends Songs in solidarity with the people of Iran at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5-$10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Peggy Stern & Kristen Strom at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Americana Unplugged: The Honey Dew Drops at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Bandworks Student band recitals at 1 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Big Enough Band at 4:30 p.m. and The Malachi Whitson Group at 7 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Matthew Monfort, Mariah Parker, Ancient Future at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

MONDAY, JULY 27 

CHILDREN 

Nancy Cassidy children’s singer/songwriter at 10:30 a.m. at Richmond Public Library, Bayview Branch, 5100 Hartnett Ave., Richmond. 620-6557. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Subterranean Shakespeare “Henry VIII” Staged reading at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Tickets are $8 at the door. 276-3871. 

Poetry Express Open mic theme night on “joy” at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

TUESDAY, JULY 28 

CHILDREN 

Nancy Cassidy children’s singer/songwriter at 10:30 a.m. at Richmond Public Library, West Side Branch, 135 Washington Ave., Richmond. 620-6557. 

FILM 

Josh and Jacob Kornbluth’s “Haiku Tunnel” at 8 p.m. at Saul’s Restaurant and Deli, 1475 Shattuck Ave. Q & A with Josh and Jacob to follow. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Voodoo Mountain Zydeco at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with EKelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Alan Osborne: Expressionist Enamels” on display at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Bartlett Ave., Richmond, through Aug. 29. 620-6772. www.therac.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Freedom Sounds Like Hafez” Reading and discussion on Iran today with Mahmood Karimi-Hakak and Bill Wolak at 7 p.m. at the Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264.   

Scott Rosenberg on “How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters” at 7:30 p.m. at The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $5-$10. www.brownpapertickets.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Supertaster at noon at Oakland City Center, 12th and Broadway. 

Hula Dance Performance at 2 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, Bayview Branch, 5100 Hartnett Ave., Richmond. 620-6557. 

Darryl Henriques at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Vocal Jazz & Benny Watson Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

The Thirstbusters, Gracie Coates Band at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $7-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Montuno Swing at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Jolly/Steinkoler Duo at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Daniel Torres Flame N’Co at 7 p.m. at Chester's Bayview Cafe, 1508 B Walnut Square. 849-9995. 

THURSDAY, JULY 30 

CHILDREN 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “If You Give A Mouse a Cookie” play based on the book by Laura Numeroff, Thurs., Sat, Sun. at 4 p.m., Fri. at 6 p.m., thruough Aug. 16, at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$12. 296-4433. activeartsttheatre.org 

THEATER 

“The W. Kamau Bell Curve” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Tickets are $15-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Les Miserables” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8-$20. www.brownpapertickets.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Deep Water” Paintings by Ryan Blackman. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Exhibit runs to Aug. 30. 848-1228. giorgigallery.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Novella Carpenter, author of “Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer” reads at 7:30 p.m. at Pegaus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Natalie Cressman, trombone, at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART Station. 

Johnny Nitro & The Doorslammers at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Blues dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Gerry Tenney with California Klezmer & the Lost Tribe at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $21.50-$22.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Dan Stanton Sextet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Planet Loop at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, JULY 31 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Aug. 15. Tickets are $12-$15. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Spitfire Grill” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Aug. 16. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Oakland Summer Theatre “Aladin and the Wonderful Lamp” a multi-generational musical Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. Tickets are $9-$10. 597-5045. 

“The W. Kamau Bell Curve” Through Sun. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Tickets are $20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Too Big To Fail” at 6:30 p.m. at Willard Park. www.sfmt.org 

Youth Musical Theater Company “Les Miserables” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $8-$20. www.brownpapertickets.com 

FILM 

“Out of the Ashes” A Project Peace Film Festival, featuring films by Bay Area female filmmakers, to benefit Oakland Elizabeth House, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $10. For reservations see www.projectpeaceeastbay.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Quartet Rouge, acoustic pop, at noon at the Kaiser Center Roof Garden, on top of the parking garage, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Free. www. 

KaiserCenterRoofGarden.com 

“Pirated Mid-Summer Night Dreams—Purple and Black Ball” with Lolita Sweet, The Chairman and Triple Ave. at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. Cost is $5-$10. 776-4422. 

Celebration of Faith, gospel performances with Ronnie Mills, Linda Jackson, Godsend and others at 8 p.m. at Hilltop Community Church, 3118 Shane Drive, Richmond. Tickets are $10. 778-1903. 

Eric Swinderman’s Straight Outta Oakland at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Joe Warner Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373.  

Danjuma & Onola, Makuru featuring Ousseynou Kouyate at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054.  

Bluehouse, acoustic female duo, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Roy Zimmerman at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Guitar Duel: An Evening of Classical Guitar with Jard and Fred at 7:30 p.m. at 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Tickets are $12-$18. guitarduel.eventbrite.com  

The P-PL at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Tony Rich at 10 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. Tickets are $15. 839-6169. 

The Skye Steele Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

George Cole & Vive Le Jazz at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art House Gallery, 2905 Shattuck Ave. Donation $10-$12. www.georgecole.net 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 

CHILDREN  

“Dinosaur on My Head” a musical program with Peter Apel at 3:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. For ages 3 and up. 524-3043. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Juried @ BAC 2009 Annual juried exhibition featuring works on paper. Opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

THEATER 

San Francisco Mime Troupe “Too Big To Fail” at 2 p.m. at Willard Park. www.sfmt.org 

Shotgun Players “The Farm” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. at John Hinkel Park, Southhampton Ave., through Sept 13. Suggested donation $10. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

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 

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison, through Aug. 8. For schedule and tickets 866-558-4253. www.sfjff.org 

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. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The African American Presence in Mexico with Son de la Tierra at 8 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Tickets are $10. 238-6942. www.museumca.org 

Yancie Taylor Jazztet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Pellejo Seco at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cuban salsa lesson at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Claudia Russell and the Folk Unlimited Orchestra with Dan Navarro at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Wendy Darling, The Graham Patzner Band, Mirror Fauna at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 

CHILDREN 

Rafael Manriquez & Ingrid Rubis at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

Squeak Carnwath: Painting Is No Ordinary Object, docent tour at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Admission is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

FILM 

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison, through Aug. 8. For schedule and tickets 866-558-4253. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Lucille Lang and Roz Spafford at 3 p.m. at Diesel, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. 525-5476. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Municipal Band Concerts from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Bandstand at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Ave. Free. Lawn chirs, blankets and picnics welcome. 338-2818. 

Yanga Celebration A carnaval of black culture in Mexico with music and dance from noon to 4 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts.Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Avotcja at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Swoop Unit Sextet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Stompin’ the Blues at 6:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 6 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ditty Bops at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

BluesSunday with Roger Brown & Friends at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art House Gallery, 2905 Shattuck Ave. Donation $5-$110 and potluck. 472-3170. 

The sweep of bowed strings—cello and violin—blends in with piano and guitar, coming down from the musicians’ loft in the Altarena Playhouse, a little moody, impersonal yet country-flavored, powering the singing and texturing the story of The Spitfire Grill, the 2001 musical from the 1996 movie of the same name. 

That story’s sung and told in straightforward style: a young woman, leaving prison after five years, goes to a little rural town to start over, only to find the town itself is failing, abandoned ... 

She becomes, on and off, the centerpiece of gossip, fueled by the snoopy postmistress, working in the only eating establishment in town—and slowly learning the local secrets, the tragedies the townspeople are still in the shadow of, and what they don’t speak of, don’t even guess. 

The mood and the music carry much of the show like a dark stream the cast is carried along by, and they ride it gracefully. Thematically, The Spitfire Grill is about the healing of the displaced and the reconciliation of those rooted to place with the memories and survivors of what they’ve pushed away, or passed them by. Specifically, it wades in the troubled waters of post-Vietnam America, touching difficult, divisive themes sentimentally, with everything made better, but not muffling the resonance of the worst of those years. 

The cast of seven work well together, from the lone appearance of Percy (Sarah Kathleen Farrell) onstage, singing of getting away from imprisonment—to Gilead, a ghost town, where Joe (Jonathan Reisfeld), the local sheriff, is her parole officer, taking her in the middle of the night to the Spitfire, where its crusty owner Hannah (Kristine Anne Lowry) reluctantly takes her in as waitress and general factotum, later pairing her with her nephew Caleb’s (Paul Plain) wife Shelby (Donna Jeanne Turner) to run the place when her hip goes out.  

All the while, postmistress Effy (Ella Wolfe) is fanning up the gossip, while Caleb—always in the shadow of his MIA cousin, Hannah’s son, Gilead’s golden boy—missing his wife at home, starts his own snooping into Percy’s past. Meanwhile, Percy—and the audience—becomes aware of another uprooted, elusive presence, played by Leland Traiman. 

Half the cast is new to Altarena; some of the rest played in Bat Boy together—a musical that, ironically enough, spoofed some of the small town Americana clichés The Spitfire Grill brushes up against. 

But the sonorous quality of James Valcq’s music soothes and smoothes over potential rough spots; the economy of the book he wrote with lyricist Fred Alley lets the cast work as ensemble to put the story across, directed very well by Frederick L. Chacon, Altarena’s artistic director.  

Donna Turner plays a different, softer role than her last few at Altarena, and she does it very sympathetically, also delivering the best song, “Wild Bird,” with concentration and focus. 

The Spitfire Grill is able to touch gracefully on old standbys of nostalgia like the changing seasons in a small, rural “heartland” town, the sense of being forgotten in confused times and by a divided society, lost in the expanse of space—what some of the great T’ang Dynasty Chinese poets realized classically—moodily (and eerily) reminiscent of late ‘70s-early ‘80s America, the setting of the tale. There’s even a touch of Frank Capra, neither false nor cloying, as it often is in contemporary fare. 

The Spitfire Grill’s reliance on an evocative quality proves to be its beacon and saving grace. A story that reminds, in passing, of other stories, other events ... not a statement so much itself as an overtone—or a throb—of a troubled era that still is less past than swept under the carpet. 

SPITFIRE GRILL 

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 16 at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda. $17-$20.  

523-1553. www.altarena.org.

A few years back, pioneering stand-up comedian and social satirist Mort Sahl—who is appearing with veteran humorist Dick Gregory at the Rrazz Room in downtown San Francisco through Saturday—was asked, after a show at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, where he placed himself in the political spectrum. 

“I’m an old Berkeley radical,” Sahl said, “Not some Social Democrat, with avarice in their heart, talking about loving Humanity—unless it’s from Haiti, or someplace else that’s not in fashion.” 

Sahl, whose career first took off at the old hungry i nightclub in North Beach in 1953, retains his independent perspective and his signature wry, wayward wit—and employed it this week in a phone interview, taking off from that recollection: 

“Social Democrats are too righteous for radicals. And they’re in heaven now with Obama. He never speaks for an audience less than 75,000. He’s beyond criticism; he’s been ‘divined.’” 

All that’s silenced the liberals. They can’t say anything now, about the war or anything else ... Nancy Pelosi ... and Joe Biden, who’s like Ed McMahon.”  

Asked about the opposition, Sahl acerbically replied, “A Higher Power decided to sacrifice the Republican Party.” 

Sahl continued: “The Republicans regard Rush Limbaugh as if he held higher office. If I don’t listen to him, I see him on Keith Olbermann anyway! It’s all so apparatchik.” 

During the presidential campaign last year, Sahl was asked his opinion of current political comedy. He replied that it was parody; he practiced satire. Pressed for examples, he said Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live was parody, whereas—after seeing a newsphoto of Palin speaking to a crowd in a WalMart parking lot—“I could say, ‘she’s the only one in that parking lot I wouldn’t hire.’ I don’t know if that’s good, but it’s satire.”  

Reminded of that, Sahl made one of the quick about-faces that characterize his style as much as the asides that overtake his jokes, sometimes throwing listeners used to what A. J. Liebling would call the “On the Other Hand” ploy of commentators: “The way liberals ridicule Sarah Palin shows a class prejudice: ‘How dare this woman from the wrong side of the tracks ...” 

Speaking of contemporary entertainers, Sahl reflected, “I don’t think many guys working today have any politics. Stephen Colbert went to Iraq to entertain those guys over there. What’s the difference between him and Bob Hope? Jon Stewart doesn’t have much. And Larry King’s politics are to decide with the winner, a deference to the powerful. Most so-called topical humor is like gossip twice removed. Steve Allen said to me that the talk shows were presided over by people who can’t talk. Every guy’s the same, pretending something just happened to him. They’re all inventing their own bourgeois.”  

Sahl continued: “It’s a decision comedians have to make, to provide escapism instead of confronting real situations. And it’s kind of infinite. Since they can’t make politically incorrect jokes, there’re ways they get around that with certain groups. Instead of making jokes about women, they might phrase it, ‘Four Jewish girls go to lunch, and the waiter says, “Is Every Thing All Right? ...”’ It’s wrong with individuals, but en masse it’s okay! The country has set the standards very low.”  

Sahl was born in 1927 in Montreal; his family moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from the University of Southern California. Asked if he had gone to school in the Bay Area (both UC Berkeley and Stanford have been cited as alma maters), Sahl said, “That’s part of the mythology. It worked in the club. I could’ve, but as it happened, I didn’t. I chased a girl up to Berkeley. And met some really good people.”  

August 1960 saw Sahl’s picture on the cover of Time magazine. His career rose to a high-water mark. When Kennedy was elected, Ed Sullivan banished Sahl from his popular TV show, to keep Sahl—a JFK supporter—from making jokes about the president.  

After Kennedy’s assassination, Sahl was deputized by New Orleans District Attorney James Garrison for his independent investigation of the killing.  

“Some people were fearful of it, didn’t want to hear it,” Sahl said of their questioning of the Warren Report. “Garrison planted a seed of doubt; nobody believes it now. But nothing was done about it. They don’t have to execute anyone else; they did a frontal lobotomy on the nation.” 

It was said Sahl had lost his sense of humor. “I never proselytized on the stage; I made it funny. But tough. Talking about Oswald being shot, I’d say: Twenty-four members of the Dallas Police Force were standing by; twenty-five, if you count Jack Ruby.” (Sahl was quoted as saying, “According to [the] Gallup [Poll], 88 percent of the American people don’t believe in the Warren Report. I certainly wouldn’t want it on my conscience that I disturbed the faith of the remaining 12 percent.”)  

Sahl reflected on those years: “I wanted to save America. I thought people were really noble, that it would liberate them, giving them facts the mass media ignored. And they did nothing. They were distracted, scared. Not any worse than the people of any other generation, just no practice at rebellion. The Foundering Fathers!” 

Sahl found it hard to get bookings. His income plummeted from over $400,000 a year to $19,000. He ghostwrote screenplays, wrote “additional dialogue.” The past two years, he’s taught at Claremont McKenna College, in Southern California: “Two classes: ‘The Revolutionary’s Handbook’ and ‘Screenwriting.’ They wanted screenwriting. It’s all a facade; I really talk about the same thing. I try to bring them a fresh perspective to those stones unturned about American history.” He joked about the student body “running around with an Apple under their arm and an i-Phone in their hand, not understanding they’re carrying the instruments of divisiveness.” He won’t be returning this fall. “Two years is enough. Claremont’s too isolated. I’ve had a call from the University of Chicago, another from UCLA. Time to move on, do something else.”  

Sahl said he and Dick Gregory have worked together “many times, very successfully, from Mill Valley to West Palm Beach. Dick Gregory calls it the way he sees it.” 

Both Sahl and Gregory have exerted a profound influence on the comedians who followed them. Woody Allen once said Sahl’s effect on comedy was like Charlie Parker’s on jazz.  

“I was touched when Woody wrote in his autobiography that the first time he saw me on stage it changed his life,” Sahl said in the years scandals rocked Allen’s career. “Then the other night he called me and said, ‘Can you change it back?’”  

Asked last year about Sahl, Allen asserted he still had his sense of humor, that Sahl had told Allen he’d been offered a course to teach on the Holocast, but turned it down: “I want to see first how history judges the event.”  

Speaking of the comedians who influenced him, Sahl mentioned “Fred Allen, Syd Caesar, Herb Shriner, Mark Twain, Henry Morgan ... you don’t start anything yourself.”  

Reminded of his old tag line—which he completed, laughing—that Will Rogers pretended to be a yokel making fun of the intellectuals in Washington, whereas “I’m pretending to be an intellectual, making fun of the yokels in Washington!”—Sahl remarked that Rogers was “in that tradition ... but I can tell you—in my university days, nobody referred to me as an intellectual!” 

He summed up the relation between his material and his audience: “The reason I succeeded is that they all had that on their mind; I crystallized it.” 

Summertime ... Charlie Brown stolidly leading his baseball team down to defeat, hit after hit flying high over his head as pitcher, while the players gossip about him in the outfield. Soon it’ll be fall—with Lucy yanking away the football she’s suckered the ever-gullible Charlie Brown into trying to kick off. 

Peanuts is—or was, before Hallmark made it a kind of instant nostalgia—one of the perennials of postwar American life. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown captures the élan of the strip’s middle period, extending it out past the limit of a few panels to the stage, a miniature milieu musical in a series of vignettes around Charlie Brown and his entourage—menagerie, if you count Snoopy—of friends, neighbors, schoolmates. 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley just opened You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, “a revival of a revival” (the 1999 Broadway revival added two new songs to the 1967 original), from a well-mounted production originally at the Masquers Playhouse. A few of the original players are in this one, too.  

Director Gregg Klein notes that the show is often regarded and performed as a kids’ show, with younger actors or by high school drama departments. He’s right that there’s much more to it—and much more than gets extracted by the feel-good family versions community theater can be rife with.  

Part of the charm of Peanuts, as it grew up, was its eccentric cast, all little kids, but kids with poise and attitude. As kids ourselves at the time, we certainly got it, and were tickled that our Peanuts contemporaries, as we thought of them, got away with playing grown-up with such a vengeance. 

Klein’s big kids pull it off, too. Charlie Brown, the Existential Everyman of suburbia (tempting to call him the Kid Without Qualities), played engagingly by Kyle Johnson, agonizes over his wishy-washiness (a real Peanuts phrase I don’t remember uttered once in the play), finally resorting to Lucy’s “Psychiatric Help,” suspiciously looking like a refurbished lemonade stand, where that bellicose, self-proclaimed little queen (portrayed with admirable hauteur by Michelle Pond)—truly a juvenile White Queen out of Alice—dispenses curbside advice. 

Charlie Brown spills out his anxieties. Lucy very professionally reads him out and tells him how to join the crowd and achieve his dreams. Charlie Brown smiles, referring to their session as proof of deep friendship. Lucy sticks out her hand and says crisply, “That will be five cents.” 

Johnson and Pond unite with the rest—Ted V. Bigornia as thumbsucking, intellectual Linus (with a security blanket); Shay Oglesby-Smith as sassy little sister Sally; Davern Wright as dour artist-type Schoeder, who Lucy the philistine fussbudget (another Peanuts word I don’t remember hearing) is hooked on; and David Irving as Snoopy, that high-soaring beagle imagining himself a World War I ace—making a tight little ensemble, singing the dozen or so songs, played by an octet (half doubling on kazoo) under the direction of Patricia King, dancing to Kris Bell’s choreography, in Dianne Beaulieu-Arms’ costumes on David Bradley’s clever, attractive set, lit by Renee Echavez and Deborah Sandman, with sound by Marti Baer and Joe Ponder. Roger Schrag produced the show for AE. 

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is one of those adaptations that works, like The Fantasticks; if it’s done with skill and understanding. It has a funny spin to it, avoiding being coy, false naive. 

The kids play grown-up with rare polish. Charlie Brown, most humane of all, just wants to be a person, be himself. And Snoopy knows that as the dog, he’s really the guest at the supper dish, and can be anything he wants. 

The cast picks up on it and plays it that way, giving the third dimension to a squiggly-line comic strip everybody in America read.  

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN 

Presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 13 at Live Oak theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. $12-$15. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org. 

This weekend may prove to be the choicest moment of summer opera in the East Bay, indoors and out—and over a span of millennia, from ancient Rome through the 18th century to the present day. Two adventuresome independent local companies, Open Opera and Oakland Opera Theater, will stage, respectively, Mozart’s most famous opera, The Marriage of Figaro in period dress, outdoors (and free) in John Hinkel Park, and a “a post-modern view” of Handel’s opera on its 300th anniversary, Agrippina 2000, American Emperor at their Oakland Metro Operahouse near Jack London Square. 

Open Opera, founded in 2008, will perform Figaro fully staged for 11 characters, with an orchestra of eight, conducted by Berkeley Opera’s Jonathan Khuner, with Da Ponte’s original Italian libretto with English supertitles. A bare stage will accent the trees of John Hinkel Park. “A warm summer day with glorious music, hilarious comedy, friends, food, trees, opera ...” Beer and wine, plus seasonal Japanese bento boxes, snacks from Peko-Peko ($5-15) will be available. “Bound to be this summer’s cheap thrill act.” 

Open Opera’s artistic director, Olivia Stapp, is former artistic director of Festival Opera; their managing director, Ellen St. Thomas, is a former Sega America executive who is now a lyric soprano, teacher, conductor and director; creative director Elizabeth Baker is a mezzo-soprano and composer, and also vice president of Resource Renewal Institute, a San Francisco-based environmental nonprofit. 

Oakland Opera Theater’s Agrippina 2000, playing Friday and Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon, is something edgier, but in good fun. Billed as “the most ancient yet most modern opera” the company’s ever done, as a “Pythonesque” absurdist opera, a political farce with conflicting anachronisms, as it skips in time between ancient Rome, where Agrippina plots to install her son, Nero, as emperor, to 18th-century Venice, where Agrippina premiered at the Carnevale three centuries ago, to our nation’s Capital during the 2000 presidential election, Agrippina 2000 promises a “unique stylized environment” through the fusion of multiple time settings, a resetting of Vicenzo Grimani’s “anti-heroic,” politically allusive libretto—and of the score to a quartet with amplified cello and violin, “half string quartet, half power trio”—and most Pythonesque of all, a collaboration with filmmaker Ethan Hoerneman, whose projected imagery “evokes Terry Gilliam’s.” (It could be perfect counterpoint to the recent Berkeley Rep production, You, Nero, another anachronistic romp across the centuries—or that ghastly farce attributed to Seneca for Nero’s delectation, The Pumpkinification of Claudius ...) 

Agrippina 2000 features Sepideh Moafi as Agrippina, Christa Pfeiffer as Nero; Pallas is played by Andrew Chung, Narcissus by Sara Couden; Igor Vieira is Ottone; Jennifer Ashworth, Poppea; and John Bischoff, Claudius. Deirdre McClure conducts, and the stage direction is by Oakland Opera’s artistic director, Tom Dean. 

AGRIPPINA 2000,  

AMERICAN EMPEROR 

Presented by Oakland Opera Theater at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Oakland Metro Operahouse, 630 Third St. $22. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org. 

MARRIAGE OF FIGARO 

Prestented by Open Opera at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset, off The Arlington. Free. 547-2471. www.openopera.net.

A few weeks ago, I made the dangerous trek out of Berkeley and into Contra Cost County. I took off my tie-dye, trimmed my mustache and put on dark glasses. True, the “Hate is not a family value” license plate holder was still visible but I parked far enough from the house to be safe. It was OK. We avoided politics. For all I know, they voted for Obama. Lots of people voted for Obama and, despite all my joking, they were actually very nice.  

The important things was that we had a common purpose. They were paying too much for electricity and I wanted to stop them from warming the globe. This being our common aim, we started unplugging away. 

Unplugging things is how we start when we want to understand how much power is being used for various things in the home. It’s a time-consuming process but the only way you’re really going to find out what’s making the meter spin is by unplugging or otherwise turning things off. That last part is a bit of a trick too, because just turning things off won’t completely stop them from drawing power. Many devices draw power even though they seem to be off. This can include computers and a host of computerized devices and almost anything that has a transformer or internal power supply. Lots of things like DVD players actually go onto a standby mode and don’t really power all the way off when you turn them off so to start this project, one has to actually unplug most things. If you want to do this, that’s what you’ll need to do. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The place we really want to begin is at your main electrical service. 

Every house has an electrical meter and a main disconnect. The first thing to do is to find yours. When you find the meter, you’ll notice that the meter has a disk that spins around. If everything is off, it won’t be turning at all but this is rare (unless you turn the main breaker off) so it should be moving a bit. In the case of our Contra Costa friends, it was moving so fast that I could barely track it. The method I’m going to show you doesn’t involve reading kilowatt hours, though that isn’t hard to do, but this is easier and actually very simple. It’s just a relative system. This way, you’ll know the relative expenditure of power and, thereby, where your biggest use (or biggest waste) lies. 

Start by turning off everything in the house. Again, it’s going to be best to unplug everything too, although many things like lamps and fans won’t require this. Electronics that have a constant low-level draw will still get a reading. In the case of my friends with the big bill, we chose not to turn off every single item since the usage that I read when these last “ghost” draws were still running was low enough to wash out of the equation. The point here is to figure out what makes up the lion’s share and where there’s room to trim fat. When you understand where the money and energy is going, it might change your behavior. That’s the idea. 

If you take a stopwatch, you can clock how long it takes for the disk in the middle of the meter to spin from one mark to the next. At high-usage levels this will be just a few seconds. If you want to use the fastest (lowest denomination) of the dials on the face of the meter, it’s the one on the far right, but this will take a long time for every test so I’d stick with the disk. 

Now, simply start testing various individual or grouped portions of the electrical system. Start by turning off everything but lighting. Turn on all the lights in the house and go read the meter. Write down the number of seconds it takes for the disk to spin this time. Now go back and turn on everything else in the house but have every light off. This is a big one (and was the lynch pin for our friends). Now try just the refrigerator (typically a very big user), then the TV, the stereo, the hot tub and every other thing you have. Remember that the only fair test will involve actually unplugging everything and plugging things in deliberately as you test your individual and group usage. If you take good notes, you should be able to make a good assessment of where, by percentage, the money and carbon is going. In the case of our friends, it turned out that, despite the two refrigerators and about a hundred other appliances, lighting was, by far, the biggest user. It accounted for roughly 80 percent of their use when we had everything turned on. Now, in fairness, they may have turned off half the lights some of the time but you know how humans are. We talk a good game but, when push comes to pummel, we want what we want and don’t bother me, I’m watching TV. Most people don’t go around turning things off. So….what shall we do? 

If, like my friends, you found that lighting was the biggest user in the house (do a fair test and turn them all on), you might want to take another revised look at the much-improved, LED and compact florescent lights (CFL) that one can find on the Internet or at more and more hardware stores. CFLs use about one quarter of the energy that incandescent lamps (including those little halogen ones) and LEDs use about one tenth. LEDs are currently quite expensive, but, given the fact that they may last a lifetime, think of the cost savings in bulbs as well as power. If you have bulbs that are hard to get to (top of that nasty stairwell), definitely go for one of the LED floods or whatever you’ll need to fit. LED’s are now available to fit low-voltage fixtures and pretty much any style you’ll need. They look odd (for now—I’m sure they’ll get better) and the color may not be right but we have to be flexible today. The earth is warming up and, if the bulb isn’t quite right, well think of it as part of the war effort and tighten your aesthetic belt, soldier. 

Keep in mind that older refrigerators and air conditioners are also big users and there are nice discounts today for Energy Star-rated appliances that can pay for themselves in a year or two. 

I believe that this sort of simple analysis, if taken to real action, can reduce your use by a large measure, perhaps 30 percent or more. Most of our waste is due to lack of attention and today, the payback may not simply be in a lower bill and a higher 401K, it may be in your grandchildren getting a chance to see a Polar Bear.

The sky-blue Victorian villa—part Stick-Eastlake, part Gothic Revival, and proudly holding aloft a tower and weathervane on the northeastern corner of Francisco and Milvia Streets—is a striking sight. 

Passersby who know nothing of its storied past are often captivated by the rows of cobalt-blue glass bottles lined along its window sills. If they raise their eyes, they may admire the handsomely proportioned windows, the classically balustraded balcony, and the numerous curved brackets gracing the house. 

This edifice, popularly known as the Flagg House, has long been the subject of local legends, some of them propagated by local historians. 

George A. Pettitt, author of Berkeley: The Town and Gown of It (1973), had this to say about the house: 

It was built in 1880 for Professor Isaac Flagg of the Greek Department of the University. Twenty years later it was sold to Jonathan C. Wright, proprietor of the Golden Sheaf Bakery, who helped to provide board and lodging for students at the University in the 1870s. The designer and builder was John Paul Moran, a ship’s carpenter who took French leave from his ship in San Francisco Bay about 1870. […] He left the mark of his trade by carving ships’ anchors in the beams, and etching them in the glass of the doors. 

Pettitt was echoing similar lore disseminated by Robert Bernhardi in his book The Buildings of Berkeley (1971). Bernhardi added the following tidbit, published by the Oakland Tribune on Jan. 30, 1972: “Flagg sold to Jonathan C. Wright in 1902, a man who “had absolute disdain of conventional lighting. He contended that gas lamps were too ‘new fangled’ to be trusted … and would go to a small house in the rear to read by kerosene lamp.” 

Both Bernhardi and Pettitt were telling tall tales—delicious to read but remote from the prosaic truth. The house at 2001 Francisco St. could not have been built by John Moran in 1880, since Moran was still living in his native England at that time. Far from being a footloose mariner who jumped ship in San Francisco Bay about 1870, Moran (1852-1904) was a family man who raised eight children, the eldest three born in England between 1881 and 1883. He immigrated to the United States in 1883, his wife and children following the next year, as documented in U.S. census records. 

Nor could the house have been built in 1880 for Isaac Flagg, who was then living in Ithaca, NY, where he served as professor of Greek at Cornell University until 1888. Flagg did not arrive in Berkeley until 1891, when he took up the post of temporary assistant in Latin at the University of California. 

The Flagg family’s first Bay Area residence was at 1469 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. It was not until 1892 that they made their appearance in the Berkeley directory, residing at 2001 Francisco St., in the house that has come to bear their name but which they never owned. 

What can the records tell us about the provenance and history of this intriguing house? 

It is situated in the Janes Tract, Block C. In 1880, the entire block save two lots was owned by Clark Brook, a farmer whose own residence, assessed at $1,200, was the only house then standing on the block. In 1884, a second house appeared on Brook’s land. It was far more modest, assessed at $250. This house was occupied, and likely built, by John P. Moran, a carpenter who was first listed in the Berkeley directory in 1886, residing on the corner of Francisco and Milvia. 

By 1889, Moran had purchased the property from Brook. That year, the assessed value of his improvements was $150. The following year, the value had jumped to $1,800, indicating that Moran had greatly expanded the house. 

In all probability, Moran had intended the expansion as a speculative venture, for he soon sold the house to Jonathan G. Wright and a partner named Leverett, building himself a new home at 1710 Lincoln St. 

It’s interesting to note that Moran consistently listed himself as a carpenter, excepting a few occasions when he called himself a contractor and builder. In 1895, seeking to advertise his business, he paid for a directory listing with his name in capital letters, declaring himself to be an architect and builder. In only three instances—the 1900 census and the 1902 and 1903 city directories—did he call himself a ship joiner. Apparently, he hired himself out at the dockyard when house building opportunities were at a low ebb. 

Jonathan Garrard Wright (1837-1924), the man who bought Moran’s house and who owned the famous Golden Sheaf Bakery on Shattuck Avenue, also began as a carpenter. An Englishman by birth, Wright immigrated to Canada as a teenager. In Toronto he met Hannah Sallows, whom he married in 1860. Two daughters were born to them in Toronto before the Wrights moved to Michigan in 1866. Here they brought to the world two more children, eventually migrating to California in the mid-1870s. In 1877, after three years of carpentry in Oakland, Wright established Berkeley’s first bakery on the west side of Shattuck Avenue between University and Addison. The establishment included a restaurant that came to be known as the Alpha Dining Rooms, and the building was named the Alpha Block. 

If the Wrights took in student boarders in the 1870s as Pettitt suggests, the records say nothing about it. In the 1880 census record, the Wright household included Jonathan and Hannah, their five children, a baker and a cook. In 1900, the census recorded a dozen boarders in the Wright household, most of whom worked at the bakery, with nary a student among them. 

Even after purchasing the Francisco Street property from Moran, Jonathan Wright continued to live above his bakery at 2030 Shattuck Ave. His eldest son, John Cooper Wright, worked in the family business and built his home around the corner, at 2032 Addison St. Constructed about 1898, the handsome Colonial Revival house features twin high-peaked gables and a rotund window bay topped with a miniature Palladian window. 

In 1891, Wright and Leverett leased the house at 2001 Francisco St. to Isaac Flagg, newly arrived in Berkeley. The professor and his wife Mary, then in their mid-forties, had four children aged ten to 22. They resided on Francisco Street for 10 years. In September 1899, Flagg acquired a lot on the corner of Eunice Street and Shattuck Avenue in north Berkeley. Bernard Maybeck designed an adaptation of a Swiss chalet for them, and the family moved to its new house in 1901. 

Jonathan and Hannah Wright, who bought out Leverett early on, waited until 1905 to occupy the house vacated by the Flaggs. Their son John joined the exodus from downtown a year later, moving his Addison Street house six blocks to a lot at 1729 Milvia St., directly across the street from his parents’ new residence. 

The double move no doubt stemmed from the Wrights’ decision to change their sphere of business activities from food to real estate. In February 1907, they sold the bakery for $100,000 to a syndicate of local capitalists that included Christian Mikkelsen and John Berry. Mikkelsen became the bakery’s new manager. 

About the same time that the Wrights settled into the former Flagg home, Prof. Flagg himself, now nearing retirement, was attracting attention through his latest building project. In July 1906, the Oakland Tribune picked up a bit of gossip from a San Francisco newspaper, reporting: 

He is now having a handsome bungalow built but it is too small—just large enough to shelter its owner. Several years ago Flagg, who is a widower with four grown children, had a handsome residence built. He would not allow a telephone put in and refuses to let his children have a piano. Also, he discourages callers—especially young people—to such an extent that the big house became the abode of silence as far as it could be with a flock of healthy young people in it. The eldest daughter married in time, but Flagg, evidently feeling that the other children would be with him too long a time, leased his residence to Mrs. Mary Kincaid, the well known educator. The family—two daughters and a son—ranging from 22 to 30 years of age—have been compelled to quit the parental roof and are sheltered among Berkeley friends, while the father will occupy his tiny bungalow as soon as it is completed. 

Jonathan and Hannah Wright celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary at home on Dec. 27, 1921, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. On the occasion, the Oakland Tribune reported that “Wright, now in his 85th year, is as spry as a man many years his junior.” He died on April 5, 1924, leaving an estate of close to $175,000. In addition to the two houses at Francisco and Milvia, the Wright legacy is evident downtown in the Golden Sheaf warehouse he erected in 1905 to a design by Clinton Day. The brick building, now housing the Aurora Theatre Company, is a City of Berkeley Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Daniella Thompson publishes berkeleyheritage.com for the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). 

THURSDAY, JULY 23 

“U.S. Policy Challenges in the World Oil Market” with Dr. Severin Borenstein, at 1:15 p.m. at the JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $5. 848-0237. www.jcceastbay.org 

Dog Day Thursdays Come practice your reading skills by reading to a dog. A free, drop-in program at 2 and 2:35 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Renewable Energy Software Demo and Overview An informational session on a software tool to learn how solar PV, solar thermal, heat pump or earth pipes would perform on your house or small business, at 7:30 p.m. at Builder’s Booksource; 1817 4th St. georgek@buildersbooksource.com 

“The Money Fix” Film on the problems with the current centralized monetary system and new currency solutions, followed by discussion, at 7 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Donation $5-$15.  

“Reforming the California Budget and the Process for Change”with San Francisco Assessor Recorder Phil Ting and UC Berkeley Professor of Linguistics, George Lakoff at the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Pot luck at 6 p.m. www.wellstoneclub.org 

“Creative Solutions to Balance Work and Life” with Chau Yoder, Chi Gung trainer at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. 526-7512. 

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. 

Summer Dance Party EveryThurs. at 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park. Teachers will lead a variety of dances from around the world. All ages at 7:30, teens and adults at 8:30. Cost is $2 children, $5 adults. 

FRIDAY, JULY 24 

“The Visitor” A film about a professor who returns home to find a young couple, undocumented immigrants, living in his apartment, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. Discussion to follow. 524-4122. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 8 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St. Potluck at 7 p.m. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com  

Shimmy Shimmy Kid’s Dance with clowns, dance music and more for the whole family at 6 p.m. at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda. Cost is $5-$10. www.rhythmix.org 

SATURDAY, JULY 25 

Berkeley Kite Festival and West Coast Kite Championships Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina. HighlineKites.com 

Help Restore Cerrito Creek Help Friends of Five Creeks volunteers remove invasives to reduce flooding and improve habitat on Cerrito Creek at the foot of Albany Hill. Meet at Creekside Park, south end of Santa Clara Ave., El Cerrito at 10 a.m. All ages welcome, snacks, tools, and gloves provided. Wear closed-toed shoes with good traction and clothes that can get dirty. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Walking Tour of Chinatown Meet at 10 a.m. at the fountain of Pacific Renaissance Plaza, Ninth St., between Webster and Franklin. 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Walking Tour of Fox Theater & Uptown Art Deco From 10 a.m. to noon. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance. Reservations required. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. 

Walking Tour of the Bungalows of Fairview Park Meet at 2pa.m. at the northwest corner of College Ave. and Alcatraz. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. 

East Bay Baby Fair for new and expectant parents, with information, workshops and demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Albany Veterans Memorial Building, 1325 Protland Ave., Albany. Free. www.eastbaybabyfair.com 

“How Art Helps to Preserve & Protect the Landscape for Future Generations” A conversation with Phyllis Faber and Elisabeth Ptak of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, with photographer Marty Knapp, at 5 p.m., followed by sale of photographs to benefit MALT, at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

“What’s the Economy For, Anyway?” a new film by John de Graaf at 7:30 p.m. at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way. Cost is $10 at the door. RSVP to events@earthisland.org 

Vegetarian Cooking Class on greens from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $55, plus $5 food and material fee. Advance registration required. 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

Plant Families of California: A Medicinal Perspective from 12:30 to 6 p.m. at Blue Wind Botanical Medicinal Clinic, 823 32nd St., Apt. B, Oakland. Cost is $40. Two additional sessions in Aug. To register call 428-1810. 

“Backyard Chicken Keeping” with Carla Bossieux and 4-H of Alameda County at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. Free. 644-2351. 

Fuzzy Bunny Grooming: Pluck, Clip or Cut? Learn how to care for your wool rabbit from 3 to 5 p.m. at RabbitEars, 377 Colusa Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. www.rabbitears.org 

Peach Tasting at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 

Family Day at MOCHA “String Things” Tug, pull, and wrap with cords and thread to make loopy paintings and lacy sculptures, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Museum of Childrens Art, 538 9th St., Oakland. Cost is $7. 465-8770. www.mocha.org 

“Funding a Society Based on Human Needs” a Peace and Freedom Party discussion on the California budget crisis at 2 pm. at Spud’s Pizza, Adeline and Alcatraz Free. 845-4360. tomcondit@igc.org. 

Seeking Marrow Donors of African American/Asian Descent No charge, only short questionnaire and cheek swab. At 1 p.m. at Park Plaza Hotel, 150 Hegenberger Rd., Oakland. For more info contact 290-6701. www.BeTheMatch.org 

Creature Features at Playland-Not-At-The-Beach with cast and crew, Sat. and Sun. at 10979 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Costs is $10-$15. 932-8966. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org 

Mystical Dance Kiyana Workshop on movements from ancient Persia from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Oakland. For details call the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California. 823-7600. 

Bay Area Crafters with handdyed yarns, ceramics and more at knit-one-one studio, 3360 Adeline St. www.knitoneone.com 

Master Gardener Plant Doctor Booth Get information on watering, plant selection, pest management from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. between MLK and Milvia. Bring pictures and samples. 639-1275. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m. and 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Lawn Bowling on the green at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft Way every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. for ages 12 and up. Wear flat soled shoes, no heels. Free lessons. 841-2174.  

Open Shop at Berkeley Boathouse from 1 to 5 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Take part in constructing a wooden boat or help out with other maritime projects. No experience necessary. First time is free, cost is $10 per day. 644-2577.  

SUNDAY, JULY 26 

Berkeley Kite Festival and West Coast Kite Championships from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina. HighlineKites.com 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Three Summer Path-a-Thon Walks exploring the Southside/Claremont paths, 9:45 a.m. challenging, 10:15 a.m, moderate, 11 a.m. easy, followed by a bring-your-own picnic at 12:15 p.m. Meet at John Muir School, entrance at 2955 Claremont Ave. near Ashby. 520-3876. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Tour of the Berkeley City Club, designed by Julia Morgan, from 1 to 4 p.m. at 2315 Durant Ave. Sponsored by the Landmark Heritage Foundation. 848-7800. 

Walking Tour of Jingletown: Industry to Art Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Lancaster and Glascock, Oakland. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to do a safety inspection, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Social Action Summer Forum on “U.S.-Russian Relations” with Sharon Tennison, Director of the Center for Citizen Initiatives at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

“How to Forgive for Good” Practical ways to let go with Rev. Mary Elyn Bahlert at 9:30 a.m. at Lake Merritt United methodist Church, 1255 First Ave., Oakland. Donations acepted. 465-4793. 

Couples Communication Workshop led by Inbal Kashtan, author of “Parenting from Your Heart” from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St. For cost and information call 433-0700. www.baynvc.org 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m. and 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 

Tibetan Buddhism with Barr Rosenberg on “Heartfelt Work” 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 2 to 6 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Thurs. from 2 to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

MONDAY, JULY 27 

Reduce Your Personal and Community Carbon Footprint Four-session Climate Change Action Group. Mondays or Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ecology Center in July or August. for specific dates and more information see www.ecologycenter.org  

Kensington Book Club meets to discuss “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043 

Community Yoga Class 10 a.m. at James Kenney Parks and Rec. Center at Virginia and 8th. Seniors and beginners welcome. Cost is $6. 207-4501. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Mon. at 3 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

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.  

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 

TUESDAY, JULY 28 

Commmunity Talent Show The Albany Library invites children, teens and families to take the stage and share their special talents with the community at 6:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Sign up in advance at the reference desk or call 526-3720.  

Hillside Club Book Lust Salon meets to discuss works by P.F. Kluge at 7:30 p.m. at 2286 Cedar St. Non-member donation $5. 845-4870. www.hillsideclub.org/booklust 

Six-Word Memoir Writing Workshop at 6 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, Bayview Branch, 5100 Hartnett Ave., Richmond. Free, suitable for teens and adults. 620-6557. 

“Single Payer Health Care: What’s Going On In Washington?” with Judy Pope at the El Cerrito Democratic Club at 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, El Cerrito United Methodist Church, 6830 Stockton Ave. at Richmond Ave., El Cerrito. 527-5953. panterazero@gmail.com 

“Adventure at the Ends of the Earth” with polar explorer Eric Larsen at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

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. 

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., Sat. and Sun. 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 

Bridge for beginners from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m., all others 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sing-A-Long at 2:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland Explore the 9th and Washington St. district. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Ratto’s, 821 Washington St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Cybersalon with Scott Rosenberg on “Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters” at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10 at the door. www.hillsideclub.org 

“Banished“ as part of the Radical Film Nite with free popcorn and post-film discussion, at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

“Fresh” A documentary about a sustainable food system at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“Freedom Sounds Like Hafez” Reading and discussion on Iran today with Mahmood Karimi-Hakak and Bill Wolak at 7 p.m. at the Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264.   

Family Singalong at 4:30 p.m. at the Albany Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

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. 

THURSDAY, JULY 30 

Dog Day Thursdays Come practice your reading skills by reading to a dog. A free, drop-in program at 2 and 2:35 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Hip-Hop Dance Class for Teens with Lateef at 4 p.m. at South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library, 1901 Russell St. 981-6260. 

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. 

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Summer Dance Party EveryThurs. at 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park. Teachers will lead a variety of dances from around the world. All ages at 7:30, teens and adults at 8:30. Cost is $2 children, $5 adults. 

FRIDAY, JULY 31 

“Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1” with music at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Cost is $5-$10. 776-4422. www.bfuu.org 

“Out of the Ashes” A Project Peace Film Festival, featuring films by Bay Area female filmmakers, to benefit Oakland Elizabeth House, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $10. For reservations see www.projectpeaceeastbay.org 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

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, AUGUST 1 

Walking Tour: Rezoning: Facing Oakland’s Future A walk and discussion of density, height, views and historic preservation. Meet at 11 a.m. at the Key System Mural, 11th and Broadway, NE corner, Oakland. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Mega-Science: Make Things That Go “Pop” An interactive program for ages 7-12 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Helmet Safety for Toddlers and a tricycle rodeo, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Habitot children’s Museum, 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

“Doi-Moi: Renewal of Society in Vietnam in a Time of Fundamental World Change” Discussion from 10 a.m. to noon at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Sponsored the the Political Affairs Readers Group. For reading materials call 595-7417. 

Superhero Weekend at Playland-Not-At-The-Beach Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5p.m.. at 10979 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Cost is $10-$15. 592-3002. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m. and 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Lawn Bowling on the green at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft Way every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. for ages 12 and up. Wear flat soled shoes, no heels. Free lessons. 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. 

Open Shop at Berkeley Boathouse from 1 to 5 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Take part in constructing a wooden boat or help out with other maritime projects. No experience necessary. First time is free, cost is $10 per day. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 

12th Annual Bay to Barkers Dog Walk and Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North Parking Lot of Golden Gate Fields, 1100 Eastshore Hwy. Take the Buchanan St./Albany exit from I-80 or I-580. Cost is $25 per dog, $30 on day of event. www.berkeleyhumane.org 

Walking Tour: 20 Years Later: Loma Prieta & Oakland’s Downtown Meet at 10 a.m. at The African American Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. Sponsored by Oakland Heritage Alliance. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. 

Yanga Celebration A carnaval of black culture in Mexico with music and dance from noon to 4 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts.Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Social Action Summer Forum “Rights of Farm Animals” with Kristie Phelps, of In Defense of Animals 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 11 a.m. and 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 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Thurs., July 23, at 5 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., July 23, at 5 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5217.  

Clarification 

Though the Department of Energy awarded Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) $20 million in funding for its new laser accelerator, Secretary of Energy Steve Chu didn’t make the decision, says a lab spokesperson. 

(See “Laser-Powered Accelerator Plan Gets Boost from Recovery Act,” July 16-22 issue, page one.) 

Paul Preuss said Chu has recused himself from all LBNL funding decisions for one year because of his prior tenure as the lab’s director. 

Correction 

The July 16 story, “Hall of Health Museum Closes After 35 Years,” contained an incorrect figure. The Hall of Health’s lease is $7,000 per month, not per year.