Firefighters battled a residential blaze that broke out near downtown Berkeley this morning, the city's fire chief said. 

At 9:45 a.m., firefighters responded to a two-alarm blaze at 2606Milvia St., Fire Chief Debra Pryor said. 

Because the building is old and lacks certain safety features, the fire was able to spread through the walls and into the attic, she said. 

"It was a very stubborn fire for us to fight," Pryor said. 

A firefighter suffered smoke inhalation and exhaustion and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Pryor said. 

The residents got out of the building safely and no other injuries were reported. 

Firefighters were still at the scene early this afternoon. 

"We haven't even started the investigation, "Pryor said shortly after noon. 

Six engines and two trucks responded to the fire. 

After a long holiday recess, Berkeley's City Council is preparing for its first meeting in over a month. The agenda for Tuesday's meeting begins with a 5:30 p.m. worksession on dealing with the City's unfunded liabilities, comprised of guaranteed employee benefits that the City does not actually have the money to pay for, including pension funds, worker's compensation, and vacation payouts. The City Manager's report lists the value of these unfunded liabilities to be about $252.81 million. The workshop will be based on a report from City Auditor AnneMarie Hogan. 

Unfunded liabilities aside, the Consent Calendar for the regular meeting at 7:00 includes an ordinance to establish a fund of $20,000 per fiscal year to pay for a portion of the costs for sex reassignment surgery for city employees. The Consent Calendar also includes a $50,000 lawsuit settlement over an injury caused by a trip on an uneven sidewalk, along with specifications for the FY 2011 Emergency Sidewalk Project. Other Consent Calendar items include early bird policies and fees for the Center Street and Telegraph/Channing parking garages, the extension of the 9^th Street Bicycle Boulevard, a sewer project, and a resolution to allow the North Berkeley branch of the Berkeley Public Library to build encroaching upon the public right of way. 

Council Consent items include a series of re-appointments (and a few different ones) of council members for various committees. Most appointments are to remain unchanged. Councilmember Susan Wengraf is seeking appointment to the Association of Bay Area Governments with the blessing of Mayor Tom Bates, even though Councilmember Kriss Worthington, the current alternate appointee, would like to move up to the regular position, Councilmember Anderson's appointment as an alternate to the Joint Powers Agreement – East Bay Sports Field Recreation, and Councilmember Worthington's appointment to the Oakland Airport Noise Forum are two proposed new posts. 

Councilmembers will pledge up to $300 each from their discretionary Council Office Budgets for the Berkeley Public Libraries Foundation's 9^th Annual Author's Dinner. They are also recognizing and celebrating Berkeley High School's RISE program (Responsibility, Integrity, Strength, Empowerment). 

On the Action Calendar is the Community Workforce Agreement, which would establish regulations for unions and contractors regarding hiring practices and labor disputes for projects in Berkeley worth more than $ 1 million. Contractors would have to give at least 30% of the hours involved in their projects to Berkeley residents, and would have to hire within the unions' referrals. The unions, on their part, would be expected not strike, picket, or create work stoppages. Contractors would contribute ten cents per hour of labor worked to the local hiring program. 

There are two information reports on the agenda: one on Temporary Employee Extension, and one regarding the risk of overpayment and lack of inventory controls in public works contracts. The agenda also includes a ZAB appeal refuting the Board's decision to allow the North Shattuck Safeway to remodel, expand, and extend its hours.

The University of California at Berkeley will lay off 150 staff members between now and June, officials announced today.  

The job cuts, which will mainly be administrative positions, are part of a three-year program that began in 2009 to save $75 million in university spending, a university spokeswoman said.  

"The layoffs are a last resort," spokeswoman Claire Holmes said.  

She said this is the first part of the cost-cutting program, called "Operational Excellence," and should save the university about $20 million.  

"This exercise was designed to reduce the number of managers in our organization," she said.  

Information technology, administration, finance, and business services will all experience cutbacks, but none have been scheduled for custodians or faculty.  

In addition, another 130 employees will be leaving voluntarily or for retirement, bring the total number of campus job eliminations in the past two years to about 500.  

Holmes said another plan to save money is for the university to renegotiate contracts with the thousands of vendors it uses to buy items such as office supplies and technology.  

"We think by negotiating fewer contracts, we can save millions of dollars," she said.  

The university has agreements with major suppliers such as OfficeMax because the company is able to handle high-volume requests, but, “We will always have relationships with a number of vendors in our local community," Holmes said.  

"We do want to support local businesses," she said.  

Holmes said the layoffs and contract renegotiations are all about finding ways to streamline university operations.  

Many campus departments run relatively separately from one another, with up to two managers reporting to superiors. The layoffs are meant to reduce the number of managers and more effectively use the ones the university retained, she said.  

The layoffs come on the heels of an increase in student applications for University of California campuses.  

Applications for freshman undergraduates at all University of California campuses increased 5.7 percent from last year, but enrollment targets for UC Berkeley remain relatively unchanged.  

"Unfortunately, these students are entering this part of their life at a time when state funding is decreasing," Holmes said about the application increase.  

Newly sworn-in Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday proposed a budget that would cut California higher education funds by $1.4 billion; $500 million of that would be taken from the UC system.  

"California wants us to have the students but they keep cutting the money," Holmes said.  

)

I am deeply saddened and shocked at the shooting in Tucson, and my heart goes out to the families of the victims of it, and to the survivors. In order for a person to commit such a crime, in addition to suffering from Schizophrenia, (which I also suffer from), the perpetrator must have a complete disregard for human life, and must completely lack any shred of conscience, (unlike me).  

In my past I have had plenty of reasons to be angry or to have sour grapes. However, this hasn’t made me into a serial killer. I have taken my anger and dissatisfaction and have found healthy outlets for it, and have channeled it into the determination to do better in life.  

Millions of people in the US have a major mental illness, while only a handful become dangerous like this. 

Rather than this being a wake up call to put more restrictions on mentally ill people, it should be one in which more funding is provided for the treatment of these illnesses in a humane and caring manner. Yet, I don’t believe it would be a problem to prohibit mentally ill people from purchasing ammunition or weapons. In my day to day existence, I could not conceive of having a use for firearms. If someone gave me five hundred dollars, I would use it to buy a new laptop. 

In order for someone to be unhappy enough to commit a crime like this, that person must be socially deficient, and must lack a support network that everyone ought to have. 

Most mentally ill people do not commit crimes. 

I ascribe to the ethic that says “the best revenge is living well.” I am admittedly out for myself. And if, in my lifetime quests, anyone gets in my way, I will go around them. I might lack manners and I might not know which fork is the salad fork, but I am essentially a peaceful man because that is the person I must be. And while there are other schizophrenic people who can’t articulate that as well as I can, their nature is still essentially peaceful, in most cases. 

What happened in Tucson was partly a failure of the mental health treatment system there. The professionals with whom the shooter has come into contact were not able to discern in advance that this particular mentally ill person was potentially extremely violent. Mental health science, as far as I can tell, is developed enough to predict such a thing. Perhaps funding cuts in mental health treatment has played a role in the lack of screening that this individual has received. 

It is also difficult for our system as it currently exists to prevent crimes of this nature. Our criminal justice system relies on punishment as a deterrent to breaking the law. When you have someone who simply does not care, the prospect of punishment isn’t good enough to prevent them from committing a crime. 

Whenever there is a shooting spree like this, it gets a lot of press; and people’s perception of mentally ill people becomes that we’re all potentially homicidal. Mentally ill persons are well behaved ninety nine percent of the time, and this fact doesn’t get any press.
In short, most people with mental illness are unlike the shooter in Tucson; this man is severely socially deficient rather then merely psychotic. Most mentally ill people, unlike the perpetrator of this crime, deserve to be regarded as decent human beings.

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission opened a public hearing on one new proposed landmark and mulled over issues related to an environmental impact report on the branch Berkeley library renovations and demolitions at its first regular meeting of the new year on January 6, 2011. 

Pelican Building 

A landmark application for the Pelican Building on the UC Berkeley campus was submitted in December to the Commission by two LPC members, Gary Parsons and Robert Johnson. The one-story, pavilion-like structure on the banks of Strawberry Creek north of Barrows Hall was constructed in 1956 to the design of Joseph Esherick who had consulted with Bernard Maybeck in the early stages of the design process. 



When completed, the building housed the “California Pelican”, the student humor magazine that had been founded by the donor of the building, Earle C. Anthony, at the beginning of the 20th century. 

In more recent decades, after the demise of the “Pelican”, it has been reassigned as the headquarters of the Graduate Assembly, the graduate student wing of the Associated Students (ASUC).
 


The Commission opened a public hearing on the nomination and heard from one speaker, Beth Piatnitza. Piatnitza, Assistant Director of Physical and Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley told the Commission “for the University it’s a non-controversial issue. We have always considered that building to be a historic resource.” 

 

She said the building “does have a seismic issue, and some ADA (Americans with Disability Act) issues”, and the campus is contemplating renovations. “We’ll be working with the guidance of a preservation consultant.” She added that the University is preparing a Historic Structures Report on the building. 



There were no other speakers who asked to address the Commission about the Pelican Building, but at the suggestion of Parsons and Johnson the Commission voted to hold the public hearing open until the February meeting. 

Parsons said, “some people at Esherick’s office would like an opportunity to comment”, and couldn’t attend in January. 

Esherick, who died in 1998, founded the design practice now known as EHDD, based in San Francisco. Several of his early colleagues there—George Homsey, Peter Dodge, and Chuck Davis—are still connected with the firm. Last year the LPC designated another Esherick-designed building in Berkeley, the YWCA at Bancroft and Bowditch, as a City Landmark. 

 

Parsons noted that in his research on the Pelican Building he realized “we’re moving to different kind of documentation. Every piece of communication was on file in the (Environmental Design) Archives” at the University.” 

“The task becomes not digging up little bits that are rare, but winnowing through lots of stuff” to prepare a landmark application.

 

Library Branches 

While the Pelican nomination was relatively brief and uncontroversial, a large part of the Commission’s time and attention at the meeting was taken up with the complex issues of Berkeley’s four branch libraries.

 Two of the libraries—the North Branch and the West Branch—are designated City of Berkeley landmarks. The other two—South and Claremont Branches—are generally regarded as historic resources, but do not have formal landmark status. 

 

A contingent of Library and other staff, consultants, and both Library allies and critics offered comments to the Commission as they grappled with a thicket of policy considerations related to the branches.

 

The Library currently proposes to demolish and rebuild two of the branches—South and West—and renovate the other two, with a major rear addition on the North Branch and a very small external addition to the Claremont Branch. 



A lawsuit by the Community Library Users group has challenged the demolition of the South and West branches and the use of funds from 2008’s Measure FF bond vote to build new branches, and the City and CLU are currently in settlement talks. 

Meanwhile, the City has issued a draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the South and West Branch projects. 

As a result of a partial settlement in the lawsuit the enactment of zoning changes to all five Berkeley Public Library sites—the branches, as well as the Central Library—has been repealed and incorporated into the DEIR for study.
 


The Commission was being asked by City staff at this meeting to offer any comments it would like for consideration in the Final EIR. The item was listed on the agenda as “for commission review and comment” and an action item.

 

The discussion of the libraries divided into two parts during the meeting. First, several individuals testified during the open Public Comment period at the beginning of the meeting. Later in the meeting City staff interacted with the Commission about the DEIR in particular. 



During the public comment period, Peter Warfield, representing the Library Users Association, said he was “here to talk about the Draft EIR and in general what’s happening with Berkeley’s libraries.” 

He argued that the voter approved Measure FF did not contemplate demolition of the branches. 

“There was no mention of demolition in the measure or related materials.” “It appears that the public was not told, and certainly not before the election, that there would be demolition, with the exception of a small hint in one of the pieces of literature.” 



Regarding the South Branch library, he said it had the “feeling of a really jam packed attic”, and that it was understandable from a Library staff perspective to want more space. But the crowding of equipment, furnishings, and materials in the building also “ruins many of the qualities the building has”. Skylights have been covered, and bookcases placed in front of windows, Warfield said, obscuring the original character of the structure.

 

“I would urge you to make the South Branch a landmark” he told the Commission and the City should “pay for the renovation people voted for.”

 

Judith Epstein, part of the Concerned Library Users group, followed Warfield. She noted that her group is distinct from the Library Users Association. “Somewhere along the line with the branch improvements there came the notion that historic elements couldn’t be saved”, she said. But the purpose of an EIR is to question such assumptions, she added.

 

She said that CLU has hired Berkeley architect Todd Jersey to “come up with options to preserve the historic elements” of the two demolition-threatened branches, and suggest ways to make expansions that would “echo the original design.” 

“There is a better way, a greener way, to improve these libraries”, Epstein said. “I would urge you to ask questions as part of the DEIR process.”

 Regarding the zoning amendment that would make it easier to expand or make other alterations to all of Berkeley’s public libraries in the future, Epstein asked “what is the impact?” “What is the long term impact?” “How will it affect the neighborhoods around these libraries?”

 

Epstein said that the Concerned Library Users had presented some design concepts for renovation of branches to the City Attorney as part of the settlement process for their lawsuit. In response, Commission Chair Gary Parsons said “I would be really interested in seeing them.” 

 

Epstein said that CLU would be happy to have Jersey come speak to the Commission at a later date about the renovation options.

 

Jersey also gave brief testimony during the Public Comment period. He said he had been asked by CLU to examine “whether it was feasible to save the original structures of the branch libraries.”

 He recalled “going to the South Branch library as a child” when he grew up in Berkeley. “I love that little building. I remember it particularly as a warm and friendly place.”

 

“The original buildings (South and West branches) are good examples of the time periods they were designed in”, he said. “On the South Branch it’s quite simple to save the two main rooms, tear out the 1970s (addition), and build from there.”

 

Jersey noted he was the design architect for the recently renovated and re-opened, and widely praised, historic Richmond Plunge. “I am a leading green architect, and a budding preservation architect”, he told the Commission. “I love old buildings and, in particular, some of the old buildings I grew up with in Berkeley.”

 

David Snyder was the next Public Comment speaker, identifying himself as the Executive Director of the Berkeley Public Library Foundation, a non-profit group closely allied with the Library administration that is raising funds to provide fixtures and furnishings for the renovated or rebuilt branches. 



He read the text of Measure FF and said “in preparation for that (Measure FF), the City incorporated an evaluation of the sites and an evaluation of the costs”, and “one of the elements in particular that they tried to have was keeping the projects within budget.” 



“If you go into the branches you can become acquainted with the unsafe conditions there.” The South and West branches, he added “have gone through deterioration to such an extent that it makes it infeasible except to go forward with demolition of these two branches.”

 

Synder said the current planning provided “new buildings at both South and West to accomplish the goals of the plan and provide what the residents of Berkeley voted for.” He said the alternative was “have no project, which is not what the citizens of Berkeley were looking for.” 

Snyder was followed by Dave Fogerty, who identified himself to the Commission as a resident of Otis Street near the South Branch. He said “I also live with a librarian, recently retired” and “I attended the three public workshops” on the South branch.

 

“The architects considered the alternatives of renovating…and preservation alternatives,” he said. “It was the conclusion of most people who participated that it was more economic and of better value to the public” to build a new South Branch.

 

After Fogerty spoke, Commissioner Carrie Olson asked him who he worked for. Fogerty said he worked for the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development, but he was speaking to the Commission as a private citizen. 



Diane Davenport, a retired librarian from the Berkeley Public Library and current President of the Friends of the Library, spoke next saying in regard to the South Branch “the EIR says that the environmentally superior alternative is to do nothing” but “that poses significant life safety risks to the public.” 

“This EIR says South and West branches pose risks.” “Let’s move ahead with the proposed projects and build safe branches.”

 

The final speaker, Bradley Weidemeier, talked about the South Branch, saying “it should be a landmark. There’s no question that it’s a very significant piece of architecture.” 

He also questioned the City’s proposal for a zoning amendment that would permanently alter the development restrictions on Berkeley’s five Library properties. “Why a variance in perpetuity?” he asked. “Why not one time, for the renovations? Our planning tools are important and should be utilized.” And “why the main branch?” he asked. 

 

The Library has included the Central Library in the package of properties where zoning restrictions would be loosened, although the Central Library was renovated and expanded years ago and the Measure FF funding applies only to the branches.

 

Later in the meeting, at the beginning of the Commission discussion of the Library DEIR, Commissioner Olson excused herself from the room. Her architect father worked on the design of the South Berkeley Branch in the office of Hans Oswald, the architect of record. 

“Since this (branch renovations, and the zoning amendment) was put on the agenda as one item, I’m going to have to leave for the whole item” she told the Commission. 

Before she left, however, she said to the room in general, including the contingent of Library staff and consultants present, “no one from the City contacted my father” when the South Berkeley branch was under study for renovation. “No one asked him for information about South Berkeley. No one asked him if it was earthquake safe. No one.”

 

City planner Aaron Sage took the podium next to make himself available for questions about the DEIR. He said that if the Commission provided comments, “they are comments that will have the same legal status as any other public comments received.” He added that the City Council would certify the Final EIR, and also make the final decision on any zoning amendments affecting the Library. But to the Landmarks Commission, he said, “you will make the final decision on the demolition.” 



Commissioner Steve Winkel asked, “as far as what we’re doing tonight, this would have the same status of a public citizen” in terms of how comments are evaluated in the EIR. 

“That’s right”, answered Sage. 



Commissioner Anne Wagley noted “we as the Landmarks Commission have been alerted that an architect (Jersey) has prepared preservation alternatives that have not been incorporated into the Draft EIR.” She said that the suggestions of Todd Jersey should be part of the EIR study. “I think that’s a great idea”, Chair Parsons added.

 

Commissioner Austene Hall focused on the zoning amendment changes. “You don’t change the zoning laws just because you want to build your backyard house on someone else’s fence”, she told Sage, and asked why the zoning amendment was part of the EIR study?

 

“The zoning ordinance amendment is proposed, and with CEQA and the lawsuit (by Concerned Library Users) it was determined that it should be subject to an EIR”, Sage replied. The City decided that it would be most sensible to combine all the CEQA issues related to the Library in one EIR, rather than doing separate studies. 



“The (zoning) amendment is not about a building type—libraries—but about specific sites?” Parsons wanted to know. “It’s specifically written to apply only to the five libraries that existed as of last year”, Sage answered. Parsons asked why the amendment is needed. 



“There’s a lot of different things about these sites and about these libraries that warranted treating them differently than any site in a residential district”, Sage replied. Some of the branches are located on sites with residential zoning. But, for example, he said that the residential zoning requirement that generally limits buildings to 40% lot coverage is “very limiting” for the libraries. The Claremont remodel and the South and West Branch rebuilds would occupy most of their sites.

 

So, Parsons said, the rationale is that “the neighborhoods these three libraries are in are residential neighborhoods and these aren’t residential buildings?” “Correct”, said Sage.
 


Parsons also asked if the City had undertaken any comparable zoning amendments for other buildings or projects. Sage said that the Public Safety Building on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way went through a similar process. “Caution is definitely due on things like this but the zoning ordinance is an involved document”, Parsons said. “It would be wrong to think such an ordinance wouldn’t change over time. (But) everyone here is concerned about it.”

 

“It’s a very slippery slope”, worried Commissioner Wagley. “I think we’re headed down that slope.” “We’re opening it up to ‘now they can building something and the (zoning) protections are less’.” She noted that the landscaping surrounding the North Berkeley Branch library is an important community amenity, but loosening the zoning rules might allow future expansions—beyond the one currently planned—to encroach into the landscape. 



Commissioner Christopher Linvill also asked about the zoning issues. “Variances are discouraged in the (zoning) code?” he said to Sage. “Certainly the spirit of what you’re saying is true”, Sage responded. “Generally ZAB (Zoning Adjustments Board) cannot recommend approval of a variance, particularly when you’re starting from a blank slate”, like constructing a new building. “It’s hard to make an argument that there’s anything unusual about a site that the conditions (of zoning) can’t be met.” 

Thus, the City has identified changing the zoning for the five library sites as a way to avoid having to pursue variances for the branch renovation plans. “We didn’t think through all the different ways you could do a variance because that wasn’t on the table.”
 


“We always work with the Zoning Board to make the findings very specifically tailored to the project so it doesn’t create a precedent”, Sage said.
 



Wagley criticized the City for releasing the Draft EIR on the verge of the winter holidays. “I think we should also have a moratorium on new draft EIR’s issued in the last two weeks of December”, she said. This EIR came out mid-month, right before the holiday season, with the public review and comment period ending in January. 

 

“What sort of access did we provide?” Sage asked, in reply. “It was available electronically on our website and a hard copy was available at all five libraries.” He did not speak to the timing issue.

 

Commissioner Miriam Ng asked how the seismic condition of the branch libraries was determined. Sage said “the standard for that would be complying with the building code”, which has been updated over the decades since the libraries were built to reflect new understanding about seismic engineering. 

“It was assumed all the alternatives (under study in the EIR) would meet current building code”, which would require seismic upgrades.

 “There was destructive testing” said a representative of the Field Paoli architecture firm, speaking from the audience. “They tested some of the (concrete) block” in the South Branch. “There is a structural report, that discusses the lack of sufficient horizontal ties per current code. It would have to be reinforced, seismically braced, in a renovation scheme.”

 

“There has been an immense shift in building code” since the buildings were constructed, Commissioner Winkel said. “I don’t think anyone would say the building was unsafe when it was built.” “You can strengthen existing buildings to make them more code compliant.”

 

“If this (seismic safety) were the issue, you would tear down every house in Berkeley” Commissioner Hall added. “You CAN make an existing building safer.” “They’re done many times in California, and across the country. It can be restored and added onto and made earthquake safe.”

 

Hall said she didn’t feel that renovation alternatives for the branches had been sufficiently studied. “It doesn’t sound like that was fully looked at.” She said she was “thinking about the bond measure and the expectations of citizens.”

 

Commissioner Antionette Conteh asked about “the expectation of having the libraries remodeled” in the bond measure and how much each branch project would cost. 

 

Director of Library Services Donna Corbeil spoke from the audience in answer, saying “It’s 26 million dollars out of Measure FF.” She said she didn’t have a detailed breakdown of the projected expenditures per branch with her.

“ 

The program for each of the four (branch) buildings was based on the facilities master plan which was done prior to the Measure” going on the ballot, Corbeil said. “After the bond passed we did use that (the facilities master plan) as a basis”, but “it was really many factors that went into the budget planning.”
 


“The bond measure did not talk about demolition”, Commissioner Hall observed. 

“It did give possible alternatives,” said Corbeil (perhaps confusing the brief Measure FF wording itself with the lengthy master plan she was citing). 

“For the South Branch they did look at a new branch” in the master plan. “It was mentioned in the Master Plan.” 

“I think that would be a big debate”, Corbeil went on. “In my mind, we had a facilities master plan and our commitment was to have an extensive public process when the bond was passed.” “I do feel we have done that in the past two years.” 



“I do feel the point was to look at what the needs were, then to engage the community once the bonds were passed”, Corbeil concluded.

 

“There have been situations where the City has made mistakes about buildings needing retrofitting”, Hall said. She pointed to the case of a church in North Berkeley where the City initially wanted to require an extensive and expensive seismic renovation; further study of the construction of the building showed it was sufficiently reinforced to merit a less costly upgrade.

 

As discussion continued, Winkel raised another issue about the EIR format. While “I understand aggregating the EIR” to include the building replacement issues and the zoning amendment, he questioned having one EIR address both the South and West Branch libraries. “They’re apples and oranges”, he said. “The public would be much better served if there were two separate documents.” 



Parsons turned the discussion to the West Branch library. Since the building is a designated City of Berkeley landmark, he asked Sage, “from your conversations with the city attorney”, what would be the role of the Landmarks Commission in reviewing the design of a new building if the old is demolished?
 


“Your role would be limited to the review of the demolition and that (the) Design Review (Committee) would be in the driver’s seat” on reviewing new construction”, said Sage. 

“We have a lot of sites in Berkeley where the landmark was demolished years ago and the landmark address is still on the list”, Sage added.

 

“If we don’t have any role in design review formally, we can all show up as citizens at the Design Review Committee”, Parsons observed.

 

Winkel noted that in the DEIR there is discussion about a partial demolition / partial rebuild alternative for the South and West branches, but the document concludes that is infeasible because it would be more expensive than the project budget. While 

“the EIR is not an economic analysis”, Winkel said, “the decision to discard the alternative (in the EIR) was an economic decision.” 



Commissioners discussed how to frame their comments for the DEIR process. Commission staff secretary Jay Claiborne said that staff had been noting comments by the Commission and would provide a draft to Commissioners to review, before submitting them to the EIR process. Commissioners seemed to think that would be suitable, rather than a formal motion from the Commission listing specific comments.

 

Sage added that “our past practice” is to take comments from Commissioners by name and review them in EIRs. 

In other business, the Commission discussed a proposal to set up a subcommittee to review the list of “pending demolitions” provided by the City, but decided to continue the informal practice of Commissioners reviewing the list on their own, then calling out individual projects of concern.

 

Pending demolitions of historic buildings has been a point of contention between Commission and City staff in recent years; on a number of occasions City staffers outside the Commission staff have not fully informed the Commission that a potentially historic building is proposed for demolition. 

Mills Act 

The Commission also discussed the process of reviewing compliance with Mills Act contracts. The State-mandated Mills Act allows owners of designated historic properties to divert some of their property taxes into renovations and repairs of their buildings. The owners must sign a contract with a local jurisdiction—in this case, the City—to qualify for the tax advantages. 

Commission staff said that Mills Act contracts in Berkeley currently need review, but the inspections would take more time than there is staff time available. Mills Act contracts generally need to be evaluated every two years, to make sure that the property owner is making the repairs and upgrades specified and complying with the terms of the contract.

 

Staff suggested that Commissioners might take a role in conducting visits to / inspections of Berkeley Mills Act properties. While the suggestion intrigued the Commission, there were also concerns from Commissioners about the quasi-legal role of the inspections.

 

“Is the inspection something that acts as a screen(ing) for potential enforcement?” asked Commissioner Linvill. Yes, answered the staff. 

“I wouldn’t ever go alone” on an inspection Commissioner Olson said, since she is not trained as an architect or inspector. “Even if an architect were to go, they should go with another person”, Chair Parsons said. “I would say we should be going with a City staff person”, Commissioner Wagley added. 

Marin Circle 

In other business, during the staff report period, Claiborne reported that it appeared the City would make the Landmarks staff secretary position permanent, and would do a search for a permanent staff member. Claiborne has been working on a temporary basis since the departure of the last permanent Commission secretary, Terry Blount, for a job in Contra Costa County.

 

The Commission also discussed a proposal by AT & T to install a new equipment box at The Circle on Marin Avenue. The traffic circle—including the central ornamental fountain, and the surrounding balustrades and steps down to Henry Street—is a City landmark.

 

Claiborne reported he was working with Public Works staff to explore how an equipment box could be most sensitively sited, particularly to avoid blocking the ornamental balustrades. 

He said the Public Works staff had been very cooperative and interactive with Landmarks staff, but that the box as proposed by AT & T could “create a terrible intrusion” on the Circle visual character. 

He mentioned the possibility of trying to have the box shifted onto one of the side streets, so it would not be within the Circle visual perimeter.

 Olson suggested that instead of adding a new, second, box AT & T should be asked to consider consolidating old and new equipment in one box. 

 

The LPC then continued with other business, including a presentation on energy efficiency for historic buildings. This correspondent left after the staff report, however. 



(Disclosures. The author works for the University of California, Berkeley and is working on the Historic Structures Report for the Pelican Building. The author has also written commentary in earlier issues of the Planet on the dispute over Measure FF funding and the branch libraries. He is neither a party to the lawsuit or a member of any of the community groups related to the Library or the lawsuit.) 

Caption: 

The filling in of Willard Pool on Telegraph Avenue was justified by City staff as a public safety and cost-savings measure, according to a mid-December memo sent to City Councilmembers.

But there appears to have been no City announcement that the pool was to be filled—around New Year’s Day, when City offices were officially closed—an event that caught neighbors by surprise. 

The Planet was the first news source to report the filling in the January 5 issue, posting the information from a neighbor early on the morning of that day. Other news outlets picked up the story later in the day. 

In the days since, both the official reasons for the pool filling and neighborhood reactions have become better defined. The pool had been closed in June 2010, but community interest in finding funds to renovate and operate it remained high. The pool was one of three operated by the City and the only one in south or east Berkeley. 

According to a memo sent by City Manager Phil Kamlarz to the City Council, dated December 17, 2010, “In order to ensure the safety of children, local residents and any one who might access the facility, the City is filling Willard pool with soil. The Berkeley Unified School District has been consulted about this process and is supportive of it as well, especially due to the safety issues.”

“Filling the pool with soil does not preclude its future repair and renovation”, Kamlarz continued. “The current pool shell is not usable and would have to be replaced in any event. The soil can be removed in the future when and if there are funds available to renovate the pool to appropriate safety standards. In the meantime, this approach allows the City to stop incurring the costs associated with filtering and chlorinating the pool. Additionally, and most importantly, it is the safest way to protect children and others from drowning or hurting themselves.” 

The memo then goes on to detail the reasons for closing the pool in July. It concludes, “After reviewing multiple options, City staff, in consultation with BUSD, determined that the safest option, both from a community safety and a City liability standpoint, is to fill the pool with soil.” 

The memo is cc’d to the Deputy City Manager, City Clerk, City Auditor, William Rogers (Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Director), and Mary Kay Clunies-Ross (Public Information Officer from the City). 

It’s unclear if this memo was sent only to Councilmembers and certain City staff, or if it had a more public distribution. I searched the City’s website to no avail looking for a posted, publicly accessible, copy.  

“It’s a sad but not an unsurmountable obstacle that the City filled Willard Pool with dirt,” says Councilmember Kriss Worthington who represents District 7 where Willard Pool is located. 

“It is unfortunate that the City rushed and filled the pool on or around New Years Eve. This is not an auspicious way to begin the new year.”  

“It would have been better if the City waited for the budget process to see whether the City Council had five votes to fund the pool”, Worthington added. “But in spite of this fact, the pool has been filled. We will see whether we can rehabilitate or reinstate the pool. It would have been more respectful to the community if we were given notice of the filling and the City to wait for the budget vote.” 

(Worthington and other Councilmembers did receive notice through the December 17 memo but there was no City announcement to the community of the impending fill project. Wozniack’s District 8 “issues and updates” page on his City website contains no postings I could find since March 2010. The most recent on-line district newsletter on Worthington’s website is “Summer 2010”; his website also includes the Council items from last summer on Willard Pool temporary funding.) 

Neighborhood reaction to the pool filling seemed generally discouraged; “sad” was the most commonly used term. I asked readers of the Le Conte neighborhood chat group (which also has readers in Willard) if they had views they’d like to share. Here’s a selection. 

George Beier, President of the Willard Neighborhood Association (and 2010 candidate for City Council) told me January 4, “I didn’t get any formal notice about it—but some people were curious about it and (District 8 Councilmember) Gordon W(ozniak) sent an e-mail to a friend that I saw describing this as a safety measure.” The Willard neighborhood is divided, north to south, between District 7 and District 8. 

“Apparently this is being done as a ‘safety measure’. To keep it full was a hazard, and to keep it drained was a hazard, so it was filled in with dirt,” Beier paraphrased Wozniak’s message.  

“This was a sad surprise,” says Linda Rosen, who lives a few blocks from the pool. “Who paid for them to do this?” 

“Pathetic and sad” writes Todd Darling, who lives in Le Conte. “The dirt filling a public swimming pool is a pretty sharp indictment of our current level of stewardship. We had to bury the pool in order to save it.” 

“I remember when the pool was built, it was a great addition to programming at Willard as they were able to offer swimming to students,” wrote Thomas Ratcliff. “As students, we had swimming lessons, which in addition to being great physical exercise had a public health consequence as more people became swimmers and thus were less likely to drown in their lifetimes as a consequence.” 

“In its present state, I do not "blame" anyone”, Ratcliff added. “The pool had huge repair and update issues that were unsurmountable in the current economic times. It is a sad day to lose this community amenity. I, however, am not hopeful about re-opening this pool anytime soon as the city budget is headed for the ditch and other higher priority items will have to be attended to.” 

“I swam at Willard and more recently did Senior Water Aerobics there”, writes Le Conte resident Donna Mickleson. “I want to believe that the filling with dirt is a cost-saving measure (due to water leakage and the expense of keeping the aging pumps working) for a year or two until we can pass a bond measure that will rebuild the pools. As far as the liability/safety arguments are concerned, my question is this: Why haven't they been raised during the many years we've had two out of three City pools closed for at least six months a year? The only difference with Willard is that it is in worse physical condition, and when Measure C failed last June, the City closed it. But we were told that it could be re-opened if and when money is found--which very likely means a bond measure.” 

“I really hope that those who like myself are saddened to see what's behind that fence now, also voted and worked for Measure C. This wouldn't be happening if it had passed, and if we're to see clear blue water where there's dirt now, we'll have to work to make it happen.” 

Suzy Cortes, another Le Conte resident, had this to say. “I started swimming at Willard when I first moved to the neighborhood, in 1965. I have always loved swimming but because I don't drive I'm limited in where I can go. Willard is walking distance from my home. I took both my sons there and they took swimming lessons for years. Several times we rented the pool for neighborhood parties. My sons have grown up and so my grandsons began to come to Willard to swim and take lessons. I was devastated when the pool closed. I am 71 now and need to swim more than ever. I know there are other pools, farther away, harder to get to. Sometimes I get to one of them. But Willard was MY POOL. I seldom swim now.” 

(That comment reminded me of one of the Council discussions on the Willard pool operational funding last summer. Mayor Bates, who also lives in Le Conte, wondered out loud from the podium why people couldn’t just walk to West Berkeley from the Willard area and use the West Campus pool. He walks to West Berkeley all the time, he said; it’s no big deal.) 

It “just bothers me that low income kids may not have access to this pool. This was a summer favorite for so many kids in Oakland. Sad”, wrote Julie Ann Bacceilli. 

"The pool closing is a tragic loss for the community” wrote Larry Bensky, describing himself as a 32-year Le Conte homeowner. “My daughter, now 14, learned to swim there, and continued classes through Junior Lifeguard. Dozens of school and community groups used the pool regularly. For them, getting to King or West Campus is difficult if not impossible. An entire section of the city has been hurt by this politically manipulated action. Shame on Mayor Bates, Councilmember Maio and others who refused to keep the pool open in order to try to deprive Kriss Worthington of the victory he won anyway." 

The last sentence refers to the controversy that arose during the District 7 City Council campaign last year when George Beier, one of two candidates running against incumbent Kriss Worthington, was quoted by the Daily Californian as telling the Cal Young Democrats organization in September that two unnamed Councilmembers told him they supported keeping Willard Pool open but voted against temporary operational funding last summer because they wanted to deny Worthington a pre-election victory in his district. 

Beier refused during the campaign to say which Councilmembers had talked to him, telling the Daily Cal that his mention of the phone calls was “indiscreet.” He also organized in June 2010, an unsuccessful effort to persuade the City Council to fund summer operation of Willard, suggesting as a funding source part of the subsidy the City gives to municipal employees to use the Downtown Berkeley YMCA for free. 

While arguing for retention of the pool, Worthington opposed Beier’s specific proposal, arguing that taking funds that had been negotiated in contracts with City workers was both illegal and unfair to employees. Worthington and District 8 Councilmember Gordon Wozniak alternatively proposed that some street paving in their districts should be deferred in order to keep the pool from closing during the summer. 

Both the Beier and Worthington proposals were rejected by the Council and the end of June closure went ahead. 

“We will see whether we can rehabilitate or re-instate the pool”, Worthington said in a recent email to the Bateman Neighborhood Association. “There has been some suggestion that two City Council members wanted to support and vote to keep Willard pool open, but not during the elections. If this is in fact true, we will try hard to get the four previous ‘Yes’ votes and the other two votes as well.” 

A third former candidate in the District 7 election, Ces Rosales—whose spouse is Berkeley City Parks Superintendant Sue Ferrara—e-mailed the Le Conte group during the discussion about the pool filling, saying that she had talked to a City staffer who told her the pool “will probably be temporarily converted into a garden.” 

An e-mail inquiry I sent to Phil Harper-Cotton, the staff member she identified as her source, had not been returned by press time for this article.

There can't be many Berkeleyans who've never been to East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. This unique store was started in Berkeley 30 years ago. It was located on San Pablo near University until recently when it moved to 4695 Telegraph in Oakland - but according to Executive Director Linda Levitsky the staff still think of themselves as a Berkeley institution. The original mission, Levitsky explains, was “to provide low cost materials to teachers and artists”. They soon expanded to serve the general public and a wide diversity of people patronize the store. 

The quantity and variety of the materials to be found there are amazing. There are countless bins filled with corks, bottle tops, plastic containers, picnic supplies; there are shelves loaded with paper goods and writing materials of all kinds, fabrics and yarns, dishes, hardware and paints; and manufacturers' overstocks of all sorts of unexpected oddities. Right now they have boxes full of Troll dolls. It would be impossible to make a list. The wares are donated by a number of local businesses as well as by the public. 

This is not your ordinary thrift shop and the point is not just to recycle or reuse objects to keep them out of the landfill but to use them creatively. The challenge is to create something beautiful or interesting out of all the myriads of items that appear in households that we are accustomed to throwing away.  

It began as a place for teachers to get materials for art projects for kids in the schools. That concept has been expanded to organized field trips where teachers can bring kids to the Depot to create something out of their own imaginations. The kids each get a bag which they fill with things for the project they've decided to make. Experienced Depot staff members are there to help them. Staff people also go out to fairs and events with materials and do art projects with children. 

It's not only teachers who come to the Depot. “What goes on here is really remarkable,” Levitsky says. We get an average of about 200 paying customers a day. Our average sales are 8 or 9 dollars. I like to think of this as a community place where people can come and talk about what's going on. We're very supportive of all art events.” 

It is interesting to hear how the downturn in the economy has affected the store. Levitsky says donations from businesses and manufacturers have decreased sharply. “The harsh reality is the economy has forced everybody to not have over stock, not to have inventory that they can give away. … (And) so many people who donated to us have gone out of business. That's on one level. On the other level. Our sales here at the store increased dramatically last year. I think that's a combination of people seeking out things that were less expensive but not so much that but here in the Bay Area, we are a hip community, and people understand that they don't want to spend their money on stuff that's just junk. Maybe they need something and they'll come here for that kind of stuff. Or they'll come here to make something beautiful, come here to create something out of what we have. People are really very knowledgeable about reusing materials. And our donations from our customers, or clients or friends have dramatically picked up - the donations that come through our back door. Sometimes there's 27 -30 cars a day coming, donating. So businesses went down, manufacturers went down, our business went up, donations went up. And there's a whole arts and crafts movement that's getting very instilled in people. People like to make stuff, to have things for kids to do.” 

There is another story here that is not as well known. Besides promoting art activities the Depot makes donations of all sorts of supplies to numerous non profits. And for the past 8 years they have been a partner with Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority and several other agencies in a most impressive recycling program. West Contra Costa County designates a special Reuse and Cleanup day when residents put recyclable items out for curbside pickup. The materials are taken to a warehouse in Benicia to be picked up by the partner agencies for distribution. The Depot helped develop that program. Levitsky explains “... from that program we've been able to glean enough material to (for example), this year, make about 15 trips to the farm workers up in Stockton with jackets and blankets. We also donate to Harrison House, the homeless shelter in Berkeley, we donate heavily to Emeryville Community Action Program with clothing, pots and pans, and anything that is gleaned …” Altogether they donate to as many as 20 different non profit organizations. 

Most people don't know about this program. Levitsky says, “We received a legislative award from the legislature for this program and we've tried to bring it into Alameda County and into Berkeley. … [but] have not been able to do it. We diverted something like 60 tons of stuff to non profits.” East Bay Depot is a shining example of creative solutions to a host of problems.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is due to visit the University of California at Berkeley next month to preside over a student law competition.  

Sotomayor will be the chief judge on a panel hearing the final round of arguments by law students in the McBaine Honors Competition, the UC Berkeley School of Law's annual moot court contest scheduled for Feb. 2.  

She will be joined by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Fletcher, who teaches a class on federal courts at the school, and California Supreme Court Justice Carol Corrigan.  

"These are three extraordinary jurists," said law school dean Christopher Edley. He said the trio's participation will make the session an “invaluable learning opportunity" for students.  

The moot court competition is intended to simulate the arguing of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Each competitor must prepare a written brief and 30 minutes of oral argument on a cutting-edge topic selected by the competition organizers.  

This year's case is a free-speech lawsuit filed against a school district by an Evangelical Christian mother after school officials, citing the constitutional separation of church and state, refused to let her read Bible verses to her kindergarten son during a classroom show-and-tell session.  

The two finalists who will argue on Feb. 2 will be chosen after preliminary rounds, quarter-finals and semi-finals held this month before panels of lawyers, local judges and faculty.  

Sotomayor, a former federal appeals court judge in New York, was President Obama's first appointment to the Supreme Court, named by him to the post in 2009. She is the court's first Hispanic justice.  

"I believe that over the next 20 years Justice Sotomayor will emerge as a truly central figure in American jurisprudence; she's that good,” Dean Edley said. "Our students will carry this memory with them for the rest of their lives."  

Faculty and student representatives said students are thrilled and honored to have the participation of Sotomayor, who is known for her lively questioning of lawyers.  

"Justice Sotomayor is extraordinarily charismatic and uniquely alive in her questioning during oral arguments at the Supreme Court," said William Freehold, a faculty member who directs the school's appellate program.  

"She is a role model for any student engaged in the study and practice of law," Fernholz said.  

"Her participation will definitely keep the students on their toes," said Joseph Rose, a third-year law student who is co-director of the moot court competition.  

The contest's other co-director, third-year law student Jackie Estelí, said, "The competitors put in a lot of work over the course of the year and to have the opportunity to present in front of such a prestigious judge panel is a fantastic reward."  

The final round of arguments will be held in Wheeler Auditorium on the Berkeley campus from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 2. It is free and open to the public.  

As the one-man tree-sit in a 40 year old Redwood at the northeast corner of People's Park enters its 74th day, its mastermind, Running Wolf, 47, is considering his options as the original demands fail to catch on and the protest struggles for support. 

The original protest was in response to proposals for changes in the park by candidate George Beier in the recent District 7 council election—changes perceived to displace the present park population. But since Beier's defeat, the protest has struggled to widen the issues. 

Zachary Running Wolf Brown (the surname of his adoptive Berkeley family) employs the cunning of a wolf as he discusses strategy from the balcony of the Caffe Mediterraneum near the park. 

What's to strategize? 

Organizing a protest is more complicated than you might think. All sorts of planning, logistics, and media management matters must fall into place, as most Berkeleyans think they know. 

But when it comes to successful tree-sits, Running Wolf has a lot to howl about. He planned what is considered the longest urban tree-sit in the nation. The protest in the Oak Grove at Memorial Stadium lasted more than two years. Although the protest failed to stop the university's plan to level the Oak Grove, it was hardly a failure. 

Running Wolf's message inspired articles in the New York Times, the Economist, and the New Yorker. Around the bay, it was hot copy for months on end. Helicopters aloft and reporters on the ground created crowds of their own. The Oak Grove protest attracted the attention of Tony Serra, the famous civil liberties attorney, who represented arrested protesters—Running Wolf among them—pro bono. 

What was gained? An ABC opinion poll showed Berkeleyans almost equally divided between approval and disapproval. Most Cal students preferred their books over the trees. Still the Oak Grove protest received much more than fifteen minutes of fame world-wide. 

Can Running Wolf do it again—in People's Park? He tells me he can, drawing parallels to the Oak Grove protest at Memorial Stadium. "That protest started much like the present one," he says. "I didn't know someone would do the research on an Ohlone village buried beneath the grove," he said. 

"I didn't know about the location of the Ohlone village in the early stages of our protest. The case for our cause just continued to improve," he says. 

"We developed our strategies as we went along." 

"The weather has hurt us," he says, reducing his network of supporters. "But we are connected with many tree people who will show up if we need them." 

Financial support available during the economic boom years of the Oak Grove protest has dried up, he acknowledges. And bad weather has reduced revenues from the Berkeley Flea Market which donates to park causes. 

"That's why I'm keeping this small at this time," he says, "and I am not talking to major media." If it gets too big too fast, we might not be able to finance it, he says. 

"If it weren't for the food we get from food not bombs in the park, we'd have a harder time," he says. 

He says he's using money from his own income from the Blackfeet Nation, his tribe in Montana, where he is an elected Elder, to finance the tree sit. 

"Could there be a burial ground or village beneath the park?" I ask. "After all, it's not that far from the Oak Grove site; a suburb or something?" Running Wolf breaks into a grin. "Who knows," he says, a twinkle in his eye; "anything could happen." 

In the meantime, he and Midnight Mat, 52, who's doing the tree sitting in freezing temperatures, play cat and mouse with U.C. and Berkeley police. "They're staking us out from a building across from our tree" Running Wolf says. "But we are video taping," them hassling us. 

Also, he's added a new issue. The tree-sit challenges the park curfew. "The land belongs to the people," he says and they should be allowed to stay overnight in bad weather and in a bad economic period." 

"We'll be developing issues, as we go along," he points out again. 

A "celebration," of Midnight Matt's hundredth day in the Redwood, which occurs February 6, is planned at the occupied tree. Running Wolf requests donations be sent to Zachary Running Wolf; 542 25th Street, Apt. 209, Oakland, Ca, 94612. 

Nothing hard about this one: There’s absolutely no reason why private parties should have easy access to technology for firing multiple lethal shots in rapid succession from a pistol. Absolutely no reason. The U.S. Constitution has nothing to do with it, not even the transparently political decision the Supreme Court recently made about the limits of the Second Amendment.  

For that matter, politics hasn’t got all that much to do with it. Many good liberals point with indignation to the inflammatory language and imagery recently favored by jerks like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, and they have every right to deplore it, even though that other bothersome amendment, the First, guarantees Sarah and Glenn and their ilk their own right to mouth off at will. Some claim that this kind of violent language is inherent in far-right politics, but those of us who have been around for a while remember when similar rhetoric was being bandied about by the left: Weathermen, Panthers both Black and White, the Symbionese Liberation Army etc.ad nauseum. It goes with the territory. 

Talk, however, doesn’t kill people, people do, and people armed with guns fitted with high-capacity bullet magazines kill lots of people, fast. There’s no good reason why that kind of equipment should be part of the stream of commerce in the United States of America. 

Almost every week, sometimes oftener, someone whose judgment is impaired for whatever reason (drugs, mental illness, post-tramautic stress and others) kills a bunch of innocent people with a firearm equipped with some kind of rapid-repeat firing mechanism. This week the deranged killer happens to have read political tracts both left (Marx) and right (Hitler), but last week it was a high school student who’d been dissed by a principal, and next week it will be someone else with some other background, perhaps a good student with a pleasant personality that no one ever suspected…..  

Some think that the remedy is to prohibit people with obviously impaired judgment from buying guns. But the most recent shooter didn’t need to buy his lethal equipment legally—since illegal weapons of the same sort are widely available in Arizona, which has been identified as a major conduit supplying weapons for Mexico’s drug wars. Someone buys the weapons legally, then sells them illegally to whoever has money to pay for them : disturbed Americans… drug traffickers in Mexico…international terrorists…anyone who wants a gun can get one, 

All sorts of dangerous products are already regulated and many are banned: explosives, drugs, even automobiles, whose users must prove that they know how to use them safely before getting a license to drive. Why should there be a free pass for high capacity bullet magazines for concealable handguns? Yes, yes, of course it might be better to get rid of the handguns themselves, or to limit their use to people who are at least as well tested as drivers, but the most progress, the fastest, would be provided by simply reinstating Senator Dianne Feinstein’s 1994 ban on gun magazines holding more than 10 bullets, which expired in 2004. 

That said, the Arizona tragedy also spotlights a number of other things that are wrong in contemporary society. The assumed killer was obviously disturbed in some way, and his actions might have been prevented by two kinds of public services which have been cut dramatically in Arizona and elsewhere in recent years. Colleges used to have student health services which dealt with mentally disturbed students, but Jared Loughner’s school seems to have had no recourse when they noticed his problems but to expel him. Even non-students need to have adequate help, but Loughner never connected with any other source for diagnosis or treatment either. 

It’s hard not to think that the whole state of Arizona has an anger management problem. The laws recently enacted against undocumented people are unnecessarily vindictive. But the hostility manifested in the Tea Party candidate’s campaign this fall against Representative Gabrielle Giffords was no worse than campaigns elsewhere, quite similar to Sarah Palin’s national attacks on moderate candidates of all stripes. 

And “more civility in politics” is not the answer to anything. The old-time segregationists, Eastwood and Helms and the rest, were unfailingly polite as they expressed their vilely racist opinions. It’s easier to spot nastiness when it’s not couched in genteel language. 

What’s needed now is straightforward effective legal mechanisms for keeping tools of mass destruction away from those who want to use them, regardless of their motivation. That’s why it’s time, right now, to get behind the specific functional legal reforms proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York, who lost her husband to a deranged killer in 1993. McCarthy’s legislation is ready to go, and it’s time to push it through the Congress.

There's a proposal afoot to turn Berkeley's public housing over to a private non-profit developer. Lynda Carson has been spotlighting the story on the Indybay website . 

Now it's been picked up by " the Harvard Business Review for the nonprofit sector", Non-Profit Quarterly , and has garnered some interesting comments about the pay scales for independent non-profits. It's a confusing story, worth following. 

Another story which continues to have legs in other media is the question of the effect of unfunded pension liabilities on public budgets. A recent story by Daniel Borenstein in the Contra Costa Times reports with a lot of sturm and drang that Berkeley Auditor Anne Marie Hogan pointed out last fall that Berkeley's apt to suffer along with everyone else as CalPers goes down the tubes, given that our public employees are numerous and very well paid. . 

And local writer H. Scott Prosterman weighs in on Daily Kos on the Tucson tragedy. 

Dan O'Neill

Joseph Young

Sarah Palin and the Giffords Assassination Attempt; Reunion Query for John Turnbull; Waste; Bridge Builders Needed 

Sarah Palin and the Giffords Assassination Attempt 

Sarah Palin published a map of the United States on her Facebook page containing a list of twenty Democrats who voted for ObamaCare. Each was elected in a district that was formerly held by a Republican. Also each location on the map was marked by a crosshair, an easily recognizable symbol for target practice. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is on that list. These politicians in the crosshairs have received death threats. Their offices and homes and the homes of their family members have been vandalized. Each has been forced to ramp up security measures for themselves and those who are close to them. 

Is Sarah Palin responsible? 

We have all no doubt heard that a gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, shot Congresswoman Giffords as she met with constituents outside a grocery store, killing Arizona’s chief federal judge John M. Roll, and five others including a five-year old, and leaving Ms. Giffords fighting for her life with a bullet through her brain. 

Has Palin crossed the line from free speech into criminal speech? Probably not. Her Facebook advertisement would most likely be considered political speech, which is the highest form of protected speech under the First Amendment. But she is not blameless. Remember, she is a public figure and a former vice presidential candidate with a large following. Her words count to a lot of people, some of whom are mentally unstable. 

I would expect and hope Palin, Republican, and Tea Party rhetoric to be more civilized in the future. 

Ralph E. Stone 

*** 

Reunion Query for John Turnbull 

Our class of 1954; Pulaski Academy & Central School, Pulaski, New York, is having a reunion this spring. We are trying to locate John Turnbull originally a resident of Mexico, New York, but attended & graduated from our school when he returned from the military. If anyone in the area knows anything about John, will they please contact me. John has a son Chris who works for Intel, a daughter Lisa who is a conference planner for heart surgeons, and his youngest daughter is a animal biologist. The last e-mail I had from John, he managed a 235 unit mid-rise condominium development right on the Bay.

Phyllis Burr McNitt
1190 County Route 15
Lacona, New York 13083
315-387-5282 or
315-771-9191 

*** 

Waste 

In the first quarter of 2010 the house of representatives spent 190,000 dollars on bottled water. At a time where we see drastic cuts to budgets and services, this seems like an exorbitant luxury. Is it too much for members of congress and their staff to drink from the tap? More importantly, is it necessary to pay 190,000 dollars to private water bottlers for a product where 1 in 4 is tap water anyways? This is a drop in the bucket when considering the trillion dollar deficit, however I’d feel more comfortable knowing that those who create laws regarding public water also participate in consuming it. Please contact your member of congress. 

Josh Oren 

*** 

Bridge Builders Needed 

In 2011 we can follow the forces of negation on a continuing road to ruin or Americans can connect and unite behind common goals. 

The country and world need a lot of new bridges: Between north and south, between rich and poor, between economy and environment, between Israelis and Palestinians, between Muslims and Christians, between technology and nature. 

In our complex world, in which increasing differences come head to head more and more often, there is no better work than building bridges. 

Just accentuating contrasts will bring us to collective ruin while bridging our differences will provide the country and world with a new and more promising future. 

Ron Lowe

Christina Taylor Green is a message spirit. She arrived on Earth on September 11, 2001, a day when terrorists armed with no more than boxcutters turned jet airliners into guided missiles and slaughtered almost 3,000 people, mostly civilians. Indeed, she was one of the babies featured in a book, Faces of Hope, that looked at one baby from each of the United States born on that day. The third-grader had been elected to her Mesa Verde elementary school student council and was at the meet-up for congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with a neighbor adult, Susan Hileman. The two were holding hands when gunfire erupted on January 8. 

For me, this child's death engenders the question, How many children will it take? 

How many children will it take before the Rush Limbaughs and Sarah Palins stand down from violent imagery and rhetoric? Would it be so hard for them to find language that doesn't evoke killing, shooting and crosshairs? How debilitating to their effectiveness could it be? Do they believe they would lose followers if they honored the spirit of this child and abjured such language? Do they need the kind of followers who only respond to that imagery? 

How many children will it take? How many before those who defend the Second Amendment finally agree that it doesn't apply to handguns, and if it does, it's time to repeal it? Ah, they say, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Yes, but it seems that when given the option, murderers seem to choose handguns, don't they? Christina was not in fact stabbed, nor was she bombed, nor was she run down by a malicious driver. She was shot. That was the weapon of choice. A knife-wielding assassin would simply never have been able to kill six and wound 14 more. In a knife attack upon a public figure, Christina would almost certainly have been a survivor. Bombs are already outlawed. And how many times each year do murderers run a car into a crowd of people, killing six and injuring so many? We are not going to outlaw cars, since they are not designed to murder and since they transport us to work, to school, to shop, etc. 

But handguns are different. Yes, hunters, I see your hands. I am not suggesting your rifles are part of this conversation. Just handguns, and that is what most of us who want to outlaw guns are talking about. Outlaw handguns. What is so sacred about them? Really? Against the life of Christina Taylor Green? 

How about the 500 or more children who are killed accidentally by guns annually in the US? Well, you say, I keep my handgun locked. Sure, and do you inspect the homes where your child might go? Should the parents of 4-year old Dylan Jackson have swept the home where their child was at a birthday party, where he found a gun, picked it up and innocently shot himself dead in the chest? 

Well, to paraphrase Madeleine Albright in the late 1990s when asked if the thousands of Iraqi children dying every year because of the deadly sanctions program kept out many crucial medicines, "We think it's worth the price." Is that what handgun lovers believe? That without their handguns, the communist Muslim Obama government would take away their freedoms? Seriously? That, after all, is the stated reason for the Second Amendment, to prevent the government from infringing on the people. Since the US leads the so-called developed world in gun deaths per hundred thousand citizens, I guess we can safely say it's just lucky we have that Second Amendment, so we aren't oppressed like the Canadians, Scots, Finns and Japanese, all of whom have far lower rates of gun deaths than do we. I guess they are just too protective of their little children, willing to give up liberties to keep them alive. Oh, that's right, the only liberties they give up are the gun rights. 

Guns are how we murder in the US (a higher rate amongst the nations studied than any except Colombia, even higher than Guatemala in terms of percent of murders committed by guns) and how we commit suicide. They make it easy. We like it easy, and the stories of hurt and killed children have not dented the gun lovers. 16,907 suicides in the US in 2004 were by gun, many of them by teenagers temporarily despondent and highly unlikely to end their lives in any other way. But there was a gun available, as there was when more than 50,000 lost their lives in the US to guns last year, and the year before, and the year before...even box cutters and jetliners can't approach those mortality numbers. 

Really, gun lovers, just be honest. The lives of these children just don't matter much to you once we start talking about the sacred right to own your handgun, eh? Apparently, there is no number, no story of unspeakable tragedy, no little face that can pierce the armor you have around your love for your handguns. I get that. What I don't get is why the rest of us allow it to remain law and public policy. 

Support Our KPFA! 

Last year KPFA was on a path to a train wreck. (See the graph - 10 Years of KPFA Finances). The Pacifica Board who is responsible for the financial health of the whole network stepped in to bring the KPFA finances under control which necessitated some cuts in staff. Seven people took voluntary severance, and in the end two people were laid off. 

However, a few people, including one of the individuals who was laid off, have cast this action as a union busting political purge, and have convinced the majority of the KPFA paid staff, the SaveKPFA board members, and many listeners to accept this explanation of events. (Berkeley City Council has rejected a recent resolution in support of this "narrative".) 

Recently they have also started to disparage the Pacifica National Board and the Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt, accusing them of trying to usurp the local control of the KPFA finances and programming. 

The reason that the Pacifica National Board intervened in the KPFA finances was to perform its fiduciary responsibility to keep KPFA and Pacifica solvent. And the only reason the Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt stepped in to help put together the new Morning Show with volunteers and unpaid staff is because the paid staff union, CWA Local 9415, has forbidden its members to work on the new Morning Show. The union supporters are labeling anyone working on the show as scabs and pressuring the guests that have been invited to appear on the show to boycott the show. 

Luckily, even though the new Morning Show has a new format and some wrinkles to iron out, many people are supporting it and have also volunteered their financial and other resources to help restore the station. 

How You Can Help 

You can help by not getting caught up in the disinformation campaign that claims that the Pacifica management is engaged in union busting or that the Pacifica National Board and the Executive Director is trying to usurp the local control of KPFA finances and programming. 

You can help KPFA get through these hard times by doubling your contribution this year, and asking everyone you know to do the same. 

Pacifica's Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt, who has years of experience in community radio, is responsible for the whole Network and this includes wresting KPFA from its previous uncontrolled spending and bad management. 

We should thank the Executive Director and the Chief Financial Officer Lavarn Williams for tirelessly working to put KPFA and Pacifica back on a solid financial footing, and being so steadfast in face of unsubstantiated and baseless charges. 

We need to bridge the divide and all work together to not only strengthen the station so that it can continue to be a healthy, vibrant fertile ground for information, inquiry, and engagement but also empower those who are in a position to provide the over 150 affiliated community stations across the country with the progressive programming that we so depend upon to be the informed citizens that are the hope of a decent society – with programs such as Democracy Now!, Free Speech Radio News, Letters to Washington (Letters and Politics), Flashpoints, Uprising, and many others that are produced at the various Pacifica stations. 

The new General Manager is coming on board. Let's us all support him and KPFA to produce good programming and bring in more listener subscribers. 

Cynicism, as the late Molly Ivins once noted, is the death of good journalism, but reading through the New York Times and the Associated Press’ obituaries of Laotian-Hmong leader General Vang Pao made that sentiment a difficult one to resist. 

Vang Pao, who died Jan. 6 in Clovis, a small town in California’s Central Valley, was described in the Times as “charismatic” and in AP as a “fabled military hero” who led a Hmong army against the communist Pathet Lao during the Laotian civil war. Van Pao’s so-called “secret army” was financed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as part of the U.S.’s war against North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam. 

Well, “financed” is a slippery word, and while, it was true Vang Pao got a lot of money and arms from the CIA, a major source of his financing was the opium trade run out of Southeast Asia’s “Golden Triangle.” That little piece of history never managed to make it into the obits, which is hardly a surprise. The people the CIA hired to run dope for Vang Pao went on to run dope for the Contras in the Reagan Administration’s war against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. And talking about close ties between drugs and the CIA in Southeast Asia and Central America might lead to some very uncomfortable questions about the people we are currently supporting in Afghanistan. 

Readers should search out a book by Alfred McCoy called “The Politics of Heroin in South East Asia,” and pull up a Frontline piece entitled “Drugs, Guns and the CIA” by Andrew and Leslie Cockburn. What they will find is not in the Times and the AP obits. 

A major source for the Frontline piece was Ron Rickenback, who headed up the U.S. Aid and Development Program (USAID) in Laos. Rickenback says he witnessed drugs being transported from outlying areas in Laos aboard U.S. Air America aircraft, which was then put on larger aircraft for shipment to southern Laos and Thailand. Air America was on contract with the CIA. 

Rickenback says the CIA knew drugs were being run on their airplanes, but that the drug trade helped finance the war against the Pathet Lao and Vietnamese. To cover their tracks, the CIA took an Air America C-47, painted it, named it Sing Quan Airlines, and gave it to Van Pao. Sing Quan quickly became know as “Opium Air.” 

Frontlinealso tracked down several pilots that flew Sing Quan and Air America planes (some of them were in jail for running cocaine out of Central America), who confirmed that opium was a major part of their cargo. Journalist John Everingham’s investigation also linked Vang Pao to the opium trade. 

Leslie Cockburn also managed to land an interview with Tony Poe, the CIA’s key man in Laos, and the model for the out-of-control CIA agent in Apocalypse Now. Poe, who was driven out of the Agency when he refused to go along with the dope dealing, confirmed Van Pao’s central role in drug running. 

The trade in opium and heroin in Laos was linked in turn to the U.S. supported regime in South Vietnam led by President Nguyen Van Thieu. Much of that heroin ended up in the bodies of American GIs—during the height of the war there were between two and three fatal overdoses a day—and decimating neighborhoods back in the U.S. 

The history of drugs and U.S. foreign policy is a long and dark one. At the end of World War II, the Agency made common cause with the Corsican Brotherhood and the La Cosa Nostra to drive the Left out of the Port of Marseilles. Drug running was a major source of money for the two Italian criminal organizations. 

The same people who ran the CIA’s drug operation in Southeast Asia turned up running drugs and guns for the rightwing Contras in the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. Cocaine money was used to by weapons and supplies for the Contras, with anti-Castro Cubans acting as organizers and middlemen. 

And lest we think this is all ancient history, maybe Congress should take a close look at our current allies in Afghanistan: the Karzai government and the Northern Alliance. 

First, a few facts. 

The United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crimes estimates that the Afghan opium trade generates about $3.4 billion a year, of which about 4 percent goes as taxes to the Taliban. There is some dispute over how much cash this represents: the UN says $125 million a year; U.S. intelligence agencies estimate $70 million a year. Some 21 percent goes to the farmers. What happens to the 75 percent left over? 

According to Julian Mercille, a lecturer at University College, Dublin, the bulk “is captured by government officials, the police, local and regional power brokers and traffickers.” This includes President Hamid Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, and Northern Alliance general, Nazri Mahmad. 

Mercille argues that the U.S. has an “historical pattern of toleration and empowerment of local drug lords in [its] pursuit of broader foreign policy goals.” 

The pattern—established after the Second World War in Europe, and then later in Southeast Asia and Latin America—is that drugs are a handy way to generate lots of off-the-books money, and an easy way to buy loyalty. It is also good business. That UN report also found that between 90 to 95 percent of illegal opium sales over the past several years—some $400 to $500 billion—were laundered through western banks. Part of that money ended up being used to keep some of those banks from going under during the recent economic meltdown. 

What these policies leave in their wake are ruin and destruction. Over 35,000 members of Van Pao’s army were killed fighting a losing war with the Pathet Lao, and some 200,000 Hmong were re-settled in the U.S., mainly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California. Nicaragua is still trying to recover from the Contra War, and Afghanistan has turned into a bleeding ulcer. 

Vang Pao was a pawn, first of the French, in whose colonial army he served, and later of the U.S. In the global chess game called the Cold War, he and his people were disposable. So were the Nicaraguans, and so are the Afghans. The dead are at peace; the living should remember, and the media should help preserve, not obscure, those memories. 

For other writings by Conn Hallinan see dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com 

The frantic final days of the 111^th Congress were an emotional rollercoaster that mirrored Barack Obama’s first two years as President. As he prepares to run for reelection in 2012, he faces grave national problems, a recalcitrant 112^th Congress, and disgruntled Democrats. Obama should reread the classic management tale of the ”three envelopes”. 

A newly hired CEO moves into his office, where he finds a note from his predecessor: “Good luck! If things don’t go the way you plan, here are three envelopes you may find helpful. As you need them, open them in numerical order.” The CEO puts the envelopes in his desk drawer and gets to work. 

It’s not clear whether George W. Bush left his successor three envelopes, but NEWSWEEK columnist Jonathan Alter’s new book The Promise supplies a many fascinating insights into Obama’s first year in office. Obama began running the government the day after he was elected President – Bush stepped aside and let Obama call the shots about aid to financial institutions, homeowners, and American auto manufacturers. Because Bush was so accommodating, and because everyone understood that Dubya didn’t understand what was going on, Obama made the critical decisions. It didn’t take long for the incoming White House team to recognize that the economy was in deep trouble, worst than they imagined prior to the election. 

In the three-envelope story, things start badly for the new CEO and he opens envelope one, which contains terse advice, “Blame your predecessor.” 

Alter says Barack Obama isn’t the kind of person who blames others. Because of this, and the cordial reception the Obama family received from George and Laura Bush, the new President was hesitant to attack his predecessor. This was an early indication of Obama’s weakness on tactics and a more pervasive problem with messaging: Democrats never got their “America is in bad shape because the Bush Administration screwed up” message to stick and that gave an opening for Republicans to score with “Government is the problem.” 

It appears that the Obama Administration’s poor messaging was primarily the fault of Senior Presidential Advisor David Axelrod. However, NATION columnist John Nichols also blames Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. 

The communication disaster is indicative of a systemic White House problem. While all exceptionally smart folks, Team Obama only has had a few people who can stand up to the President. In Foreign Policy, there’s Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, and Joe Biden. In Domestic Policy there was only Larry Summers, Director of the White House Economic Council. (Obama had high hopes for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, but he turned out to be Summers’ acolyte, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was frozen out by Summers.) 

One of the ironies of the first two years of the Obama Administration was that our brilliant 44^th President needed the most help on economic policy. He turned to Summers, who – despite his legendary intellect – gave Obama the wrong advice on the big decisions: whether or not to breakup “too big to fail” banks, the need for strong financial regulations, and the necessity of a jobs initiative. 

In the three-envelope story, the new CEO continues to have problems, so he rips open envelope two and reads, “Reorganize.” 

As he begins the second half of his first term, President Obama is reorganizing. He’s announced that David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Gibbs, and Larry Summers are leaving the White House staff. And others will follow. 

But it’s not enough for Barack Obama to replace his staff; he needs to recognize his own part in the failures of the past two years. Alter cogently summarizes Barack Obama’s strengths and weaknesses. He’s very bright, perhaps the most capable President since FDR. Nonetheless, Obama is not tactical, does not have the Bill Clinton gift for translating big national problems into words the average voter can understand, is not as political as he needs to be – in 2010 Obama had a weak relationship with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the rest of the Democratic Party, and does not surround himself with strong enough people. 

In the conclusion of the three-envelope story, the situation disintegrates and the CEO turns to the final envelope: “Prepare for your successor and make three envelopes.” 

While it’s not clear that Barack Obama is doomed to be a one-term President, it’s obvious changes need to be made. Near the end of Alter’s book, he notes that Obama is a fan of the Chicago Bulls professional basketball team and saw them change from an average team, dominated by superstar Michael Jordan, to a winning team, where Jordan became more of a team player. That’s the transition the President needs to make if he wants to improve his chances of reelection. Obama has to build a stronger team, particularly in the area of messaging and political strategy or he’s going to have to prepare three envelopes. 

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

You’d think identifying a dead bird would not be much of a challenge. It helps if the deceased is intact, though. 

Ron and I got out of the house last Friday and drove up to the Delta—the Phil and Marilyn Isenberg Sandhill Crane Reserve, to be exact—to visit the wintering multitudes. It’s always good to see and hear sandhill cranes, even if in relatively low numbers. There were also a couple of large congregations of tundra swans, a variety of ducks, and a lot of red-tailed hawks, hanging around waiting for the tule fog to burn off. Redtails aren’t social birds, but we counted at least half a dozen in the same oak tree. 

We went on, as we usually do, to the Cosumnes River Preserve, a splendid multi-agency venture that includes old-growth riparian forest and nearby marshes. The preserve is also notable for its restrooms, which are few and far between in that part of the state. 

Across the road from the visitors’ center, a trail leads out into the marsh; paved at first, eventually turning into a boardwalk. It’s an excellent place to see cinnamon teal up close, and sometimes even the elusive Wilson’s snipe. 

In the middle of the paved part of the marsh trail were the remains of the aforementioned dead bird. Not just dead, but dismembered. Wings, spinal column, and legs had all been disassembled. At first, since the feet were gone, we thought it might have been a duck. Then we found the skull, neatly defleshed. The chicken-like beak pegged it as a coot. (Coot feet, unlike duck feet, have lobed as opposed to webbed toes.) About a foot away, nearer the water, there was a pile of black-to-dark-gray feathers, and a few white ones from the underside of the tail. This bird had been thoroughly plucked. 

But whodunit? We wondered about a peregrine falcon, a raptor that would be entirely capable of taking out a coot. But peregrines have a habit of leaving the wings of a carcass attached, through the breastbone. The size of the prey seemed ambitious for a red-tailed or red-shouldered hawk. Northern harrier seemed the most likely suspect. Although coot would be about at the upper limit of eligible prey for a harrier, we had seen it done. (Old Southern codger: “Do I believe in infant baptism? Hell, I’ve seen it done!”) A couple of years ago we watched a female harrier attack and drown a coot. She was unable to get airborne with it, and eventually lost her prize to an opportunistic redtail. 

One other possibility: there was a trace of something musky at the scene. We knew river otters frequented the marsh, having seen their spraints—the special term for otter droppings—on the viewing platforms. We knew otters prey on young waterfowl. “They eat the ducklings like they were popcorn shrimp,” a Fish and Game warden once told me. But the plucking and careful disarticulation was not an otter’s MO. A creature that swallows crayfish whole is not going to be finicky about feathers. Maybe an otter had investigated the scene, hoping for leftovers. 

I have neglected to mention that the remains were quite fresh. The whole thing happened in broad daylight, or at least foglight, at a location that gets a fair amount of foot traffic. Whatever killed the coot was a bold predator indeed. 

Back home, I went straight to the invaluable Birds of North America site. I quote from the entry on the feeding behavior of the northern harrier: “Large items, especially birds, are plucked and eaten, usually on the ground but sometimes on elevated perches. Smaller items swallowed whole. Small birds usually beheaded, bewinged, and befooted.” 

Not an airtight case, maybe, but I would still lean toward the harrier theory. That’s about as conclusive as forensic birding usually gets.

Commenting on the $28 billion budget gap, Governor Jerry Brown stated that “everything should be on the table.” Later Governor Brown met with county officials to discuss shifting responsibility for state-run programs to the local level. This, of course, will require providing sufficient revenue to fund these programs. This in turn may mean reexamining Proposition 13, which, among other things, consolidated revenue-gathering responsibility to the state, leaving cities and counties dependent on the state.  

Is Governor Brown serious about reversing parts of Proposition 13 or was he just throwing out ideas? And if he is serious, why not reexamine every provision in Proposition 13? 

Proposition 13 and Jerry Brown 

During his first term in office, Jerry Brown vehemently opposed Proposition 13, calling it a “fraud” and a “rip-off” among other things. When it won with 65 percent of the vote, Brown quickly reversed himself and embraced Proposition 13. After his flip flop, some called him “Jerry Jarvis.” Howard Jarvis, Propostion 13’s godfather, rewarded Brown by cutting a campaign commercial for his re-election. Of course, Jarvis cut a campaign commercial for his Republican opponent too. Maybe Brown is ready for another flip flop. 

Proposition 13 

Proposition 13, an amendment to the California Constitution, was passed by the voters in 1978. It foreshadowed a so-called “taxpayer revolt” that swept the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposition 13 changed the way real property is reassessed in California. It also requires a two-thirds supermajority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. It also requires a two-thirds supermajority in local elections for local governments desiring to raise special taxes, but not general taxes which go into a city’s general fund. It would take only a simple majority to amend Proposition 13. 

Real Property Reassessments in a Nutshell 

Under Proposition 13 real property is reassessed only when it is sold or transferred and between sales, the assessed value can be raised no more than 2 percent a year plus the value of improvements. Excluded from reassessment are transfers between spouses. 

Proposition 58, passed in 1986, lets parents give, sell or bequeath their primary residence plus as much as $1 million worth of other property to their children without a reassessment. 

Proposition 193, passed in 1996, allows transfers from grandparents to grandchildren without reassessment, but only if the parents of the grandchildren are deceased at the time of the transfer. 

In 2007, the State Board of Equalization extended to domestic partners the same property tax relief as married couples. 

Proposition 39 also passed in 2007 lowered Proposition 13’s two-thirds requirement to 55 percent for local school bonds. 

The Jarvis Taxpayers Association claims that Proposition 13 saved California taxpayers over $528 billion. But this taxpayer savings comes at a steep price, for many see a direct link between the inherent inequities in the Proposition 13 tax scheme and state and local budget problems. While the taxpayers saved, California and the counties and cities were starved for funds. The obvious direct results have been to cut public services, raise other taxes, and a low credit rating. In fact, the three biggest U.S. credit rating agencies — Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch — have all given California's General Obligation bonds the lowest ratings of any state. 

In 1978 we had a surplus in Sacramento. Since then we have raised business taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, and gas taxes, but seem to go broke every June. 

Proposition 13 unfairly treats commercial property like residential property. In San Francisco, for example, according to Phil Ting, San Francisco’s Assessor-Recorder, prior to Proposition 13, commercial property owners paid 59 percent of property tax revenues and residential property owners paid 41 percent. In 2008, commercial property owners paid just 43 percent of property taxes, while residential property owners paid 57 percent. I believe voters would approve reversing these 2008 ratios. 

Why has the ratio shifted so dramatically? Property taxes are assessed when there is a change of ownership and commercial property changes ownership a lot less than residential property. And many commercial properties are held by holding companies and oftentimes these properties are sold or merged but ownership remains with the holding company. Therefore, no property tax is due. 

Possible Amendments 

A number of possible amendment to Proposition 13 have been floating around for years. One possible amendment is to tax commercial property periodically on its resale value, not when there is a change in ownership. Ting estimates that assessing commercial property at market rate, instead of under Proposition 13, would generate an additional $7.5 billion in tax revenue.  

Another idea is the so-called “split roll” property tax, which applies higher tax rates to commercial property than for residential property. 

Still another approach is to assess homeowner property at a lower rate than commercial property. 

Or if the objective is to provide tax relief to low- and middle-income property owners, then give a homestead exemption to these taxpayers only. 

Conclusion 

Proposition 13 has been considered a sacred cow to many and challenging it is to touch a political “third rail,” that could end a political career. Is Governor Brown up for the challenge and, if so, will California voters approve changes to Proposition 13? I bet the Jarvis Taxpayers Association will be leading the opposition to any proposed changes to Proposition 13. 

——————————— 

N.B.: My wife and I are beneficiaries of Proposition 13. We bought our San Francisco home in 1972 when real property was reasonably priced and mortgage interest rates were low. 

“Telling the future by looking at the past assumes that conditions remain constant. This is like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror.”--Herb Brody 

Life review was described by Dr. Robert N. Butler, M.D. (1927-2010) as “a normal developmental task of the later years, characterized by the return of memories and past conflicts. Life review can result in resolution, reconciliation, atonement, integration and serenity. It can occur spontaneously, or it can be structured. Reminiscence, simply recalling events or periods of one's life, is only one aspect of a life review; although it can be therapeutic, it is usually not evaluative.” 

Other definitions and perceptions of life review are mostly in the near-deathand out-of-body experience or life flashing before one’s eyes zones. 

Butler was both an aging scholar and a scholar of aging. John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D. (1946- ) directs the Institute on Aging at the University of Pennsylvania and co-directs its Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research. He identifies lifestyle factors that may help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Among them is cognitively stimulating activity. He has visited The Quadrangle to speak with the residents about these factors. 

The Quadrangle is a Sunrise Senior Living Community located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. This retirement community’s “dining room resounds with literate conversation, and in the well-stocked library, an entire bookcase is filled with volumes penned by present and former residents. It's a place where people are less interested in the size of your investment portfolio than in what you're reading.” [Nov. 10, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer “Seniors wrap their minds around Joyce's Ulysses”] 

They have been meeting to read aloud from Ulysses, a dense and complex masterpiece of English literature that many have started, few have finished, and fewer still have understood. "This is not a book for sissies," says Mark Ball, a Quadrangle resident and the group's convener and master of ceremonies. "It's outrageously experimental and modernist. Joyce was brilliant, proud, and pretentious. He thought he was writing the greatest book of the 20th century, if not all time. He put himself in first place ahead of Shakespeare.” 

Trojanowski commends reading and discussing Ulysses (he says he read it long ago.) "But you may get the same benefit from reading comic books or the Bible or doing a crossword puzzle. The evidence is hazy." 

Each to her/his own cognitively stimulating activities. Somehow I doubt that any of the Quadrangle folks have public library cards, although it’s likely they have bank accounts, and families too. 

xxxx 

Book Club To Go  

I used to have a Berkeley Adult School Lifelong Learningclass at the North Berkeley Senior Center. I called it Strong Women. While not a book club per se, we did sometimes consider books by and about women who were strong in numerous ways. 

But my commitment to senior center classes that are free and without required purchases was a problem. It interfered with every class member having a copy of what we were reading or otherwise considering as a group. There were those for whom a $20.00 outlay was no big deal. Some advocated taking a collection—like “voluntary contributions” for flu shots! I was never really satisfied with my make-do solution of photocopying fragments, which was time-consuming and not cheap either.  

When Oprah Winfrey started her book club in 1996, interest in reading, literature, and book clubs got a shot in the arm. Public libraries have long been expected to respond to popular demand for books suitable for book club discussion. Groups often seek author information, book reviews, discussion questions, and material to improve and to publicize their experience as well as how-to information about forming and conducting book clubs. One of the great challenges faced by libraries in supporting book discussion groups is supplying enough copies for each group member of the book being discussed. 

The Johnson County, Kansas Library staff reviewed its reader services in connection with meeting the goals of its own strategic plan and for addressing the National Endowment for the Arts’ Reading at Risk report (www.nea.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf). The strategic plan charges staff with providing convenient and personalized materials for patrons; it had already identified book club discussion kits as an objective. 

Each of the Berkeley Public Library’s Book Club To Go’s kits includes 8 copies of one title, information on how to run a book club, biographical information about the author, and (when available from the publisher) a discussion guide. A list of 31 available titles can be found in the library catalog by searching on Book Club To Go.  

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

The Alzheimer's Project features a four-part documentary series. 

Contents : Disc 1: The memory loss tapes; Grandpa, do you know who I am? with Maria Shriver. Disc 2: Momentum in science (parts 1 & 2). Disc 3: Momentum in science: the supplementary series [12 segments]. Originally broadcast in 2009. The DVDs of these 3 discs are in the collection of the Berkeley Public Library. Closed-captioned; English with optional English or Spanish subtitles. 

The Emeryville Senior Center wants you to know that it’s not going anywhere! It’s still at 4321 Salem Street. The Emeryville Center for Community Life will be a new facility blending the Emeryville secondary School with a state of the art Recreation Center, enabled by passage of Measure J. 

Colleen, Oona and Vivian. These are three of Berkeley’s hard-working and talented public servants. Their full names and specific job responsibilities are generally unknown by the public. What is it that they have in common? 

First correct responder will receive a copy of a Berkeley author-autographed book. (pen136@dslextreme.com) 

When someone has cancer, their life becomes busier in order to handle the chemotherapy, radiation therapy, checkups, and so on that go with that disease. Today, many people who have that disease get most of their treatment on an outpatient basis. 

In the case of having mental illness, the responsibilities may be even more sizeable than those of cancer, and may take up large amounts of the mental health consumer’s time and energy. This can allow little, other than mental health related events, to occur in that person’s day to day schedule. 

It is little wonder that persons with mental illness identify themselves as a “mentally ill person,” when most of the events that occur in their lives are connected to being mentally ill. Furthermore, it makes employment or school even more complicated, when one must schedule one’s work or school around psychiatry or psychotherapy appointments, around meetings with those in charge of their housing, or around the hours that the pharmacy keeps. 

“Clozaril” is a drug for treating Schizophrenia that many psychiatrists like to prescribe when no other medication works. It involves mandatory blood tests every two weeks in order to screen for a deadly side effect, called “agranulocytosis.” This is an extreme lowering of the white blood cell count. 

These blood tests will put a cramp into anyone’s schedule. If it were just a matter of getting the blood taken, you’re talking about fifteen minutes. However, you must consider that there is the wait time at the lab, which might be a half hour or might be a couple of hours. There is the commute to the lab, which might involve a van ride at someone else’s convenience, or might involve two hours on a bus. (This is currently how long it takes for an average bus ride in Contra Costa County.) 

If you take a drug called, Zyprexa, or another one called Risperdal, get ready to schedule in meetings with the health educator for the diabetes you will soon have. Medication induced diabetes will entail a radical change in how you live. There will be more time spent preparing healthy meals. You will spend more time at the pharmacy getting your insulin. You will need to check your blood glucose several times every day, to make sure that it is not at a dangerous level. You will need to see the foot doctor and the ophthamologist. And this is on top of the responsibilities of keeping yourself mentally stabilized. 

Not including medication related visits, which do involve large amounts of time, there are the meetings with a psychotherapist which most mentally ill people are encouraged to attend every week. These therapy sessions will take place during business hours, and so will your meetings with your prescribing psychiatrist. This makes it much harder to have a nine to five job. You may not want to tell your employer that you are mentally ill. And that makes it harder to explain why you need the two hours off every week to see your therapist and psychiatrist. 

If you are collecting Social Security as your safety net, on occasion you will have to go into their office to be reevaluated both financially and in terms of still being disabled. If you have housing benefits, you will need to go into their office at least once a year for recertification, and will need to stay home all day at least once a year to have your unit inspected. 

If you have a mental illness, you will also probably have “down time” at unpredictable periods. This is simply a time in which you just don’t feel well, and in which you need to take it easy and take care of yourself. This need is one of the hardest for people in the mainstream to appreciate. It is a need that often makes the mentally ill person feel guilty or think of themselves as lazy. Yet it is a genuine need that most mentally ill people should respect. 

In short, if you have a major mental illness, you may have little time left over to do or to be much else.

ASHBY STAGE  

"Shotgun Players present Of The Earth," through Jan. 30, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 5 p.m. Sun.; 7 p.m. Wed. Written and directed by Jon Tracy. $17-$60. (510) 841-6500, www.shotgunplayers.org. 

1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. < 

EAST BAY IMPROV  

"Tired of the Same Old Song and Dance?" ongoing. 8 p.m. East Bay Improv actors perform spontaneous, impulsive and hilarious comedy on the first Saturday of every month. $8.  

Pinole Community Playhouse, 601 Tennent Ave., Pinole. (510) 964-0571, www.eastbayimprov.com.<

"CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S OVO," -- through Jan. 24. A lively rush into a world of insects and acrobatics. Written and directed by Deborah Colker. See website for times, dates and complete details. Performances take place under the "Grand Chapiteau'' at AT&T Park. 

$38-$250.www.cirquedusoleil.com.< 

BEACH BLANKET BABYLON This long-running musical follows Snow White as she sings and dances her way around the world in search of her prince. Along the way she encounters many of the personalities in today's headlines, including Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harry Potter, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Tom Cruise, Angelina, characters from Brokeback Mountain and Paris Hilton. Persons under 21 are not admitted to evening performances, but are welcome to Sunday matinees. 

"Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon," ongoing. 8 p.m. Wed. - Thurs.; 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Fri. - Sat.; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sun.  

$25-$134. Club Fugazi, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. (formerly Green Street), San Francisco. (415) 421-4222, www.beachblanketbabylon.com.< 

CHANCELLOR HOTEL UNION SQUARE  

"Eccentrics of San Francisco's Barbary Coast," ongoing. 8 p.m. Fri. -Sat. Audiences gather for a 90-minute show abounding with local anecdotes and lore presented by captivating and consummate conjurers and taletellers. $30.  

433 Powell St., San Francisco. (877) 784-6835, www.chancellorhotel.com.< 

CLIMATE THEATRE  

"The Clown Cabaret at the Climate," ongoing. 7 and 9 p.m. First Monday of the month. Hailed as San Francisco's hottest ticket in clowning, this show blends rising stars with seasoned professionals on the Climate Theater's intimate stage. $10-$15.  

285 Ninth St., Second Floor, San Francisco. www.climatetheater.com.< 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO  

"Lost In Yonkers by Neil Simon," through Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun. $20-$39.  

Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 3200 California St., San Francisco. (415) 292-1200, Box Office: (415) 292-1233, www.jccsf.org.< 

KIMO'S BAR  

"Fauxgirls," ongoing. 10 p.m. Every third Saturday. Drag cabaret revue features San Francisco's finest female impersonators. Free. (415) 695-1239, www.fauxgirls.com. 

1351 Polk St., San Francisco. (415) 885-4535, www.kimosbarsf.com.< 

THE MARSH  

"The Mock Cafe," ongoing. 10 p.m. Saturdays. Stand-up comedy performances. $7.  

"The Monday Night Marsh," ongoing. 8 p.m. Mondays. An ongoing series of works-in-progress. $7.  

1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org.< 

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER  

"Dirty Little Showtunes," through Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 2 p.m Sun. No performances Dec. 24, 25 or Jan. 1. An off-color, adults-only antidote to the sugarplum saturation of the holidays. $24-$40.  

25 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org.< 

PIER 29 SPIEGELTENT  

"Teatro Zinzanni," through March 6, 6 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 5 p.m. Sun. Teatro Zinzanni presents a new production, "License To Kiss II, A Sweet Conspiracy,'' offering a blend of European cabaret, circus arts, music, comedy and more. $117-$145.  

Embarcadero at Battery Street, San Francisco. (415) 438-2668, www.zinzanni.org.< 

PIER 39 A pier filled with shops, restaurants, theaters and entertainment of all sorts from sea lions to street performers.  

"SAN FRANCISCO CAROUSEL" -- The Pier's two-tiered, San Francisco-themed carousel with hand-crafted ponies that rock and move up and down and tubs that spin. In addition, carousel has hand-painted pictures of San Francisco scenes like the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown and Coit Tower. $3 per ride. "FREQUENT FLYERS'' -- A bungee trampoline where people can safely jump and flip over 20 feet in the air thanks to the help of bungee cords and a harness. Jumpers must weigh at least 30 pounds and not more than 230 pounds. $10 per session. (415) 981-6300.  

"RIPTIDE ARCADE" -- A 6,000-square-foot, surfer-themed arcade offering the Bay area's only 10-gun, Old West-style shooting gallery and 100 cuttingedge video games, virtual reality units and popular novelty games. Included are the "Dance Dance Revolution'' game, driving and roller coaster simulators, the "Global VR Vortex'' virtual reality machine, "Star Wars Trilogy,'' "Jurassic Park,'' "Rush 2049,'' and classics such as "Pac Man'' and "Galaga.'' Games are operated by 25-cent tokens and range in price from 25 cents to $1.50. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; through Feb. 26: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (415) 981-6300.  

"TURBO RIDE" -- Three simulated rides where the hydraulic seats move in synchronization with events on a giant screen are available at the Turbo Ride complex. The 12-minute-long rides in 3-D and 4-D are: "Dino Island II''; "Haunted Mine Ride,'' and "Extreme Log Ride.'' $12 general for one ride; $8 seniors and children ages 3 to 12 for one ride; $15 general for two rides; $11 seniors and children ages 3 to 12 for two rides; $18 general for multi-rides; $14 seniors and children ages 3 to 12 for multi-rides. (415) 392-8872.  

STUDIO 39 MAGIC CARPET RIDES -- A comedy action adventure utilizing special effects to created a personalized movie with visitors as the "stars'' flying above San Francisco. The Magic Carpet Ride is free. No reservations required. Ride is approximately five minutes. Personalized videos will be available for $30 for one: $10 for each additional tape. (415) 397-3939. SEA LIONS -- California sea lions, nicknamed "Sea Lebrities,'' "hauled out'' on Pier 39's K-Dock shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and by January of 1990 had taken over the docks. Due to a plentiful supply of herring and a protected environment, the population has grown and now reaches as many as 900 during the winter months. Weather permitting, free educational talks are provided by Marine Mammal Center volunteers on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Free. (415) 705-5500. 

"Tony n' Tina's Wedding," ongoing. The original interactive comedy hit where audience members play the roles of "invited guests'' at a fun-filled wedding ceremony. The popular dinner comedy performs at Swiss Louis Italian Restaurant. Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m.; Matinees: Thursday and Saturday, noon. $88.50-$115.50. (888) 775-6777, www.pier39shows.com. 

Free. 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; certain attractions and shops have differing hours. The Embarcadero and Beach Street, San Francisco. (415) 623-5300, (800) SEADIVE, www.pier39.com.< 

SF PLAYHOUSE  

"Coraline," through Jan. 15, 7 p.m. Tue.-Wed.; 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 3 p.m. Sat. Neil Gaiman's children's book is brought to life on the stage with music by Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. $30-$50.  

533 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 677-9596, www.sfplayhouse.org.< 

SHELTON THEATER  

"Shopping! The Musical," by Morris Bobrow, ongoing. A quick-paced musical about those obsessed with buying things. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $27-$29. (800) 838-3006, www.shoppingthemusical.com. 

Big City Improv, ongoing. 10 p.m. Fridays. $20. (510) 595-5597, www.bigcityimprov.com. 

533 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 433-1227, www.sheltontheater.com or www.sheltontheater.com.< 

THE STUD  

"Trannyshack," ongoing. A drag cabaret show that incorporates popular music, dance, props and outrageous humor into a stage show. Hosted by Heklina. Tuesday, midnight. $7. (415) 252-7883, www.heklina.com/. 

399 Ninth St., San Francisco. < 

THRILLPEDDLERS HYPNODROME  

"Pearls Over Shanghai," ongoing. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.; 7 p.m. Sun. See San Francisco's longest running Cockettes musical, running through Dec. 19. $30-$35.  

575 10th Street, San Francisco. www.thrillpeddlers.com/.<

ZELLERBACH HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

"San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Auditions," through Jan. 16, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 8; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 9 and Jan. 16; 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Jan. 15. More than 130 Northern California dance companies will be performing in hopes of securing a spot in the 2011 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. $10; free children 12 and under. (415) 474-3914, www.worldartswest.org. 

Tango Buenos Aires, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. Works include "Fire and Passion of Tango.'' $22-$52.  

UC Berkeley campus, Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988.< 

"CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S OVO," -- through Jan. 24. A lively rush into a world of insects and acrobatics. Written and directed by Deborah Colker. See website for times, dates and complete details. Performances take place under the "Grand Chapiteau'' at AT&T Park. 

$38-$250.www.cirquedusoleil.com.< 

COUNTERPULSE  

"2nd Sundays," ongoing. 2-4 p.m. Sun. Sept. 12: Philein Wang, ZiRu Tiger Productions, Tammy Cheney, Lenora Lee. Free.  

1310 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 626-2060, www.counterpulse.org.< 

ODC THEATER  

"ODC: The A.W.A.R.D. Show," through Jan. 15, 8 p.m. $18.  

"ODC/Dance: Unplugged." Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m. Choreography by Kimi Okada. $18.  

3153 17th St., San Francisco. (415) 863-9834, www.odctheater.org.< 

PENA PACHAMAMA  

"Flamenco Thursdays" with Carola Zertuche, ongoing. 8:30 p.m. Thursdays Music and dance with performers of traditional flamenco. $10.  

Brisas de Espana Ballet Flamenco, ongoing. 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. Sun. $10-$15.  

For ages 21 and older. 1630 Powell St., San Francisco. (415) 646-0018, www.penapachamama.com.< 

PIER 29 SPIEGELTENT  

"Teatro Zinzanni," through March 6, 6 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 5 p.m. Sun. Teatro Zinzanni presents a new production, "License To Kiss II, A Sweet Conspiracy,'' offering a blend of European cabaret, circus arts, music, comedy and more. $117-$145.  

Embarcadero at Battery Street, San Francisco. (415) 438-2668, www.zinzanni.org.<

BOOKS INC., BERKELEY  

Mary Volmer, Jan. 16, 6 p.m. "Crown of Dust.''  

Janice Shapiro, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. "Bummer: And Other Stories.''  

1760 4th Street, Berkeley. (510) 525-7777, www.booksinc.net.< 

DIESEL, A BOOKSTORE  

M.L. Liebler, Jan. 16, 3 p.m. "Working Words.''  

Bryan Charles, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. "There's A Road To Everywhere Except Where You Came From.''  

5433 College Avenue, Oakland. (510) 653-9965.< 

FRANK BETTE CENTER FOR THE ARTS  

Julie Gilgoff, Jan. 16, 3 p.m. "A Granddaughter's Rite of Passage.''  

Free. Wednesday and Friday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. 1601 Paru St., Alameda. (510) 523-6957, www.frankbettecenter.org.< 

MRS. DALLOWAY'S  

Adair Lara, Jan. 16, 4 p.m. "Naked, Drunk, and Writing.''  

Jimmy Williams and Susan Heeger, Jan. 22, 4 p.m. "From Seed To Skillet.''  

2904 College Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 704-8222, www.mrsdalloways.com.< 

UNIVERSITY PRESS BOOKS  

Michael Rubenstein, Jan. 20, 5:30 p.m. "Public Works: Infrastructure, Irish Modernism, and the Postcolonial.''  

2430 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 548-0585, www.universitypressbooks.com.< 

VINTAGE EUROPEAN POSTERS  

David Lance Goines, Jan. 16, 2 p.m. "The Poster Art of David Lance Goines.''  

2201 Fourth St., Berkeley. (510) 843-2201, www.vepca.com.<

AUDIUM  

"Audium 9," ongoing. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. An exploration of the spatial dimension of music in a unique environment of 176 speakers. $15.  

$15. 8:30 p.m. 1616 Bush St., San Francisco. (415) 771-1616, www.audium.com.< 

DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL  

San Francisco Symphony, through Jan. 15, 2 p.m. Thu.; 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts; works by Prokofiev, Mussorgsky and Khachaturian. $15-$140.  

"Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival," Jan. 16, 3 p.m. Six Bay Area Youth Orchestras will come together to perform at this benefit for homeless youth hosted by Wendy Tokuda. $15-$60.  

San Francisco Symphony, Jan. 20 through Jan. 23, 2 p.m. Thu., Sun.; 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Marek Janowski conducts; works by Beethoven. $15-$140.  

Itzhak Perlman, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. The legendary violinist performs. $40-$160.  

201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.< 

HERBST THEATRE  

Alexander String Quartet, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. Works by Bartok and Kodaly. $25-$46.  

San Francisco Performances presents Los Angeles Guitar Quartet,'' Jan. 15, 8 p.m. Works by Rossini, Peter Warlock, Ian Krouse and more. $30-$45.  

401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com.< 

LEGION OF HONOR MUSEUM DOCENT TOUR PROGRAMS -- Tours of the permanent collections and special exhibitions are offered Tuesday through Sunday. Non-English language tours (Italian, French, Spanish and Russian) are available on different Saturdays of the month at 11:30 a.m. Free with regular museum admission. (415) 750-3638.  

ONGOING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM --  

"Doing and Viewing Art," ongoing. For ages 7 to 12. Docent-led tours of current exhibitions are followed by studio workshops taught by professional artists/teachers. Students learn about art by seeing and making it. Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to noon; call to confirm class. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3658. 

ORGAN CONCERTS -- ongoing. 4 p.m. A weekly concert of organ music on the Legion's restored 1924 Skinner organ. Saturday and Sunday in the Rodin Gallery. Free with museum admission. (415) 750-3624. 

$6-$10; free for children ages 12 and under; free for all visitors on Tuesdays. Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. (415) 750-3600, (415) 750-3636, www.legionofhonor.org.< 

SEVENTH AVENUE PERFORMANCES  

San Francisco Renaissance Voices, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. $20-$25. www.sfrv.org. 

1329 7th Ave., San Francisco. (415) 664-2543, www.sevenperforms.org.<

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Very First Concerts," Jan. 17, 11 a.m. and noon. Concerts featuring a central theme, short selections, and hands-on activities geared towards families with young children. Free.  

1475 Rose St., Berkeley. (510) 559-6910, www.crowden.org.< 

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY  

"Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra presents David Daniels," Jan. 15 through Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun. Works by Vivaldi, Handel and more. Conducted by Nicholas McGegan. $30-$90.  

2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. (510) 848-3696, www.fccb.org.<

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. 

Owen Hart, Bloodhunger, Tigon, Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m. $8.  

Brutal Truth, Lack of Interest, Plutocracy, Voetsek, Iron Lung, Drunken Hardcore, Jan. 21, 7 p.m. $12.  

Flagitous Idiosyncracy In The Dilapidation, Capitalist Casualties, Bastard Noise, Despise You, PLF, Population Reduction, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. $12.  

$5 unless otherwise noted. Shows start Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926, www.924gilman.org.< 

ALBATROSS PUB  

Whiskey Brothers, ongoing. 9 p.m. First and third Wed. Free.  

Lou Lou and The Gypsy Jivers, Jan. 22, 9:30 p.m. $3.  

Free unless otherwise noted. Shows begin Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 1822 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2473, www.albatrosspub.com.< 

ARMANDO'S  

Jazz Jam, Jan. 17, 7 p.m. $3.  

Gary King & Friends, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. $10.  

The Steve Freund Blues Trio, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $10.  

707 Marina Vista Ave., Martinez. (925) 228-6985, www.armandosmartinez.com.< 

ASHKENAZ  

Moonalice, Jan. 14, 9 p.m. $10-$12.  

Front Street with Stu Allen, Jan. 15, 9:30 p.m. $12-$15.  

Four Shillings Short, Jan. 16, 3 p.m. $4-$6.  

Koudmen, CSM Panhandlers Steel Orchestra, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. $10-$20.  

Tri Tip Trio, Jan. 18, 8:30 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10.  

Baraka Moon, Jan. 19, 8:30 p.m. $10-$12.  

The Helladelics, Disciples of Markos, Jan. 20, 8:30 p.m. Balkan/Greek dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. $10.  

The Caribbean Allstars, Jan. 21, 9:30 p.m. $10-$13.  

Baguette Quartette, Jan. 22, 9 p.m. Parisian dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10-$13.  

Bandworks, Jan. 23, 1 p.m. $5.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.< 

BECKETT'S IRISH PUB  

Justin Anchetta Band, Jan. 14.  

Matt Lucas, Jan. 15.  

GG Tenaka, Jan. 19.  

Calafia, Jan. 20.  

Shark Alley Hobos, Jan. 21.  

Dgiin, Jan. 22.  

Free. Shows at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2271 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 647-1790, www.beckettsirishpub.com.< 

BLAKE'S ON TELEGRAPH  

Crypt Keeper, Hysteria, Jan. 14, 9 p.m. $10.  

Anaura, Fever Charm, Emily's Army, Jan. 16, 6:30 p.m. $8-$10.  

Treehouse, Steinway Junkies, Jan. 22, 9 p.m.  

For ages 18 and older unless otherwise noted. Music begins at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886, www.blakesontelegraph.com.< 

CHOUINARD VINEYARDS AND WINERY The winery features an exhibit of stone craft and baskets honoring the rich culture of the Ohlone Indians. Palomares Canyon was a summer home to the Ohlone Indians. The exhibit also includes historical photos and artifacts that document more recent colorful inhabitants to the canyon."Music at Chouinard," ongoing. 4:30-8:30 p.m. on select Sundays June-August. The rest of the year features live music in the tasting room on the second Sunday of each month. Enjoy the best of Bay Area artists at Chouinard. Bring your own gourmet picnic (no outside alcoholic beverages). Wines are available for tasting and sales. $40 per car. 

Free. Tasting Room: Saturdays-Sundays, noon-5 p.m. 33853 Palomares Road, Castro Valley. (510) 582-9900, www.chouinard.com.< 

FIREHOUSE ARTS CENTER  

Tingstad and Rumbel, Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $12-$25.  

"Rodgers & Hammerstein with Hart Cabaret Series," Jan. 15 through Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. $15-$25.  

4444 Railroad Ave., Pleasanton. (925) 931-4848, www.firehousearts.org.< 

FOX THEATER  

Rebelution, Iration, Orgone, Jan. 15, 8 p.m. $20.  

1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 452-0438, www.thefoxoakland.com.< 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

"Freight Open Mic," ongoing. Tuesdays. $4.50-$5.50.  

Steve Seskin, Craig Carothers, Don Henry, Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50.  

John McCutcheon, Jan. 15, 8 p.m. $26.50-$28.50.  

Tom Russell, Jesse Winchester and Jimmy Webb, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. $32.50-$34.50.  

David Lindley, Pieta Brown, Jan. 19, 8 p.m. $24.50-$26.50.  

Tom Paxton, Jan. 20, 8 p.m. $22.50-$24.50.  

Red Molly, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50.  

Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $24.50-$26.50.  

Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Laurel Bliss & Clifford Perry, Jan. 23, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50. 

Music starts at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.< 

JAZZSCHOOL  

Stephanie Crawford, Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $15.  

Erik Telford, Jan. 15, 8 p.m. $15.  

"Happy Hour Jam," Jan. 16, 7:30 p.m. $5-$10.  

Wayne DeSilva Quartet, Jan. 16, 4:30 p.m. $15.  

Amikaeyla and Trelawny Rose, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. $15.  

Julian Waterfall Pollack Trio, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $15.  

"Vocal Jam Session," Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m. Free.  

Jim Santi Owen, Jan. 23, 4:30 p.m. $10.  

Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com.< 

JUPITER  

"Americana Unplugged," ongoing. 5 p.m. Sundays. A weekly bluegrass and Americana series.  

"Jazzschool Tuesdays," ongoing. 8 p.m. Tuesdays. Featuring the ensembles from the Berkeley Jazzschool. www.jazzschool.com. 

Kaz George Quartet, Jan. 14, 8 p.m.  

Steve Carter Trio, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.  

DJ Diet, Jan. 20, 8 p.m.  

George Lacson Project, Jan. 21, 8 p.m.  

Justin Hellman Trio, Jan. 22, 8 p.m.  

8 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-8277, www.jupiterbeer.com.< 

KIMBALL'S CARNIVAL  

"Monday Blues Legends Night," ongoing. 8 p.m.-midnight. Enjoy live blues music every Monday night. Presented by the Bay Area Blues Society and Lothario Lotho Company. $5 donation. (510) 836-2227, www.bayareabluessociety.net. 

522 2nd St., Jack London Square, Oakland. < 

LA PENA CULTURAL CENTER  

"The Rubinoos Junior Show," Jan. 22, 10:30 a.m. $4-$5.  

Free unless otherwise noted. 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org.< 

THE NEW PARISH  

Frankie Feliciano, Timmy Regisford, Jan. 15, 10 p.m. $10-$20.  

The Memorials, Jan. 18, 9:30 p.m. $8-$10.  

Tobacco, Seventeen Evergreen, Odd Nosdam, Jan. 20, 10 p.m. $13-$16.  

Zion I, Jan. 21, 9:30 p.m. $20-$25.  

People Party, Jan. 22, 10 p.m. $5.  

579 18th St., Oakland. (510) 444-7474, www.thenewparish.com.< 

OAKLAND SCOTTISH RITE CENTER  

"In The Name Of Love 9th Annual Musical Tribute Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.," Jan. 16, 7 p.m. Featuring Goapele, Linda Tillery & Terrance Kelly, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Oakland Children's Community Choir and more. $5-$12; children under 6 free. (510) 287-8880, www.mlktribute.com. 

1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. www.scottish-rite.org.< 

ROUND TABLE PIZZA  

East Bay Banjo Club, ongoing. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Free.  

1938 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill. (925) 930-9004.< 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

"King of King's," ongoing. 9 p.m. Sun. $10.  

"Live Salsa," ongoing. Wednesdays. An evening of dancing to the music of a live salsa band. Salsa dance lessons from 8-9:30 p.m. $5-$10.  

"Thirsty Thursdays," ongoing. 9 p.m. Thursdays. Featuring DJ Vickity Slick and Franky Fresh. Free.  

The Hundred Days, Light Bridges, Jan. 14, 9 p.m. $5.  

Rumbache, Jan. 19, 8 p.m. Salsa dance lessons at 8:30 p.m.  

California Honey Drops, The Expanders, Jan. 21, 9 p.m. $8-$10.  

DJ Platurn, Jan. 22, 9 p.m. Free.  

2284 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1159, www.shattuckdownlow.com.< 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

The Starry Irish Music Session led by Shay Black, ongoing. Sundays, 8 p.m. Sliding scale.  

Miguel Viveiros, Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $8.  

Miss Essence, Sector Seven, Jan. 15, 9 p.m. $8.  

Oakland Wine Drinkers Union, Liquor Cake, Rhubarb Whiskey, Carolyn Mark, 5 Cent Coffee, Jan. 20, 9 p.m. $8.  

Dominique Leone, Fred Frith, Jack O' The Clock, Jan. 21, 9 p.m. $10.  

Hang Jones, Loretta Lynch, Mighty Lynchpins, Jan. 22, 9 p.m. $8.  

For ages 21 and over unless otherwise noted. Sunday and Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082, www.starryploughpub.com.< 

UPTOWN NIGHTCLUB  

Throwrag, Jan. 14, 9 p.m. $10.  

"Hella Gay," Jan. 15, 9 p.m. $7.  

Hot Attack!, DJ Graceface, Wizard SSK, Jan. 18, 9 p.m. Free.  

Matthau, 7 Orange ABC, One Moment, Jan. 19, 9 p.m. Free.  

Dusty Fingers, DJ James Leste, Jan. 20, 9 p.m. Free.  

Total B.S., The Dashing Suns, A Decent Animal, Jan. 21, 9 p.m. $5.  

Skinlab, Saint Vernon, Severed Fifth, MadAtSam, Jan. 22, 9 p.m. $10.  

1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 451-8100, www.uptownnightclub.com.< 

YOSHI'S  

"Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonic Blowout," Jan. 14 through Jan. 16, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun. $5-$30.  

The Jesse Scheinin Band, Kazemde George & The Household, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. $10. 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jan. 18 through Jan. 19, 8 and 10 p.m. $25.  

Ledisi, Jan. 20 through Jan. 23, 8 and 10 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 7 and 9 p.m. Sun. $24-$28. 

Shows are Monday through Saturday, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200, www.yoshis.com.< 

ZELLERBACH HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Joshua Redman, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $22-$50.  

UC Berkeley campus, Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988.<

Some unusual music this week: 

—MidEast Tapestry, featuring Coralie Russo on oud; Vince Delgado, kanun; and Robbie Belgrade on riqq, with music from the Arabic-speaking world, Turkey, North Africa and Persia—Wednesday, 7-9 p. m. January 12 19 at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Avenue. No cover. 849-1100; lebateauivre.net 

—Bobi Cespedes will perform Afro-Cuban music Monday, January 17 at 4, in the salon of the Museum of the African Diaspora of San Francisco for Martin Luther King Day, also featuring other activities, including a reenactment of the 1965 Selma March from the Third Street Bridge at noon. The Museum will be holding a family day on King's birthday, 11-6, Saturday the 15th. Free. (415) 358-7252; moadsf.org 

—Berkeley Chamber Performances presents Songs of My Father, with clarinetist Deborah Pittman, the Sun String Quartet, dancer Sheila Coleman and pianist Joanne De Phillips in a program including compositions by Coleridge-Taylor, John Williams and Pittman. Tuesday, January 18, at the Berkeley City Club, Durant. $12.50-$25. 525-5211; berkeleychamberperformances.org 

In theater: 

—The [formerly Traveling] Jewish Theatre goes into its last weekend of a critically acclaimed production of Neil Simon's unusual comedy of Stateside, WW II: Lost in Yonkers, featuring Nancy Carlin's direction of Jewish Theatre's co-founder Naomi Newman, Deb Fink and Soren Oliver, Thursday-Saturday at 8, Sunday, 2 and 7, at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California Street. $20-$39. (415) 292-1253; jccsf.org/arts 

—Subterranean Shakespeare's announced the results of its Shakespeare's Top Ten balloting—over a thousand votes from SubShakes audiences, actors and Theatre Bay Area magazine readers—and the winners! in ascending order (including dates and directors for the staged readings): 10: Measure for Measure (February 7; Bruce Coughran),9: Othello (Feb. 14; Kate Jopson),8: The Tempest (Feb. 21; Robert Estes), 7: As You Like It (Keshuu Prasad), 6: The Winter's Tale (March 7; Liz Anderson), 5: Twelfth Night (Mar. 28; Julianne Reeve), 4: King Lear (April 4; Robert Estes); 3: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Apr. 11; Bruce Coughran), 2: Macbeth (Apr. 18; Kate Jopson); 1:Hamlet (Apr. 25; Stanley Spenger)—and on May 2, Falstaff & Hal (May 2, Bruce Coughran, also adapter), inspired in part by Orson Welles' Chimes At Midnight. Mondays at 7:30 (excepting Hamlet, at 7), Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. $8. 276-3821. 

In my wrap-up of 2010 theater last week, I omitted a couple of unusual things: 

—The phenomenon of Backyard Theater around Berkeley last summer, with performances out-of-doors, among friends and neighbors, a wonderful way to see a play and socialize a little with those who put it on. 

—And Quixotic Players' production of Oedipus Reborn, written by student Jennifer Nicholson and performed by the Quixotic Players at St. Mary's College in Moraga last fall. There's been some talk of producing it somewhere outside the College; with some luck, we might see it around here. A funny, flighty burlesque, a la Desperate Housewives, of the original Problem Play, in Oedipus Reborn, the hero and his retinue have become the problem, clueless in a suburban kind of way. Will Maier plays the obtuse hero and Sally Clawson his ding-a-ling trophy wife—also his mother, of course, but unbeknownst to them—harried by the chorus of the Homeowners Association, by fortunes from an 8-ball party favor, while they munch roast griffin and keep up with the Theban Jones—until disaster ... and plenty of ketchup ... catches up with their blandly serene visages. 

Directed by Alex Moggridge, the Quixotics are a sharp troupe for comedy, getting a ways beyond the usual sketch or sitcom form, even while sending it up. Barry Horwitz, their gracious founder and producer, who teaches at St.Mary's, is a UC grad (he helped set up the Interdisciplinary Studies Division there) and Berkeley resident. Nothing like a spoof of Greek Tragedy to spiff up the halls of academe. 

There are a lot of good movies out there right now—“The Fighter,” the Coen Bros. remake of “True Grit,” “The King’s Speech”—BUT there is a cinematic work of art about the rigors and pitfalls of making art that is a must-see. 

If you subscribe to the notion that gripping-and-disturbing is a pinnacle of artistic achievement (Oedipus, Hamlet, most operas, and, uh, Swan Lake), then David Aronofsky is your man: “The Wrestler” with Mickey Rourke, “Requiem for a Dream” with Ellen Burstyn, and now “BLACK SWAN” with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. 

Ballet is a crazy art— always trying to perfect the form, such a short window for achievement, the hovering of the stage mother, the finicky critics—and wearing a mask of perfection for so long that a personality can crumble behind said mask.  

Ballet is a bitch. Get the form perfect, then let go, they say. How do you let go when you’ve spent years monitoring each posture and gesture in the mirror? 

This story of a pas de deux inside a danseuse’s head uses every verity of this universal art, and puts you in the pointe shoes of our disintegrating terpsichorean heroine. 

We’ve watched Natalie Portman grow from Star Wars princess to hit-man in-training in “The Professional,” and lately a regrettable turn as Anne Boleyn; her role as tortured protégé in “V for Vendetta” was basic training for this role as Nina, our ballerina. For years, I confused Ms. Portman and Winona Ryder; then I wondered when they would be cast together as relatives. Luckily, they held off till this mirror-image casting. Aronofsky double-downs on the look-alikes by casting Barbara Hershey as Nina’s harridan (s)mother. This doppelganger casting by casting director by Aronofsky and his trusted casting director Mary Vernieu is brilliant and essential to the story. 

Mila Kunis, who began her career as neighborhood princess Jackie in TV’s “That 70’s Show,” has done her best work playing a bad girl. Her role here as Lily, the wild girl just in from the San Francisco Ballet, is her filmic highpoint.  

ATTN: “Black Swan” included the hottest female homoerotic scene in R-rated history that I bet arouses all genders! (I was wondering why it wasn’t playing in my little SW PA hometown I visited over the holiday. Now I know.) 

This tight and intricate script by neophyte screenwriter Andres Heinz is based on his original screenplay "The Understudy." It baffles me why he and his co-writers John McLaughlin and Mark Heyman were not nominated for a Golden Globe, as the director, lead actress, supporting actress Kunis, and the film itself have been. 

Heinz enjoys an inside joke by naming our on-the-edge heroine Nina, like Chekhov’s heroine who confused herself with another waterfowl. Every turn is foreshadowed but seldom telegraphed in this Expressionist whodunit, making it all make sense in its breathtaking resolution. 

There is a man among these women—the snotty French dance maestro Thomas, played by Vincent Cassel who has made a career of playing snotty Frenchman. Of course he does that self-serving thing some directors do to loosen up their ingénue. Thomas is the architect of the play, and his efforts to inspire Nina’s performance unsettle her tightly-wound psyche. Her demons are then unleashed by Lily’s influence. The jealousy and competition seethe among the would-be divas. 

New York apartment life, night life, and Lincoln Center Back Stage and On Stage are the background. The choreographer David Millepied (a great name for a choreographer!) provides some challenging moves for our actresses, and dances the Swan Prince himself. Portman, who has danced since the age of four, performs the part exquisitely; she reminds us of the double-talent of Holly Hunter in “The Piano” and Jamie Foxx in “Ray” who were also accomplished pianists in their own right. 

I predict Aronofsky’s paean to Tschaikovsky’s masterpiece will sweep up many little gold statuettes come February 27.

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission.  

ONGOING PROGRAMS --  

"Blacksmithing," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Watch a blacksmith turn iron into useful tools.  

"Horse-Drawn Train," Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A 20-minute ride departs from Ardenwood Station and Deer Park.  

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3-4 p.m. Help slop the hogs, check the henhouse for eggs and bring hay to the livestock.  

"Victorian Flower Arranging," Thursday, 10:15-11:30 a.m. Watch as Ardenwood docents create floral works of art for display in the Patterson House. "Potato Harvesting," ongoing. Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," ongoing. Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Meet Jigs or Tucker the Belgian Draft horses that pull Ardenwood's train. Check the daily schedule and meet the train at Ardenwood Station or Deer Park. 

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," ongoing. Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy the flavor of the past with treats cooked on Ardenwood's wood burning stove. Sample food grown on the farm and discover the history of your favorite oldtime snacks. 

"Animal Feeding," ongoing. Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Toddler Time," ongoing. Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m. Bring the tiny tots out for an exciting morning at the farm. Meet and learn all about a new animal friend through stories, chores and fun.  

$1-$5; free children under age 4. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. (510) 796-0199, (510) 796-0663, www.ebparks.org.< 

BAY AREA RAIL TRAILS ongoing. A network of trails converted from unused railway corridors and developed by the Rails to Trails Conservancy.  

BLACK DIAMOND MINES REGIONAL PRESERVE RAILROAD BED TRAIL -- Ongoing. This easy one mile long rail trail on Mount Diablo leads to many historic sites within the preserve. Suitable for walking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Accessible year round but may be muddy during the rainy season. Enter from the Park Entrance Station parking lot on the East side of Somersville Road, Antioch.  

IRON HORSE REGIONAL TRAIL -- Ongoing. The paved trail has grown into a 23 mile path between Concord and San Ramon with a link into Dublin. The trail runs from the north end of Monument Boulevard at Mohr Lane, east to Interstate 680, in Concord through Walnut Creek to just south of Village Green Park in San Ramon. It will eventually extend from Suisun Bay to Pleasanton and has been nominated as a Community Millennium Trail under the U.S. Millennium Trails program. A smooth shaded trail suitable for walkers, cyclists, skaters and strollers. It is also wheelchair accessible. Difficulty: easy to moderate in small chunks; hard if taken as a whole.  

LAFAYETTE/MORAGA REGIONAL TRAIL -- Ongoing. A 7.65 mile paved trail converted from the Sacramento Northern Rail line. This 20-year old trail goes along Las Trampas Creek and parallels St. Mary's Road. Suitable for walkers, equestrians, and cyclists. Runs from Olympic Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road in Lafayette to Moraga. The trail can be used year round.  

OHLONE GREENWAY -- Ongoing. A 3.75-mile paved trail converted from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway. Suitable for walkers, strollers and skaters. It is also wheelchair accessible. The trail runs under elevated BART tracks from Conlon and Key Streets in El Cerrito to Virginia and Acton Streets in Berkeley.  

SHEPHERD CANYON TRAIL -- Ongoing. An easy 3-mile paved trail converted from the Sacramento Northern Rail Line. The tree-lined trail is gently sloping and generally follows Shepherd Canyon Road. Suitable for walkers and cyclists. It is also wheelchair accessible. Begins in Montclair Village behind McCaulou's Department Store on Medau Place and ends at Paso Robles Drive, Oakland. Useable year round. 

Free. (415) 397-2220, www.traillink.com.< 

BAY AREA RIDGE TRAIL ongoing. The Bay Area Ridge Trail, when completed, will be a 400-mile regional trail system that will form a loop around the entire San Francisco Bay region, linking 75 public parks and open spaces to thousands of people and hundreds of communities. Hikes on portions of the trail are available through the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. Call for meeting sites. ALAMEDA COUNTY -- "Lake Chabot Bike Rides." These rides are for strong beginners and intermediates to build skill, strength and endurance at a non hammerhead pace. No one will be dropped. Reservations required. Distance: 14 miles. Elevation gain: 1,000 feet. Difficulty: beginner to intermediate. Pace: moderate. Meeting place: Lake Chabot Road at the main entrance to the park. Thursday, 6:15 a.m. (510) 468-3582.  

ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA COUNTY -- "Tilden and Wildcat Bike Rides." A vigorous ride through Tilden and Wildcat Canyon regional parks. Reservations required. Distance: 15 miles. Elevation gain: 2,000 feet. Difficulty: intermediate. Pace: fast. Meeting place: in front of the North Berkeley BART Station. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. (510) 849-9650. 

Free. (415) 561-2595, www.ridgetrail.org.< 

BICYCLE TRAILS COUNCIL OF THE EAST BAY ongoing. The Council sponsors trail work days, Youth Bike Adventure Rides, and Group Rides as well as Mountain Bike Basics classes which cover training and handling skills. "Weekly Wednesday Ride at Lake Chabot," ongoing. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. A 13- to 20-mile ride exploring the trails around Lake Chabot, with 1,500 to 2,000 feet of climbing. Meet at 6:15 p.m. in the parking lot across from the public safety offices at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley. Reservations requested. (510) 727-0613.  

"Weekly Wednesday 'Outer' East Bay Ride," ongoing. Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. Ride some of the outer East Bay parks each week, such as Wild Cat Canyon, Briones, Mount Diablo, Tilden and Joaquin Miller-Redwood. Meeting place and ride location vary. Reservations required. (510) 888-9757. 

Free. (510) 466-5123, www.btceb.org.< 

BOTANIC GARDEN Ongoing.  

Intersection of Wildcat Canyon Road and South Park Drive, Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. www.ebparks.org.< 

CIVIC PARK, WALNUT CREEK  

"Walnut Creek On Ice," through Jan. 17. A special holiday time outdoor ice skating rink. See website for complete details. www.walnut-creek.com. 

1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. < 

CRAB COVE VISITOR CENTER At Crab Cove, you can see live underwater creatures and go into the San Francisco Bay from land. You can also travel back in time to Alameda's part. The goal is to increase understanding of the environmental importance of San Francisco Bay and the ocean ecosystem. Crab Cove's Indoor Aquarium and Exhibit Lab is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the East Bay."Sea Squirts," ongoing. 10-11:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Discover the wonders of nature with your little one. Registration is required. $6-$8. 

"Catch of the Day," ongoing. Sundays, 2-3 p.m. Drop by to find out more about the Bay and its wildlife through guided exploration and hands-on fun. 

"Sea Siblings," ongoing. Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Explore the natural world and take part in a theme related craft. Designed for the 3-5 year old learner. Registration is required.  

$4. (888) 327-2757. 

Free unless otherwise noted; parking fee may be charged. 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-6887, www.ebparks.org.< 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE ongoing. Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- Ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.< 

FIFTY-PLUS ADVENTURE WALKS AND RUNS ongoing. The walks and runs are 3-mile round-trips, lasting about one hour on the trail. All levels of ability are welcome. The walks are brisk, however, and may include some uphill terrain. Events are held rain or shine and on all holidays except Christmas and the Fifty-Plus Annual Fitness Weekend. Call for dates, times and details. 

Free. (650) 323-6160, www.50plus.org.< 

FOREST HOME FARMS ongoing. The 16-acre former farm of the Boone family is now a municipal historic park in San Ramon. It is located at the base of the East Bay Hills and is divided into two parts by Oak Creek. The Boone House is a 22-room Dutch colonial that has been remodeled several times since it was built in 1900. Also on the property are a barn built in the period from 1850 to 1860; the Victorian-style David Glass House, dating from the late 1860s to early 1870s; a storage structure for farm equipment and automobiles; and a walnut processing plant. 

Free unless otherwise noted. Public tours available by appointment. 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon. (925) 973-3281, www.ci.sanramon. ca.us/parks/boone.htm.< 

GARIN AND DRY CREEK PIONEER REGIONAL PARKS ongoing. Independent nature study is encouraged here, and guided interpretive programs are available through the Coyote Hills Regional Park Visitor Center in Fremont. The Garin Barn Visitor Center is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In late summer, the Garin Apple Festival celebrates Garin's apple orchards. The parks also allow picnicking, hiking, horseback riding and fishing. 

Free; $5 parking fee per vehicle; $2 per dog. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 1320 Garin Ave., Hayward. (510) 562-PARK, (510) 795-9385, www.ebparks.org/parks/garin.htm.< 

GREENBELT ALLIANCE OUTINGS A series of hikes, bike rides and events sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's non-profit land conservation and urban planning organization. Call for meeting places. Reservations required for all trips.  

ALAMEDA COUNTY --  

"Self-Guided Urban Outing: Berkeley," ongoing. This interactive smart growth walking tour of central Berkeley examines some of the exciting projects that help alleviate the housing shortage in the city as well as amenities important to making a livable community. The walk, which includes the GAIA Cultural Center, Allston Oak Court, The Berkeley Bike Station, University Terrace and Strawberry Creek Park, takes between an hour-and-ahalf to two hours at a leisurely pace. Download the itinerary which gives specific directions by entering www.greeenbelt.org and clicking on "get involved'' and then "urban outings.'' Drop down and click on Berkeley. Free. 

Free unless otherwise noted. (415) 255-3233, www.greenbelt.org.< 

HAYWARD REGIONAL SHORELINE With 1,682 acres of salt, fresh and brackish water marshes, seasonal wetlands and the approximately three-mile San Lorenzo Trail, the Hayward Shoreline restoration project is one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast, comprising 400 acres of marshland. Part of the East Bay Regional Park District.Ongoing.  

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 3010 W. Winton Ave., Hayward. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org/parks/hayward.htm.< 

HAYWARD SHORELINE INTERPRETIVE CENTER Perched on stilts above a salt marsh, the Center offers an introduction to the San Francisco Bay-Estuary. It features exhibits, programs and activities designed to inspire a sense of appreciation, respect and stewardship for the Bay, its inhabitants and the services they provide. The Habitat Room offers a preview of what may be seen outside. The 80-gallon Bay Tank contains some of the fish that live in the Bay's open waters, and the Channel Tank represents habitats formed by the maze of sloughs and creeks that snake through the marsh. The main room of the Center features rotating exhibits about area history, plants and wildlife. Part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District. "Exploring Nature," ongoing. An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world.Ongoing.  

"Nature Detectives," ongoing. 11 a.m.-noon. An introduction and exploration of the world of Black-Crowned Night-Herons. Ages 3-5 and their caregivers. Registration required. 

"Weekend Weed Warriors," ongoing. 1-4 p.m. Help the shoreline to eliminate the non-native plants that threaten its diversity. Ages 12 and older. Registration required. 

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," ongoing. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Join an expert birder to go "behind the gates'' to areas of the marsh that are not open to the public. 

Free. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward. (510) 670-7270, www.hard.dst.ca.us/hayshore.html.< 

JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE The site preserves the 1882 Muir House, a 17-room Victorian mansion where naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914. It was here that Muir wrote about preserving America's wilderness and helped create the national parks idea for the United States. The house is situated on a hill overlooking the City of Martinez and surrounded by nine acres of vineyards and orchards. Take a self-guided tour of this well-known Scottish naturalist's home. Also part of the site is the historic Martinez Adobe and Mount Wanda. Public Tours of the John Muir House, ongoing. Begin with an eight-minute park film and then take the tour. The film runs every 15 minutes throughout the day. Wednesday through Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.  

MOUNT WANDA -- The mountain consists of 325 acres of grass and oak woodland historically owned by the Muir family. It offers a nature trail and several fire trails for hiking. Open daily, sunrise to sunset. 

JOHN MUIR HOUSE, ongoing. Tours of this well-known Scottish naturalist's home are available. The house, built in 1882, is a 14-room Victorian home situated on a hill overlooking the city of Martinez and surrounded by nine acres of vineyards and orchards. It was here that Muir wrote about preserving America's wilderness and helped create the national parks idea for the United States. The park also includes the historic Vicente Martinez Adobe, built in 1849. An eight-minute film about Muir and the site is shown every 15 minutes throughout the day at the Visitor Center. Self guided tours of the Muir home, the surrounding orchards, and the Martinez Adobe: Wednesday-Sunday, 1 a.m.-5 p.m. Public tours or the first floor of the Muir home: Wednesday-Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Reservations not required except for large groups.  

$3 general; free children ages 16 and under. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 4202 Alhambra Ave., Martinez. (925) 228-8860, www.nps.gov/jomu.< 

KENNEDY GROVE REGIONAL RECREATION AREA ongoing. The 95-acre park contains picnic areas, horseshoe pits and volleyball courts among its grove of aromatic eucalyptus trees.  

$5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs Through September: daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. San Pablo Dam Road, El Sobrante. (510) 223-7840, www.ebparks.org.< 

LAKE CHABOT REGIONAL PARK ongoing. The 315-acre lake offers year-round recreation. Services include canoe and boat rental, horseshoe pits, hiking, bicycling, picnicking and seasonal tours aboard the Chabot Queen. For boat rentals, call (510) 247-2526. 

Free unless noted otherwise; $5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs. Daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 17930 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital.Ongoing.  

SPECIAL EVENTS Ongoing.  

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

LIVERMORE AREA RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT ongoing.  

4444 East Ave., Livermore. (925) 373-5700, www.larpd.dst.ca.us/.< 

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SHORELINE ongoing. This 1,200-acre park situated near Oakland International Airport offers picnic areas with barbecues and a boat launch ramp. Swimming is not allowed. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Grove, a group of trees surrounding a grassy glade, is at the intersection of Doolittle Drive and Swan Way. The area also includes the 50-acre Arrowhead Marsh (part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network) and a Roger Berry sculpture titled "Duplex Cone,'' which traces the summer and winter solstice paths of the sun through the sky. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted Doolittle Drive and Swan Way, Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, Picnic reservations: (510) 636-1684, www.ebayparks.org.< 

MILLER-KNOX REGIONAL SHORELINE ongoing. A 295-acre shoreline picnic area with a secluded cove and swimming beach, and a hilltop offering panoramic views of the north Bay Area. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. 900 Dornan Dr., Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, Picnic Reservations: (510) 636-1684, www.ebparks.org.< 

MOUNT DIABLO STATE PARK ongoing. The 3,849-foot summit of Mount Diablo offers great views of the Bay Area and an extensive trail system. Visitors to the park can hike, bike, ride on horseback and camp. Notable park attractions include: The Fire Interpretive Trail, Rock City, Boy Scout Rocks and Sentinel Rock, Fossil Ridge, Deer Flat, Mitchell Canyon Staging Area, Diablo Valley Overlook, the Summit Visitor Center (open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the Art Gallery, the Observation Deck and the Mitchell Canyon Interpretive Center. 

Free. $6 per vehicle park-entrance fee; $5 for seniors. Daily, 8 a.m. to sunset. Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard, from the Diablo Road exit off Interstate Highway 680, Danville. (925) 837-2525, www.mdia.org or www.parks.ca.gov.< 

PLEASANTON RIDGE REGIONAL PARK ongoing. This 3,163-acre parkland is on the oak-covered ridge overlooking Pleasanton and the Livermore Valley from the west. A multi-purpose trail system accommodates hikers, equestrians and bicyclists. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Foothill Road, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

POINT PINOLE REGIONAL SHORELINE ongoing. The 2,315-acre parkland bordering Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo offers views of Mount Tamalpais, the Marin shoreline and San Pablo Bay. There are trails through meadows and woods, and along the bluffs and beaches of San Pablo Bay. Visitors can hike, ride bikes or take the park's shuttle bus to reach the 1,250-foot fishing pier at Point Pinole. 

$5 per vehicle; $4 per trailered vehicle; $2 per dog (guide/service dogs free). Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. Giant Highway, Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

PREWETT FAMILY WATERPARK ongoing. There are pools and water slides for all ages, from the Tad Pool for toddlers to Boulder cove for older swimmers. In addition to fun pools and slides there are fitness pools for lessons and exercise, lawns for relaxing, locker rooms, community room and kitchen. Lap lanes are open year round. Food and beverages are not permitted in the park. Picnic tables are available outside the park. 

$4-$11. Sunday through Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Aug.23-27, 30-31. 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch. (925) 776-3070, www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CitySvcs/Prewett.< 

QUARRY LAKES REGIONAL RECREATION AREA ongoing. The park includes three lakes sculpted from former quarry ponds. The largest, Horseshoe Lake, offers boating and fishing, with a swim beach that will open in the spring. Rainbow Lake is for fishing only, and the third lake, Lago Los Osos, is set aside for wildlife habitat. In addition, there are hiking and bicycling trails that connect to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. The park includes three lakes sculpted from former quarry ponds. The largest, Horseshoe Lake, offers boating and fishing, with a swim beach that will open in the spring. Rainbow Lake is for fishing only, and the third lake, Lago Los Osos, is set aside for wildlife habitat. In addition there are hiking and bicycling trails that connect to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. 

$5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs; boat launch fees; Park District fishing access permit fee of $3. Through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sept. 6 through Sept. 30, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 2100 Isherwood Way,, between Paseo Padre Parkway and Osprey Drive,, Fremont. (510) 795-4883, Picnic reservations:: (510) 562-2267, www.ebparks.org.< 

REI CONCORD A series of lectures on hikes and outdoor equipment. 

"Climbing the Indoor Wall," ongoing. Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.; Wednesdays, 6-8:30 p.m. $5.  

"Free Bicycle Classes," ongoing. 2:30-3 p.m. Sundays. Learn how to remove a wheel, fix a flat and more.  

Events are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 1975 Diamond Blvd., Concord. (925) 825-9400.< 

REI FREMONT A series of lectures on hikes and outdoor equipment. 

"Climb the Indoor Pinnacle," ongoing. 1-6 p.m. Saturdays. $5. 

Events are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 43962 Fremont Blvd., Fremont. (510) 651-0305.< 

ROBERT SIBLEY VOLCANIC REGIONAL PRESERVE ongoing. East Bay residents have several volcanoes in their backyard. This park contains Round Top, one of the highest peaks in the Oakland Hills. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6800 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

RUTH BANCROFT GARDEN One of America's finest private gardens, the Ruth Bancroft Garden displays 2,000 specimens from around the world that thrive in an arid climate. Included are African and Mexican succulents, New World cacti, Australian and Chilean trees, and shrubs from California. 

DOCENT TOUR SCHEDULE -- ongoing. 10 a.m. Saturdays. Docent-led tours last approximately an hour and a half. Plant sales follow the tour. By reservation only. $7; free children under age 12.  

SELF-GUIDED TOURS -- Ongoing. 9:30 a.m.-noon Mon. - Thurs.; 9:30 a.m. Fri.; 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sat.; 5 p.m. Sunday. Self-guided tours last two hours. No reservations required for weekday tours; reservations required for Friday and Saturday tours. Plant sales follow the tours. $7; free children under age 12.  

Gardens open only for tours and special events listed on the garden's telephone information line. 1500 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek. (925) 210-9663, www.ruthbancroftgarden.org.< 

SHADOW CLIFFS REGIONAL RECREATION AREA ongoing. The 296-acre park includes an 80-acre lake and a four-flume waterslide, with picnic grounds and a swimming beach. Water slide fees and hours: (925) 829-6230. 

$6 per vehicle; $2 per dog except guide and service dogs. May 1 through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; shortened hours for fall and winter. Stanley Boulevard, one mile from downtown, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

SULPHUR CREEK NATURE CENTER A wildlife rehabilitation and education facility where injured and orphaned local wild creatures are rehabilitated and released when possible. There is also a lending library of animals such as guinea pigs, rats, mice and more. The lending fee is $8 per week. "Toddler Time," ongoing. Learn about animals by listening to stories and exploring. Themes vary by month. Call for schedule. $7 per family.  

"Day on the Green Animal Presentations," ongoing. Meet an assortment of wild and domestic animals. Wildlife volunteers will present a different animal each day from possums to snakes, tortoises to hawks. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 

CHILDREN'S EVENTS -- Ongoing.  

Free. Park: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Discovery Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Animal Lending Library: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1801 D St., Hayward. (510) 881-6747, www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html.< 

SUNOL REGIONAL WILDERNESS This park is full of scenic and natural wonders. You can hike the Ohlone Wilderness trail or Little Yosemite. There are bedrock mortars that were used by Native Americans, who were Sunol's first inhabitants."Sunol Sunday Hike," ongoing. Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. A natural history walk in the wilderness. 

"Sunol Sunday Hike," ongoing. Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m. A natural history walk in Sunol Regional Wilderness. 

Free unless otherwise noted; $5 parking; $2 dog fee. Geary Road off Calaveras Road, six miles south of Interstate Highway 680, Sunol. (510) 652-PARK, www.ebparks.org.<

CIVIC PARK, WALNUT CREEK  

"Walnut Creek On Ice," through Jan. 17. A special holiday time outdoor ice skating rink. See website for complete details. www.walnut-creek.com. 

1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. < 

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY  

"Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra presents David Daniels," Jan. 15 through Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun. Works by Vivaldi, Handel and more. Conducted by Nicholas McGegan. $30-$90.  

2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. (510) 848-3696, www.fccb.org.< 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

Red Molly, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50.  

Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $24.50-$26.50.  

Music starts at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.< 

OAKLAND SCOTTISH RITE CENTER  

"In The Name Of Love 9th Annual Musical Tribute Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.," Jan. 16, 7 p.m. Featuring Goapele, Linda Tillery & Terrance Kelly, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Oakland Children's Community Choir and more. $5-$12; children under 6 free. (510) 287-8880, www.mlktribute.com. 

1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. www.scottish-rite.org.< 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

California Honey Drops, The Expanders, Jan. 21, 9 p.m. $8-$10.  

2284 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1159, www.shattuckdownlow.com.< 

TOMMY T'S COMEDY AND STEAKHOUSE  

DL Hughley, Jan. 21 through Jan. 23, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Fri.; 7, 9:30, 11:45 p.m. Sat; 7 p.m. Sun. $30-$40.  

5104 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton. (925) 227-1800, www.tommyts.com.< 

YOSHI'S  

"Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonic Blowout," Jan. 14 through Jan. 16, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 and 7 p.m. Sun. $5-$30.  

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jan. 18 through Jan. 19, 8 and 10 p.m. $25.  

Shows are Monday through Saturday, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200, www.yoshis.com.< 

ZELLERBACH HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Tango Buenos Aires, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. Works include "Fire and Passion of Tango.'' $22-$52.  

Wallace Shawn, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. The award-winning playwright and actor comes to the Strictly Speaking series to talk about his long and successful career. $22-$40.  

UC Berkeley campus, Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988.<

"CANDLESTICK PARK ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES FAIRE," -- Jan. 16. More than 500 booths of antiques and collectibles will be available to browse at this huge show. Event takes place in the parking lot at Candlestick Park, San Francisco. 

$5-$10.6 a.m.-3 p.m.www.candlestickantiques.com.< 

"SUN SPHERES," -- ongoing. "Sun Spheres'' is a trio of mosaic sculptures by artist Laurel True at the intersection of Ocean and Granada Avenues in the OMI District of San Francisco. 

(415) 252-2551, www.sfartscommission.org/pubart.< 

EVENING GALLERY WALKS These monthly evening gallery walks or "crawls'' are a way to learn about art for the casual viewer without the intimidation of visiting a gallery with no one else around. Generally the galleries are filled on the "walk'' evenings with people drinking wine and talking. Gallery owners are happy to answer questions about the art on view. The important thing to remember is that it is free to gaze and drink. 

"First Thursday," ongoing. 5:30-8 p.m. Generally some 20 galleries participate in this monthly evening of open galleries. Many are located around Union Square. Some of the galleries that participate on a regular basis are Pasquale Iannetti Gallery, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, and Hackett-Freedman Gallery, all on Sutter Street; Meyerovich Gallery and Dolby Chadwick Gallery on Post Street; and Rena Bransten Gallery and Stephen Wirtz Gallery on Geary Street. Sponsored by the San Francisco Art Dealers Association. First Thursday of the month. Free.  

San Francisco. < 

HOTEL DES ARTS The boutique 51-room art hotel in Union Square features an art gallery by Start SOMA. 

"Painted Rooms," ongoing. An exhibit of painted rooms in the hotel by emerging artists.  

Free. Daily, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. 447 Bush St., San Francisco. (415) 956-4322, www.sfhoteldesarts.com.< 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO  

"The Digital Liberation of G-d," ongoing. A permanent interactive media installation created by New York-based artist Helene Aylon, which examines the influences of patriarchal attitudes upon Jewish traditions and sacred texts.  

Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 3200 California St., San Francisco. (415) 292-1200, Box Office: (415) 292-1233, www.jccsf.org.< 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, BAYVIEW-ANNA E. WADEN BRANCH  

"Bayview's Historical Footprints," ongoing. A permanent photographic exhibition celebrating the diverse history of Bayview Hunters Point featuring multimedia oral histories from community elders.  

Free. Monday, Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wednesday, 1 p.m.-8 p.m.; Thursday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. 5075 Third St., San Francisco. (415) 355-5757, www.sfpl.org.< 

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN BRANCH  

"Digging Deep: Underneath San Francisco Public Library," ongoing. Exhibition collects archaeological remains from the Gold Rush-era cemetery and the ruins of old City Hall destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.  

Free. Monday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 557-4400, www.sfpl.org.<

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS  

"RV & Boat Show," through Jan. 17, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun. Hundreds of new and used RV and Boat products, dealers, manufacturer's reps, accessories and more. $10-$12; children 16 band under free. (925) 931-1890, www.rvshow.net. 

"Bay Island Bonsai's Annual Exhibit 2011," Jan. 15 and Jan. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. An exhibit of the finest bonsai trees in the United States. Event takes place in Hall of Commerce at the Fairgrounds. $5. (510) 919-5042, www.bayislandbonsai.com. 

4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton. (925) 426-7600, www.alamedacountyfair.com.< 

ASHKENAZ  

"I Like My Bike Night," ongoing. 9 p.m. First Fridays of the month. This monthly series brings bicycle innovators, enthusiasts, artists and organizations together under one roof, as well as encourages regular Ashkenaz show-goers to leave their cars in the driveway and arrive at the venue by bicycle instead. $8-$25.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.< 

AUCTIONS BY THE BAY  

"ArtiFacts: A Lecture Series for Collectors," ongoing. 3 p.m. First Sundays of the month Guest curators, scholars and conservation experts from throughout the Bay Area discuss the art of collecting. First Sunday of every month, 3 p.m. $7; includes a preview of the monthly estate auction which takes place the following day at 10am.  

Auctions by the Bay Theater-Auction House, 2700 Saratoga St., Alameda. (510) 835-6187, www.auctionsbythebay.com.< 

BAY AREA FREE BOOK EXCHANGE  

"Free Books," ongoing. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. - Sun. Donate your unwanted books and receive new titles for free.  

10520 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. (510) 526-1941, www.bayareafreebookexchange.com.< 

CALIFORNIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY AND LIBRARY  

"California Genealogical Society and Library Free First Saturday," ongoing. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Event takes place on the first Saturday of every month, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Trace and compile your family history at this month's open house event. Free. www.calgensoc.org. 

2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland. (510) 663-1358.< 

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  

HISTORY WALKABOUTS -- Ongoing. A series of walking tours that explore the history, lore and architecture of California with veteran tour guide Gary Holloway. Walks are given on specific weekends. There is a different meeting place for each weekend and walks take place rain or shine so dress for the weather. Reservations and prepayment required. Meeting place will be given with confirmation of tour reservation. Call for details.  

678 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 357-1848, www.californiahistoricalsociety.org.< 

CALIFORNIA MAGIC THEATER  

"Dinner Theater Magic Show," ongoing. 7:30 p.m. Fri - Sat. Enter the joyous and bewildering world of illusion while chowing down on a home cooked meal. Each weekend features different professional magicians. Recommended for ages 13 and older. $54-$64 includes meal.  

729 Castro St., Martinez. (925) 374-0056, www.calmagic.com.< 

CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER State-of-the-art facility unifying science education activities around astronomy. Enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, indoor stargazing, outdoor telescope viewing and films. 

ASK JEEVES PLANETARIUM -- Ongoing. The planetarium features one of the most advanced star projectors in the world. A daily planetarium show is included with general admission. Call for current show schedule.  

"Two Small Pieces of glass," ongoing. Celebrating the International Year of Astronomy, this show examines the history of the telescope, beginning 400 years ago, with Galileo's discoveries. 

"Space NOW!", ongoing. Each week, this real-time ride through constellations, stars, and planets will reflect current happenings in our sky. Space NOW! will also tie in activities going on throughout the center. This is Chabot's first daytime guided tour of the universe. 

"Dawn of the Space Age," ongoing. Starting with the launch of Sputnik, this show covers important Russian space history as well as the American Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programs. Be transported to the International Space Station, the X-prize winning private space ship and on to future Mars exploration. 

"Sonic Vision," ongoing. Friday-Saturday, 9:15 p.m. This show uses the latest digital technology to illuminate the planetarium with colorful computer-generated imagery set to today's popular music, including Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Moby and more. 

"Astronaut," ongoing. What does it take to be part of the exploration of space? Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Narrated by Ewan McGregor. 25 min. 

"Tales Of The Maya Skies," ongoing. A full-dome planetarium show that explores the cosmology of the ancient Maya, along with their culture and their contributions to astronomy. 

CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER -- Ongoing. "Escape from the Red Planet,'' a cooperative venture for families and groups of up to 14 people, age 8 and up. The scenario on this one hour mission: You are the crew of a shuttle to Mars that has been severely damaged in a crash landing. Your replacement crew is gone, the worst dust storm ever recorded on Mars approaches, and air, food, and water are extremely low. The mission: get the shuttle working again and into orbit before the dust storm hits. Reservations required. Children age 8-12 must be accompanied by an adult; not appropriate for children under age 8. $12-$15; Does not include general admission to the Center. Reservations: (510) 336-7421.Ongoing.  

"Dinner, Movie and the Universe," ongoing. Every Friday and Saturday evening. Enjoy a bistro-style dinner, then cozy up for a film in the 70-foot MegaDome theater and end the evening with a telescope viewing. Call to purchase general admission tickets and to make dinner reservations. (510) 336-7373. 

"Tales of the Maya Skies," ongoing. A companion exhibit for the planetarium show which features the scientific achievements and cosmology of the Maya. All content is bilingual in English and Spanish. 

"One giant leap: a moon odyssey," ongoing. For all astronaut wannabees -take a simulated Moon-walk, try on a space helmet, climb into a Mercury capsule and land a lunar module in this hands-on exhibit that explores the legends and science fiction about the Moon. 

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," ongoing. This new permanent exhibit honors the 123-year history of Chabot and its telescopes. The observatory is one of the oldest public observatories in the United States. The exhibit covers the three different sites of the observatory over its history as well as how its historic telescopes continue to be operated today. Included are informative graphic panels, multimedia kiosks, interactive computer programs, hands-on stations, and historic artifacts. 

"Beyond Blastoff," ongoing. Get a glimpse into the life of an astronaut and experience the mixture of exhilaration, adventure, and confinement that is living and working in space. 

"Destination Universe," ongoing. Take a journey from our Sun to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. 

"Bill Nye's climate lab," ongoing. Features Emmy-award-winning Bill Nye the Climate Guy as commander of the Clean Energy Space Station, and invites visitors on an urgent mission to thwart climate change. 

TIEN MEGADOME SCIENCE THEATER -- Ongoing. A 70-foot dome-screen auditorium. Show times subject to change. Call for current show schedule. Price with paid general admission is $6-$7. Theater only: $7-$8. (510) 336-7373, www.ticketweb.com. 

"Dinosaurs Alive," ongoing. A global adventure of science and discovery, featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous, "reincarnated" life-sized for the giant screen. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. From the exotic, trackless expanses and sand dunes of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to the dramatic sandstone buttes of New Mexico, the film will follow American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest dinosaur finds in history. 

"Mysteries of Egypt," ongoing. Experience the magic and majesty of Egypt as never before. Soar over the great pyramids of Giza, cross the Valley of the Kings, and descend into the shadowy chambers of the sacred tomb of King Tutankhamen. Suitable for families. 

Center Admission: $14.95; $10.95 children 3-12; free children under 3; $3 discount for seniors and students. Telescope viewing only: free. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Also open on Tuesdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after June 29. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 336-7300, www.chabotspace.org.< 

CIVIC PARK, WALNUT CREEK  

"Walnut Creek On Ice," through Jan. 17. A special holiday time outdoor ice skating rink. See website for complete details. www.walnut-creek.com. 

1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. < 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE ongoing. Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- Ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.< 

FRANK OGAWA PLAZA  

"Oakland Artisan Marketplace," ongoing. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays. The City of Oakland and Cultural Arts & Marketing Department presents a weekly market featuring fine arts and crafts of local artists. Free. (510) 238-4948, www.oaklandartisanmarketplace.org. 

14th Street and Broadway, Oakland. < 

JACK LONDON AQUATIC CENTER  

"Oakland Artisan Marketplace,"' ongoing. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays The City of Oakland and Cultural Arts & Marketing Department presents a weekly market featuring fine arts and crafts of local artists. Free. (510) 238-4948, www.oaklandartisanmarketplace.org. 

115 Embarcadero, Oakland. < 

JACK LONDON SQUARE  

"The Find: Vintage, Antique & Craft Fair," Jan. 15, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.  

Free.  

free. Foot of Broadway, Oakland. (866) 295-9853, www.jacklondonsquare.com.< 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE "NanoZone," ongoing. Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," ongoing. A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," ongoing. A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," ongoing. In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," ongoing. Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

HOLT PLANETARIUM Ongoing. Shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Programs recommended for ages 6 and up unless otherwise noted. $2.50-$3 in addition to general admission.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.< 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE ongoing. Exploring cinema from the Bay Area and cultures around the world, the Pacific Film Archive offers daily film screenings, including rare and rediscovered prints of movie classics; new and historic works by world famous directors; restored silent films with live musical accompaniment; retrospectives; and new and experimental works. Check Web site for a full schedule of films.  

"First Impressions: Free First Thursdays," first Thursday of every month. Special tours and movie presentations. Admission is free. 

Single feature: $5-$8; Double feature: $9-$12 general. PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-5249, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu.< 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, MORRISON LIBRARY  

"Lunch Poems," ongoing. 12:10-12:50 p.m. First Thursdays of each month  

2600 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-3671.< 

USS HORNET MUSEUM Come aboard this World War II aircraft carrier that has been converted into a floating museum. The Hornet, launched in 1943, is 899 feet long and 27 stories high. During World War II she was never hit by an enemy strike or plane and holds the Navy record for number of enemy planes shot down in a week. In 1969 the Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the first men to walk on the moon, and later recovered Apollo 12. In 1991 the Hornet was designated a National Historic Landmark and is now docked at the same pier she sailed from in 1944. Today, visitors can tour the massive ship, view World War II-era warplanes and experience a simulated aircraft launch from the carrier's deck. Exhibits are being added on an ongoing basis. Allow two to three hours for a visit. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb steep stairs or ladders. Dress in layers as the ship can be cold. Arrive no later than 2 p.m. to sign up for the engine room and other docent-led tours. Children under age 12 are not allowed in the Engine Room or the Combat Information Center. "Limited Access Day," ongoing. Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," ongoing. A former Landing Signal Officer will show children how to bring in a fighter plane for a landing on the deck then let them try the signals themselves. Times vary. Free with regular Museum admission.  

"Protestant Divine Services," ongoing. Hornet chaplain John Berger conducts church services aboard The Hornet in the Wardroom Lounge. Everyone is welcome and refreshments are served immediately following the service. Sundays, 11 a.m.Ongoing. Closed on New Year's Day. 

"Family Day," ongoing. Discounted admission for families of four with a further discount for additional family members. Access to some of the areas may be limited due to ship maintenance. Every Tuesday. $20 for family of four; $5 for each additional family member. 

"History Mystery After Hours Tour," ongoing. 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Explore the USS Hornet after hours and learn the history of this ship while it is illuminated in red lights used for "night ops." Also, hear stories about the ships' legendary haunts. Reservations required. (510) 521-8448 X282. 

"Flashlight Tour," ongoing. 8:30 a.m. Receive a special tour of areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public or that have limited access during the day. $30-$35 per person. 

"Living Ship Day," Jan. 15. Kick off the Celebration of the 100th year of Naval Aviation with guest speakers; special exhibit openings and simulated flight operations. Participate in mission briefings; meet former crew; and sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet! 

$6-$14; free children age 4 and under with a paying adult. Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Pier 3 (enter on Atlantic Avenue), Alameda Point, Alameda. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.< 

ZELLERBACH HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Wallace Shawn, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. The award-winning playwright and actor comes to the Strictly Speaking series to talk about his long and successful career. $22-$40.  

UC Berkeley campus, Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 642-9988.<

CARMEN FLORES RECREATION CENTER  

"El Corazon de la Communidad: The Heart of the Community", ongoing. Painted by Joaquin Alejandro Newman, this mural installation consists of four 11-foot panels that mix ancient Meso-American and contemporary imagery to pay homage to local activists Carmen Flores and Josie de la Cruz.  

Free unless otherwise noted. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. 1637 Fruitvale Ave., Oakland. (510) 535-5631.< 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE "NanoZone," ongoing. Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," ongoing. A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," ongoing. A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," ongoing. In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," ongoing. Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

"Kapla," ongoing. The hands-on exhibit features thousands of versatile building blocks that can be used to build very large, high and stable structures and models of bridges, buildings, animals or anything else your mind can conceive.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.< 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital.Ongoing.  

SPECIAL EVENTS Ongoing.  

$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

OAKLAND ASIAN CULTURAL CENTER  

"Oakland's 19th-Century San Pablo Avenue Chinatown," ongoing. A permanent exhibit of new findings about the rediscovered Chinatown on San Pablo Avenue. The exhibit aims to inform visitors about the upcoming archaeological work planned to explore the lives of early Chinese pioneers in the 1860s.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290, Oakland. (510) 637-0455, www.oacc.cc.< 

OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT  

"Going Away, Coming Home," ongoing. A 160-foot public art installation by Mills College art professor Hung Liu. Liu hand painted 80 red-crowned cranes onto 65 panels of glass that were then fired, tempered and paired with background panes that depict views of a satellite photograph, ranging from the western United States to the Asia Pacific Area. Terminal 2.  

Free. Daily, 24 hours, unless otherwise noted. Oakland International Airport, 1 Airport Drive, Oakland. (510) 563-3300, www.flyoakland.com.<

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission.  

ONGOING PROGRAMS --  

"Blacksmithing," Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Watch a blacksmith turn iron into useful tools.  

"Horse-Drawn Train," Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A 20-minute ride departs from Ardenwood Station and Deer Park.  

"Animal Feeding," Thursday-Sunday, 3-4 p.m. Help slop the hogs, check the henhouse for eggs and bring hay to the livestock.  

"Victorian Flower Arranging," Thursday, 10:15-11:30 a.m. Watch as Ardenwood docents create floral works of art for display in the Patterson House. "Potato Harvesting," ongoing. Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

"Country Kitchen Cookin'," ongoing. Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy the flavor of the past with treats cooked on Ardenwood's wood burning stove. Sample food grown on the farm and discover the history of your favorite oldtime snacks. 

"Horse-Drawn Train Rides," ongoing. Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Meet Jigs or Tucker the Belgian Draft horses that pull Ardenwood's train. Check the daily schedule and meet the train at Ardenwood Station or Deer Park. 

"Animal Feeding," ongoing. Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Feed the pigs, check for eggs and bring hay to the livestock. 

"Toddler Time," ongoing. Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m. Bring the tiny tots out for an exciting morning at the farm. Meet and learn all about a new animal friend through stories, chores and fun.  

$1-$5; free children under age 4. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. (510) 796-0199, (510) 796-0663, www.ebparks.org.< 

ASHKENAZ  

Four Shillings Short, Jan. 16, 3 p.m. $4-$6.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.< 

BAY POINT LIBRARY  

"Monthly Craft Night," ongoing. 4-5 p.m. Last Friday of every month. Each month features a different themed craft.  

Riverview Middle School, 205 Pacifica Ave., Pittsburg. (925) 458-9597.< 

BLACKHAWK MUSEUM ongoing.  

AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM -- The museum's permanent exhibition of internationally renowned automobiles dated from 1897 to the 1980s. The cars are displayed as works of art with room to walk completely around each car to admire the workmanship. On long-term loan from the Smithsonian Institution is a Long Steam Tricycle; an 1893-94 Duryea, the first Duryea built by the Duryea brothers; and a 1948 Tucker, number 39 of the 51 Tuckers built, which is a Model 48 "Torpedo'' four-door sedan. "International Automotive Treasures," ongoing. An ever-changing exhibit featuring over 90 automobiles.  

"A Journey on Common Ground," ongoing. An exhibit of moving photographs, video and art objects from around the world exploring the causes of disability and the efforts of the Wheelchair Foundation to provide a wheelchair for every person in need who cannot afford one. Free Public Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Docent-led guided tours of the museum's exhibitions. 

$5-$8; free for children ages 6 and under. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville. (925) 736-2280, (925) 736-2277, www.blackhawkmuseum.org.< 

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP ongoing. An interactive place where children, and adults, can learn how a stuffed animal is made, then choose an animal pattern from the offering of bears, elephants, dogs and rabbits; stuff the chosen animal; dress it; and create a birth certificate. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

$10-$25; clothing and accessories extra. Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Broadway Plaza, 1248 Broadway, Walnut Creek. (925) 946-4697, www.buildabear.com.< 

CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER State-of-the-art facility unifying science education activities around astronomy. Enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, indoor stargazing, outdoor telescope viewing and films. 

ASK JEEVES PLANETARIUM -- ongoing. The planetarium features one of the most advanced star projectors in the world. A daily planetarium show is included with general admission. Call for current show schedule.  

"Astronaut," ongoing. What does it take to be part of the exploration of space? Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to maneuvering through microscopic regions of the human body. Narrated by Ewan McGregor. 25 min. 

"Space NOW!", ongoing. Each week, this real-time ride through constellations, stars, and planets will reflect current happenings in our sky. Space NOW! will also tie in activities going on throughout the center. This is Chabot's first daytime guided tour of the universe. 

"Two Small Pieces of glass," ongoing. Celebrating the International Year of Astronomy, this show examines the history of the telescope, beginning 400 years ago, with Galileo's discoveries. 

"Dawn of the Space Age," ongoing. Starting with the launch of Sputnik, this show covers important Russian space history as well as the American Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programs. Be transported to the International Space Station, the X-prize winning private space ship and on to future Mars exploration. 

"Sonic Vision," ongoing. Friday-Saturday, 9:15 p.m. This show uses the latest digital technology to illuminate the planetarium with colorful computer-generated imagery set to today's popular music, including Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Moby and more. 

"Tales Of The Maya Skies," ongoing. A full-dome planetarium show that explores the cosmology of the ancient Maya, along with their culture and their contributions to astronomy."One giant leap: a moon odyssey," ongoing. For all astronaut wannabees -take a simulated Moon-walk, try on a space helmet, climb into a Mercury capsule and land a lunar module in this hands-on exhibit that explores the legends and science fiction about the Moon. 

"Bill Nye's climate lab," ongoing. Features Emmy-award-winning Bill Nye the Climate Guy as commander of the Clean Energy Space Station, and invites visitors on an urgent mission to thwart climate change. 

"Destination Universe," ongoing. Take a journey from our Sun to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. 

"Dinner, Movie and the Universe," ongoing. Every Friday and Saturday evening. Enjoy a bistro-style dinner, then cozy up for a film in the 70-foot MegaDome theater and end the evening with a telescope viewing. Call to purchase general admission tickets and to make dinner reservations. (510) 336-7373. 

"Beyond Blastoff," ongoing. Get a glimpse into the life of an astronaut and experience the mixture of exhilaration, adventure, and confinement that is living and working in space. 

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," ongoing. This new permanent exhibit honors the 123-year history of Chabot and its telescopes. The observatory is one of the oldest public observatories in the United States. The exhibit covers the three different sites of the observatory over its history as well as how its historic telescopes continue to be operated today. Included are informative graphic panels, multimedia kiosks, interactive computer programs, hands-on stations, and historic artifacts. 

"Tales of the Maya Skies," ongoing. A companion exhibit for the planetarium show which features the scientific achievements and cosmology of the Maya. All content is bilingual in English and Spanish. 

TIEN MEGADOME SCIENCE THEATER -- ongoing. A 70-foot dome-screen auditorium. Show times subject to change. Call for current show schedule. Price with paid general admission is $6-$7. Theater only: $7-$8. (510) 336-7373, www.ticketweb.com. 

"Dinosaurs Alive," ongoing. A global adventure of science and discovery, featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous, "reincarnated" life-sized for the giant screen. Audiences will journey with some of the world's preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us. From the exotic, trackless expanses and sand dunes of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to the dramatic sandstone buttes of New Mexico, the film will follow American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest dinosaur finds in history. 

"Mysteries of Egypt," ongoing. Experience the magic and majesty of Egypt as never before. Soar over the great pyramids of Giza, cross the Valley of the Kings, and descend into the shadowy chambers of the sacred tomb of King Tutankhamen. Suitable for families. 

Center Admission: $14.95; $10.95 children 3-12; free children under 3; $3 discount for seniors and students. Telescope viewing only: free. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Also open on Tuesdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. after June 29. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 336-7300, www.chabotspace.org.< 

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND A fairy tale theme park featuring more than 30 colorful fantasy sets. Designed especially for children ages 10 and under, there are gentle rides, a train, the "Peter Rabbit Village,'' puppet shows, story-telling and lots of slides and animals. Admission price includes unlimited rides, special shows, guest entertainers and puppet shows.  

OLD WEST JUNCTION -- Children's Fairyland's newest attraction is a Wild West-themed town sized just for children, with a livery stable, bank, jail and a water tower slide.  

PUPPET SHOWS -- Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. All shows are at the Open Storybook Theatre. Free with regular Fairyland admission.  

ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTER -- Activities on Saturday and Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.  

ANIMAL OF THE DAY -- Saturday and Sunday, 1-1:20 p.m. at the Humpty Dumpty Wall. Learn about one of Fairyland's animal friends."Arts and Crafts," ongoing. Noon-3 p.m. Event features arts and crafts projects for children and their families. $6. 

"Animal of the Day!" ongoing. Saturdays and Sundays, 1-1:20 p.m. Come up close and learn about Fairyland's creatures. 

$6; free for children under age 1; $2 for a Magic Key. No adult admitted without a child and no child admitted without an adult. Summer (June through Labor Day): Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fall and Spring: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Winter: Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CLOSED DEC. 25-JAN. 4. 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. (510) 452-2259, www.fairyland.org.< 

CIVIC PARK, WALNUT CREEK  

"Walnut Creek On Ice," through Jan. 17. A special holiday time outdoor ice skating rink. See website for complete details. www.walnut-creek.com. 

1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. < 

CRAB COVE VISITOR CENTER At Crab Cove, you can see live underwater creatures and go into the San Francisco Bay from land. You can also travel back in time to Alameda's part. The goal is to increase understanding of the environmental importance of San Francisco Bay and the ocean ecosystem. Crab Cove's Indoor Aquarium and Exhibit Lab is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the East Bay."Sea Squirts," ongoing. 10-11:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Discover the wonders of nature with your little one. Registration is required. $6-$8. 

"Catch of the Day," ongoing. Sundays, 2-3 p.m. Drop by to find out more about the Bay and its wildlife through guided exploration and hands-on fun. 

"Sea Siblings," ongoing. Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Explore the natural world and take part in a theme related craft. Designed for the 3-5 year old learner. Registration is required. $4. (888) 327-2757. 

Free unless otherwise noted; parking fee may be charged. 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-6887, www.ebparks.org.< 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

"Very First Concerts," Jan. 17, 11 a.m. and noon. Concerts featuring a central theme, short selections, and hands-on activities geared towards families with young children. Free.  

1475 Rose St., Berkeley. (510) 559-6910, www.crowden.org.< 

DUNSMUIR HOUSE AND GARDENS HISTORIC ESTATE ongoing. Nestled in the Oakland hills, the 50-acre Dunsmuir House and Gardens estate includes the 37-room Neoclassical Revival Dunsmuir Mansion, built by coal and lumber baron Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride. Restored outbuildings set amid landscaped gardens surround the mansion.  

ESTATE GROUNDS -- ongoing. Self-Guided Grounds Tours are available yearround. The 50 acres of gardens and grounds at the mansion are open to the public for walking Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Booklets and maps of the grounds are available at the Dinkelspiel House. Free.  

GUIDED TOURS -- Docent-led tours are available on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (except for July) and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. $5 adults, $4 seniors and juniors (11-16), children 11 and under free. 

Dunsmuir House and Gardens, 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland. (510) 615-5555, www.dunsmuir.org.< 

FOREST HOME FARMS ongoing. The 16-acre former farm of the Boone family is now a municipal historic park in San Ramon. It is located at the base of the East Bay Hills and is divided into two parts by Oak Creek. The Boone House is a 22-room Dutch colonial that has been remodeled several times since it was built in 1900. Also on the property are a barn built in the period from 1850 to 1860; the Victorian-style David Glass House, dating from the late 1860s to early 1870s; a storage structure for farm equipment and automobiles; and a walnut processing plant. 

Free unless otherwise noted. Public tours available by appointment. 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon. (925) 973-3281, www.ci.sanramon. ca.us/parks/boone.htm.< 

HABITOT CHILDREN'S MUSEUM A museum especially for children ages 7 and under. Highlights include "WaterWorks,'' an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. "Waterworks." A water play gallery with rivers, a pumping station and a water table, designed to teach about water.  

"Little Town Grocery and Cafe." Designed to create the ambience of shopping in a grocery store and eating in a restaurant.  

"Infant-Toddler Garden." A picket fence gated indoor area, which includes a carrot patch with wooden carrots to be harvested, a pretend pond and a butterfly mobile to introduce youngsters to the concept of food, gardening and agriculture.  

"Dramatic Arts Stage." Settings, backdrops and costumes coincide with seasonal events and holidays. Children can exercise their dramatic flair here.  

"Wiggle Wall." The floor-to-ceiling "underground'' tunnels give children a worm's eye view of the world. The tunnels are laced with net covered openings and giant optic lenses.$6-$7. Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Closed Sunday-Tuesday. 2065 Kittredge St., Berkeley. (510) 647-1111, www.habitot.org.< 

HALL OF HEALTH ongoing. A community health-education museum and science center promoting wellness and individual responsibility for health. There are hands-on exhibits that teach about the workings of the human body, the value of a healthy diet and exercise, and the destructive effects of smoking and drug abuse. "Kids on the Block'' puppet shows, which use puppets from diverse cultures to teach about and promote acceptance of conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, leukemia, blindness, arthritis and spina bifida, are available by request for community events and groups visiting the Hall on Saturdays. "This Is Your Heart!" ongoing. An interactive exhibit on heart health.  

"Good Nutrition," ongoing. This exhibit includes models for making balanced meals and an Exercycle for calculating how calories are burned.  

"Draw Your Own Insides," ongoing. Human-shaped chalkboards and models with removable organs allow visitors to explore the inside of their bodies.  

"Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention," ongoing. An exhibit on understanding how cells become cancerous and how to detect and prevent cancer. 

Suggested $3 donation; free for children under age 3. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 2230 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-1564, www.hallofhealth.org.< 

HAYWARD SHORELINE INTERPRETIVE CENTER Perched on stilts above a salt marsh, the Center offers an introduction to the San Francisco Bay-Estuary. It features exhibits, programs and activities designed to inspire a sense of appreciation, respect and stewardship for the Bay, its inhabitants and the services they provide. The Habitat Room offers a preview of what may be seen outside. The 80-gallon Bay Tank contains some of the fish that live in the Bay's open waters, and the Channel Tank represents habitats formed by the maze of sloughs and creeks that snake through the marsh. The main room of the Center features rotating exhibits about area history, plants and wildlife. Part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District. "Exploring Nature," ongoing. An exhibit of Shawn Gould's illustrations featuring images of the natural world."Nature Detectives," ongoing. 11 a.m.-noon. An introduction and exploration of the world of Black-Crowned Night-Herons. Ages 3-5 and their caregivers. Registration required. 

"Weekend Weed Warriors," ongoing. 1-4 p.m. Help the shoreline to eliminate the non-native plants that threaten its diversity. Ages 12 and older. Registration required. 

"Waterfowl of the Freshwater Marsh," ongoing. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Join an expert birder to go "behind the gates'' to areas of the marsh that are not open to the public. 

Free. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward. (510) 670-7270, www.hard.dst.ca.us/hayshore.html.< 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY  

"Shabbat Celebration for Young Children," ongoing. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Join other families with young children to sharethis weekly Jewish holiday of joy and renewal.  

1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. (510) 848-0237, www.jcceastbay.org/.< 

JUNIOR CENTER OF ART AND SCIENCE ongoing. A center dedicated to encouraging children's active wonder and creative response through artistic and scientific exploration of their natural urban environment. The center's classes, workshops, exhibits and events integrate art and science. Three educational exhibits are mounted in the "Children's Gallery'' each year. A docent-led tour, demonstrations, hands-on activities and art projects are available to school groups throughout the year.  

"Jake's Discovery Garden," ongoing. Jake's Discovery Garden is a new interactive studio exhibit designed for preschool-aged children and their adult caregivers that teaches young visitors about the natural environments found in their backyards, playgrounds and neighborhoods.Free; programs and special exhibits have a fee. September through May: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June through August: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 558 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. (510) 839-5777, www.juniorcenter.org.< 

LA PENA CULTURAL CENTER  

"The Rubinoos Junior Show," Jan. 22, 10:30 a.m. $4-$5.  

Free unless otherwise noted. 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org.< 

LAKE CHABOT REGIONAL PARK ongoing. The 315-acre lake offers year-round recreation. Services include canoe and boat rental, horseshoe pits, hiking, bicycling, picnicking and seasonal tours aboard the Chabot Queen. For boat rentals, call (510) 247-2526. 

Free unless noted otherwise; $5 parking; $2 per dog except guide/service dogs. Daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 17930 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE "NanoZone," ongoing. Discover the science of the super-small: nanotechnology. Through hands-on activities and games, explore this microworld and the scientific discoveries made in this area.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," ongoing. A science park that shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building. You can ride earthquake simulators, set erosion in motion and look far out into the bay with a powerful telescope from 1,100 feet above sea level. The center of the exhibit is a waterfall that demonstrates how water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay. Visitors can control where the water goes. There are also hands-on erosion tables, and a 40-foot-long, 6-foothigh, rock compression wall.  

"Real Astronomy Experience," ongoing. A new exhibit-in-development allowing visitors to use the tools that real astronomers use. Aim a telescope at a virtual sky and operate a remote-controlled telescope to measure a planet.  

"Biology Lab," ongoing. In the renovated Biology Lab visitors may hold and observe gentle animals. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

"The Idea Lab," ongoing. Experiment with some of the basics of math, science and technology through hands-on activities and demonstrations of magnets, spinning and flying, puzzles and nanotechnology.  

"Math Around the World," ongoing. Play some of the world's most popular math games, such as Hex, Kalah, Game Sticks and Shongo Networks.  

"Math Rules," ongoing. Use simple and colorful objects to complete interesting challenges in math through predicting, sorting, comparing, weighing and counting.  

HOLT PLANETARIUM ongoing. Shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Programs recommended for ages 6 and up unless otherwise noted. $2.50-$3 in addition to general admission.  

$6-$12; free children ages 2 and under. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. University of California, Centennial Drive, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org.< 

LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUM This is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation center in America, taking in 6,000 injured and orphaned animals yearly and returning 40 percent of them to the wild. The museum offers a wide range of educational programs using non-releasable wild animals to teach children and adults respect for the balance of nature. The museum includes a state-of-the art wildlife hospital which features a permanent exhibit, titled "Living with Nature,'' which houses 75 non-releasable wild animals in learning environments; a 5,000-square-foot Wildlife Hospital complete with treatment rooms, intensive care, quarantine and laboratory facilities; a 1-acre Nature Garden featuring the region's native landscaping and wildlife; and an "Especially For Children'' exhibit.  

WILDLIFE HOSPITAL -- September-March: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hospital is open daily including holidays to receive injured and orphaned animals. There is no charge for treatment of native wild animals and there are no public viewing areas in the hospital.$5-$7; free children under age 2. June 16-Sept. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.; Sept. 16-June 15: noon.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 935-1978, www.wildlife-museum.org.< 

MUSEUM OF CHILDREN'S ART A museum of art for and by children, with activities for children to participate in making their own art.  

ART CAMPS -- Hands-on activities and engaging curriculum for children of different ages, led by professional artists and staff. $60 per day.  

CLASSES -- A Sunday series of classes for children ages 8 to 12, led by Mocha artists. Sundays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

OPEN STUDIOS -- Drop-in art play activities with new themes each week.  

"Big Studio." Guided art projects for children age 6 and older with a Mocha artist. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. $5.  

"Little Studio." A hands-on experience that lets young artists age 18 months to 5 years see, touch and manipulate a variety of media. Children can get messy. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $5.  

"Family Weekend Studios." Drop-in art activities for the whole family. All ages welcome. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. $5 per child.  

FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZAS -- Special weekend workshops for the entire family.  

"Sunday Workshops with Illustrators," Sundays, 1 p.m. See the artwork and meet the artists who create children's book illustrations. Free."Saturday Stories," ongoing. 1 p.m. For children ages 2-5. Free."Saturday Stories," ongoing. 1 p.m. For ages 2-5. Free. 

Free gallery admission. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 538 Ninth St., Oakland. (510) 465-8770, www.mocha.org.< 

PIXIELAND AMUSEMENT PARK ongoing. This amusement park for children features pixie-sized rides such as a dragon roller coaster, swirling tea cups, a carousel, red baron airplanes, an antique car ride and a miniature train among other attractions sure to please the little ones. Classic carnival-style food and souvenirs round out the experience. Admission to the park is free; ride tickets are $1.25 each or 10 tickets for $10; Day wrist band for unlimited rides, $25. Specials and season passes are also available. 

Dec. 1-12 2010: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Closed Dec. 13-Jan. 8. 2740 E. Olivera Road, Concord. (925) 689-8841, www.pixieland.com.< 

POINT PINOLE REGIONAL SHORELINE ongoing. The 2,315-acre parkland bordering Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo offers views of Mount Tamalpais, the Marin shoreline and San Pablo Bay. There are trails through meadows and woods, and along the bluffs and beaches of San Pablo Bay. Visitors can hike, ride bikes or take the park's shuttle bus to reach the 1,250-foot fishing pier at Point Pinole. 

$5 per vehicle; $4 per trailered vehicle; $2 per dog (guide/service dogs free). Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted. Giant Highway, Richmond. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

PREWETT FAMILY WATERPARK ongoing. There are pools and water slides for all ages, from the Tad Pool for toddlers to Boulder cove for older swimmers. In addition to fun pools and slides there are fitness pools for lessons and exercise, lawns for relaxing, locker rooms, community room and kitchen. Lap lanes are open year round. Food and beverages are not permitted in the park. Picnic tables are available outside the park. 

$4-$11. Sunday through Friday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Aug.23-27, 30-31. 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch. (925) 776-3070, www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CitySvcs/Prewett.< 

ROBERT SIBLEY VOLCANIC REGIONAL PRESERVE ongoing. East Bay residents have several volcanoes in their backyard. This park contains Round Top, one of the highest peaks in the Oakland Hills. 

Free. Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6800 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

SHADOW CLIFFS REGIONAL RECREATION AREA ongoing. The 296-acre park includes an 80-acre lake and a four-flume waterslide, with picnic grounds and a swimming beach. Water slide fees and hours: (925) 829-6230. 

$6 per vehicle; $2 per dog except guide and service dogs. May 1 through Labor Day: daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; shortened hours for fall and winter. Stanley Boulevard, one mile from downtown, Pleasanton. (510) 562-PARK, www.ebparks.org.< 

SULPHUR CREEK NATURE CENTER A wildlife rehabilitation and education facility where injured and orphaned local wild creatures are rehabilitated and released when possible. There is also a lending library of animals such as guinea pigs, rats, mice and more. The lending fee is $8 per week. "Toddler Time," ongoing. Learn about animals by listening to stories and exploring. Themes vary by month. Call for schedule. $7 per family.  

"Day on the Green Animal Presentations," ongoing. Meet an assortment of wild and domestic animals. Wildlife volunteers will present a different animal each day from possums to snakes, tortoises to hawks. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 

CHILDREN'S EVENTS -- ongoing.  

Free. Park: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Discovery Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Animal Lending Library: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1801 D St., Hayward. (510) 881-6747, www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html.< 

USS HORNET MUSEUM Come aboard this World War II aircraft carrier that has been converted into a floating museum. The Hornet, launched in 1943, is 899 feet long and 27 stories high. During World War II she was never hit by an enemy strike or plane and holds the Navy record for number of enemy planes shot down in a week. In 1969 the Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule containing the first men to walk on the moon, and later recovered Apollo 12. In 1991 the Hornet was designated a National Historic Landmark and is now docked at the same pier she sailed from in 1944. Today, visitors can tour the massive ship, view World War II-era warplanes and experience a simulated aircraft launch from the carrier's deck. Exhibits are being added on an ongoing basis. Allow two to three hours for a visit. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb steep stairs or ladders. Dress in layers as the ship can be cold. Arrive no later than 2 p.m. to sign up for the engine room and other docent-led tours. Children under age 12 are not allowed in the Engine Room or the Combat Information Center. "Limited Access Day," ongoing. Due to ship maintenance, tours of the navigation bridge and the engine room are not available. Tuesdays.  

"Flight Deck Fun," ongoing. A former Landing Signal Officer will show children how to bring in a fighter plane for a landing on the deck then let them try the signals themselves. Times vary. Free with regular Museum admission.  

"Protestant Divine Services," ongoing. Hornet chaplain John Berger conducts church services aboard The Hornet in the Wardroom Lounge. Everyone is welcome and refreshments are served immediately following the service. Sundays, 11 a.m.Closed on New Year's Day. 

"Family Day," ongoing. Discounted admission for families of four with a further discount for additional family members. Access to some of the areas may be limited due to ship maintenance. Every Tuesday. $20 for family of four; $5 for each additional family member. 

"History Mystery After Hours Tour," ongoing. 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Explore the USS Hornet after hours and learn the history of this ship while it is illuminated in red lights used for "night ops." Also, hear stories about the ships' legendary haunts. Reservations required. (510) 521-8448 X282. 

"Flashlight Tour," ongoing. 8:30 a.m. Receive a special tour of areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public or that have limited access during the day. $30-$35 per person. 

"Living Ship Day," Jan. 15. Kick off the Celebration of the 100th year of Naval Aviation with guest speakers; special exhibit openings and simulated flight operations. Participate in mission briefings; meet former crew; and sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet! 

$6-$14; free children age 4 and under with a paying adult. Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Pier 3 (enter on Atlantic Avenue), Alameda Point, Alameda. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.< 

WATERWORLD CALIFORNA ongoing. ` 

$19.95-$31.95 General Admission; Season pass: $39.99-$59.99. Park closes in October and reopens in May. 1950 Waterworld Parkway,, Concord. (925) 609-1364, www.waterworldcalifornia.com.<

ASHKENAZ  

Tri Tip Trio, Jan. 18, 8:30 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10.  

The Helladelics, Disciples of Markos, Jan. 20, 8:30 p.m. Balkan/Greek dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. $10.  

Baguette Quartette, Jan. 22, 9 p.m. Parisian dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10-$13.  

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.< 

ELKS LODGE, ALAMEDA  

"All You Can Dance Sunday Socials," ongoing. Sunday, 4-6 p.m. Marilyn Bowe and Robert Henneg presents monthly socials with ballroom, swing, Latin and rock & roll themes. www.dancewithme.info. 

2255 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. (510) 864-2256.< 

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

"King of King's," ongoing. 9 p.m. Sun. $10.  

"Live Salsa," ongoing. Wednesdays. An evening of dancing to the music of a live salsa band. Salsa dance lessons from 8-9:30 p.m. $5-$10.  

Rumbache, Jan. 19, 8 p.m. Salsa dance lessons at 8:30 p.m.  

2284 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1159, www.shattuckdownlow.com.< 

SOLAD DANCE CENTER  

"Persian Dance," ongoing. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Rosa Rojas offers traditional dance classes. $10.  

Citrus Marketplace, 2260 Oak Grove Rd., Walnut Creek. (925) 938-3300.< 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

"Ceili and Dance," ongoing. Traditional Irish music and dance. The evening begins with a dance lesson at 7 p.m. followed by music at 9 p.m. Mondays, 7 p.m. Free.  

For ages 21 and over unless otherwise noted. Sunday and Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082, www.starryploughpub.com.< 

UPTOWN NIGHTCLUB  

"Hella Gay," Jan. 15, 9 p.m. $7.  

1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 451-8100, www.uptownnightclub.com.<