The first annual Peace Heroine Awards for women peace and social activists over age 70 will be awarded at noon on Mar. 9 at the Marine Recruiting Station, Shattuck Sq. Berkeley. As Pamela Sihvola said when nominating Gene Bernardi, these women “personify peace and social justice.” The 41 award winners include veteran members of EBCOSSI (East Bay Coalition to Support Self-Rule for Iraqis), Grandmothers Against the War, Women for Peace, Veterans for Peace, the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, Gray Panthers, Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, California Alliance for Retired Americans, CODEPINK, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women in Black, Cop Watch, US Labor Against the War, the women's movement, the single payer health care movement, and many more. 

On the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, this is a fitting tribute to local women who deserve recognition," said Cynthia Papermaster of CODEPINK. 

Peace Heroine Sheila Goldmacher said, “I have been a political activist all my life starting at 18 when I worked in Adlai Stevenson's campaign for the presidency. My last demo was at the B of A this past week on Telegraph and Durant...Very satisfying.” 

2011 Peace Heroines include Gene Bernardi, whose victories include ending above-ground nuclear testing and winning a class action lawsuit against the Forest Service for sex discrimination, Rita Moran, Berkeley Peace and Social Justice Commissioner, Ann Fagan Ginger, executive director emeritus of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, nonagenarians Doris Lester, Madeline Duckles and Eva Bustein, videographers Margot Smith and Francesca Roveda, Leeza Vinogradov, co-coordinator of CODEPINK's East Bay Chapter, and Mary Prophet, co chair of the CA Teacher's Assoc. Peace and Justice Caucus. 

2011 Peace Heroines: Rita Moran, Dolores Helman, Doris Lester, Sheila Goldmacher, Jaye Scott, Jane Miller, Jeanne Dritz, Jane Welford, Leeza Vinogradov, Ann Fagan Ginger, June Brumer, Madeline Duckles, Jean Lieber, Martha Lehrman, Coreen Thornton, Lenore Velfort, Juliette Bidou, Avis Worthington, Eva Blustein, Ruthie McQuire, Gene Bernardi, Frances Rachel, Margot Smith, Christa Von Blackensee, Helen Isaacson, Miriam Blumberg, June Spiro, Myrna Schnur, Norma Harrison, Ying Lee, Grace Severtson , Francesca Roveda, Nancy Hanawi, Lorene Lamb, Judy Nakadegawa, Soula Culver, Laura Santina, Mary Prophet, Tobey Wiebe, Evelyn Belson, Juanita Neilands, Addie Bianchi, Florence Hicks. 

CODEPINK Women for Peace is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S. funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. The Golden Gate Chapter serves the SF Bay Area.

[Sent at 5:17 p.m.] On March 8, 2011, just after 1:00 pm, the Berkeley Police Department received a call of “loud reports” in the area of the 1600 block of Blake St. 

Officers investigating the call ultimately located an unresponsive adult male, apparently shot, in the rear yard of a house on the 1600 block of Blake St. Berkeley Fire Department paramedics confirmed the victim’s death at the scene. 

Berkeley Police Homicide detectives are investigating the matter as a homicide. We are not releasing the identity of the deceased at this time. 

The investigation is in its earliest stages. We have no suspect information to share at this time. There have been no arrests in this case. 

Anyone who may have any information regarding this crime is urged to call the BPD Homicide Detail at (510) 981-5741 (office) or (510) 981-5900. 

We do not anticipate releasing any further information regarding this incident today. Sgt. Kusmiss will likely be back at work tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9.

The Contra Costa Times has reported that a dead man was found this afternoon in the back yard of 1634 Blake Street in Berkeley.

Poets David Gitin and George Mattingly will read for free at Moe's Books, 7:30 p. m. Wednesday March 9 (849-2089; moesbooks.com ), Gitin from his new collection The Journey Home, Poems 1962-2010, a Blue Wind Press book, published by Mattingly in Berkeley, who has also published other titles among Gitin's nine other books of poetry. 

(Gitin has other long-time Berkeley associations, including a stint in the late 60s-early 70s, working with Charles Amirkhanian, programming music and other cultural shows on KPFA-fm. He also co-founded, with poet Jim Wilson, Poets Theater at the Straight theater in the Haight Ashbury in the 1960s.) 

This reading gives a chance for local poetry readers to hear one of the country's finest--and most unusual--lyric poets read from what amounts to his collected poems, while on a visit to the West Coast, rare since moving to the Florida Keys after spending the better part of 45 years in the Bay Area and Monterey. Gitin's been praised by Allen Ginsberg, who called his poetry maybe the clearest possible, and Michael McClure, who referred to his mastery of subtle rhythms and his genius. John Cage has called Gitin's work beautiful. 

The Journey Home, which is usually described as a selected poems (it's not a complete collection by a long shot), is by far Gitin's most definitive assemblage of his poems so far--and has the unusual virtue of redefining his other books: they read differently since its publication. 

This comes in part from the ongoing rewriting and editing Gitin has always done with his work, usually compressing it, scaling it down in size but making it more expansive in scope, more musical in sound. Different matching-up of the same poems, often with newer ones or with unpublished or unreprinted work taken from the past, reveals new vistas: the poem "Touch" ("a feather/or a knife//at the crossroads/skin//of earth and fire//water and air//layer after layer"--which is the complete poem) is paired with "Sun Rays" ("sun rays/caught in our skins//tremble like snakes/and burst//horses through surf"--also complete) to end the fourth of five sections, "Sun Rays" being the compressed new version of a longer lyric in an older collection. 

This practice of remixing new with old is something Gitin shares with the late Carl Rakosi, Ezra Pound's favorite young American poet of the 1930s, a longtime friend of Gitin's, who died at 100 in San Francisco just a few years ago: 

For Carl Rakosi 

out/in the open//the shimmer of light/where the blacktop//appears to end/curves//to continue 

(Another complete poem ... many readers have commented on the haiku-like qualities of Gitin's spare poems, to which he's responded, "Sure!"--but cited other compressed lyric forms, like the epigrams in the Greek Anthology.) 

For a genuine take on haiku: 

Kyoto 

in the company/all night/of a horsefly 

--immediately followed by: 

Kyoto Morning 

on a persimmon/leaf/wings/a butterfly 

The wit which renders a horsefly's attendance in the idiom of an ancient poet extolling a courtesan also captures: 

Chuckle 

chuckle down fear/year after year/smile like a porpoise 

--yet the same eye glimpses a contemporary paradise of vision in a love poem: 

I See You 

on a curve of the boardwalk/between mangroves//black pants and yellow top/right leg forward right hand//holding a tree branch/your hair glistens//and your warm smile widens/for me 

Gitin strips a poem down to its essence, each word polished bright--fresh, unencumbered with its usual, habitual associations, whether poetic or conversational, then plays it like a note in a verbal harmony which opens up the possibilities of language, and the perceptions the words are cued to, on to new horizons ... 

A Leaf 

a leaf/caught in the mouth//a tone/in silence//breathing/the dark 

(David Gitin will also read for free at Bird & Beckett Books, 653 Chenery, Glen Park in San Francisco, 2 p. m. Sunday March 13. (415) 586-3732; bird&beckett.com ) 

For more information about Gitin's books as well as other books published by George Mattingly, go to: davidgitin.com

Tonight at 5:30 the Berkeley City Council will take part in a special meeting in the council chambers in the Maudelle Shirek Building (Old City Hall) to discuss a controversial consultant’s report, the Sloan-Vasquez report on solid waste recycling 

Berkeley’s Ecology Center contends that the report “recommends, among other actions, that the City of Berkeley terminate the Ecology Center's curbside recycling program.” The center is marshalling friends and supporters to come to the meeting to oppose such an action. 

The report has also been condemned by the city of Berkeley’s Zero Waste Commission. On February 28 the Commission passed this resolution: 

"1. We, the Zero Waste Commission, perceive the Sloan Vasquez Report to be a Draft Report, having found incomplete and missing information, cost-benefit analyses, and a lack of an adequate and inclusive process. "2. The ZWC made strong efforts to ensure that the scope of the RFP for Division Assessment (Sloan Vasquez Contract) was based upon how best to achieve the City’s Zero Waste Goals while reducing the structural deficit and establishing sustainable revenue through a new rate structure. Instead, the recommendations address the existing structural deficit without adequate recycling-centered policy and cost-benefit analysis, including a review of non-core use of solid waste funds, eg: the Clean City Program. 

"3. We are extremely disappointed that the opportunity for a team approach was lost. While portions of the report may be useful and accurate, the process and lack of collaboration with City staff, the unions, and the City’s contractors brings the recommendations into question, particularly takeover of contractor functions.\ 

"4. We find that the labor-related cost analyses are incomplete and require further definition. 

"5. We have not been given supporting data documentation for review. Previous draft reports were withheld until the printed report was distributed to Council. No detail of the calculation is provided. The report contains errors and omissions that must be corrected in order to be finalized. 

"6. We find the report lacks any discussion of expanding recycling programs, and we believe several recommendations would seriously weaken the program, notably elimination of the Recycling Manager. Pending State and local regulations to establish universal multi-family and commercial recycling, and the staff and resources needed to comply, are not addressed. 

"7. We advise that the City Council mandate an inclusive review process with adequate time necessary for the consultant and management to meet with the Zero Waste Commission, staff, unions and contractors, to correct and supply data, create adequate cost comparative analyses, and address a sustainable rate structure." 

 

Here is the information we are able to share at this time regarding the barricaded subject incident which occurred for several hours last night and this morning on the 1800 block of Marin: 

At about 7:36 PM March 7, the Berkeley Police Department received a single report of a “loud report” in the 1800 block of Marin. 

A few minutes later, the first officer on scene reported hearing two shots fired nearby. Shortly afterwards, a resident called in, reporting that a shot had struck their home on the 1800 block of Marin. 

Responding officers determined a person inside a residence had apparently fired the shots. Officers contained the scene, evacuating some nearby residents for their safety. 

The Berkeley Police Department Barricaded Subject/Hostage Negotiation Team was activated, and responded to the scene. 

Over the course of the next several hours, team members attempted to negotiate with a person inside a residence on the 1800 block of Marin. 

Ultimately, officers on containment outside the residence heard a single gunshot. Officers subsequently entered the premises and located a person inside, deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

We are not releasing the identity of the deceased at this time. 

No other community members or officers were injured in the course of the incident. 

Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of this incident; we have no further information to offer at this time. 

It should be noted that officers did not confront or exchange gunfire with the person inside; this was mistakenly reported in at least one media outlet. 

The City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) BPD Communications Center began receiving many 911 calls at approximately 4:28 p.m. the afternoon of March 7, 2011. 

The callers were reporting that there had been a collision involving a bus operated by the University of California (Lawrence Berkeley Lab – Berkeley Lab on side) and possibly two pedestrians at Center Street and Shattuck Avenue. 

Members of the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) as well as members of the City of Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) responded. According to preliminary details, the bus was travelling westbound on Center Street and was making a right/northbound turn onto northbound Shattuck Avenue. The women knew each other and were walking together westbound in the north crosswalk crossing Shattuck Avenue, when one of the women was struck and run over by the bus. The other woman banged on the bus with her hand(s) to gain the driver’s attention and was injured as a result. The woman who was struck was extricated from under the bus by BFD personnel. She sustained serious injuries to her lower extremities and was transported to a local Trauma Center for medical treatment. The other woman has been treated and released but understandably is very upset. 

A large crowd formed around the collision site and they had to be directed to move back so that the Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) personnel could work. Members of the crowd were exhibiting a great deal of verbal energy, taking photographs and such, and yet, there were no physical altercations.  

Three members of BPD who each have extensive collision investigation experience are handling the investigation. A BPD Motor Officer just shared that the woman, born January of 1957 has very serious open fractures and will require surgeries, hospitalization and yet, it appears that she will survive.

Two female pedestrians were injured this afternoon in Berkeley when one of the women was struck in a crosswalk by a University of California shuttle bus and the other injured herself trying to gain the bus driver's attention, police officials said. 

Calls began pouring into Berkeley police at about 4:30 p.m. reporting a crash involving two female pedestrians and a shuttle bus at the corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said. 

The bus, which is operated by the University of California and runs between the Berkeley campus and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), had been traveling westbound on Center Street and was making a right turn onto northbound Shattuck Avenue, Kusmiss said. 

The women, who knew one another, were walking together in a crosswalk at the intersection when one of the women was struck and run over by the bus, Kusmiss said. 

The other woman injured herself when she then banged on the bus with her hands to gain the driver's attention, Kusmiss said. 

A large crowd formed around the collision site as Berkeley firefighters worked to extricate the woman from beneath the bus, Kusmiss said, and once freed, the woman was transported to a local trauma center with serious injuries to her lower extremities. 

The other woman was treated on the scene and released. 

An eye-witness,Scott Prosterman, left a voice message for the Planet complaining about behavior of spectators at the scene of the accident, many of whom were trying to take cellphone photos. He said that he himself had previously lodged complaints about the way the LBNL buses are driven in downtown Berkeley, however. 

Campus police declined to comment on the incident citing the Berkeley Police Department's lead role in the ongoing investigation. 

Eight protesters have retreated from the ledge of the University of California at Berkeley building where they have been perched for several hours, according to campus police. 

The protesters were chained to an antenna on the fourth floor of Wheeler Hall to protest budget cuts to public education in front of a crowd of about 300 people, second-year UC Berkeley doctoral student Callie Maidhof said. 

This afternoon, protesters hung four large paper banners in front of Wheeler Hall listing their demands, including an end to the budget cuts and an end to police brutality. 

UC Berkeley police Lt. Alex Yao said that police were alerted to the safety hazard created by the demonstrators at 1:46 p.m., when there were nine people on the ledge. 

"All through the process, the safety for the demonstrators was a paramount concern and the main concern" for the campus police, Yao said. 

According to Yao, at about 2:50 p.m., one of the protesters climbed back into the building through an open window. Police subsequently detained the demonstrator, Yao said. 

Shortly before 9 p.m., the remaining demonstrators, six of whom were chained together, freed themselves and came down from the ledge after reaching an agreement with campus officials, Maidhof said. 

"It's been declared a victory," Maidhof said. 

The protesters had been calling for a response to the cuts by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. Maidhof said it appears that they have succeeded on that front, although the time of the meeting with the chancellor had not been announced. 

A campus representative was not readily reachable for comment on this evening's developments, although Yao said that communication among campus police, campus administrators and the demonstrators resulted in an end to the standoff. 

When the eight remaining demonstrators exited the building, they were arrested, cited for trespassing and released, Yao said. The ninth protestor who has been detained earlier was also cited for trespassing and released, he said. 

"We're very pleased that this situation resolved safely and promptly," Yao said tonight. 

Wednesday night, 17 students were arrested. Since then, 14 of those have been released and were scheduled to appear in court this afternoon. 

One of the students arrested, who was reached for comment by phone this afternoon but requested that her name be withheld, said she joined the protests inside the building at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. 

According to the student, police first ordered protesters to vacate the building at about 10 p.m., when the building officially closed. 

"We linked arms until police physically separated us," the student said. At about 10:30 p.m., Berkeley police arrested her for trespassing, she said. 

She was released from jail at about 8 a.m., she said, and returned at 2 p.m. for her court appearance, where she was not formally charged. 

The student said she was protesting because she thought the budget cuts would limit an educational system that is already broken. 

"I want people to realize we do have access to education and access to public space because we're all human beings," she said. "We'll put chains on our bodies it they put chains on our minds." 

According to Maidhof, students involved in campus protests in late 2009 have yet to resolve related charges and some are still awaiting hearings. Now, Maidhof said, those students will be offered to be put on probation for the remaining five weeks of the semester. 

Several agencies assisted the campus police with the response, including the Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville police departments, Yao said. 

Protesters on top of Wheeler Hall hoist a bag containing water and oranges.

The Daily Californian reports in a live blog that student protesters have taken over Wheeler Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. Heliocopters have been circling the campus area since noon. The Daily Cal also has a twitter feed: See twitter.com/dailycal

Classes inside Wheeler Hall have been canceled as eight student protesters, six of whom are chained together, stand on its ledge on the University of California at Berkeley campus, a UC Berkeley spokesman said. 

The protesters are chained to an antenna on the building's fourth floor to protest budget cuts to public education in front of a crowd of about 300 people, said Callie Maidhof, a second-year doctoral student at UC Berkeley. 

Police arrested one protester who was not chained to the others on the ledge at about 2:15 p.m., UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said. 

Two other protesters remain on the ledge moving about freely, but university police have secured the building, Gilmore said 

"This is a serious safety issue," UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said. 

"We're going to make sure the health and safety of people are not compromised," Gilmore said. 

Protesters hung four large paper banners in front of Wheeler Hall that listed the demands of protesters, who seek to end operational excellence, stop the budget cuts, democratize the region and stop police brutality, Maidhof said. 

The students have also been using a bullhorn to criticize the arrest of 17 other protesters at UC Berkeley last night. 

Fourteen of the protesters have been released and were scheduled for a court appearance at 2 p.m. today, Maidhof said. 

One of the students arrested, who asked not to be named, was outside Wheeler Hall protesting as of 5:30 p.m. The 20-year-old UC Berkeley ethnic studies student began protesting inside the building at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. 

She said that because the protest was designed to be an open and inviting atmosphere that there was free food and live music Tuesday. 

At about 10 p.m., police first ordered protesters to leave, she said. 

"We linked arms until police physically separated us," the student said. At about 10:30 p.m., Berkeley police arrested her for trespassing. 

She said she was released from jail at about 8 a.m. and returned at 2 p.m. for her court appearance, where she was not formally charged. 

The student said she was protesting because she thought the budget cuts would limit an educational system that is already broken. 

"I want people to realize we do have access to education and access to public space because we're all human beings," she said. "We'll put chains on our bodies if they put chains on our minds." 

She said she hopes these protests make an impact with UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau. 

According to the student, the other three students arrested remain in jail, and are scheduled for court tomorrow morning. 

Six student protesters are chained together on the ledge of a building on the University of California at Berkeley campus, a UC Berkeley spokesman said. 

The protesters are chained to an antenna on the fourth floor of Wheeler Hall to protest budget cuts to public education, said Callie Maidhof, a second-year Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley. 

Two or three other protesters are also on the ledge moving about freely, UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said. 

"This is a serious safety issue," Mogulof said. 

University police are at the scene, he said. 

The students are also using a bullhorn to criticize the arrest of 17 other protesters at UC Berkeley last night. 

Maidhof said 14 of the protesters have been released and threewere scheduled for a court appearance at 2 p.m. today. 

Police have identified a man alleged to have struck an officer with his vehicle while trying to escape with a stolen wallet on Tuesday, Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said. 

Shortly before 4:40 p.m., officers from the Berkeley Police Department responded to Ecole Bilingue De Berkeley — a French language school located in the 1000 block of Heinz Avenue in Berkeley — on reports that a wallet theft had just occurred. 

Witnesses said that a man, who police have identified as 32-year-old Deandre Soanne Irvin, entered a classroom and stole a teacher's wallet. 

Kusmiss said that the teacher immediately noticed her wallet was missing and ran outside, where she and several other employees chased Irvin. 

The employees caught up to Irvin but, before they could get the wallet back, Kusmiss said that the suspect fled in a white Volvo. 

When officers arrived at the scene, witnesses provided police with a description of the Oakland man and his car, Kusmiss said. 

Police then began doing area checks of convenience stores and gas stations to locate the alleged robber. 

Kusmiss said that an officer spotted Irvin and his Volvo at the Econo gas station, near Eighth Street and University Avenue, just over a mile away from the school. 

As the officer approached and grabbed Irvin, the suspect hopped back into the vehicle, according to Kusmiss. 

Irvin engaged in a struggle with the officer on the driver's side of the car and drove off, with the officer partially hanging out of the car, according to Kusmiss. 

"The suspect was able to drive forward, then accelerate in reverse and drive forward again, which hurled the officer to the pavement," Kusmiss said in a statement. 

The man sped away and several officers pursued his Volvo, Kusmiss said. 

Over the course of the chase, Irvin abandoned the car near the intersection of Seventh Street and Dwight Way, according to Kusmiss. 

Two officers continued to chase him on foot and were able to detain him near a parking lot, located at 820 Parker St. 

Kusmiss said that witnesses at the language school positively identified Irvin as responsible for the theft. 

Officers found Irvin in possession of heroine and marijuana and also conducted a DUI investigation on the alleged robber, Kusmiss added. 

Irvin was booked into the Alameda County Jail and is being held without bail. 

The injured officer was aided by emergency medical personnel, transported to a local hospital and was released late Tuesday night with minor injuries, Kusmiss said. 

Police are not yet releasing the officer's identity. 

Officers arrested 17 protestors that refused orders to leave a University of California at Berkeley campus building on Wednesday night, according to a campus police officer. 

At about 4:30 p.m., hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the steps outside of Wheeler Hall, a building near the center of the campus, UC Berkeley police Officer Alex Yao said. 

Yao said that the group congregated as part of a statewide day of action, rallying against budget cuts to public education. 

Callie Maidhof, a second-year Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, said that the demonstrators gave speeches and chanted on the south side of the hall before moving inside the lobby of the building about an hour later. 

Once inside the hall, Maidhof said that student bands began performing and, while the chanting persisted, the demonstrators remained nonviolent. 

"There were Aztec dancers and bands that serenaded the crowd," Maidhof said. "People were eating dinner provided by a campus organization. Everything was very civil." 

At about 9:30 p.m., officers from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and campus police alerted protestors that the hall would be closing in 30 minutes, urging those inside to leave voluntarily or risk arrest, Yao said. 

When the hall closed, Maidhof said that she saw nearly 30 police officers dressed in riot gear headed toward the building. 

"They went inside, geared up for a rowdy crowd, with handfuls of zip ties," Maidhof said. 

Officers arrived inside the hall's lobby and found 17 protestors sitting in a circle with their arms linked, Yao said. 

"People were pressed up against the doors and some even tried to pry them open," Maidhof said. "All you could hear was the students screaming 'no cuts, no fees, education should be free.'" 

Police arrested all of the demonstrators for trespassing, some of which resisted officers' orders, Yao said. No injuries were reported, he added. 

"Even though they have the right to demonstrate, they also need to abide by university conduct and state law," Yao said. 

The demonstrators were transported to Alameda County Jail, according to Lt. Adan Tejada of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. 

While 14 of the protestors were cited and later released, Tejada said that three would remain in jail, awaiting a court hearing scheduled for this morning. 

At about 4:38 p.m.today, the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) received a call regarding the theft of a wallet from Ecole Bilingue French School in the 1000 block of Heinz Avenue in West Berkeley. A witness provided a description of the suspect and car to a BPD dispatcher who broadcast it to BPD officers. Suspects often use debit/ATM and credit cards soon after their crimes, thus officers began doing area checks of convenience marts and gas stations. 

A 4 year veteran of BPD spotted the suspect and his white Volvo pumping gas at the Econo Gas Station at Eighth Street and University Avenue. The BPD officer approached the suspect on foot and engaged him. The suspect reacted by trying to get into the Volvo with the officer attempting to stop him. The suspect was able to drive forward, then accelerate in reverse and drive forward which hurled the officer to the pavement. The suspect then fled. Officers initiated a pursuit south in West Berkeley. The suspect abandoned the car near Bayer at 7th and Dwight and began running. Two BPD officers chased him on foot and were able to detain him without further incident. 

The officer was tended to by City of Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) paramedics who transported him to a local ER for medical assessment. As of this writing, he is doing well and sustained no apparent significant injuries. Out of respect to the officer who is healing and family may not know of the details as of yet, we are not offering his name today. BPD is relieved that the officer was not more seriously injured. In addition, we are grateful that the suspect did not injure any other community members or officers during the pursuit and subsequent foot chase. 

BPD arrested an Oakland man, 32 years old. The booking offenses are pending and the investigation is still in process. 

This is the substance of what BPD is sharing regarding the incident this evening.

In June of 1908, as Berkeley prepared to ceremonially lay the cornerstone of a new City Hall, a group of local women registered a protest. They weren’t against the building itself, but wanted to use the occasion bring attention to the cause of Women’s Suffrage, the campaign to achieve voting rights for women. 

California—and most of the United States—did not, at the time, grant women the vote. 

The Berkeley Political Equality League, under the leadership of Mary McHenry Keith, proposed placing a letter to the future in the cornerstone. 

“We…hereby commit the cause of Equal Suffrage for man and woman to the judgment of future generations, in the confidence that in after years whoever shall read these lines will wonder that so late as the year 1908 the women of California were political serfs; they were taxed without representation, governed without their consent, and classed under the law with idiots, insane persons, criminals, minors and other defective classes…We, about to die, greet you, the inheritors of a better age, men and women of the future Berkeley, equal before the law, enfranchised citizen; co-operating in all public service.” 

The all male Town Trustees ultimately looked askance at the proposal and the letter wasn’t included in the City Hall cornerstone. But this month, 103 years later, Berkeley’s early equal rights crusaders will finally have the last official say. 

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, the Berkeley City Council will proclaim a resolution in that same City Hall commemorating the 100^th anniversary of women winning the vote in California in 1911, calling it a “triumph that has been partially forgotten or ignored, and has for too long been denied its rightful place in the history of our state.” 

The resolution is sponsored by Susan Wengraf and Linda Maio, the two women who currently serve on the nine member City Council. 

How women won the vote in California will be a focus of both statewide and local celebration and educational activities over several months. Activities will climax in October, the anniversary of the October 10, 1911, statewide election when women won the right to votes by a narrow margin. 

Commemorative activities in Berkeley are being coordinated by a local committee, led by Phyllis Gale of the Berkeley Historical Society and Nancy Bickel of the Berkeley-Emeryville-Albany League of Women Voters, and including others from both groups, the American Association of University Women, and other interested organizations. 

Activities will include a costumed march of suffragists in the Solano Stroll and four exhibits (two on campus, one in the Central Berkeley Library, and one at the Berkeley Historical Society). The main exhibit, at the Berkeley Historical Center, will be paired with a day of celebration in Downtown Berkeley in October. Details are now being planned. 

The local League of Women Voters is celebrating a double anniversary. October 30, 2011 is the centennial of the formation of the organization, originally called the Berkeley Center of the California Civic League. 

Winning the vote in California was a long and arduous process for women and their male allies. A measure to amend the State Constitution had failed in the 1890s and it was more than a decade before the proposal got back on the official ballot. 

Amendment 8, to be voted on October 10, 1911, would win, but not without an enormous and exhausting campaign throughout the State and in Berkeley. 

Berkeley had a special place in the California Suffrage struggle since some of the prominent statewide leaders came from here and there was a vigorous, and successful, local campaign effort. 

And Berkeley—which was, in that era, still one of California’s five largest cities—was the only municipality in the Bay Area to vote for suffrage. 

The election arguments were passionate. “Women are equal to men intellectually. In fact, if we take the number of graduates from our schools and colleges, we must admit that they are farther advanced mentally”, wrote H.G. Cattrell, Speaker of the State Assembly, in an official ballot argument. 

“Women should not be subject to taxation without representation any more than men. ‘Consent of the governed’ means women as well as men…” 

“Suffrage is not a right”, countered J.B. Stanford, Chairman of the Democratic Caucus in the ballot argument against the amendment. “Politics is no place for a women consequently the privilege should not be granted to her.” 

“The mother’s influence is needed in the home. She can do little good by gadding the streets and neglecting her children”, Sanford went on. “The courageous, chivalrous, and manly men and the womanly women, the real mothers and home builders of the country, are opposed to this innovation in American political life.” 

“The men are able to run the government and take care of the woman. Do women have to vote in order to receive the protection of man?” Sanford argued. He asserted that in Colorado where woman had won the vote, the divorce rate and crime had increased. 

“Woman is woman. She can not unsex herself or change her sphere. Let her be content with her lot and perform those high duties intended for her by the Great Creator…” he concluded. 

The Suffragists saw it differently. 

“If the ballot was granted to women the men would not have quite as much liberty in the control of affairs. She would have something to say about the city government and things in general that pertain to the community in which she lives. I believe that the hand that rocks the cradle should rule the world,” Dr. Mary Plumb had said in the Oakland Tribune in 1909, as the next attempt at suffrage was heating up. 

And Sarah Shuey, a pioneering East Bay doctor from Berkeley, said at the same time, “Why do I believe in suffrage for women? Because I am a human being as well as a woman, and I believe in true democracy, and wish to get into the company of rational human beings before the law, and not to be classed with the idiots, imbeciles, the insane and criminals—because the city, State or nation is only a larger family, therefore it is inevitable that women should share in the responsibility for the normal development of the race.” 

Women and their male allies in the California Suffrage movement pursued a vigorous campaign in 1911. 

“There were posters and all kinds of designs” leaders of the national suffrage movement wrote in 1920 in a recap of their cause, “city circularizing of the most thorough kind in many languages; pageants, plays, concerts and public social function; the placarding of city bill boards over miles of country; advertising of every possible kind; huge electric and other signs; long weeks of automobile campaigning in the country and the villages; special speakers for all sorts of organizations; a handsome float in the labor day parade; speaking at vaudeville shows—there was no cessation of these eight months’ strenuous work.” 

Automobile campaigning seemed a particularly novel and effective form of making contact with rural voters. City women would drive out into the countryside and stop in a small town. Local men, who rarely got to see an automobile up close in that era, would gather ‘round to examine and admire the vehicle, and the women would seize the opportunity to speak to them about Suffrage. 

In Berkeley the City was divided into 35 districts and Mrs. Hester Harland headed up a campaign headquarters at 2515 Bancroft Way, just east of today’s Sproul Plaza. 

Campaign workers, primarily women and including many UC students, spread out through the City identifying sympathetic voters. They gave talks, speeches, and parades. Notable Berkeley leaders included Mary Keith—one of the first women to earn a law degree in California—and Mrs. Mary (Charles Crocker) Hall who lent her palatial home on Hillside Avenue for Suffrage events. 

“We secured every available hall and meeting place, large and small, and sometimes we were offered rooms in private homes for lectures”, Mrs. Harland later wrote. 

“This we planned ahead for eight months. At these places we had from our own Berkeley, San Francisco, and from other places far afield, the best and most brilliant speakers we could secure. For the last night of the campaign, we secured the Berkeley High School Auditorium, which was the largest meeting place in town, and this turned out to be a grand rally celebrating our victory when the returns came in.” 

Voters went to the polls on October 10, 1911. Thousands throughout the state worked all day to get male supporters to vote. Over 1,000 campaign staff volunteered in San Francisco alone. 

In Oakland there were 240 women who stood near polling places for 12 hours, canvassing for Suffrage and “this work was paralleled in Berkeley, Alameda and other places around the bay.” The Daily Californian reported that one hundred co-eds from the campus had joined the Election Day canvassing. 

Early election reports prematurely reported the demise of Amendment 8. But as later returns arrived in subsequent days, the balance tilted in favor of the measure. 

Big cities in California tended to go against suffrage. In San Francisco the amendment lost by 35,471 votes to 21,912; in Oakland, the loss was by 1,743 votes. Although Los Angeles voters approved suffrage by a very small margin, votes from rural counties made the real difference. And suffrage in California passed in 1911 by only 3,587 votes out of 246,487 cast. 

Berkeley Suffrage supporters, including Socialist Mayor J. Stitt Wilson, celebrated November 2, 1911. More than 500 gathered in the auditorium of Berkeley High School for a victory rally. 

"The recent campaign resulted in the grandest victory ever gained in any state”, Hester Harland told the crowd. “We are here tonight to celebrate this achievement of government, not by part of the people, but by all. We are here to celebrate the beginning, of a new era.” 

"Not many years ago it was not a pleasant thing to say that one was a suffragist,” said the Rev. Dr. Florence Buck of Alameda, "and any one who believed in the enfranchisement of women was ridiculed. But that time is past." 

She was right. It was a victory and the nationwide effect was electric. “With the winning of this old, wealthy and influential State the entire movement for women suffrage passed the crisis and victory in the remaining western States was sure to be a matter of a comparatively short time”, the women leaders would write in 1920. 

It would take another 8 years to get universal suffrage approved by Congress, and a year more to achieve sufficient State ratification of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution. 

By then, even suffrage opponents were mollified by the California results. In 1915 both houses of the California Legislature, which had seen bitter battles over Suffrage before 1911, approved a resolution that read: 

“Resolved, that so successful has been the operation and effect of granting political rights to women that it is generally conceded that, were the question to be again voted on by the people of this State, it would be re-endorsed by an overwhelming majority; and be it further resolved, that the adoption of woman suffrage by California is one of the important factors contributing to the marked political, social and industrial advancement made by our people in recent years.” 

The tangible local reward for winning the suffrage election came April 27, 1912. Voters went to the polls in a Berkeley election and, for the first time, the electorate fully included women. 

"Many of the most prominent women in Berkeley participated in the election, casting their ballots with womanly grace and with a skill equal to the masculine”, the Oakland Tribune reported in the afternoon. 

Many less prominent women—ordinary housewives, sales clerks, office workers, UC students—also went to the polls that day. The Tribune commented on the number of women—office workers and sales clerks, in particular—who voted early in the morning at polling stations along Shattuck Avenue before boarding the interurban trains for jobs in Oakland and San Francisco. 

The 1912 voter rolls show the extent of the change. Hester Harland lived on Union Street—essentially underneath Lower Sproul Plaza on the UC campus today—and the fruits of the victory she and her allies had won in Berkeley were apparent among her neighbors who were now voters. 

Among them were women who were teachers, nurses, bookkeepers, chambermaids, clerks, students, a “rooming house proprietor”, “research assistant” and lawyer, in addition to those who simply listed themselves as “housewife”, “housekeeper”, “widow” or “spinster”. 

And Harland herself was working that election as an election clerk for Precinct No. 28, with its polling place at Bancroft and Ellsworth, not far from her home and the home of Mrs. Keith. There were three women among the six staff assigned to that poll. 

It must have been a sweet experience helping to staff the locations where they were also now full participants, not simply on-lookers. 

For more information on the Statewide efforts visit California: 100 Years of Women Voting website, organized by the League of Women Voters. 

(The author is the First Vice President of the Berkeley Historical Society, and will be involved in organizing one of the commemorative exhibits on the UC Berkeley campus. He’ll write periodically through 2011 about the Suffrage Centennial plans and events.)

Back from reporting on Wisconsin's historic labor rally this weekend, KPFA news producer John Hamilton arrived in Berkeley to a layoff notice this week from the station's interim program director Carrie Core. Hamilton, who has worked at KPFA for three years, was told his last work day would be March 30. 

Listeners responded with an outpouring of financial support during Tuesday's Pacifica Evening News, which Hamilton anchors. More than $7,000 was raised during the 1-hour newscast, the highest amount raised during the news this fund drive. 

When asked who made the layoff decision, Core admitted that it was Pacifica's executive director Arlene Engelhardt. Core did not explain how much the station would save by laying off Hamilton, nor how KPFA would make up the shortfall that would come from dismissing one of the station's most effective fundraisers. Hamilton is employed part-time and makes only about $25,000 a year, according to KPFAWorker.org. 

The layoff comes less than a week after former KPFA Morning Show co-host Brian Edwards-Tiekert was reinstated with back pay, but was given a job description as a reporter rather than a morning host. Facing a loss in arbitration, Pacifica placed him in a paid job last week. {Details: see the East Bay Express.) 

"John Hamilton is an amazingly talented journalist and fundraiser -- he was able to raise over a quarter of his yearly pay in just an hour on the air," said Margy Wilkinson, chair of KPFA's local board. "It is ironic, to say the least, that as we start to rebuild KPFA, management starts demolishing elsewhere," she added. 

Union activists at KPFA allege that Hamilton's layoff is retaliatory. Hamilton has been a prominent union activist at KPFA and a public critic of actions of Pacifica management. Last fall he earned the ire of Pacifica's executive director after filming her storming off after listeners asked what her salary was, as well as producing another video of a union protest. He was also listed along with Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Aimee Allison in a letter targetting staff for layoff by a group of Pacifica board members last fall. Hamilton says he's filing a grievance over the layoff. 

Meanwhile, newly-released balance sheets show that KPFA outperformed its budget by $290,000 by the end of 2010, casting doubt on management claims that it needs layoffs at all. In addition, listeners have raised an additional $63,000 in pledges for Pacifica to restore the cancelled KPFA Morning Show to the air. "That's enough to restore both paid Morning Show co-hosts and staff to the air for the rest of the year," said Wilkinson. To date management has refused to accept the pledges or restore the Morning Show. 

When asked about how the news department would function with Hamilton laid off, management said it planned to "restructure" the newscast. More KPFA listeners tune into the Evening News than any other evening program, and it was the station's biggest fundraiser during the last marathon. After Pacifica took the popular Morning Show off the air, fundraising in the 8am hour went into a tailspin. 

"The news is the heart of KPFA," said KPFA local board member Mal Burnstein. "We don't want to see Pacifica do to it what they did to the Morning Show. The station has suffered a steep drop in quality and credibility -- not to mention financial health -- as a result of these ill-advised disruptions."

Leave it to the wonderful Oakland Museum, particularly the History Guild Department, to offer informative and exciting trips, many of them planned by Helen Tryon, a long-time tour leader. Last week's trip had an added feature, as we travelled on a luxurious "Daytripping" bus with the very knowledgeable and well known Tour Guide, Gary L. Holloway, a member of the California Historical Society. What Gary doesn't know about the Valley isn't worth knowing!  

On Sunday, February 20th, forty passengers boarded the luxury coach, eagerly awaiting the Death Valley Tour and the adventures to follow. For many it was their first trip to the Valley, which comprises more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery and rare wild life. Our first stop was the legendary Scotty's Castle, where a guide unveiled the story of Walter Scott and Albert and Bessie Johnson and their $2 million vacation home. We next wandered through the rusting remains of the Harmony Borax Works, where miners used those famed 20-mule teams to haul borax 165 miles to the railroad town of Mojave. That same evening we had a delightful Hayride for a barbecue dinner under the stars in a date grove.  

The next day we toured the Southern Region of the Valley, hiking up a trail to Zabriskie Point for panoramic views of golden brown mudstone hills. We then paid a quick visit to Rhyolite, the largest ghost town in the Valley, and Devil's Golf Course. By this time, weary but happy, we were ready for a restful evening in our attractive rooms at Furnace Creek Ranch and a delicious dinner in its lovely dining room.  

One of our more memorable tours was that to Manzanar, a relocation Center where Japanese American citizens were confined during World War II. We watched a moving documentary film, "Remembering Manzanar", and then visited two of the stark military-type shacks where detainees were confined. Surely not a proud moment in U.S. history! 

Few people realize that an American Indian tribe (the Timbisha) currently lives and thrives in the heart of the Valley. Since 1936 the tribe has governed their affairs in 40 acres of land near Furnace Creek. While tour members were sitting back comfortably, enjoying the beauty of the Valley, our handsome driver, John Petterson, was busy checking road conditions and alternative routes back to Oakland. He wisely decided to make a 100 mile detour to avoid roads that were closed due to icy conditions.  

But, alas, when we got to Carson City, Nevada, we were met with a blizzard and icy winds. Most of us were delighted to see the tree covered snow, but we hadn't anticipated going through South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento to reach our destination. However, Gary kept us amused and free of boredom with his stories of the regions we had passed. We had dinner on the bus, a tasty dish prepared by Jackie Kenilvort, cook extraordinaire and den mother for her charges. I've no doubt that I've have overlooked many of the wonderful sights and excursions of our trip to Death Valley, but the memories will long linger in my memory. I can't wait to take another Oakland Museum History Guild trip!

In a Feb. 25, 2011 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Section 8 project-based tenants are allowed to remain in their rental units at the Park Village Apartments in Oakland at 3761 Park BLVD Way, as long as they keep paying their current share of rent. 

The building owner, Mortimer R. Howard, decided to opt out of the subsidized housing program, and wanted to charge market rate rents in the building after he declined to renew the Section 8 subsidized project-based contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in 2005. Park Village Apartments has been a Section 8 project-based building since it opened in 1978. 

In October of 2006, 72 seniors and low-income renters were threatened with eviction at the Park Village Apartments when Howard sent a letter demanding illegal rent increases from the tenants, demanding that the low-income tenants must pay $1,192 a month for rent, or move out. 

Tenants in the Section 8 program are charged as much as 30 to 40 percent of their income for rent, and the government pays the rest to the landlord. The subsidized seniors and low-income tenants on average were paying less than $300 per month for rent, before Howard declined to renew the Section 8 project-based contract for the building. 

In an effort to save low-income housing at that location, the residents of the Park Village Apartments fought back against Howard in the courts with the assistance of Bay Area Legal Aid, and the National Housing Law Project. Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said that the renters have the right to stay in their housing under a 2000 federal law. 

Additionally, the Feb. 25 court of appeals ruling said that the current 15 seniors and low-income Section 8 tenants still remaining in the building have a right to remain in their previously subsidized Section 8 rental units in the absence of just cause for eviction, and that tenants with enhanced vouchers cannot be required to pay more than their portion of rent as defined by the Section 8 statute and applicable regulations. 

However the ruling further stated that building owners who refuse to accept federal rent subsidies from the government do not have to sign contracts with local housing authorities, such as the Oakland Housing Authority. 

So, is it okay to censure and/or boycott arts organization on account of “political” questions? A friend forwarded Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman’s gutsy column twitting the Vienna Philharmonic for continuing to limit most of their hires to white guys in a world where female and non-white musicians are increasingly prominent.

In my knee-jerk liberal innocence, I assumed that the sender agreed with the sentiments express therein. I posted the link in The Editor’s Back Fence space last week, and I forwarded it to a list of my musical friends. Well, it seems that the male sender wasn’t quite on the same page—he followed up with a letter explaining from his perspective the justifying rationale for the Vienna orchestra’s hiring polices, and pointing out that they do now have a couple of women in the group, including one in a leadership role.

But my musical friends—at least those who wrote back—didn’t agree with him. Oddly enough, those who answered were all women. I’ll quote them without names because they weren’t intending to write for publication, 

From a fine string player who is one of the Bay Area’s leading teachers: 

“Thanks for sending this on. I was really happy to see this being spoken about here. “When I lived in the UK, the Vienna Phil came almost every year to London to perform and every year this would be brought up and the Vienna Phil would just say "women just can't produce the golden tone that men can" (this is an almost quote from an article in the London Times.) Audiences just seemed to accept that outright, and it was always pushed aside. Meanwhile, no orchestras that wouldn't allow blacks to participate from South Africa were welcomed into the UK (or anywhere else) so the double standard is really disgusting.

“I went to conservatory with a violist from the Vienna Phil (fantastic player) who had left the orchestra out of frustration that they were bringing in players who weren't really up to snuff (but were male and Viennese) while passing over superior players that were Viennese but female. He wasn't the nicest person and didn't really care about the social issue but he did care about the lower grade of playing. It's amazing that they are still getting away with it so thanks for spreading the word!”  

“Your comment about the Vienna MEN'S Philharmonic Orchestra…as I have always called it...struck a nerve!

“I first visited Vienna as a teenager and even then, was infuriated by the all male composition of this men's orchestra. Since then, despite really liking Vienna, I do not attend any of the all male events when I visit the city. “ I think it is smug, sickening, offensive and has no place in any venue which was built by and supported in part by public funds. If I was offered free tickets, I [would] give them away.

“Isn't it actually illegal for a public building to rent space to a clearly anti human rights group?

“UCB, of which I am a PhD graduate, should not book such an elitist event. If it wasn't that I was participating in a gospel choir for Black History month this Friday night, I would go and picket the auditorium myself.”  

“I did read Kosman this morning and was pleased that he chose to highlight the bizarre situation with Vienna Phil. I can always tell, on Channel 32, when they are showing the Vienna group because it is so noticeable that there are almost no women. When Karajan was in charge there were none allowed. I hadn’t thought of the diversity part, but Kosman rightfully pointed that out as well. “Well, I don’t think it is up to us to tell them what to do…we can show our displeasure by not attending. I’m not going, but mainly because they have jacked up the ticket prices so high!”  

“I would hope demonstrators show their disgust for this blatant exclusion.”

The Israel Philharmonic was greeted in San Francisco last week (as it has been around the country) by vigorous demonstrators who object not to the orchestra’s hiring practices but to the policies of the sponsoring country. The Chronicle covered that demonstration, but only in the gossip column. 

It could be argued that mixing politics with art has gone too far in this case, since the musicians can’t really control their government’s treatment of Palestine. Israeli classical musicians, notably Daniel Barenboim, have taken leading affirmative roles in trying to bring peace with justice to that troubled region. Musicians themselves vigorously debate what they should do about knotty political questions, but they don’t all agree. 

Myself, I’m with the letter writer who voted with her feet, who just skipped the very pricey Vienna Phil concerts. The world is full of fine performances, too many to attend them all, so we can easily spend our time and money supporting those which are admirable both in conception and in execution. 

I find it hard to believe that any male violinist in the Vienna Philharmonic can hold a candle to our own Elizabeth Blumenstock, whose performance in the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s recreation of Vivaldi’s all-girl orchestra (with some male participants) last year was beyond thrilling. The Berkeley Symphony’s Joana Carneiro is living proof that gender will be no barrier in the symphonic orchestra of the future, which Marin Allsop has been demonstrating for years now at the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz. 

As far as ethnicity is concerned, anyone who goes to the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s concerts can’t miss the number of outstanding African-American musicians whose performances can be enjoyed in the Bay Area. Conductor Michael Morgan, himself African American, manages to find them all. I’m a particular fan of San Francisco Opera’s bassoonist Rufus Olivier, who played Mozart’s bassoon concerto with the OEBS not long ago, and I was delighted when his son Rufus David Olivier turned up in the Berkeley Symphony orchestra’s last concert. 

Lovers of the European classical tradition are very lucky that so many fine Asian and Asian-American musicians are carrying it forward. The Chinese pianist Lang-Lang, thought by many to be the best in the world these days, is the most visible exemplar of this trend, but it can also be seen in the number of young Asian musicians of all genders who are moving up in the big orchestras—except, of course, for the Vienna Phil. 

And by the way, how did they do with the critics in their recent San Francisco outing? A quick Google suggests that they got A+ for expression, B for technical precision with most reviewers. We’ll let Kosman, now the dean of the Bay Area’s music critics, have the last word: 

“The sonorous power of the orchestra's ensemble playing—its sumptuous string sound, piquant woodwinds and elegantly burnished brass—are beyond cavil or reproach; but the technical prowess on display, not so much.

“In Schubert's Second Symphony, the fleet-footed precision needed for the young composer's Mozartean phrases was not always in evidence, and the Schumann - which got under way with some extravagantly flubbed horn calls - boasted more energy than tonal clarity.” Etc. 

Dan O'Neill

Joseph Young

Caring; Rights and Duties; Good Will; Arpeggio;Response to a Response on the Library Demolition; West Berkeley Zoning; Security Council Veto 

Caring 

On Mental Illness: Caring for A Mentally Ill Family Member" could have as easily been titled, "On Physical Illness: Caring for A Physically Ill Family Member," or "On Disability, Caring for A Family Member with a Disability." 

Similarities abound. The seriousness of each comes into play, the more serious each, the greater the need. 

Harold A. Maio, retired Mental Health Editor  

It is time to add social studies to the pre-k and elementary school curriculum and continue such studies all the way through college. When people demand their rights, they forget that rights imply duties. People who understand their duties towards others are not likely to be antisocial. At this time of confusion and trouble if we start interactive training to educate students in the mutual relationship of rights and responsibilities we might get a new kind of harmony in society. It seems that a majority of children or students have no knowledge of their duties towards others but they know how to ask for their rights. I think it goes both ways. The attitude of caring and sharing comes with real knowledge about give and take. 

Romila Khanna  

I was shocked to hear of the recent controversy regarding a Goodwill store moving into a location on Solano Avenue. While I no longer live in Berkeley, I did in the early seventies as a student at UC, and again from 1979-1993 as a working adult. First of all, a large thrift store (Salvation Army, possibly) resided further down on Solano Avenue for well over twenty years. I shopped there from the 1970s through the 1990s. It didn't seem to negatively impact the neighborhood. Secondly, I am a working adult who regularly shops in thrift stores, and most of the customers are not homeless - and the ones who are homeless deserve a place to shop like everyone else. Thrift stores not only make sense in these difficult economic times, but they're the ultimate in recycling and being green, which I thought Berkeley was all about. Solano Avenue should be welcoming Goodwill with open arms! 

Mal Schoen  

The photos of the Arpeggio tell all, especially the interior shot. What an offensive, ugly piece of archaic crap! 

Laurie Miller 

I found last week’s letter from Linda Schacht to be almost incomprehensible. She seems to be responding to a commentary in the February 16 issue of the Planet about the demolition of the South and West Berkeley Branch Libraries, without understanding the content. 

The commentary, “The Demolition of Branch Libraries – Not What the Voters Approved” was most informative. Measure FF certainly did not mention demolitions. None of the campaign literature ever mentioned the possibility. Is it actually legal to use bond funding for projects about which the voters were misled? 

It doesn’t surprise me that the City was less than honest in conducting the public process. I think that the City regards neighborhoods in South and West Berkeley as opportunity sites, rather than vibrant communities, filled with history and character. 

As for the rest of the Schacht narrative, I have to question if she is the one who is “seriously paranoid.” 

Casey Silva 

Thanks, for the great reporting and editorializing about the City Council's West Berkeley zoning debacle. 

I think the way Bates is running Berkeley is how things are working all over the country. How can it be that the citizenry is represented by people who not only seem to prioritize the profit interests of developers but who blithely ignore, um, facts? How can a real city be run by guestimates and hunches based on nothing more than sound and fury? 

More and more lately, I find myself reflecting on my dated memories of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I read it as a child and have not read it since. But now I am wondering: is it a child's book? Or was Lewis Carroll really just describing how goofy life can be? City Council hearings ring like Mad Hatter Tea Parties to me. And I frequently find myself wondering if I have stepped through a looking glass and entered an alternate universe where up is down and down is up. Or, to put it another way, Tom Bates' Berkeley. 

Maybe the world always worked this way. Maybe there were always humans around grasping for more than they need in the now, afraid to trust that we can create a fair, just world for all. I'm not very hopeful about how things are going, in Berkeley or in the world in general. Although it was thrilling to see the people bring about some change in Egypt, and my heart and soul is focussed on the Wisconsin State Capitol, I am afraid dark forces rooted in greed are slowly taking over the land . . .and I hear myself thinking such thoughts and I remember images from the Harry Potter series. It feels like Lord Voldemort and the Deatheaters are taking over. And then I think of the weird cultural trends of vampires and zombies and I wonder if our common imagination is simply mirroring the ugly truths unfolding all around us. And I hear myself think these thoughts and I want to say 'Stop the world, I want to get off'. 

Thanks for the good work the Daily Planet does. 

Tree Fitzpatrick 

Everyone now knows that the U.S. vetoed the Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel's West Bank settlements as illegal. Once again the U.S. is Israel's lackey. The veto makes a mockery of Obama's 2009 Cairo speech where he called for an independent Palestinian state and a freeze of Israeli settlements. The Palestine Papers show the Palestinians humiliating themselves by offering enormous concessions in private with the Israelis willing to concede little or nothing. This shows that Israel has no intention in continuing peace negotiations leading to an independent Palestinian state. Clearly, Israel’s ultimate goal is to take over the entire country and to drive out the non-Jewish population. This was made clear when in 1948, when Menachem Begin declared, "The partition of the Homeland is illegal. It will never be recognized. The signature of institutions and individuals of the partition agreement is invalid. It will not bind the Jewish people. Jerusalem was and will forever be our capital. Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) will be restored to the people of Israel. All of it. And forever.” This leaves the Palestinians no choice but to unilaterally appeal to the international community for recognition of an independent state with the 1967 borders. 

Ralph E. Stone

The Sierra Club study of commercial solar PV system permit fees by Kurt Newick cited in “Fees for business solar power units vary widely” (Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times 2/27/2011) is both misleading and misplaced, and it unfairly and inappropriately targets Richmond as having the highest permit fee in Contra Costa County. 

If the Sierra Club’s objective is to promote solar by trying to beat down solar permit fees, they have picked the wrong target. For small residential systems, permit fees are important, and Richmond leads the County by offering free permits for residential solar. Richmond also leads the County and the State of California in solar watts installed per capita, including both residential and commercial, so we must be doing something right. 

Reducing fees for large commercial users that might include corporations like Chevron, Target or Walmart, simply means that the money to pay City staff for processing permits would have to be made up by robbing some other program. Would Newick have us close a branch library or take a cop off the street to subsidize commercial energy users? 

Newick’s flawed approach starts by significantly overestimating the cost of a 131 kW system, which also has the effect of inflating the permit fee, a function of cost. Even at the inflated $1.2 million cost, through a combination of federal tax credits and California Solar Incentive rebates, Newick’s hypothetical installation would be reduced in cost by about $370,000, courtesy of taxpayers and PG&E ratepayers. 

In any event, Richmond’s permit fee is only about 1.6% of the total cost, and the permit fee would be reduced proportionately by incentives to about $14,000. There is no evidence cited by Newick that the range of solar permit fees represented in Contra Costa County has any effect on the decision of a business owner to go solar. Yet he is obsessed with this one particular metric to the exclusion of all others. 

Richmond Planning Director Richard Mitchell commented: “During my past discussions with commercial and industrial developers, none of them expressed concerns about solar permit fees because their tenants are usually responsible for paying their own energy costs. Specialty tenants such as Bay Area Beverage, Sun Power or El Cerrito Natural Grocery have installed systems because they are energy intensive businesses that are looking for ways to cut their on-going energy costs. Permit fees are not a significant part of that analysis because they are negligible related to other costs associated with installing alternative energy systems.” 

The Sierra Club’s campaign to expose what they apparently believe are excessive permit fees for commercial solar is a gigantic waste of time with no proven basis. There are probably a lot more important things they could be doing instead of trying to further bleed city planning and building departments, which are already severely decimated and in some cases, extinct. 

The once squeaky clean Sierra Club has been acting strangely lately, most recently selling their soul to endorse the Point Molate casino project in exchange for promises of future money in a secret deal that has never seen the light of day.

In 2008, Berkeley voters passed Measure FF “to renovate, expand, and make seismic and access improvements at four neighborhood branch libraries.” In his impartial analysis of the measure, the City Attorney wrote, “Current plans for renovation include restoration and refurbishment of historic features at the branch libraries as part of any renovation.”

Yet, sometime after the passage of Measure FF, plans to demolish and rebuild the South and West Branch Libraries surfaced. Both of these libraries have historic features, and their proposed demolitions triggered an Environmental Impact Report – a public process required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Few people would claim that the branch libraries aren’t in need of improvement, in particular, the South and West Branches, which have been historically neglected by the City of Berkeley. While the Claremont and North Branch Libraries have been carefully and beautifully maintained, the South and West Branches have not fared so well. Ironically, the City’s pattern of poor treatment of these libraries is being used as reason to demolish them. In an excellent commentary in the February 16, 2011 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet, Gale Garcia questioned the social justice of neglecting buildings in less affluent neighborhoods, which leads to the idea that demolition is the only viable alternative. Sometimes it’s not. 

In fact, CEQA includes a public process that provides for the submission of alternatives for projects having significant and unavoidable environmental impacts. Along with many citizens and organizations, Concerned Library Users (CLU) participated in this public process. CLU had already filed a lawsuit against the City for the misuse of Measure FF funds and a CEQA violation; the latter cause of action was settled. As part of the environmental review process, CLU submitted partial preservation alternatives for the South and West Branch projects, which would, unlike the City’s designs, satisfy Measure FF and lessen environmental impacts. CLU hired preservation architect Todd Jersey, who saved the Richmond Plunge, to create these two new designs. These designs save and renovate only the most historic portions of the South and West Branch libraries, while adding new construction to each for a Children’s Room, a Teen Room, and extra space for computers, patrons, and staff. These plans satisfy Universal Design practices for ADA accessibility and would meet all current seismic safety standards. 

The West Branch Library 

Mr. Jersey’s design for the West Branch would save only the 1923 adult reading room, which would be restored and moved closer to the sidewalk to make room for all new construction on the lot behind it. This design has some similarities to the City’s 2003 plan for the West Branch, which the City abandoned when funding fell through. The restored adult reading room would be about 80% larger than the one proposed in the City’s new plans. Like the City’s designs, there will new space for computers and a Teen Room. Perhaps the most enchanting element of Mr. Jersey’s design is the circular Children’s Room surrounded by a garden of redwoods, two of which would be destroyed if the City’s plans are implemented. 

In all, Mr. Jersey’s design for the West Branch would be about 2000 square feet larger than the one proposed by the City, including a larger area for browsing. While both designs have second floors, the City’s would be only 700 square feet, and it would be not open to the public. One notable difference between the two plans is the location of the meeting room and the room for the Berkeley Reads program. In the City’s plans, these rooms would be on the first floor. They are not dedicated spaces and could be used by library patrons to accommodate overflow, when not otherwise in use. By contrast, Mr. Jersey’s designs place the meeting room and the Berkeley Reads program on the second floor, giving them permanent dedicated space. The extra space for patrons on the first floor can accommodate future growth, while the City’s plans only accommodate the current level of service. 

The South Branch Library 

Similarly, Mr. Jersey’s designs for the South Branch would save only a small portion of the original library and use the lot in a more efficient way, resulting in a larger structure, including an attached Tool Library. The current Adult and Children’s Reading Rooms would be saved and restored. The dropped ceilings in these rooms would be removed, and the circular skylights would again be the major design features. Circular lighting would accompany the skylights, and these design features would be extended into the new construction. Like the City’s design, Mr. Jersey’s design includes comparable new space for computers, a Children’s Room, a Teen Room, and a meeting room; the Tool Library would no longer be separate. However in Mr. Jersey’s design, there would be a second floor above the Tool Library for storage, a mechanical room, and a private staff lounge. The library as a whole would be 900 square feet larger than the one proposed by the City. 

Responsible Choices 

By saving some parts of the old structures, the partial preservations designed submitted by CLU in the CEQA public process are more environmentally responsible. Furthermore, the South Branch design would be considerably less expensive, and the cost of the West Branch design would not exceed that of the City’s plan. There is one major difference, however. Measure FF funds could pay for all of CLU’s projects. The City Attorney has publicly stated that Measure FF funds could not be used for the demolitions called for in the City’s designs. Donna Corbeil, the Director of Library Services, said that the General Fund would be tapped to pay for the demolitions. In these tough economic times, it’s reasonable to expect that other programs or services will have to be cut to pay for the demolitions. So the City’s plans are pricey indeed. 

The City is currently in the process of preparing a final Environmental Impact Report, after which the City Council will decide the fate of the South and West Branch projects. Experienced Council watchers expect for a majority of the Council to reject the designs submitted by CLU. 

When the zoning changes now called the West Berkeley Project were begun, the Planning Department said it simply wanted “flexibility” to negotiate with landowners in developing their properties. The West Berkeley Plan itself wouldn’t be changed. Planning staff said that was their “mantra.” Industry would be protected. 

Now, at this last meeting where the public can comment, the Planning Department’s “flexibility” to negotiate has transmogrified into permission to convert up to 80 acres of West Berkeley away from industrial protection and into R&D and labs, building heights raised from 45 feet to 75, and enormous massing. This is a betrayal. 

In favor: a few large developers. Opposed: the citizens. Many of them would experience financial windfalls, and still they are opposed. They have asked at every meeting for three years for the City to develop their convivial neighborhood according to the West Berkeley Plan that the citizens themselves produced, which hasn’t failed. 

The Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), a trade association representing the interests of the recycling industry, is also opposed to this huge repurposing of the industrial area. Berkeley has hundreds of tons of resources arriving in the City-owned solid waste transfer station every day, generating around $34 million in income. The City has wasted this enormous asset by refusing to improve its resource system as its consultants recommended in 2005 and refusing to develop the kinds of enterprises that could build a green domestic manufacturing infrastructure. 

Developing these resources and building the new sustainable industries of tomorrow will require industrial lands. You have them. Please don’t waste this asset too. 

Please reject the Planning Department’s repurposing and return to the city of your citizens’ dreams. Limit Master Use Permit sites to 30 acres. Limit heights to 45 feet. Limit floor-area ratios to 2 to 1. WeBAIC’s proposed compromise is already bitter medicine for many stakeholders. Instruct the Economic Development Department to focus on finding industrial enterprises for the industrial lands. Ask the Recycling Board for the names of the many recycling-based enterprises looking for space. Look for federal industrial development funds. 

Build tomorrow’s domestic green industries that can rebuild the nation’s wealth. You have the resources, the creativity, and the land. Please take care not to waste your asset. 

Thank you for your attention. I leave you with a map showing what 80 acres looks like in West Berkeley 

Editor's Note: This letter was addressed to the Berkeley Planning Commission and copied to the Daily Planet.

As a long-time resident of South Berkeley, a former member of the Berkeley City Council and Vice Mayor, parent and grandparent, I ask that you support approval of the proposed zoning ordinance amendment. I also want to take this opportunity to express my strong support for the Berkeley Library plans for all four branch libraries. I strongly support the demolition and renovation plans for South and West Branch libraries.

As you are aware the Berkeley voters overwhelming approved the Measure FF directing the City of Berkeley to issue general obligation bonds not to exceed $26 million dollars to renovate, expand, and improve four (4) neighborhood branch libraries, but not the central library. When these libraries are renovated and rebuilt, they will be brought up to code standards and fully be able to provide services to Berkeley's diverse population. 

In order to follow through on the voter's mandate and complete the branch library projects as scheduled, the library zoning ordinance amendment is vital. I ask that the planning commission adopt the proposed zoning ordinance amendment as written. 

Plans are in place to remodel two branch libraries (Claremont and North) and build new libraries in South and West Berkeley. South and West Berkeley comprise a significant percentage of the City's population of color. The proportion of families with incomes below the poverty level is highest in South and West Berkeley. Poverty has a direct relationship to life's inequities such as disease, educational attainment, and life expectancy, etc. At every poverty level, African Americans have higher death rates than all other race/ethnic groups. Race and ethnicity are major determinate s of every indicator of socioeconomic position. African Americans are disadvantaged in terms of education, but even given the same education, have lower incomes than Whites. 

Access to modern, safe, well equipped and staffed local/branch libraries are important to ALL residents of Berkeley and critical to overcoming the inequities most prominent in South and West Berkeley communities. South and West Berkeley communities deserve the same beautiful, modern, safe and accessible branch libraries as other parts of the City. At one time in our country's history, U.S. Citizens lived under the legal doctrine of “Separate but Equal” until the 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown vs Board of Education. I would hope no one wants to go back to those days—even unintentionally. 

But it appears that just might happen. Unfortunately a group calling itself Concerned Library Users has filed a lawsuit to stop the South and West Berkeley projects. The plaintiffs reportedly secured their own architect and developed their own plans for South and West Berkeley to “preserve” the buildings; not to build new ones. The plaintiffs bypassed a transparent community decision-making process. Residents of South and West Berkeley participated in the transparent process resulting in a consensus plan to demolish and rebuild South and West branch libraries. Neither is a landmarked building; nor are the buildings able to adequately meet the needs of library users now or in the future. The buildings are not seismically safe nor accessible to the disabled. 

If the lawsuit delays the current plans for South and West Berkeley Branch libraries, it could mean that Claremont and North Branch Libraries are renovated and South and West Berkeley's are NOT. 

In current and future deliberations, I ask the Planning Commission to honor the transparent decision making process and support the residents of South and West Berkeley who, along with their fellow citizens from all parts of the City, have determined that demolition and rebuilding is the right way to go for the branch libraries in South and West Berkeley. 

Berkeley's guiding principle is “community engagement”. We believe that residents know their needs and communities best, and that we cannot create a healthy, vibrant city without engaging in true community partnerships, cooperation and collaboration. We build on community assets and strengthen community capacity. I am proud of Berkeley and I know we will work together to ensure the best for our community. 

Before this subject fades into the twilight let's get the facts straight. 

Anti-union sentiment is on the rise again in America and Wisconsin is the epicenter of new Republican and Tea Party activity. 

Wisconsin has a $3.6 billion budget deficit which Tea Party Governor Scott Walker and the GOP are blaming on the unions while most news outlets have pointed out the huge tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals as the determining factors for Wisconsin's financial woes. 

Republicans have stopped demonizing Hispanics and Latinos and immigrants and are now scapegoating teachers and unions. This is nothing new for Republicans who have been attacking unions for decades. 

What is happening in Wisconsin is a preview of the future under the Republican and Tea Party confluence. 

***** 

Wisconsin is the epicenter of new Republican anti-union activity. TeaParty governor Scott Walker has even gone so far as to say he wants to crush unions; Republicans continue their part in vilifying unions. 

Gov. Walker and his GOP majority are endeavoring to take away the union's collective bargaining rights. They passed the first part of this legislation at 1 AM in the morning, Democrats were given only seconds to vote, and then, Republicans were escorted out of the chamber by law enforcement personnel. Does this sound like democracy in action? 

Gov. Walker's attacks on union workers reminds one of another infamous politician from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, who tried to strip people of their citizenship. The next phase of Gov. Walkers' endeavor, to quiet dissent, is already under way as he tries to remove union supporters from the State Capitol in Madison. 

***** 

As the budget battles rage on in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, pitting American workers against the conservative and Republican establishment, a new poll out shows union workers are backed by a majority of Americans. Again, the GOP is on the wrong side of the issue as they try to push their ideological mindset on the country. 

The Democratic senators who have fled the state and the heavy handed tactics of Republican Governor Scott Walker have already signaled that they are willing to a proposed cut in compensation and benefits. Walker and his Republican majority will have none of it. What union workers are not willing to do is give up permanently their right to collective negotiation. Would you? 

Stand up American workers, union and non-union, and fight for your rights. You're dreaming if you think that Corporate American and the Republicans are going to change their ways. 

*****

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available. 

You can view it absolutely free of charge by clicking here . You can print it out to give to your friends. 

Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money.  

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! 

“A deputy attorney general in Indiana was fired Wednesday after he tweeted that police should 'use live ammunition' against labor union protesters in Wisconsin, The Indianapolis Star reported.” 

hat was the news coming from Indiana. It seems these tweets can be hazardous to one's job. So Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Cox lost his job with less than a 140 characters. It seemed well-deserved, as promotion of hate and violence should not be tolerated by the state government of its employees, especially a man who is charged with supporting fair application of the law. 

That was Indiana, a state by most standards considered quite conservative. We would not hear anything like that from Berkeley officials, right? Guess again. 

"When will it end? Kill or be killed? Radical Islam, or, maybe all Islam is the problem. It's a backward, misogynistic, hateful, anti-democratic, ant-semetic, and corrupt. We need to expose this to the western world and get people to realize that NOT ALL CULTURES ARE EQUAL. Islam, if allowed will spread and destroy all Western values. In order to stop films like this we need to stop the spread of Islam. Period." 

Kill or be killed? Maybe all Islam is the problem? Who is behind such a hateful and violent rant? Berkeley Daily Planet readers are likely to remember Jonathan Wornick, who was appointed by Councilmember Gordon Wozniak to the Peace and Justice Commission. He made news by circulating a hateful and ignorant video attacking Muslim people to fellow commissioners back in 2007, though he was retained, at least for a while, by Wozniak. He has since left the Peace and Justice Commission. Yet he still, despite this extremism, gets plenty of respect. 

Wornick is very involved with groups like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and numerous other respected (respected by many politicians, at least) groups. Despite (or because of?) the fact that his views on our Muslim neighbors are rather extreme, he is doing quite well, thank you. 

It is rather disturbing that a man whose worldview includes thoughts like “Kill or be Killed” when it comes to dealing with “the other” can go still get such rewards. There seems to be no line to cross for Wornick in groups like AIPAC, where they might say “you’ve gone too far”. 

It seems that despite the fact that we are in the second decade of the 21st century, Muslims are still fair targets for the most ignorant and violent sort of bigotry, and those that promote such bigotry are often rewarded, rather than ostracized. 

We must work to root out such bigotry wherever and however it is expressed. We must make sure that all ethnic and religious communities are welcome, not “stopped”. That the choice is never “kill or be killed”. The real answer is support for all peoples, and never allowing such bigotry to go unchallenged.

Shakespeare wrote, “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” In American politics the process is reversed, as the longer a President is out of office the more his reputation is sanitized. Tricky Dick Nixon is recast as a “statesman.” And Ronald Reagan, who did more than any contemporary President to kill the American dream, is elevated to sainthood. 

February 6th was Reagan’s 100th birthday. Throughout the US he was eulogized as a font of optimism; remembered for his promise “it’s morning in America.” For this reason it’s a good time to tell the truth about Ronald Reagan, to set the record straight, because many onerous US problems are his responsibility. 

Reagan was a popular President, despite the fact that throughout his tenure most voters disagreed with his policies. Reagan got what he wanted from Congress because he had an affable manner, was an effective speaker, and could deliver the most egregious lie with a straight face. Of course, Ronald Reagan was an actor made famous as a spokesman for General Electric and their nuclear power program, where “progress is our most important product.” 

Regan’s archconservative ideology has had a devastating impact on America: dogmatic advocacy of unlimited defense spending; unwarranted faith in the free market; and exaggerated emphasis on “traditional” values. 

Military Budget: During his first term as President, Reagan dramatically escalated the “Cold War” with the USSR and increased weapon-related expenditures. Some say the resulting arms race precipitated the economic demise of the Soviet Union. Whatever the reality, no one doubts that the spending spree produced the zenith of American “empire” where the US military budget was more than that of all other nations combined. 

As a consequence of Reagan’s policies, America continues to spend billions on “defense,” even though the Soviet Union has ceased to exist and there is no comparable threat to our security – fighting “terrorism” requires far fewer resources. Nonetheless, the Department of Defense remains America’s sacred cow. Politicians fear to challenge DOD expenditures less their manhood be questioned and their reelection prospects diminished. 

Ronald Reagan is gone but his military policies continue. Now it’s the US, rather than the USSR, that teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. And, like the former Soviet Union, America has wasted billions on a bloated military while vital infrastructure projects were not funded. 

Free Market Economics: During the Reagan presidency, conservative economists infused American political discourse with three malignant notions: helping the rich get richer would inevitably help everyone else, “a rising tide lifts all boats;” markets were inherently self correcting and there was no need for government regulation; and the US did not need an economic strategy because that was a byproduct of the free market. Indeed, Reagan famously argued, “government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” 

As a consequence, America’s working families were abandoned in favor of the rich. Inequality rose as middle class income and wealth declined. As corporate power increased, unions were systematically undermined. As CEO salaries soared, fewer families earned living wages. “Reaganism” produced a warped and brittle US economy, where more than two-thirds of our GDP was housing related: building, buying, and furnishing new homes or borrowing against existing homes in order to maintain a decent standard of living. (When the credit bubble burst, the debt-based consumption model failed, taking down first the housing sector and then the entire economy, resulting in catastrophic job losses.) 

Ronald Reagan had been President of the Screen Actor’s Guild, a union. Nonetheless, as President of the United States, he turned against labor and “broke” the Air Traffic Controller’s Union, thereby sending a message that Republicans were anti-labor and greatly diminishing the power of US workers. 

Traditional Values: Finally, Reagan and his GOP cohorts devised the “Southern Strategy” to win over Democrats incensed about Lyndon Johnson’s support for the Civil Rights movement. The strategy had three ideological components: support for state’s rights; stealth racism – opposition to affirmative action and the suggestion that people-of-color did not deserve the same privileges as white folks because they were “lazy;” and “traditional values.” 

Abortion and rejection of same-sex marriage are the most visible manifestations of the Republican traditional values agenda. They are the banners that herald a GOP worldview that is radically different from that of most Americans. (In his landmark book, Moral Politics University of California Linguistics Professor George Lakoff explains the elemental differences between the parties. Republicans favor a “strict father” family system, while most Democrats support a “nurturant parent” model.) 

In the Reagan worldview, the man is the unquestioned leader of the family: father, breadwinner, and protector; and women are subordinate to men, caregivers for the children and father. Reaganism is political social Darwinism that preaches that rich white men are in power because they deserve it. 

Ronald Reagan has been out of the White House for twenty-two years but his legacy lingers on, leading us down the path to “Twilight in America.” 

While the media focused on the massacre of the conservative Fianna Fail Party in the recent Irish elections, the real story may be the earthquake on the Left, particularly the success of the new kids on the block, the United Left Alliance (ULA). 

In terms of total seats, the big winners in the Feb. 26 vote were the conservative Fine Gael Party that went from 51 to 76 seats, and the Labor party that jumped from 20 to 37 seats. But Sinn Fein more than doubled its seats in the Irish parliament, or Dial, from 6 to 15, and the ULA picked up five seats. For the first time in Irish history, the Left—Labor, Sinn Fein and the ULA—hold a majority of the seats in the country’s largest city, Dublin. 

The backdrop for the election was the catastrophic collapse of the Irish housing market, and the subsequent cratering of the economy. Ireland went from “Celtic Tiger” to a European basket case and a jobless rate of 13 percent. Fianna Fail’s policies of privatization, dismantling economic checks and balances, and encouraging on-the-margins speculation were largely responsible for the economic implosion, and the voters punished them for it. The party that had dominated Irish politics for more than 80 years went from 77 to 19 seats, the worst defeat in its history. 

Most observers expect Fine Gael and Labor to form a coalition that would give them a working majority in the 166-seat Dial, although it may not be a comfortable alliance. Fine Gael’s politics are not all that different than Fianna Fail, although Fine Gael’s leader and presumably new Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, has pledged to try and renegotiate the terms of the $117 billion International Monetary Fund/European Bank (IMF/EB) bailout. The bailouts requires Ireland to cut more than $20 billion from its budget over the next four years, raise taxes on working people, cut social services, and accept a usurious interest rate of 5.8 percent. 

The Labor Party has made noises about forcing some of bank bondholders who profited from the speculation binge to pay some of the costs, although European banks are deeply opposed to that. Much will depend on what Kenny can get German Chancellor Andre Merkel to agree to, which most likely means a cut in the interest rate. Even the conservative Irish Business and Employers Confederation are pressing to cut the interest rate. 

But pushing the interest rates down is hardly a challenge to the premise behind the bailout: that Ireland’s working people should pay for the speculation binge, an orgy of profit making that they did not partake in. 

However, a solid block on the Left could push the debate in the direction of reevaluating that premise, and maybe move Labor in a more left direction. There are some 15 other “independent” voters that might also be lured into a coalition to challenge the bailout, although the ideological range among those independents leans more toward the center-right. 

Sinn Fein says it opposes the current bailout, and cuts in social services, but hedges its bets when it talks about who its potential allies might be. The party is socialist in orientation and is closely associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army. It can take a good deal of credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland, and those laurels certainly helped it in the Feb. 25 election. But the Irish Republican News of Feb. 26 reports, “Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has left open the possibility of supporting a minority Fine Gael government.” 

If Labor goes into a government with Fine Gael, the resulting coalition would have over 100 votes in the Dial, which is hardly a “minority” government. The remark, then, suggests that Adams is launching a trial balloon: a Fine Gael/ Sinn Fein coalition that would hold a narrow majority in the Dial. 

Such an alliance would not sit well with the ULA, whose program explicitly rules out “any coalition with right wing parties…particularly Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.” Indeed, the ULA says, “We aim to provide a real alternative to the establishment parties as well as Labor and Sinn Fein.” The three parties in the ULA coalition that put deputies in the Dial are the People Before Profit Alliance, the Socialist Party, and the Workers & Unemployed Action Group. 

Newly elected ULA Dial member Joe Higgins, a member of the Socialist Party, said that the coalition’s block “will work as a coherent, principled opposition,” adding, “there is a need for a new party on the left for working people.” The ULA is not a party yet, but according to Higgins the coalition is discussing how to make that come about. 

The ULA has a six-point program that includes: 

• Dumping the IMF/EB deal and ending “the bailout of the banks and developers.” 

• · A progressive tax system that “taxes the greedy not the needy.” 

• A social development program to build up the country’s infrastructure and create “hundreds of thousands of jobs.” 

• Reversing the cuts to social services and the privatization of health care. 

• Ending discrimination bases on gender, race, nationality, age, disability or sexual orientation. The coalition supports gay marriage. 

• Protecting the environment. 

Ireland faces rough sledding in the months ahead, though it will hardly be alone. Portugal’s economy is almost as bad, and the IMF and the European Bank is starting to draw up a similar set of draconian bailout policies for Lisbon. If the Irish can come up with a strategy to resist shifting the financial crisis onto the backs of those least able to pay for it, that might be a blueprint for other countries ravaged by debt and economic malaise. 

The elections made it clear that the Irish want a change, and the Left has an opportunity to develop “a new vision of society.” Now that would get Irish eyes to smile. 

Read Conn Hallinan at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com 

Political campaigns have been compared to marketing campaigns for products where the candidates market themselves to the voters using modern marketing techniques such as market research, advertising, branding, product differentiation, product placement, and often, disparaging Brand X, the other product. The successful sale of the product depends in large part on marketing. Long ago, Republicans accepted and perfected this reality as did Obama in the last presidential election. Progressives, on the other hand, just do not seem to understand this concept. 

Federal and state laws say you cannot misrepresent your product or deceive the buying public and, in some cases, the law requires you to substantiate product claims. "Puffing" or the exaggeration of the good points of a product is legal unless the puffery includes outright lies or has no basis in fact. In politics, we rely on the opponent, the media, or political organizations to set the record straight as to the veracity of candidates' claims. But often these false or deceptive claims are not disputed fast or effective enough. Remember, the Republican-funded group attacks on John Kerry's war record and how effective they were. Republicans know that when you tell a whopper -- the larger the better -- often enough, most people will come to accept it as the truth. 

Consider the election and reelection of George W. Bush. The Republicans took a not-too-bright, unremarkable, rich Yale preppie and turned him into a winning candidate. Twice. Remember, Bush in a flannel shirt clearing brush on his Crawford ranch talking "straight" to the Mexican people. Bush wasn't a rich Yale preppie anymore; he became Joe Sixpack and his "Bushisms" actually resonated with the voters. Never mind that voting for Bush rather than Al Gore or John Kerry was voting against the self-interest of most Americans. It wasn't an intellectual choice for voters. Rather, the Bush campaign just told a better story and connected emotionally with them. Republicans were selling morality, Jesus, national security, lower taxes, and freedom in 30, 60, and 90 second soundbites. Oh how we laughed at Bush, but he laughed last all the way to two election victories. 

In the last presidential election, Barack Obama's "call for change," the fact that he is a Black American, and some wishful thinking, gave him a progressive or at least a far-left look to some. His marketing strategy won him the presidency. Yet, even a token investigation of Obama's record as an Illinois state senator (1997-2004) and his short time as a U.S. Senator (2005-2008) would have shown little or no evidence that he was a progressive or a far-left liberal. Obama just told a better story than John McCain and Sarah Palin. He connected emotionally with voters. 

Progressives just do not understand or accept the concept of the political candidate or his or her ideology as a product to be sold to the American voter. Progressives for the most part still believe that electing a candidate is an intellectual exercise that requires nothing more than a reasonable, intelligent argument. Watching progressives compete in the political marketplace is like watching our local high school basketball team compete against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

I have used "progressivism" and "progressive" in this article. But what does "progressive" mean? "Progressive” sounds so forward thinking, new and modern. So positive. (And I do not mean the 1912 Progressive Party of Teddy Roosevelt.) Is "progressive" just another word for far-left liberalism or socialism or just the opposite of conservative or reactionary? Or are progressives just far-left Democrats like the late Ted Kennedy, Dennis Kucinich, Barney Frank, Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders, Al Franken, John Conyers, John Lewis, and Maxine Waters? The average voter probably cannot name five progressive politicians or the top five goals of the progressive movement. Yet, they can name Conservative Republicans like Bush, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin. 

According to a January 2011 Rasmussen survey, being described as a progressive is a positive for only 22% of voters and a negative for 34%, with 41% seeing it in between. But in a previous survey, voters were evenly divided, with 29% saying progressive was a positive description and 28% describing it as a negative. This marks a continuing downward trend for progressive which little over three years ago was slightly more popular than conservative. 

Perhaps, it is time for the progressive movement to re-brand itself so American voters can better understand what "progressive" means. 

A reader posed an important question in her letter to the editor in The Planet: What is it that makes persons with mental illness resist taking medication? This is one of the things that seem to perplex people in the community; and it also makes it more difficult for mentally ill persons to receive much sympathy. I will try to give a detailed answer to this enigma in this week’s column. 

First of all, the author of this newspaper column, yours truly, is eminently qualified to answer this question: I have discontinued medication against medical advice on three or more occasions in my past. My reactions to medications and past motives to stop taking them are typical of those who have taken anti-psychotic medications. 

One of the reasons why I tried to stop medication is that some medications induce high levels of suffering. When taking certain psychiatric medications, I have dealt with an extreme “yucky” feeling from which there is no escape. Take a bad mood or perhaps a hangover and amplify it about five hundred times and you have the “yuck” feeling of being on an anti-psychotic medication. This is one reason why some mentally ill people drink a lot of coffee and smoke a lot of cigarettes; this behavior is a vain attempt at relief. 

The bad feeling induced by medications creates a motive not to take them and this motive must be countered. A person can be convinced to endure this suffering if they realize that the alternative to it is a return to the psychotic state. If the person with the illness believes that he or she can get by without medication or can “tough it out” until the delusions go away, then it is not likely that the person will cooperate with treatment. 

Another reason why I stopped medication is that I didn’t want to believe that my brain has a defect. It typically takes a lot of ego strength for someone to accept that something is wrong with one’s brain. Such an acknowledgment is usually a significant blow to the self-esteem. Most people’s ability to accept their selves hinges upon believing one has no major defects. Accepting medical treatment based on a defect in the brain is a considerable admission of weakness, for many people. This is one reason why there is a motive to try to get over the problem “naturally.” People would like to believe that their brain’s natural capacities would eventually solve the problem. And this could work, I believe, for a small percentage of people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia. 

The problem is, in order to find out if you are one of the people who could just get over it, you are playing Russian roulette. A person who wants to explore this question by experimenting on oneself can end up with significant brain damage from repeat episodes of psychosis, as well as the long term consequences of the delusional behavior that will take place during these episodes. There isn’t and there never will be a controlled situation in which someone is “safe” from the behavior that psychosis can bring about. There is no caretaker who can safely contain such a person. This is unfortunately why some mental hospitals physically resemble prisons. Unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary to lock up a person. Whether or not the treatment they get is humane is another issue. 

I ultimately decided that it is not important whether or not my brain has a defect; what matters is how well I am able to do with the hand that has been dealt me. It’s not how good your brain is that matters, but how well you use it. I have given two important reasons for the phenomenon of noncompliance There are more reasons as well. A psychiatric consumer might have delusions produced by their illness that advise not to take the medication. (Although I have had various other delusions, I do not know how common this is.) Medication affects sex drive. It also causes weight gain, and it causes slowness. The slow reflexes can inhibit performing at jobs that require physical responsiveness. While on medication, it is much harder to be motivated to perform at a job. “Helping” professionals may misinterpret the negative effects of medications as symptoms of the illness. 

Going off of medications would be fine if the person could find a way around the consequence of getting sick all over again. However, nearly every time I tried to go off medications, I became very ill very quickly. Attempting to do this is rough on the brain, and could lead to lower levels of functioning in the long term. 

It is not necessary to ask, “what if” concerning stopping medications, hypothetically, when we already know the practical answer is generally that it is not doable.

A few years back I wrote about the bestowal of the Ig Nobel Prize for medicine on UC-Davis ophthalmology professor Ivan Schwab for his explanation of why woodpeckers don’t get headaches. (Other Ig Nobels have honored studies of the effect of Viagra on jet-lagged hamsters and the fluid dynamics of swimming in syrup.) 

Schwab was following up on the research of the late Philip May of UCLA on the anatomy and physiology of the pileated woodpecker. 

May calculated that a crow-sized pileated is capable of hammering its beak into a tree trunk at a rate of up to 20 times a second 12,000 time a day, with a 1200 g force on each impact, without knocking its brains out. This would be equivalent to hitting a stone wall face first at 16 miles an hour. 

How does it do that? May reported that the pileated woodpecker has a thick skull with spongy cartilage at the base of the beak to absorb the force of the hammer blows. Its upper and lower jaws are attached to the skull by strong muscles that contract a millisecond before each blow, creating further cushioning and diverting the force of the impact to the base and rear of the skull and bypassing the brain. Furthermore, each stroke is perfectly perpendicular to the tree, avoiding torsion that might tear the membrane enclosing the brain or cause concussion. 

Neither Schwab not May saw any potential technological spinoffs from this remarkable product of evolution. Just last month, though, two UC-Berkeley researchers, Sang-Hee Yoon and Sungmin Park, published an article in what is apparently the inaugural issue of the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. Yoon and Park, both with UC’s Department of Bioengineering, used videos and CT scans to analyze the cranial anatomy of the golden-fronted woodpecker, a smaller bird native to Texas, Mexico, and Central America, as a mechanical system. 

They identified four key shock-absorbing structures: a hard but elastic beak: the hyoid, a spring structure that supports the long coiled tongue; an area of spongy bone in the skull; and the way the skull and cerebrospinal fluid interact to suppress vibration. 

Based on that, Yoon and Park built an artifical analogue of a woodpecker’s head, substituting a metal cylinder for the beak, a rubber layer for the hyoid, an aluminum layer for the cerebrospinal fluid, and tiny glass spheres for the spongy bone. Then they packed the whole shebang and some kind of electronic apparatus into a bullet, loaded it in an airgun, and fired it at an aluminum wall. They report that their system protected the embedded electronics from impacts up to 60,000 g. 

So? Well, the best current flight recorders can only withstand 1000 g. More ominously, Yoon told the British magazine New Scientist that “an institute in Korea is now looking into military applications for the technology,” which apparently include bunker-busting bombs. (Let’s hope that’s South Korea; things are bad enough already.) Other possibilities: protecting football players and racecar drivers from brain injuries and spacecraft from meteorite impacts. 

Almost predictably, the creationists have chimed in about the woodpecker’s skull as a perfect biological system that only a divine force could have created. Brian Thomas of the Institute of Creation Research: “The woodpecker has long been considered a living refutation of big-picture evolution…Each feature that Yoon and Park mimicked includes specified material and arrangements, and all four are required for a woodpecker to effectively drill holes into wood…there is no natural way for a whole suite of required, specified features to just ‘get together’ all at one time. Perhaps unwittingly, these University of California researchers corroborated that the only way to achieve all-or-nothing design is by purposeful intent. Thus, the woodpecker is a testament to the superior engineering skill of its Creator.” 

In other words, to paraphrase Darwin’s rhetorical question about either the vertebrate eye or the avian wing: what good is a partial woodpecker? It’s the old irreducible complexity argument. 

As it happens, a number of “partial woodpeckers” have evolved in places that woodpeckers never colonized: Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, New Caledonia, the Hawaiian and Galapagos Islands. Some are birds, a couple are mammals. Each has occupied the vacant woodpecker niche, evolving the part of the woodpecker tool kit that is required to extract insect larvae from wood. They’ve become, in the words of ornithologist H. Douglas Pratt, “Rube Goldberg woodpeckers.” 

The aye-aye of Madagascar, an aberrant lemur, uses its rodent-like incisor teeth to gnaw wood and an elongated middle finger to harpoon its prey. The Australian striped possum accomplishes the same thing with a modified fourth digit and bayonet-like lower incisors. In a rare Hawai’ian finch called the ‘akiapola’au, the lower mandible of the beak is adapted from drilling into wood and the upper for probing into it. The unfortunately extinct huias of New Zealand had sexually dimorphic beaks: males were excavators, females were probers, and they foraged as a team. And don’t forget the Galapagos woodpecker finch and the New Caledonian crow, both of which make and use tools to get their grubs. 

I can’t think of a better example of evolution as the great tinkerer—or, in the person of Brian Thomas, of the ignorance and arrogance of the creationists.

March is Women’s History Month. Why a celebration of the history of women in particular? And what’s it got to do with senior power? It’s annual recognition that recorded history still omits the history of females, and that when something is noted about them, it is often distorted.  

Circa 1968, linguists, sociologists and feminists began pointing out that traditional history often ignores 50% of the population or misrepresents women's achievements. The word history is from the Greek root for the concepts of inquiring, knowing, learning. Herstory was coined to emphasize that women’s lives, deeds and participation in human affairs have been neglected or undervalued in standard history books and official documents.  

American presidents, governors and mayors have waffled in proclaiming recognition of National Women’s History Month and of International Women's Day, annually celebrated worldwide on March 8^th. With the advent of World War I, antiwar demands were added, and, in 1916, American women called it International Women's Day. Observance of International Women's Day waned until it was revived by American feminists following the rebirth of the contemporary Women’s Movement in the 1960’s.  

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Women have always served their compatriots as part of their nation’s military. They have volunteered and spied, been conscripted, and served in combat and as prisoners of war. During World War II, many American civilian women served as homemakers, prisoners-of-war, volunteers, and defense plant workers -- the Rosies. Typical wage-paying jobs available outside the home to American women in the 1930s -- when they could get work -- had been domestic, shop girl, waitress and cook.  

An unprecedented demand for new workers was suddenly created by the United States' entry into World War II. Women were asked to work outside as well as inside of the home. The media called on them to "Do the job he left behind". The Rosie-the-Riveter persona was created, although not all women became riveters. They earned money, joined unions, and found new benefits in being in the labor force. Minority women for the first time entered major industrial plants. 

But when the War was over and the Rosies wanted to stay on their jobs, the American economy and way of life no longer welcomed them. They were out of their place. In 1944 the average woman's salary was $31.21 a week for her labor, while the men who remained on the home front averaged $54.65 a week. For a while, it had been a time when women were no longer forced into roles society created for them. They became free to create their own lives and sense of self, moving in the direction of sex/gender equity. These women are now senior citizens and elders. 

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“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing,” wrote feminist George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Let’s play! From international current and past history, this diverse group of people represents many fields and accomplishments, often made while they were considered “OLD! “ 

1. In 1971, following forced retirement at 65, she "convened" the Gray Panthers to advocate for seniors' rights.  

2. I am an 80-year old Berkeley resident named Rosita Dolores Alverio, although 

you may know me as Anita, Maria Callas, or, more recently, Amanda Wingfield. I was the first actor and the first Hispanic to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony! In 2000 I was presented with a National Osteoporosis Foundation award for my work raising awareness.  

3. This author of The Joys of Aging and How to Avoid Them is an actor, concert pianist, and Los Angeles resident who made many trips to Vietnam to entertain the troops.  

4. This American lawyer in 1992 became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. She and Senator Dianne Feinstein became the first women to serve on the influential Senate Judiciary Committee.  

5. First woman of Japanese ancestry elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1972 her persistence resulted in passage of "Title IX." She served as assistant secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter before returning to Hawaiian politics. 

6. The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right and to represent Kansas in the Senate. 

7. The first woman Admiral of the U.S. Navy.  

8. Orphaned at age 9, the frequent butt of jokes as an adult, she became a 

respected American newspaper columnist, world traveler and UN delegate involved in the Women's Trade Union League. Active in politics until the end of her life, she chaired the Kennedy administration's ground-breaking Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.  

9. I was born in Prague. I was 60 years old when I became the first female U.S. Secretary of State. 

10. The book Silences was an analysis of authors’ silent periods, including the problems working-class writers have in finding time to concentrate on their art. It was researched and written in the San Francisco Public Library. Several critics pointed to the author’s Communist past, but once her books were published, she became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, including Stanford University while residing in Oakland. 

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CURRENT HISTORY: 

The House passed the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) on Feb. 19, 2011 with amendments that made an already terrible bill worse. The legislation headed to the Senate would 

defund implementation of the landmark health care law. It would eliminate the Women's Educational Equity program, which helps schools comply with Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. In addition, H.R. 1 cuts funding for prenatal care and maternal and child health, education, job training, community health services, assistance for the elderly, Social Security offices, housing, food safety, environmental protection, and more.  

xxxx 

READ: 

Bob Burnett’s column, “The Public Eye: Republicans Renew Their War on Women,” in February 16, 2011 Berkeley Daily Planet. 

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1. Margaret “Maggie” Eliza Kuhn (1905-1995) 

2. Rita Moreno (1931- ) 

3. Phyllis Diller (1917- ) 

4. Carol Mosley Braun (1947- ) 

5. Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink(1927-2002) 

6. Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker (1932- ) 

7. Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992) 

8. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)  

9. Madeleine Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová (1937- ) 

10. Tillie Lerner Olsen (1912-2007) 

MRS. DALLOWAY'S  

Ashley Wolff, March 5, 11 a.m. "Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe.''  

Leslie Larson, March 10, 7:30 p.m. "Breaking Out of Bedlam.''  

Alan Paul, March 12, 4 p.m. "Big In China.''  

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

PEGASUS BOOKS SOLANO  

John Scieszka, March 6, 1 p.m. "Spaceheadz: Book 2.''  

1855 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-6888.<

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.< 

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.< 

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.< 

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/.<

Professional Dance Through March 13  

ZELLERBACH HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Merce Cunningham Dance Company, through March 5, 8 p.m. "The Legacy Tour.'' $22-$48.  

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

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.< 

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.< 

WAR MEMORIAL OPERA HOUSE  

San Francisco Ballet, through March 9, 8 p.m. Feb. 24; 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 26; 8 p.m. March 1; 8 p.m. March 4; 2 p.m March 6; 7:30 p.m. March 9. "Program 3'' includes "Classical Symphony,'' featuring music by Prokofiev and choreography by Yuri Possokhov; "Nanna's Lied,'' featuring music by Kurt Weill and Friedrich Hollaender and choreography by Helgi Tomasson; and "Artifact Suite,'' with music by Bach and Eva Crossman-Hecht and choreography by William Forsythe. $20-$260. www.sfballet.org. 

San Francisco Ballet, through March 8, 8 p.m. Feb. 25; 2 p.m. Feb. 27; 7:30 p.m. March 2; 8 p.m. March 3; 2 p.m. March 5; 8 p.m. March 5; 8 p.m. March 8. "Program 4'' includes "Theme and Variations,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine; "Trio,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Helgi Tomasson; and "Winter Dreams,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. $20-$260.  

301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 865-2000.<

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. 

Blown To Bits, Pyroklast, Abrupt, Slandyr, Can-Cannibals, March 4, 7 p.m. $8. 

Pressure Point, Resilience, Trouble Maker, Sad Boy Sinister, Decent Criminal, March 5, 7 p.m. $8. 

Secretions, Ashtray, Drastic Actions, The Left Hand, March 6, 4 p.m. $7. 

Violation, The Blanks, The Caps, Rats On Wheels, The Nite Shades, March 11, 7 p.m. $8. 

The Funeral Pyre, The Secret, Skin Like Iron, At Our Heels, Negative Standards, March 12, 7:30 p.m. $8. 

$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.  

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  

Sin Silver, March 4, 4:30-6 p.m.  

Free.  

The Sons of Emperor Norton, March 4, 8 p.m. $10. 

The Earl Brothers, March 5, 8 p.m. $10. 

Lavay Smith & Her Quartet, March 6, 3-6 p.m. $15. 

"Open Mic at Armando's," March 7, 7 p.m. $3. 

"Fat Tuesday Party with Gumbo West," March 8, 7 p.m. $15. 

West Coast Songwriters Association Songwriters Competition, March 9, 7 p.m. $5. 

The Mark Holzinger Quartet, March 10, 8 p.m. $10. 

Doug MacLeod, March 11, 8 p.m. $10. 

Sin Silver, March 11, 4:30-6 p.m.  

Free.  

Peter Anastos & Iter, March 12, 8 p.m. $10. 

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

ASHKENAZ  

Stompy Jones, March 4, 9 p.m. East coast swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10-$13.  

Kaki King, Washington, March 5, 8:30 p.m. $20. 

Indubious, Alcyon Massive, March 6, 8 p.m. $10-$12. 

Orange Sherbet, March 6, 3-4:30 p.m. $4-$6. 

Mark St. Mary Louisiana Blues & Zydeco Band, March 8, 8:30 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10.  

The Supervillains, Lionize, March 9, 9:30 p.m. $10-$15. 

Afromassive, Humboldt State Calypso Band, Humboldt World Percussion Group, March 10, 8:30 p.m. $10-$12. 

Yellow Wall Dub Squad, March 11, 9:30 p.m.  

Baba Ken, Afro-Groove Connexion, Motordude Zydeco, March 12, 7 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 6:30 p.m. $15-$30.  

"My AMP Showcase," March 13, 6:30 p.m. $5. 

UC Berkeley Folkdancers Reunion, March 13, 1:30 p.m. $7. 

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

FOX THEATER  

Trey Anastasio Band, March 5, 7:30 p.m. $39.50. 

Wyllys, Jennifer Hartswick, March 5, 11 p.m. In the den. $5-$10.  

Simian Mobile Disco, Fake Blood, March 8, 7 p.m. $27.50. 

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

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE  

John Reischman & The Jaybirds, March 4, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50. 

Yemen Blues, March 5, 8 p.m. $25.50-$30.50. 

Ger Mandolin Orchestra, March 6, 2 p.m. $20.50-$25.50. 

Veretski Pass, March 6, 8 p.m. $18.50-$22.50. 

Freight Open Mic, March 8, 8 p.m. $4.50-$6.50. 

David Grisman Folk Jazz Trio, Jim Hurst, Samson Grisman, March 9, 8 p.m. $30.50-$32.50. 

Los Train Wreck, Loretta Lynch, Swinging Doors, March 10, 8 p.m. $14.50-$16.50. 

Robin & Linda Williams, March 11, 8 p.m. $22.50-$24.50. 

Melanie O'Reilly, March 12, 8 p.m. $20.50-$22.50. 

The Byron Berline Band, March 13, 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  

Weather Wayne, March 5, 8 p.m. $15. 

"See Hear!" March 6, 4:30 p.m. $15. 

Deuce, March 11, 8 p.m. $10-$15. 

Kathleen Grace, March 12, 8 p.m. $12. 

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

THE NEW PARISH  

The Real Nasty, Diegos Umbrella, Rough Waters, March 5, 10 p.m. $8-$12. 

"Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise," March 6, 8:15 p.m. $14. 

Il Gato, Ferocious Few, Cannons and Clouds, March 9, 9 p.m. $5-$10. 

The Bellrays, Fergus and Geronimo, March 10, 9 p.m. $10-$12. 

Meshell Ndegeocello, Martin Luther, March 11 through March 12, 9:30 p.m. $25. 

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

SHATTUCK DOWN LOW For ages 21 and older. 

Conscious Souls, The Return of Fazed Too, Amaya, March 4, 9 p.m.  

Brasiu, Sotaque Baiano, March 5, 9 p.m.  

Rockstar Karaoke!, March 8, 8 p.m.  

Doug Beavers & Orquestra Rovira, March 9, 8 p.m.  

"Damn Gina," March 10, 9 p.m.  

Holly Saucy & The Invalid Truth, Punk Funk Mob, DJ Pam The Funkstress, March 11, 9 p.m.  

"The Feel Good: Love Below," March 12, 9 p.m.  

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

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

The Moore Brothers, The Corner Laughers, Skystone, March 4, 9 p.m.  

$8. 

Kalri$$ian, DJ Keylo Venezuela, Chickenhead Johnson, DJ Chachi Harlem, March 5, 9 p.m. $8. 

The Starry Irish Session led by Shay Black, March 6, 8 p.m.  

Sliding scale cover charge.  

Starry Plough Irish Dance and Ceili Session, March 7, 7 p.m. $5. 

Starry Plough Open Mic, March 8, 7:30 p.m.  

Free.  

Blisses B and Left Coasting, March 10, 9 p.m. $8. 

Brian Kenny Fresno, MoeTar, InnerEar Brigade, March 11, 9 p.m. $8. 

Beatbeat Whisper, Big Eagle, Yearling, March 12, 3-6 p.m. $5. 

Montana Slim String Band, Old Stock, Spill The Wine, March 12, 9 p.m. $8. 

The Starry Irish Session led by Shay Black, March 13, 8 p.m.  

Sliding scale cover charge.  

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  

The Ferocious Few, Hosannas, Cleveland Browns, The Love Dimension, Aerin Monroe, March 4, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

The Chop Tops, The Revtones, Stigma 13, March 5, 9 p.m. $10. 

"Active Music Series," March 8, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

Speak Friend, Roshon, Alright, March 9, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

A, B & The Sea, March 10, 9 p.m. $8. 

Banana Hamilton, Saything, Trainwreck Riders, Manatee Pants, DJ Zachariah, March 11, 9 p.m.  

Free.  

Fake Your Own Death, Tigercat, The Wrong Words, March 12, 8 p.m. $10. 

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

YOSHI'S  

Al Di Meola, Mingo Lewis, March 4 through March 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 7 and 9 p.m. Sun. $28. 

El Cerrito High School Jazz Bands, March 7, 8 and 10 p.m. $10-$15. 

Gyan Riley & Terry Riley, March 8, 8 p.m. $16. 

Jacqui Naylor Quartet, March 9, 8 p.m. $22. 

Chico Trujillo, March 10, 8 and 10 p.m. $12-$20. 

Albita, March 11 through March 12, 8 and 10 p.m. $30. 

Vienna Teng & Alex Wong, March 13, 5 and 7 p.m. $30. 

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.<

ALBANY ARTS GALLERY ongoing.  

1251 Solano Ave., Albany. (510) 526-9558.< 

BEDFORD GALLERY ongoing.  

$3 general; $2 youth ages 12 through 17; free children ages 12 and under; free Tuesdays. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 295-1417, www.bedfordgallery.org.< 

EXPRESSIONS GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-3 p.m. 2035 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 644-4930, www.expressionsgallery.org/.< 

HALL OF PIONEERS GALLERY  

"Oakland Chinatown Pioneers," ongoing. Twelve showcases, each focusing on historic leaders and personalities of the community.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Chinese Garden Building, 275 Seventh St., Oakland. (510) 530-4590.< 

HEARST ART GALLERY AT SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA ongoing.  

$3. Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 1928 Saint Mary's Road, Moraga. (925) 631-4379, www.gallery.stmarys-ca.edu.< 

MERCURY 20 GALLERY ongoing.  

475 25th St., Oakland. (510) 701-4620, www.mercurytwenty.com.< 

OLIVE HYDE ART GALLERY  

"Domicile," ongoing.  

Free. Thursday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 123 Washington Blvd., Fremont. (510) 791-4357, www.olivehydeartguild.org/.< 

PHOTOLAB ongoing.  

2235 5th St., Berkeley. (510) 644-1400, www.photolabratory.com.< 

ROWAN MORRISON GALLERY ongoing.  

330 40th St., Oakland. (510) 384-5344, www.rowanmorrison.com.<

ANDREA SCHWARTZ GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1-5 p.m. 525 2nd St., San Francisco. (415) 495-2090, www.asgallery.com.< 

ARTHAUS ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 411 Brannan St., San Francisco. (415) 977-0223, www.arthaus-sf.com.< 

BRAUNSTEIN-QUAY GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 430 Clementina St., San Francisco. (415) 278-9850, www.bquayartgallery.com.< 

BRIAN GROSS FINE ART ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 49 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 788-1050, www.briangrossfineart.com.< 

CALDWELL SNYDER GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 341 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 296-7896, www.caldwellsnyder.com.< 

CREATIVITY EXPLORED GALLERY ongoing.  

Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6 p.m. 3245 16th St., San Francisco. (415) 863-2108, www.creativelyexplored.org.< 

DON SOKER CONTEMPORARY ART ongoing.  

100 Montogomery St., Suite 1430, San Francisco. (415) 291-0966.< 

FEMINA POTENS GALLERY ongoing.  

Free unless otherwise noted. Thursday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. 2199 Market Street at Sanchez, San Francisco. (415) 217-9340, www.feminapotens.org.< 

MODERNISM ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 685 Market St., San Francisco. (415) 541-0461, www.modernisminc.com.< 

PAUL THIEBAUD GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 718 Columbus Ave., San Francisco. (415) 434-3055, www.paulthiebaudgallery.com.< 

ROBERT KOCH GALLERY ongoing.  

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 49 Geary St., Fifth Floor, San Francisco. (415) 421-0122, www.kochgallery.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 March 6, 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Works by Hindemith, Stenhammar, Runeberg, Nielsen, Grieg, Sibelius and Brahms. Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. $15-$140. www.sfsymphony.org. 

San Francisco Symphony, March 10 through March 12, 8 p.m. Works by Mendelssohn. Conducted by Kurt Masur. $35-$140.  

Yefim Bronfman, March 13, 7 p.m. Works by Haydn, Rachmaninoff and Chopin, performed on piano. $15-$83.  

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

HERBST THEATRE  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, March 4, 8 p.m. Works by Rebel, Handel, Gluck, Stookey and Rameau. Musical direction by Nicholas McGegan. $30-$90. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com. 

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.< 

OLD FIRST CHURCH  

Pacific Guitar Ensemble, March 4, 8 p.m. $14-$17. 

ZOFO Duet, March 11, 8 p.m. Works by Tanaka Arthur, Honegger, Honma, Amman, Sakamoto. $14-$17.  

Eos Ensemble, March 13, 4 p.m. Works by Wolf, Von Weber and Brahms. $14-$17.  

$14-$17; children 12 and under free. 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco. (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org.< 

ST. MARK'S LUTHERAN CHURCH  

California Bach Society, March 4, 8 p.m. Works by Buxtehude and more. Conducted by Paul Flight. $10-$30. (415) 262-0272, www.calbach.org. 

1111 O'Farrell St., San Francisco. (415) 928-7770, www.stmarks-sf.org.< 

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL  

Duke University Chorale, March 6, 3:30 p.m.  

$5 suggested donation. 1111 Gough St., San Francisco. (415) 567-2020, www.stmarycathedralsf.org.< 

TEMPLE EMANU-EL  

Eugene Chan and John Churchwell, March 6, 5:30 p.m. Works by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Medtner. $10-$25. (415) 864-3330. 

2 Lake St., San Francisco. < 

WAR MEMORIAL OPERA HOUSE  

San Francisco Ballet, through March 9, 8 p.m. Feb. 24; 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 26; 8 p.m. March 1; 8 p.m. March 4; 2 p.m March 6; 7:30 p.m. March 9. "Program 3'' includes "Classical Symphony,'' featuring music by Prokofiev and choreography by Yuri Possokhov; "Nanna's Lied,'' featuring music by Kurt Weill and Friedrich Hollaender and choreography by Helgi Tomasson; and "Artifact Suite,'' with music by Bach and Eva Crossman-Hecht and choreography by William Forsythe. $20-$260. www.sfballet.org. 

San Francisco Ballet, through March 8, 8 p.m. Feb. 25; 2 p.m. Feb. 27; 7:30 p.m. March 2; 8 p.m. March 3; 2 p.m. March 5; 8 p.m. March 5; 8 p.m. March 8. "Program 4'' includes "Theme and Variations,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine; "Trio,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Helgi Tomasson; and "Winter Dreams,'' featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. $20-$260.  

301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. (415) 865-2000.<

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST BAY (HAYWARD CAMPUS)  

CSUEB Wind Symphony, March 8, 7:30 p.m. Works by Schwantner. $5-$7.  

25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward. www.csueastbay.edu.< 

CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER  

Noah Bendix-Balgley, March 8, 7:30 p.m. Works by Ernst Bloch. $15-$20.  

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

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY  

Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, March 4, 8 p.m. Works by Telemann, Bach, and Handel. $52.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, March 5 through March 6, 8 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun. Works by Rebel, Handel, Gluck, Stookey and Rameau. Musical direction by Nicholas McGegan. $30-$90. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com. 

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

HERTZ HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, March 6, 3 p.m. Works by Schubert and Ken Ueno. $52. www.calperformances.org. 

University Symphony Orchestra, March 11 through March 12, 8 p.m. Works by Leroux. $5-$15.  

"Les Percussions de Strasbourg," March 13, 3 p.m. Works by Varese, Manoury, Cendo, Campion, Taira. $42. www.calperformances.org. 

Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch, March 13, 7 p.m. The tenor and pianist will perform a program to be determined. $40-$100. www.caloperformances.org Bancroft Way and College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 642-4864, www.music.berkeley.edu.< 

ST. MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH  

California Bach Society, March 6, 4 p.m. Works by Buxtehude and more. Conducted by Paul Flight. $10-$30.  

2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (415) 262-0272.<

With the nation agonizing over the heart-wrenching trials and tribulations of Charlie Sheen, it's high time we turn to loftier thoughts and maybe come up with a few worthwhile programs and events to enrich our lives. A good beginning would be the University of California's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, an educational program for older adults who are learning just for the joy of it. On Tuesday, March 15, OLLI will host an Open House at Freight and Salvage Coffee House, from 9:30 - noon. For information on the courses offered, call (510) 642, or berkeley_olli@berkeley edu. 

***** 

If travel's your thing, the Oakland Museum of California's History Guild offers exciting trip to spots in California and elsewhere. I've just returned from a trip to Death Valley, an exhilarating trip if there ever was one. A tour of Savannah and Charleston is scheduled for March 30 - April 2. For information, call Helen Tryon, Travel Chair, at (510) 834 2964. 

***** 

If you dig Shakespeare, you should consider a travel/study program at the Spring 2011 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, April 5, 6, 7, sponsored by the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Avenue. The plays to be seen are "Measure for Measure", "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The imaginary Invalid." Round trip transportation and overnight accommodations are included in the very reasonable price of $425 per person. For reservations call (510) 238-3284. 

***** 

The Emeryville Senior Center also has several trips of interest (i.e., Steinbeck Museum/Carmel Mission, on March 22nd, $22.00.) For reservations, call 596-3779. 

***** 

You're a theatre devotee? Certainly there's no shortage of high quality drama in the Bay Area. Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre at 2015 Addison Street is presenting "Reuined", Lynn Nottaga's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a brothel serving as an unlikely refuge for the raped and maimed women of Congo. 

Harold Pinter's play, "Homecoming" opens March 9th at the American Conservatory Theatre, 415 Geary Street, S.F. 

Another popular drama series is "Actors Reading Writers", directed by Thomas Lynch, given the first Monday of the Month at the Berkeley City Club on Durant Avenue. There's no admission, though donations are welcome. 

***** 

Music lovers have a wealth of concerts and recitals. 

The S.F. Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, will feature Anna Sofie von Otter Thursday through Sunday at Davies Hall, $15 - $140. 

Our very own Berkeley Symphony, with Lorin Maazel as artistic director and conductor, will perform "The Britten Project" ("The Rape of Lucretia"), March 24 and 25 at Zellerbach Hall. 

Not to be overlooked is the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, March 3 - 5, also at Zellerbach Hall. 

***** 

Last but certainly not least, of interest to food lovers (and who doesn't love food?), mention should be made of a wonderful new restaurant in Berkeley -- Bacheesos, at 2650 Telegraph Avenue. You're probably familiar with the restaurant at Dwight Way and San Pablo. But this new restaurant, directly across from Andronico's is a gem, with oriental carpets, lovely tile work, comfortable booths and a wide selection of appetizing dishes, served by a gracious hostess and waitress. Bacheesos is a welcome addition to Telegraph Avenue; here's hoping it it draws many diners. Hopefully all of the above has provided a respite from news about Charlie Sheen, though that's highly unlikely!

“Of Gods and Men” opens at the Embarcadero in San Francisco on March 4 and at the Albany Twin on March 11.

A war film about monks may seem an odd choice for the big screen, but “Of Gods and Men” was the Grand Prize Winner at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to become France’s official selection for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film. Writer-director Xavier Beauvois’ challenging human drama is “loosely based” on the 1996 tragedy that befell an isolated band of Christian monks that became caught up in the war between the Algerian army and a Muslim insurgency. 

Until the outbreak of civil war, the eight French Cistercian monks had cared for the poor and sick while living in harmony with the families of the Muslim village of Tibhirine. But the new Islamic rebellion not only threatened the post-colonial status quo that sustained the monastery, it also threatened the people in the village that the eight robed men were committed to serve. 

In Beauvois’ film, the resulting ethical dilemmas force the monks to face some profound choices. Do we treat injured rebel fighters as we treat the people of the village? Do we abandon the village or do we risk becoming martyrs? And, if so, what’s the value of that? If we stay and are killed, how does that help the people? How does that elevate the Church? How, in the end, do our choices best “serve God”? 

After much debate and (quite literal) soul-searching, even the most practical and the most terrified of the brothers comes to the decision that they must stay, despite threats from both the Army and the insurgents. In an attempt to respect the humanity of both sides, the monks refer to the Army as “the brothers of the plains” and the insurgents as “the brothers of the mountains.” 

The monks face roadblocks, military checkpoints and rampaging high-noon killers with throat-slitting agendas. But some threats arrive quietly, by night and on foot. On Christmas Eve, a band of heavily armed rebels bursts into the monastery hoping to terrorize the monks and commandeer their precious cache of medicines. Brother Christian faces the rebel leader, clearly prepared to sacrifice his life before abandoning his principles. The two men wind up tensely quoting passages from the Bible and the Quran and find common ground. A confrontation that began with a brandishing of arms ends with a tense, brotherly handshake. 

This is a film that challenges the viewer to ask: “What would I have done in this situation?” With the loss of a onetime unquestioned assumption in the omnipotence and beneficence of God, these questions become harder to answer. One approach is to adopt a sort of holy nihilism. As Brother Luc puts concludes: “It is through poverty, failure and death that we proceed toward [God].” Or, as another brother intones, one can only follow the example of Jesus, “the Man of Sorrows who beckons us from the cross.” 

There is no denying the punch of the film’s soundtrack. Inside the cloistered monastery, the silence is broken only by the murmur of muted conversations and voices raised in choruses of “Salve Regina.” But, again and again, the sudden, explosive roar of gas-powered engines shatters the soothing equilibrium of these core scenes. These auditory jump-cuts will have some startled viewers jumping in their seats. A convoy of vans rumbles up a road. An armored vehicle rattles toward the screen. And nearly every time the silence is broken by the sound of an engine, it signals the arrival of some new threat. 

In the silence of their duties, the monks find strength in the songs of Christian communion. And the songs become a greater source of strength as the war rises around them. In one stunning scene, a helicopter gunship slowly drops from the sky with the monastery in its sights. As the walls around them tremble, the brothers form a line, link arms and raise their voices in what could be their last chorus of “Save us, Lord, whilst we watch! Keep us, Lord, whilst we sleep!” 

Ultimately, the monks are left to face their sacrificial destiny as they embark on a forced march into the shroud of history. But before that happens, there is one of the most transcendent moments in cinema. One evening, as all gather for what may be their Last Supper, Brother Luc dispenses with the regular ritual and instead appears with two special bottles of wine and a boom box. He sets the volume to “loud” and joins the table as the full measure of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” spills into the hall like an orchestral flood. The men and the audience are buffeted by the emotional blows of this wrenching score that seems to simultaneously proclaim that all life is doomed and all life is sacred, beatific and profound. 

Knowing that he was facing death, the monastery’s leader, Brother Christian, left behind a message to his friends, and his family. It read, in part: “This country and Islam, for me, are … a body and a soul…. I don’t see how I could ever rejoice in this people I love being indistinctly accused of my murder.” And he adds a message to the man who would eventually kill him: “In this thank you, I include you as well, friend of the last minute, who knew not what you were doing…. May we meet again, happy thieves in paradise, if it pleases God, the Father of us both. AMEN! INCH’ALLAH!” 

Postscripts: The actual fate of the monks remained a mystery since their disappearance on March 26, 1996. Their severed heads were subsequently discovered along a roadside near Médéa. Their bodies were never found. The Groupe Islamiste Armée claimed responsibility for the kidnapping but the Army (which had a reputation for kidnappings and brutal murders) was also suspect. In 2005, the Algerian government outlawed any investigations into the matter but, on November 20, 2009, declassified records from the former French Defense Attaché in Algiers revealed the seven monks were “victims of a mistake” by the Algerian army. [This disclosure apparently came too late to influence the final cut of “Gods and Men.” The film ends with the monks being abducted by a band of Islamic militants.] 

One other note: The iconography of robed Christian men has taken a beating over the past decade. It used to be that the sight of a dozen men in holy garb tending to prayers and monastic duties would give rise to feelings of awe and reverence. Today, to a degree that I’d never experienced before, I found the spectacle of grown men padding about in dresses alternately amusing and depressing. And now there is a new guessing game to deal with: Is Brother Amédée gay? Is Brother Célestin hetero? Have any of these celibates ever molested a child? Fortunately, it becomes easy to put these concerns aside once the story kicks in.

Music: Other Minds 16; Berkeley Western Edge Opera Carmen Fixation. Theater: Philip Kan Gotanda's new play, I Dream of Chang and Eng, premieres at UCB 

Music 

--"I went around with a tape recorder, got people to sing the 'Star-Spangled Banner,' then edited it in chunks. It's totally chaotic, never in the same key--or voice!" Hymn, a--very brief--1975 composition by Oakland's Anthony Gnazzo for the American Bicentennial, has been resurrected to open Other Minds 16 this Thursday evening, the festival of innovative modern and contemporary music co-founded by Charles Amirkhanian, and to celebrate the composer's 75th birthday, "even if he doesn't like it!" At least it'll get the audience to stand up, both Gnazzo and Amirkhanian intimated in separate statements. 

The festival will feature composers Louis Andriessen and Han Bennick from the Netherlands; guitarist I Wayan Balawan,Indonesia; Kyle Gann, Janice Giteck, David Jaffe and Jason Moran, all USA, and Agata Zubel from Poland. Bennick and Moran (a MacArthur Fellow) are well-known to jazz listeners. Players will include the Seattle Chamber Players, Del Sol String Quartet, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and instrumentalists like pianist (and KPFA personality) Sarah Cahill, singers like Italian soprano Cristina Zavalloni. Highlights include the premieres of commissioned pieces "The Space Between Us," by Jaffe, featuring the percussion instruments of the late composer Henry Brant played while suspended above the audience, which will be flanked by two chamber ensembles, and Moran's "Slang." 

Giteck's "Ishi," inspired by the "last of his tribe" Native American who spent his last days at UC Berkeley, will be accompanied by a film by Emiko Omori.Amirkhanian, artistic director of Other Minds--which got its name from an obituary for composer John Cage (" ... he composed music in other peoples' minds")--is well-known to KPFA listeners for the music programming he did for decades. Gnazzo, a kind of wry eminence grise--or at least a low-key local presence--was head of the Tape Music Center at Mills College in Oakland ("long retired and never recovered from it"), has been pressing oil of olives randomly fallen from his tree--Huile de Fortune--and engaged in other inventions with the Fratelli Sciatica. 

Other Minds 16, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8 p. m. (panel discussions at 7), Kanbar Hall, San Francisco Jewish Community Center, 3200 California Street (at Presidio), San Francisco. Tickets: $20-$40; festival passes: $51-$102. (415) 292-1200; otherminds.org * 

The Carmen Fixation, music director Jonathan Khuner's adaptation of Bizet's famous gypsy opera, Berkeley West Edge Opera's latest production, opens Saturday at 8, featuring Buffy Baggott as Carmen, Pedro Rodelas as Don Jose, Jillian Khuner as Micaela and Michael Taylor as Escamillo. Robert Ashens conducts; artistic director Mark Streshinsky both stage directed and designed the set. 

Saturday at 8, Wednesday (March 9) at 7:30, Friday the 11th at 8, Sunday the 13th at 2; Performing Arts Theater, 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito. Tickets: $15-$64, including student rush. 841-1903; berkeleyopera.org 

Theater 

Playwright and UCB Visiting Scholar Philip Kan Gotanda's I Dream of Chang and Eng, concerning the 19th century conjoined Southeast Asian brothers who became the original "Siamese Twins," who were exhibited around the world, and in the US by P. T Barnum (and written about by Mark Twain), will be premiered this Friday at 8, running March 4-13 at Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC campus, directed by Peter Glazer of the Theater, Dance and Performance Studies Department, where it was workshopped last year. A symposium, Conjoined Histories, concerning race, gender and popular performance, participants including the playwright and director, will be presented Friday, March 11, 1:30-6 p. m., Zellerbach Auditorium, free. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8, Sundays at 2, Zellerbach Playhouse. Tickets $10-$15. 642-8827; tdps.berkeley.edu 

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. "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.  

"Potato Harvesting," ongoing. Learn the spectacular history of this New World native as you dig with your spade and help find the spuds. 

$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.< 

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.< 

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 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. 

"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 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. 

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. 

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY --  

"Waterfalls and Wildflowers," March 13, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy early season wildflowers and late season waterfalls on this nature trek up Mt. Diablo's rugged north side. This is a challenging hike of six miles on some rugged trails. 

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. 

"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. 

"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. 

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."Mt. Wanda Wildflower Walk," March 12 and March 26, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Join a National Park Service ranger for an early morning wildflower walk. More than 82 species of native plants have been found on Mt. Wanda. Free. 

$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.< 

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.< 

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 Sunol Regional Wilderness. 

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

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND ongoing. The Oakland Public Library's museum is designed to discover, preserve, interpret and share the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans in California and the West. In addition, a three-panel mural is on permanent display. 

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5:30 p.m. 659 14th St., Oakland. (510) 637-0200, www.oaklandlibrary.org.< 

ALAMEDA MUSEUM ongoing. The museum offers permanent displays of Alameda history, the only rotating gallery showcasing local Alameda artists and student artwork, as well as souvenirs, books and videos about the rich history of the Island City. 

Free. Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 2324 Alameda Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-1233, www.alamedamuseum.org.< 

BADE MUSEUM AT THE PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION The museum's collections include the Tell en-Nasbeh Collection, consisting of artifacts excavated from Tell en-Nasbeh in Palestine in 1926 and 1935 by William Badh, and the Howell Bible Collection, featuring approximately 300 rare books (primarily Bibles) dating from the 15th through the 18th centuries. 

"Tell en-Nasbeh," ongoing. This exhibit is the "heart and soul" of the Bade Museum. It displays a wealth of finds from the excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh, Palestine whose objects span from the Early Bronze Age (3100-2200 BC) through the Iron Age (1200-586 BC) and into the Roman and Hellenistic periods. Highlights of the exhibit include "Tools of the Trade" featuring real archaeological tools used by Badh and his team, an oil lamp typology, a Second Temple period (586 BC-70 AD) limestone ossuary, and a selection of painted Greek pottery.  

"William Frederic Bade: Theologian, Naturalist, and Archaeologist," ongoing. This exhibit highlights one of PSR's premier educators and innovative scholars. The collection of material on display was chosen with the hopes of representing the truly dynamic and multifaceted character of William F. Badh. He was a family man, a dedicated teacher, a loving friend, and an innovative and passionate archaeologist.  

Free. Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Holbrook Hall, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0528, www.bade.psr.edu/bade.< 

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE  

"Thom Faulders: BAMscape," through Nov. 30. This commissioned work, a hybrid of sculpture, furniture, and stage, is the new centerpiece of Gallery B, BAM's expansive central atrium. It is part of a new vision of the gallery as a space for interaction, performance, and improvised experiences.  

2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. < 

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.< 

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. 

"Beyond Blastoff: Surviving in Space," ongoing. An interactive exhibit that allows you to immerse yourself into the life of an astronaut to experience the mixture of exhilaration, adventure and confinement that is living and working in space.  

"Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars," ongoing. Explore the history of the Chabot observatories and how its historic telescopes are used today. Daytime visitors can virtually operate a telescope, experiment with mirrors and lenses to understand how telescopes create images of distant objects and travel through more than a century of Chabot's history via multimedia kiosks, historical images and artifact displays. Ongoing.  

"Live Daytime Planetarium Show," ongoing. Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Ride through real-time constellations, stars and planets with Chabot's full-dome digital projection system. 

"Daytime Telescope Viewing," ongoing. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. View the sun, the moon and the planets through the telescopes during the day. Free with general admission. 

"Galaxy Explorers Hands-On Fun," ongoing. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. The Galaxy Explorers lead a variety of fun, hands-on activities, such as examining real spacesuits, creating galaxy flipbooks, learning about telescopes, minerals and skulls and making your own comet. Free with general admission. 

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.< 

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. 

"Architects at Play," ongoing. This hands-on, construction-based miniexhibit provides children with the opportunity to create free-form structures, from skyscrapers to bridges, using KEVA planks. Ongoing.  

$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 AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM The museum is located in a former post office and displays memorabilia of early Hayward and southern Alameda County. Some of the features include a restored 1923 Seagrave fire engine and a hand pumper from the Hayward Fire Department, founded in 1865; a Hayward Police Department exhibit; information on city founder William Hayward; and pictures of the old Hayward Hotel. The museum also alternates three exhibits per year, including a Christmas Toys exhibit and a 1950s lifestyle exhibit.Ongoing.  

50 cents-$1. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 22701 Main St., Hayward. (510) 581-0223, www.haywardareahistory.org.< 

JUDAH L. MAGNES MUSEUM The museum's permanent collection includes objects of Jewish importance including ceremonial art, film and video, folk art and fine art, paintings, sculptures and prints by contemporary and historical artists. 

"Projections," ongoing. Multimedia works from the museum's extensive collections of archival, documentary and experimental films. Located at 2911 Russell Street. Ongoing.  

$4-$6; free for children under age 12. Sunday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. CLOSED APRIL 3-4 AND 9-10; MAY 23-24 AND 28; JULY 4; SEPT. 3, 13 AND 27; OCT. 4; NOV. 22; DEC. 24-25 AND 31. 2911 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 549-6950, www.magnes.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.  

"Animal Discovery Room,,' ongoing. 1:30-4 p.m. Visitors of all ages can hold and touch gentle animals, learn about their behavior and habitats and play with self-guided activities and specimen models.  

"Forces That Shape the Bay," ongoing. This science park shows and explains why the San Francisco Bay is the way it is, with information on water, erosion, plate tectonics and mountain building.  

"Ingenuity in Action," ongoing. Summer 2010. Enjoy the best of the Ingenuity Lab. Engage your creative brain and use a variety of materials to design, build and test your own innovations.  

"Kapla," ongoing. Play with simple, versatile building blocks that can be used to build very large, high and stable structures.  

"KidsLab," ongoing. This multisensory play area includes larger-than-life blocks, a crawl-through kaleidoscope, the Gravity wall, a puppet theater and a reading area.  

"NanoZone," ongoing. Discover the science of nanotechnology through handson activities and games.  

"Planetarium," ongoing. Explore the skies in this interactive planetarium.  

"Science on a Sphere," ongoing. Catch an out-of-this-world experience with an animated globe. See hurricanes form, tsunamis sweep across the oceans and city lights glow around the planet. Ongoing.  

$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.< 

MEYERS HOUSE AND GARDEN MUSEUM The Meyers House, erected in 1897, is an example of Colonial Revival, an architectural style popular around the turn of the century. Designed by Henry H. Meyers,the house was built by his father, Jacob Meyers, at a cost of $4000.00.Ongoing.  

$3. Fourth Saturday of every month. 2021 Alameda Ave., Alameda. (510) 521-1247, www.alamedamuseum.org/meyers.html.< 

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE VILLAGE ongoing. A science museum with an African-American focus promoting science education and awareness for the underrepresented. The science village chronicles the technical achievements of people of African descent from ancient ties to present. There are computer classes at the Internet Cafi, science education activities and seminars. There is also a resource library with a collection of books, periodicals and videotapes. 

$4-$6. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-6 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. 630 20th St., Oakland. (510) 893-6426, www.ncalifblackengineers.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.Ongoing.  

"Saturday Stories," ongoing. 1 p.m. For children 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.< 

MUSEUM OF THE SAN RAMON VALLEY The museum features local artifacts, pictures, flags and drawings commemorating the valley's history. It also houses a historical narrative frieze. In addition to a permanent exhibit on the valley's history, the museum sponsors revolving exhibits and several guided tours. The restored railroad depot that houses the museum was built on the San Ramon Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad 108 years ago.Ongoing.  

Free. August: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The Depot, West Prospect and Railroad avenues, Danville. (925) 837-3750, www.museumsrv.org.< 

MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET Located in a former town hall building, this museum is a piece of local history. It has a photo and document archive, collection of artifacts, local history publications for purchase, and a history library. It is supported by the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society.Ongoing.  

$2. Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; CLOSED DEC. 23-JAN. 8. 603 Main St., Pleasanton. (925) 462-2766, www.museumonmain.org.< 

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA "Art a la Carte," Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. Art docents offer a variety of specialized tours focusing on one aspect of the museum's permanent collection. Free with museum admission.  

"Online Museum," Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Explore the museum's collection on videodisks in the History Department Library.  

Docent Gallery Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. 

"Explore our New Gallery," through Dec. 2. The new Gallery of California Art showcases more than 800 works from OMCA's collection-one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of California art in the world.  

"Gallery of California History," through Dec. 2. This new gallery is based on the theme of Coming to California.  

$5-$8; free for children ages 5 and under; free to all on the second Sunday of the month. Special events are free with museum admission unless noted otherwise. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; first Friday of the month, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 238-2200, www.museumca.org.< 

PARDEE HOME MUSEUM ongoing. The historic Pardee Mansion, a three-story Italianate villa built in 1868, was home to three generations of the Pardee family who were instrumental in the civic and cultural development of California and Oakland. The home includes the house, grounds, water tower and barn. Reservations recommended. Group tours may be arranged between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tues.-Sun.  

Private Tours and Teas: Take a private tour followed by tea in the Pardee family dining room (available for 4-12 persons).  

Tour with light tea: $12 per person  

Tour with high tea: $25 per person.  

High tea without tour: $20 per person. 

$5-$25; free children ages 12 and under. House Tours: 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday and second Saturday of each month; 2 p.m. the second Sunday or each month. 672 11th St., Oakland. (510) 444-2187, www.pardeehome.org.< 

SAN LEANDRO HISTORY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY ongoing. The museum showcases local and regional history and serves as a centerpiece for community cultural activity. There are exhibits on Ohlone settlements, farms of early settlers, and contributions of Portuguese and other immigrants. There will also be exhibits of the city's agricultural past and the industrial development of the 19th century. "Yema/Po Archeological Site at Lake Chabot," ongoing. An exhibit highlighting artifacts uncovered from a work camp of Chinese laborers, featuring photomurals, cutouts and historical photographs. 

Free. Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 320 West Estudillo Ave., San Leandro. (510) 577-3990, www.ci.sanleandro. ca.us/sllibrarymuseum.html.< 

SHADELANDS RANCH HISTORICAL MUSEUM Built by Walnut Creek pioneer Hiram Penniman, this 1903 redwood-framed house is a showcase for numerous historical artifacts, many of which belonged to the Pennimans. It also houses a rich archive of Contra Costa and Walnut Creek history in its collections of old newspapers, photographs and government records.Ongoing.  

$1-$3; free-children under age 6. Wednesday and Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; Closed in January. 2660 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek. (925) 935-7871, www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us.< 

SMITH MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD The museum houses significant collections of archaeological and ethnographic specimens from Africa, Asia and North America and small collections from Central and South America. The museum offers opportunities and materials for student research and internships in archaeology and ethnology.Ongoing.  

Free. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Meiklejohn Hall, Fourth Floor, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward. (510) 885-3104, (510) 885-7414, www.isis.csuhayward.edu/cesmith/acesmith.html.< 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ongoing. "Native California Cultures," ongoing. This is an exhibit of some 500 artifacts from the museum's California collections, the largest and most comprehensive collections in the world devoted to California Indian cultures. The exhibit includes a section about Ishi, the famous Indian who lived and worked with the museum, Yana tribal baskets and a 17-foot Yurok canoe carved from a single redwood.  

"Recent Acquisitions," ongoing. The collection includes Yoruba masks and carvings from Africa, early-20th-century Taiwanese hand puppets, textiles from the Americas and 19th- and 20th-century Tibetan artifacts.  

"From the Maker's Hand: Selections from the Permanent Collection," ongoing. This exhibit explores human ingenuity in the living and historical cultures of China, Africa, Egypt, Peru, North America and the Meditteranean. 

$1-$4; free for children ages 12 and under; free to all on Thursdays. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m. 103 Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Avenue, Berkeley. (510) 643-7648, www.hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu.< 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY ongoing. "Tyrannosaurus Rex," ongoing. A 20-foot-tall, 40-foot-long replica of the fearsome dinosaur. The replica is made from casts of bones of the most complete T. Rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing.  

"Pteranodon," ongoing. A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22 to 23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.  

"California Fossils Exhibit," ongoing. An exhibit of some of the fossils that have been excavated in California. 

Free. During semester sessions, hours generally are: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-10 p.m. Hours vary during summer and holidays. Lobby, 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, #4780, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-1821, www.ucmp.berkeley.edu.<

ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Asian Art Museum-Chon-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture recently unveiled its new building in San Francisco's Civic Center. The building, the former San Francisco Public Library, has been completely retrofitted and rebuilt to house San Francisco's significant collection of Asian treasures. The museum offers complimentary audio tours of the museum's collection galleries. "In a New Light," ongoing. There are some 2,500 works displayed in the museum's new galleries. They cover all the major cultures of Asia and include Indian stone sculptures, intricately carved Chinese jades, Korean paintings, Tibetan thanksgas, Cambodian Buddhas, Islamic manuscripts and Japanese basketry and kimonos.  

ONGOING FAMILY PROGRAMS --  

Storytelling, Sundays and the first Saturday of every month, 1 p.m. This event is for children of all ages to enjoy a re-telling of Asian myths and folktales in the galleries. Meet at the Information Desk on the Ground Floor. Free with general admission.  

"Target Tuesday Family Program," first Tuesday of every month. Free with general admission.  

"Family Art Encounter," first Saturday of every month, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Drop in to make art related to the museum's collection. Children must be accompanied by an adult. In the Education Studios. Free with admission.  

DOCENT-LED ART TOURS -- The museum's docents offer two types of tours: a general introduction to the museum's collection and a highlight tour of specific areas of the collection. Free with museum admission.  

ARCHITECTURAL GUIDES -- Tuesday through Sunday at noon and 2:30 p.m., Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Learn about the former Main Library's transformation into the Asian Art Museum on this 40-minute tour. Free with museum admission.  

RESOURCE CENTER -- Tuesday through Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Watch a video, or learn more about Asian art with slide packets, activity kits and books. Free with museum admission.Ongoing. Free with general admission unless otherwise noted.  

$7-$12; free children under age 12; $5 Thursday after 5 p.m.; free to all first Sunday of each month. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. 200 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org.< 

BEAT MUSEUM Formerly located on the California coast in Monterey, the Beat Museum now sits in historic North Beach. The Museum uses letters, magazines, pictures, first editions and more to explore the lives of leading beat figures such as Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and many others. A gift shop and bookstore are open to the public free of charge."North Beach Walking Tour,", ongoing. A 90-minute walking tour of North Beach with Beat Museum curator Jerry Cimimo. See the bars, coffeehouses, homes, and other Beat-related highlights of North Beach. Call for info. $15.Ongoing.  

$4-$5. Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CLOSED MONDAY. 540 Broadway, San Francisco. (800) KER-OUAC, www.kerouac.com.< 

CABLE CAR MUSEUM The museum is located in the historic Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse. Visitors can see the actual cable winding machinery, grips, track, cable and brakes, as well as three historic cable cars, photo displays and mechanical artifacts. The best way to get to this museum is by cable car; street parking is practically non-existent.Ongoing.  

Free. April 1-Sept. 30: daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 1-March 31, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 1201 Mason St., San Francisco. (415) 474-1887, www.cablecarmuseum.org.< 

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES  

"Nightlife," ongoing. 6 p.m. Thursdays. Every Thursday night, the Academy transforms into a lively venue filled with provocative science, music, mingling and cocktails, as visitors get a chance to explore the museum.  

"Where the Land Meets the Sea," ongoing. Exhibition features sculpture by Maya Lin.  

BENJAMIN DEAN LECTURE SERIES -- Ongoing.  

$14.95-$24.95. Daily, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 379-8000, www.calacademy.org.< 

CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA The CHSA Museum and Learning Center features a permanent exhibition, "The Chinese of America: Toward a More Perfect Union'' in its Main Gallery, and works by Chinese-American visual artists in its Rotating Galleries. "Leaders of the Band," ongoing. An exhibition of the history and development of the Cathay Club Marching Band, the first Chinese American band formed in 1911.Ongoing.  

$1-$3; free children ages 5 and under; free for all visitors first Thursday of every month. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, noon-4 p.m. 965 Clay St., San Francisco. (415) 391-1188, www.chsa.org.< 

DE YOUNG MUSEUM The art museum has now reopened in a new facility designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron and Fong and Chan Architects in San Francisco. It features significant collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries; modern and contemporary art; art from Central and South America, the Pacific and Africa; and an important and diverse collection of textiles. 

"Van Gough, Gauguin, Cezanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay," ongoing. Exhibit open through Jan. 18, 2011.  

LECTURES AND SYMPOSIA -- Ongoing.  

$6-$10; free for children ages 12 and under; free for all visitors the first Tuesday of every month. Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m.; Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. (415) 863-3330, www.deyoungmuseum.org.< 

GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM The museum is a project of the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) Historical Society.Ongoing.  

EXHIBITS Ongoing.  

$2-$4. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. 657 Mission St., Suite 300, San Francisco. (415) 777-5455, www.glbthistory.org.< 

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN Ongoing.  

101 Howard Street, Suite 480, San Francisco. (415) 543-4669, www.imow.org/home/index.< 

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.< 

MARKET STREET RAILWAY MUSEUM ongoing. The museum will permanently display a variety of artifacts telling the story of San Francisco's transportation history, including dash signs, fare boxes, a famed Wiley "birdcage'' traffic signal and more. 

Free. Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 77 Steuart St., San Francisco. (415) 956-0472, www.streetcar.org.< 

MEXICAN MUSEUM ongoing.  

THE MEXICAN MUSEUM GALLERIES AT FORT MASON CENTER ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED --  

The Mexican Museum holds a unique collection of 12,000 objects representing thousands of years of Mexican history and culture within the Americas. The permanent collection, the Museum's most important asset and resource, includes five collecting areas: Pre-Conquest, Colonial, Popular, Modern and Contemporary Mexican and Latino, and Chicano Art. The Museum also has a collection of rare books and a growing collection of Latin American art. 

Fort Mason Center, Building D, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 202-9700, www.mexicanmuseum.org.< 

MUSEO ITALOAMERICANO ongoing. The museum, dedicated to the exhibition of art works by Italian and Italian-American artists, has a small permanent collection of paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by such renowned artists as Beniamino Buffano, Sandro Chia, Giorgio de Chirico and Arnaldo Pomodoro.  

DOCENT TOURS -- Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Free. 

$2-$3; free children under age 12; free to all first Wednesday of the month. Wednesday-Sunday, noon -4 p.m.; first Wednesday of the month, noon-7 p.m. Fort Mason Center, Building C, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 673-2200, www.museoitaloamericano.org.< 

MUSEUM OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY Ongoing.  

Free. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Humanities Building, Room 510, SFSU, Font Boulevard and Tapia Drive, San Francisco. (415) 405-0599, www.sfsu.edu/~museumst/.< 

MUSEUM OF PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN Ongoing.  

Free. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue at McAllister, 4th Floor, San Francisco. (415) 255-4800, www.mpdsf.org.< 

MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA A new museum exploring and celebrating the influence of the African Diaspora on global art and culture through interactive, permanent and changing exhibits and special programs. The museum occupies the first three floors of the new St. Regis Hotel at Third and Mission streets.  

PERMANENT EXHIBITS --  

"Celebrations: Rituals and Ceremonies," "Music of the Diaspora,'' "Culinary Traditions,'' 'Adornment,'' "Slavery Passages,'' and "The Freedom Theater.''Ongoing.  

"Urban Kidz Film Series," ongoing. Noon-3 p.m. An offshoot of the San Francisco Black Film Festival, featuring a striking assemblage of short and feature films designed to spark the imaginations of the 5-to-12-year-old set. $10 adults; children free. (415) 771-9271.Ongoing.  

$5-$8; free children age 12 and under. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; CLOSED MARCH 13 THROUGH MARCH 21. 685 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 358-7200, www.moadsf.org.< 

NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM LIBRARY (THE J. PORTER SHAW MARITIME LIBRARY) ongoing. Closed on federal holidays. The library, part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, focuses on sail and steam ships on the West Coast and the Pacific Basin from 1520 to the present. The museum library holdings include a premiere collection of maritime history: books, magazines, oral histories, ships' plans and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park's 250,000 photographs. 

Free. By appointment only, Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fort Mason Center, Building E, Third Floor, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, San Francisco. (415) 560-7080, (415) 560-7030, www.nps.gov/safr.< 

PACIFIC HERITAGE MUSEUM ongoing. The museum presents rotating exhibits highlighting historical, artistic, cultural and economic achievements from both sides of the Pacific Rim. The museum features a permanent display documenting the history and significance of the Branch Mint and Subtreasury buildings. 

Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 608 Commercial St., San Francisco. (415) 399-1124.< 

RANDALL MUSEUM "Earthquake Exhibit," ongoing. Learn about plate tectonics. Make a small quake by jumping on the floor to make a "floor quake'' that registers on the seismometer in the lobby. See the basement seismometer that registers quakes around the world. Walk through a full-size earthquake refugee shack that was used to house San Franciscans after the 1906 earthquake that destroyed so many homes.  

"Creativity and Discovery Hand in Hand," ongoing. A photography exhibit that gives visitors a look into the wide variety of programs the Museum offers in the way of classes, workshops, school field trips, and special interest clubs.  

"Toddler Treehouse," ongoing. Toddlers may comfortably climb the carpeted "treehouse'' and make a myriad of discoveries, from the roots to the limbs.  

"Live Animal Exhibit," ongoing. Visit with more than 100 creatures including small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, raptors and small birds, insects, spiders and tide pool creatures. "Saturdays Are Special at the Museum," ongoing. Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A series of drop-in ceramics and art and science workshops. All ages are welcome, though an adult must accompany children under age 8. $3 per child, $5 per parent-child combination.  

"Bufano Sculpture Tours," first and third Saturdays of the month, 10:15 a.m. A tour of the giant animal sculptures of Beniamino Bufano. The sculptures were carved out of stone in the 1930s and include a giant cat and a mother bear nursing her cubs.  

"Animal Room," ongoing. Visit some of the animals that live at the museum, including reptiles, raptors, tide pool creatures and small mammals.  

"Meet the Animals" Saturdays, 11:15 a.m. to noon. See the Randall's animals close-up and in person.  

"Animal Feeding," Saturdays, noon. Watch the animals take their meals.  

"Golden Gate Model Railroad Exhibit," Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

DROP-IN ART AND SCIENCE WORKSHOPS -- Ongoing. 1-4 p.m.  

$3-$5. "Meet the Animals," ongoing. 11:15 a.m.-noon. 

"Animal Feeding," ongoing. Saturday, noon. 

"Drop-in Family Ceramics Workshop," ongoing. Saturday, 1:15-2:15 p.m. 

"Drop-in Family Ceramics Workshop," ongoing. Saturday, 10:15-11:15 a.m. $5. 

"Golden Gate Model Railroad Exhibit," ongoing. Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

"Film Series for Teenagers," ongoing. Fridays, 7 p.m. 

"Meet the Animals," ongoing. Saturdays, 11:15 a.m. Learn about the animals that live at the Randall Museum. 

"Third Friday Birders," ongoing. 8 a.m. The hike through Corona Heights Park allows participants to enjoy the early morning views and learn more about the feathered inhabitants of the area. Children aged 10 and older if accompanied by adult. 

Free. All ages welcome; an adult must accompany children under age 8. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; CLOSED ON CHRISTMAS. 199 Museum Way, San Francisco. (415) 554-9600, www.randallmuseum.org.< 

SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR MUSEUM ongoing. The museum is located in the historic Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse. Visitors can see the actual cable winding machinery, grips, track, cable and brakes, as well as three historic cable cars, photo displays and mechanical artifacts. The best way to get to this museum is by cable car; street parking is practically non-existent. 

Free. October 1-March 31: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Daily; Closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 1201 Mason St., San Francisco. (415) 474-1887, www.cablecarmuseum.com.< 

SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK One of only a few "floating'' national parks, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park includes four national landmark ships, a maritime museum, a maritime library and a World-War-II submarine named the USS Pampanito.  

HYDE STREET PIER -- Demonstrations, ship tours, programs, music and special events offered throughout the day. Check ticket booth for schedule. At the foot of Hyde Street, Hyde and Jefferson streets.  

Entering the Pier is free but there is a fee to board the ships.  

HISTORIC SHIPS AT THE HYDE STREET PIER -- The historic ships at the Pier are the 1886 square-rigger "Balclutha,'' the 1890 steam ferryboat "Eureka,'' the 1895 schooner "C.A. Thayer'' (not available at this time due to restoration), the 1891 scow schooner "Alma,'' the 1907 steam tug "Hercules,'' and the 1914 "Eppleton Hall,'' a paddlewheel tug.  

"Balclutha." This historic ship, a three-mast square-rigger, has undergone extensive repairs and preservation work. She now contains more original materials and fittings than any other historic merchant square-rigger in the United States. The Balclutha is a designated National Historic Landmark. At Hyde Street Pier.  

"Eureka." Explore this 1890 ferryboat with a 40-foot walking-beam engine. The boat once carried passengers and autos across the San Francisco Bay. At Hyde Street Pier. Daily, call for times of boat tour.  

"C.A. Thayer." A three-mast schooner used in the lumber and cod fishing trades. At Hyde Street Pier.  

"Alma." Between 1850 and the early 1900s, the best highways around the San Francisco Bay area were the waterways and the delivery trucks and tractortrailer rigs of the time were the flat-bottomed scow schooners. Able to navigate the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta region's shallow creeks, sloughs and channels, the scows' sturdy hulls could rest safely and securely on the bottom providing a flat, stable platform for loading and unloading. Made of inexpensive Douglas fir, scow's designs were so simple they could be built by eye or without plans.  

"Hercules." Tugs in the early part of the 20th century towed barges, sailing ships and log rafts between Pacific ports. Because prevailing north/west winds generally made travel up the coast by sail both difficult and circuitous, tugs often towed large sailing vessels to points north of San Francisco. In 1916 Hercules towed the C.A. Thayer to Port Townsend, Wash., taking six days to make the trip. At the end of the sail era, the Hercules was acquired by the Western Pacific Railroad Company and shuttled railroad car barges back and forth across San Francisco Bay until 1962.  

"Eppleton Hall." Built in England, the steam side-wheeler plied the Wear and Tyne rivers of Northeast England. Designed to tow ocean-going colliers (coal-carrying sail vessels) the tugs saved transit time getting the sail vessels upriver to load. The side-wheelers were also used to tow newly built ships out to sea. From 1969 to 1979, the Eppleton Hall served as a private yacht. She was modified for an epic steam via the Panama Canal to San Francisco, passing through the Golden Gate in March of 1970.  

HISTORIC SHIP AT FISHERMAN'S WHARF --  

"USS Pampanito." This World-War-II-era submarine is berthed at Fisherman's Wharf. The submarine celebrated her 50th anniversary in November of 1993 and is perhaps best known for her participation in a "wolf pack'' attack on a convoy of enemy ships during World War II. The entrance fee includes a taped audio tour that describes what life on this submarine was like. At Pier 45, near foot of Taylor Street. Monday through Thursday, Sunday and holidays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. $9 general; $5 seniors, $4 active duty military, $4 youth ages 6 to 12; free children under age 6. (415) 775-1943. "Historic Ship Volunteer Work Party," Saturday, 9 a.m. Become part of an effort to preserve four of the park's nautical treasures. Work on a different ship each Saturday. Bring work clothes, work shoes and lunch. Call for meeting place. (415) 332-8409.  

Unless noted otherwise, events take place on the Hyde Street Pier, located at the foot of Hyde Street on Jefferson Street.Ongoing. Current Exhibits at the Visitor Center:  

"What's Your Pleasure? Recreational Boats of California's Past," openended. This exhibit includes 1940s Sacramento Hydroplanes, a Russian River launch from the 19th century, classic wooden motor launches and motor boats, and other smaller crafts.  

"Hydroplanes and Racing Boats," open-ended. A small exhibit showcasing 1930s racing engines and hydroplane boats.  

"Frisco Bound," an exhibition about immigration to San Francisco, clipper ships, and the Gold Rush era.  

"Hyde Street Ship Models," an exhibit of models of the historic ships at the Hyde Street Pier.  

"Discovery Room," a preview of the Maritime Library where visitors can look up documents and photographs.  

(415) 447-5000.Ongoing.  

"Crafts for Kids," ongoing. Every third Saturday of the month; 3-4 p.m. Learn a little about sea life and make a maritime craft. $5 vessel admission; free for children under 15. 

"Adventures at Sea: Life Aboard a 19th century Sailing Ship," ongoing. Daily, 2:15 p.m.-3 p.m. Take a guided tour of the sailing ship Balclutha and learn about the hardships and awards of the sailors show fought for survival during the treacherous Cape Horn passage. Vessel admission. 

"Historic Waterfront Walking Tour," ongoing. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Park Rangerled, hour long tour of San Francisco's northern waterfront. Tour takes place on various days throughout December; see website for full details. Free. 

"Chantey Sing," ongoing. 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Monthly sing-a-long aboard a historic ship. Bring a mug for hot apple cider served from the ship's galley. Free; reservations required. Reservation line: (415) 561-7171. 

Entering the Pier is free but there is a fee to board the ships. The fee allows access to all ships and is good for seven days. $5; free children under age 16. May 28-Sept. 30: daily, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Oct. 1-May 27: Daily, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Foot of Hyde Street, San Francisco. (415) 561-7100, www.nps.gov.< 

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF CRAFT AND DESIGN A museum celebrating and promoting the art of contemporary craft and design. The museum showcases diverse exhibitions from regional, national and international artists, working in mediums such as wood, clay, fiber, metal and glass.Ongoing. TEMPORARILY CLOSED.  

$2-$4; free youths under age 18. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 550 Sutter St., San Francisco. (415) 773-0303, www.sfmcd.org.< 

SAN FRANCISCO PERFORMING ARTS LIBRARY AND MUSEUM ongoing. "Dance in California: 150 Years of Innovation," ongoing. This permanent exhibit traces the history and artistic range of modern dance in California, with photographs and documents highlighting the achievements of Lola Montez, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, the Christensen brothers, the Peters Wright School, the company of Lester Horton, Anna Halprin and Lucas Hoving.  

"Maestro! Photographic Portraits by Tom Zimberoff," ongoing. This permanent exhibit is a comprehensive study of a generation of national and international conductors. In Gallery 5.  

"San Francisco 1900: On Stage," ongoing. In Gallery 4.  

"San Francisco in Song," ongoing. In Gallery 3. 

Free. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1-5 p.m. San Francisco War Memorial Veteran's Building, 401 Van Ness Ave., Fourth Floor, San Francisco. (415) 255-4800, www.sfpalm.org.< 

SEYMOUR PIONEER MUSEUM ongoing. The museum, owned by The Society of California Pioneers, houses a permanent research library, art gallery and history museum. Exhibits include a photography collection documenting California history. 

$1-$3. Wednesday-Friday and the first Saturday of the month, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Society of California Pioneers, 300 Fourth St., San Francisco. (415) 957-1859, www.californiapioneers.org.< 

TREGANZA ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY ongoing. The museum, founded in 1968, houses collections of archaeological and ethnographic specimens from Africa, Oceania, Asia, and North America as well as small collections from Central and South America. There are also collections of photographs, tapes and phonograph records from Africa and Europe. In addition, there is an archive of field notes and other materials associated with the collections. The museum also houses the Hohenthal Gallery that is used for traveling exhibits as well as exhibits mounted by students and faculty. 

Free. Museum office: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m.-4 p.m.; Hohenthal Gallery, SCI 388: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Science Building, SFSU, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco. (415) 338-2467, www.sfsu.edu/~treganza/.< 

ZEUM Zeum is a technology and arts museum for children and families featuring exhibits and workshops that cover a variety of fascinating subjects.Ongoing.  

$8-$10. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday. 221 Fourth St., San Francisco. (415) 820-3220, www.zeum.org.<

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS  

"Northern California Doll & Teddy Bear Show," March 5, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. More than 130 tables featuring lovable dolls and teddy bears of all sizes. $2-$5. (925) 947-1572, www.hermanshows.com. 

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

ARMANDO'S  

Lavay Smith & Her Quartet, March 6, 3-6 p.m. $15. 

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

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY  

Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, March 4, 8 p.m. Works by Telemann, Bach, and Handel. $52.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, March 5 through March 6, 8 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun. Works by Rebel, Handel, Gluck, Stookey and Rameau. Musical direction by Nicholas McGegan. $30-$90. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com. 

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

HERTZ HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY  

Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, March 6, 3 p.m. Works by Schubert and Ken Ueno. $52. www.calperformances.org. 

University Symphony Orchestra, March 11 through March 12, 8 p.m. Works by Leroux. $5-$15.  

"Les Percussions de Strasbourg," March 13, 3 p.m. Works by Varese, Manoury, Cendo, Campion, Taira. $42. www.calperformances.org. 

Bancroft Way and College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 642-4864, www.music.berkeley.edu.< 

MISS PEARL'S JAM HOUSE  

Mark Pitta, Joe Nguyen, Barbara Garber, Sandi Selvi, Joe Gleckler, Samson Koletkar, March 10, 8 p.m. $10. 

1 Broadway, Oakland. www.comedyoffbroadwayoakland.com.< 

THE NEW PARISH  

The Bellrays, Fergus and Geronimo, March 10, 9 p.m. $10-$12. 

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

ORACLE ARENA  

"Disney On Ice Presents Let's Celebrate," through March 6, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu.; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Join Mickey Mouse and all his pals for this celebration of Disney characters and cultures from around the world. $15-$75. (800) 745-3000, www.disneyonice.com. 

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 625-8497, (925) 685-8497, (415) 421-8497, www.ticketmaster.com or www.theoaklandarena.com.< 

STARRY PLOUGH PUB  

Brian Kenny Fresno, MoeTar, InnerEar Brigade, March 11, 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  

The Chop Tops, The Revtones, Stigma 13, March 5, 9 p.m. $10. 

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

YOSHI'S  

Al Di Meola, Mingo Lewis, March 4 through March 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 7 and 9 p.m. Sun. $28. 

Vienna Teng & Alex Wong, March 13, 5 and 7 p.m. $30. 

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  

Merce Cunningham Dance Company, through March 5, 8 p.m. "The Legacy Tour.'' $22-$48.  

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

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS  

"Northern California Doll & Teddy Bear Show," March 5, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. More than 130 tables featuring lovable dolls and teddy bears of all sizes. $2-$5. (925) 947-1572, www.hermanshows.com. 

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

"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.< 

ASHKENAZ  

Orange Sherbert, March 6, 3-4:40 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.Ongoing.  

"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. 

"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. 

"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. 

"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. 

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. 

"SolarMax," ongoing. Featuring live images of the Sun and footage from around the world of solar observatories of the past, present, and future, this show tells of humankind's struggle to understand the Sun. 

"To be an astronaut," ongoing. Venture inside the gates of NASA to experience the rigors of astronaut training. 

"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."Animal of the Day!" ongoing. Saturdays and Sundays, 1-1:20 p.m. Come up close and learn about Fairyland's creatures. 

"Arts and Crafts," ongoing. Noon-3 p.m. Event features arts and crafts projects for children and their families. $6. 

$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.< 

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 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. 

"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 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. 

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

$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.Ongoing.  

"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. 

"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. 

"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.Ongoing.  

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.< 

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.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.< 

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.Ongoing.  

"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.< 

ORACLE ARENA  

"Disney On Ice Presents Let's Celebrate," through March 6, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu.; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Join Mickey Mouse and all his pals for this celebration of Disney characters and cultures from around the world. $15-$75. (800) 745-3000, www.disneyonice.com. 

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 625-8497, (925) 685-8497, (415) 421-8497, www.ticketmaster.com or www.theoaklandarena.com.< 

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.< 

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. 

$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.<

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS  

"Northern California Doll & Teddy Bear Show," March 5, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. More than 130 tables featuring lovable dolls and teddy bears of all sizes. $2-$5. (925) 947-1572, www.hermanshows.com. 

Gem Fair, March 11 through March 13, Noon-6 p.m. Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Gems, jewelry, crystals, beads and more. $7; children under 12 free with adult. (503) 252-8300, www.gemfaire.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 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.Ongoing.  

"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. 

"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. 

"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. 

"To be an astronaut," ongoing. Venture inside the gates of NASA to experience the rigors of astronaut training. 

"SolarMax," ongoing. Featuring live images of the Sun and footage from around the world of solar observatories of the past, present, and future, this show tells of humankind's struggle to understand the Sun. 

"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. 

"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. 

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.< 

LA PENA CULTURAL CENTER  

"Celebrating 100 Years of International Women's Day," March 6, 7 p.m. A celebration featuring La Pena's Community Chorus and Bay Area Choir. $17-$20.  

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

ORACLE ARENA  

"Disney On Ice Presents Let's Celebrate," through March 6, 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu.; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Join Mickey Mouse and all his pals for this celebration of Disney characters and cultures from around the world. $15-$75. (800) 745-3000, www.disneyonice.com. 

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. (510) 625-8497, (925) 685-8497, (415) 421-8497, www.ticketmaster.com or www.theoaklandarena.com.< 

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. 

$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.<

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.<

"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.<

ASHKENAZ  

Stompy Jones, March 4, 9 p.m. East coast swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10-$13.  

Mark St. Mary Louisiana Blues & Zydeco Band, March 8, 8:30 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. $10.  

Baba Ken, Afro-Groove Connexion, Motordude Zydeco, March 12, 7 p.m. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 6:30 p.m. $15-$30.  

UC Berkeley Folkdancers Reunion, March 13, 1:30 p.m. $7. 

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.< 

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.  

Starry Plough Irish Dance and Ceili Session, March 7, 7 p.m. $5. 

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.<