text:
Activists protest against low UC minority enrollment
By David Scharfenberg, Daily Planet staff
In a second straight day of protests, a small group of UC Berkeley students and Oakland school teachers picketed in front of the university's California Hall Friday, objecting to a decline in the number of African-American, Latino and Native American students admitted to the university for the 2002-2003 school year.
Protesters also argued that the University of California system should immediately drop the SAT as an admissions requirement in order to boost minority enrollment.
But UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor for Admissions and Enrollment Richard Black said the university admitted fewer students overall this year. While there was a decline in the raw number of "underrepresented" students admitted — African-Americans, Latinos and Native Americans – the percentage of those students admitted compared to the whole actually increased.
Last year, 17.1 percent of admitted students were from underrepresented groups. This year the figure was 17.5 percent.
Black also disputed the notion that dropping the SAT would boost minority acceptances.
"These decisions were not SAT decisions," he said, referring to this year's admissions. "It was one factor, but just one factor."
Black said the university gave primary consideration to students' grades and course selection, while taking other factors like community service and leadership qualities into consideration, along with the SAT.
But students argued that the SAT is a culturally-biased test and that there will not be an adequate increase in minority enrollment until it is eliminated as an admissions requirement.
UC President Richard Atkinson has pushed the system to drop the SAT, and earlier this year, a key UC academic committee proposed that the system replace the SAT with tests more closely aligned to California high school curriculum.
The UC Board of Regents is weighing the proposal and is expected to vote on it this summer. Student protesters called for an earlier vote Friday.
"They've been talking about it, but not acting," said UC Berkeley graduate student Ronald Cruz. "They've been equivocating all year."
Regent Ward Connerly said he did not expect a vote before July and added that the board may not even be ready for a vote then.
"The Regents are not convinced that this is the way to go," he said, arguing that the SAT is a proven test and that the board may be reluctant to replace it with an unknown quantity.
Connerly also disputed the notion that the SAT is culturally-biased.
"I don't buy it," he said.
Protesters noted that admissions at UC's top tier schools, which they defined as UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego, did not include as many "underrepresented" students as the system-wide average.
System-wide, 19.1 percent of UC admits were African-Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. The figure was 17.9 percent at UCLA and 14.4 percent at UCSD.
"We need all the schools to be integrated," said Tania Kappner, an Oakland school teacher and graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Education. "Separate never has been equal."
But Hanan Eisenman noted that UC has improved "underrepresented" enrollment system-wide. The 19.1 percent figure represents an improvement over last year's 18.6 percent, Eisenman noted, and is the highest total in the post-affirmative action era.
In 1997, the last year UC considered race in determining admissions, the figure was 18.8 percent.
Bataan Avenue named for World War II event
By Susan Cerny, Special to the Daily Planet
During World War II the population of the Bay Area increased dramatically. The Kaiser shipyards in Richmond for example employed thousands and claimed to produce a "ship-a-day."
Existing housing was inadequate to absorb this new population, and both public agencies and private builders constructed thousands of new housing units. The housing shortage was so acute that families of larger homes would often create second units as part of the war effort.
In Berkeley, vacant land was quickly subdivided by developers and small affordable homes were built. Scattered throughout west and central Berkeley are such units, many of them single-story duplexes or clusters of two-story apartment houses of the same design.
One distinctive development was the subdivision of a block bordered by Cedar & Jones streets, 7th & 8th streets. Between Cedar and Jones, a new street was cut through and it was called Bataan Avenue. On this square block 18 nearly identical houses were built between October 1942 and July 1943 and all but two of them are still standing.
The houses were built by a contractor named James L. Rich and the first building permits state the construction costs were between $3,000 and $3,500. The houses have two or three bedrooms and one bath.
Bataan Avenue was named for the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines where a significant early World War II episode occurred. According to the Web site of the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico, Inc. the 200th Coast Artillery Anti-aircraft units from New Mexico arrived in the Philippines at Clark Field and Ft. Stotsenberg in September of 1941.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, much of the Pacific Fleet was incapacitated and could not defend the Pacific Rim. On Dec. 8, 1941 an aerial attack was launched on the Philippines which destroyed most of the American Air Force planes which were caught on the ground. After the Japanese landed and began to advance, the troops retreated to the Bataan Peninsula. The men held out for four months, but finally Bataan was surrendered on April 9,1942, and Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Many of the 1800 troops became prisoners of war under severe conditions and only 900 returned. Because the Coast Artillery troops were from New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque will dedicate a new memorial at Bataan Memorial Park on Sunday, April 7, 2002.
Bataan Avenue was named shortly after these United States forces surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. It is the only street in Berkeley named for a World War II event.
Susan Cerny is author of Berkeley Landmarks and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.
Neighborhoods Count
Shirley Dean
On March 30, our local League of Women Voters published an open letter to the Council and the community entitled "Getting Beyond Fear of Change to a Thriving Community." The article disagreed with the recent Council action to downzone an area around the 1100 block of Hearst. Since then, I have heard from the neighborhood and two members of the Planning Commission have published letters expressing their disagreement with the League's letter. Now, I'd like to add my own two cents on this important subject. Our need for housing and where it ought to be built will have an enormous impact on Berkeley's future.
Let's start from an area where I hope we can agree—there is a need for more housing, particularly housing that enables our work force, from cashiers, to teachers, to professors, to live in Berkeley. The League of Women Voters is correct in reminding all of us of this need. Berkeley's "fair share" of new housing in the Bay Area has been set by the Association of Bay Area Governments at 1,269 units over the next five years. Of these, 354 are to be for very low income, 150 for low income, 310 for moderate income and 455 for above moderate. "Fair share" goals have been set for many years. I don't believe there have been any legislative consequences over the years of not achieving these set goals, but that may be changing. A bill was introduced in Sacramento that would have penalized cities that came up short on their housing goals by denying them future State transportation funds. That bill was defeated, but others are very likely to be introduced as concern for producing housing spreads. Right now, cities can apply for incentive funds awarded by the State through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the development of affordable work force housing. These funds can be used for improvements such as parks and transit.
The two members of the Planning Commission are correct in pointing out that the Hearst Avenue downzoning was compatible with the City's new General Plan. Actually, it was compatible with much of the development that has occurred prior to the recent adoption of the Land Use Element of the General Plan. For some years now, the City has been approving mixed use, retail on the ground, residential above buildings with mixed income units (20% of units above four are set aside for low income) in the Downtown and along major transit corridors.
It is awful to imagine what would happen to a community where every single parcel was developed to the maximum extent possible. Such a policy would overwhelm Berkeley and destroy forever our neighborhoods and the attributes that make this place a community rather than a collection of buildings. Most people don't really know what their zoning allows. They look around their street and think what they see is what their zoning is. That is not always a correct assumption. When the people who live in the 1400 block of Hearst Avenue neighborhood discovered the implications of what their zoning would allow, they did an amazing thing. They carefully studied the issue and put together a compelling set of facts that persuaded the Planning Commission and City Council to change their zoning. It was true civic involvement in that they worked with the facts, and as a group, they politely and effectively presented those facts over a series of meetings. That is not easy to do, but they did it with charts, maps, letters, and their presence.
The resultant downzoning does not mean no development will occur. Their neighborhood is still zoned for multiple units. They will still be faced with reviewing specific proposals to build new apartment buildings, backyard units, and additions. The fact that downzoning will allow a smaller number of units will not cause Berkeley to fail to meet its "fair share" of housing. This downzoning, however, sends a powerful message that neighborhoods count.
Housing issues must be addressed on a local and regional level if we are to successfully plan for the thousands of new people projected to be living in the Bay Area by the year 2020. It isn't enough to say, don't let them come, because these new people are mostly going to be the children of residents who currently live here, our very own children! Every Bay Area city has been given a "fair share" housing goal to meet. It won't be fair unless varying levels of existing density are factored into the goals. Having already been engaged in the debate with other mayors from those low density cities, I know it won't be an easy task to convince them to increase their already too low density. We must also ensure that the full range of housing goal units at all income levels are met within each city. One of the most important actions to have happened recently was approval by Alameda County voters of Measure D that established urban growth limits in Southern Alameda County. That's a first step. The next step is to convince those same cities not only to build at denser levels but to provide affordable work force housing for all the workers that now clog our freeways getting to jobs from homes that are miles away.
Berkeley can't escape responsibility to be a part of the solution in this complex mix of problems. So, when we set policies to build housing on transit corridors we still need to review those projects carefully for their impacts on neighborhoods. Our obligation is to achieve good design and pay attention to the details that indicate respect for existing development. That's why Berkeley, like no other city in Alameda County, reviews each new housing unit built even when the proposal meets zoning requirements.
It is a given that not everyone is going to agree with all the decisions made by the Council regarding specific housing proposals. We seek a reasonable and delicate balance between our obligation to build more housing and to preserve our neighborhoods. That includes downzoning where the case can be made. In the instance of the 1100 block of Hearst Avenue, the case was made—it was the right thing to do.
Art & Entertainment Calendar 924 Gilman Apr. 6: All Bets Off, Time in Malta, Animosity, Breath In, For the Crown; Apr. 12: Missing 23rd, Himsa, Bleeding Through, Belvedere; Apr. 13: Labrats, Damage Done; Apr. 19: Ludicra, Sbitch, Watch Them Die, Beware,
924 Gilman Apr. 6: All Bets Off, Time in Malta, Animosity, Breath In, For the Crown; Apr. 12: Missing 23rd, Himsa, Bleeding Through, Belvedere; Apr. 13: Labrats, Damage Done; Apr. 19: Ludicra, Sbitch, Watch Them Die, Beware, Hate Mail Killer; Apr. 20: The Sick, All Bets Off, Vitamin X, Sharp Knife, Dead in the End; Apr. 21: Harum Scarum; Fleshies, Iowaska, Disobedience; Apr. 26: The Lawrence Arms, Taking Back Sunday, Before The Fall; Apr. 27: Pitch Black, Fall Silent, The Cause, The 86ers, As I; All shows begin a 8 p.m., most cost $5. 924 Gillman St., 525-9926
The Albatross Apr. 9: Mad & Eddie Duran; Apr. 10: Farms in Berkeley; Apr. 13: 9:30 p.m., The Fourtet Jazz Group; Apr. 16: Carla Kaufman & Larry Scala; All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless noted. 822 San Pablo Ave., 843-2473, albatrosspub@mindspring.com.
Anna's Bistro Apr. 6: Renegade Sidemen; Apr. 7: Danubius; Apr. 8: Renegade Sidemen; Apr: 9: Singers open mic; Apr. 10: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Apr. 11: Hanif and The Sound Voagers; Apr. 12: Anna de Leon, 10 p.m., Hideo Date; Apr. 13: Ed Reed, 10 p.m., Ducksan Distones Jazz Sextet; Apr. 14: Choro Time; Apr. 15: Renegade Sidemen; Music starts at 8 p.m. unless noted, 1801 University Ave., 849-2662.
Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center Apr. 6: Kotoja, $12; Apr. 7: Wadi Gad, Sister I-Live & The Songbirds w/ the 48th Street Band, $10; Apr. 9: Tim Rigney w/ Flambeau, $8; Apr. 10: Red Archibald & The Internationals, $8; Apr. 11: Alan Winston & The Mosoco Ceilidh Band, $8; Apr. 12: Drums of Passion, $15; Apr. 13: Gator Beat, $11; Check venue for showtimes, 1317 San Pablo Ave., 548-0425.
Blake's Apr. 6: Felonious, Psychokinetics; Apr. 7: Forcing Bloom, $3; Apr. 8: The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee; $4; Apr. 9: Filibuster, Mr. Q, $3; Apr. 10: Hebro, free; Apr. 11: Electronica w/ Ascension, $5; Apr. 12: Kofy Brown, Subterraneanz, $7; Stonecutters, $5, Apr. 14: Ted Ekman; Apr. 15: Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533.
Cal Performances Apr. 7: 3 p.m., Murray Perahia, classical pianist, $28 - $48; Apr. 28: 3 p.m., The Silk Road Esemble presents music from China and Central Asia, $34; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 642-9988
Cato's Ale House Apr. 7: Mo' Fone; Apr. 10: Irish Session; Apr. 14: Stiff Dead Cat; Apr. 17: Go Van Gogh; Apr. 21: The Backyard Party Band; Apr. 24: Vince Wallace Trio; Apr. 28: The Lost Trio; All shows 6 - 9 p.m., free. 3891 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, 655-3349, www.mrcato.com.
Dotha's Juke Joint at Everett and Jones Barbeque Apr. 5, 12, 19, 26: Gwen Avery and The Blues Sistahs, $12, 8 and 10 p.m., 126 Broadway, Oakland, 663-7668.
Downtown Apr. 6: Michael Bluestein Trio; Apr. 7: Gary Rowe; Apr. 9: Aaron Greenblatt; Apr. 10: Dave Mathews; Apr. 12: The Hot Club of San Francisco; Apr. 13: Walter Earl; Apr. 14: Gary Rowe; Apr. 16: Mimi Fox; Apr. 17: Dred Scott; Apr. 19 and 20: Rhonda Benin and Soulful Strut; Apr. 21: Gary Rowe; Apr. 23: Aaron Greenblatt; Apr. 24: Dave Mathews; Apr. 26: Joshi Marshall; Apr. 27: Danny Caron; Apr. 30: The Ned Boynton Combo; 2102 Shattuck Ave., 649-3810.
Eli's Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661.
Fellowship Cafe Apr. 19: 7:30 p.m., open mic, $5-$10. Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar, 540-0898.
Freight & Salvage Apr. 6: Greg Brown; Apr. 7: Dervish; Apr. 10: Martin Carthy; Apr. 11: Bryan Bowers; Apr. 12: Fiddlers 4, Michael Doucet, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky & Rushad Eggleston; Apr. 13: Scheryl Wheeler; Apr. 14: John Gorka; Apr. 15: Bob Paisley & The Southern Grass; $15.50 - $19.50, 1111 Addison St., 548-1761, folk@freightandsalvage.org
The Starry Plough Apr. 6: 9:30 p.m., 86, Warm Wires, Sonny Smith, $5; Apr. 7: 8 p.m., The Starry Irish Music Session; Apr. 8: 7 p.m., Dance Class and Ceili (traditional Irish music), free; Apr. 9: 9 p.m., Bonnie Price Billy, RainYwood, $12; Apr. 10: 8:30 p.m., Poetry Slam, $7; Apr. 11: Jessica Lurie Ensemble, Will Bernard Trio, $6; Apr. 14: 8 p.m., The Starry Irish Music Session; Apr. 15: 7 p.m., Dance Class and Ceili (traditional Irish music), free; Apr. 16: open mic, free; Apr. 17: 8:30 p.m., Poetry Slam, $7; Apr. 18: 9:30 p.m., Dallas Wayne, Amy Rigby, $6; Apr. 19: 9:30 p.m., Tempest, Brazen Hussey, $10; 3101 Shattuck Ave., 841-2082.
Borealis Wind Quintet Apr. 13: 7:30 p.m., $25 - $35, Scottish Rite Auditorium, Oakland, 451-0775, www.ticketweb.com.
The Texas Twisters Blues Band Apr. 20: 9 p.m., Rountree's, 2618 San Pablo Ave., 663-0440.
"A Fairy's Tail" through Apr. 7: 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 5 p.m. Sun., The Shotgun Players present Adam Bock's story of a girl and her odyssey of revenge and personal transformation after a giant smashes her house with her family inside. Directed by Patrick Dooley. $10 - $25. Apr. 4 - 7: UC Theatre on University Ave.; 704-8210, www.shotgunplayers.org.
"Merrily We Roll Along" Apr. 5 through Apr. 21: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. or 7 p.m., BareStage Productions presents a musical comedy told in reverse tracing a famous songwriter and film producer back though his career to his youthful beginnings as a struggling artist. $8 - $10. UC Berkeley Choral Rehearsal Hall, 72 Cesar Chavez Center, 642-3880.
"Pericles, Prince of Tyre" Through May 4: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m., William Shakespeare's tale of lost hopes and love regained. Directed by Jon Wai-keung Lowe. $14. La Val's Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, 234-6046.
"Long Day's Journey Into Night" Apr. 12 through May 11: Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m., Actors Ensemble of Berkeley presents Eugene O'Neill's story of the Tyrone family. Directed by Jean-Marie Apostolides. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave., 528-5620, www.actorsensembleofberkeley.com.
"Homebody/Kabul" Apr. 24 - June 23: Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents Tony Kushner's play about a women who disappears in Afghanistan and the husband and daughter's attempts to find her. $38-$54. Call ahead for times, 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org.
"Murder Dressed in Satin" by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland, 239-2252, www.acteva.com/go/havefun.
Pacific Film Archive Apr. 6: 7:30 p.m., If Only I, My Dinner with Weegee, Culture; Apr. 7: 2 p.m., La Commune; Apr. 8: 3 p.m., Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 7 p.m., In the Realm of the Senses; Apr. 9: 7:30 p.m., Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story; Apr. 10: 3 p.m., Weekend, 7:30 p.m., New Arab Video 5; Apr. 12: 7:30 p.m., Untitled; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412
"Portraits of the Afghan People: 1984 - 1992" Through Apr. 6: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Bay Area photographer Patricia Monaco. Free. Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St., 644-1400
"The Zoom of the Souls" Mar. 23 through Apr. 13: An exhibit of oil paintings by Mark P. Fisher. Sat. 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Bay Area Music Foundation, 462 Elwood Ave. #9, Oakland, 836-5223
"Sibila Savage & Sylvia Sussman" Through Apr. 13: Photographer, Sibila Savage presents photographs documenting the lives of her immigrant grandparents, and Painter, Sylvia Sussman displays her abstract landscapes on unstretched canvas. Free. Wed. - Sun. 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 64-6893, www.berkeleyartcenter.org
"Trillium Press: Past, Present and Future" Through April 13: Works created at Trillium Press by 28 artists. Tues. - Fri. noon - 5:30 p.m., Sat. noon - 4:30 p.m.; Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave., 549-2977, www.kala.org.
"Art is Education" Through Apr. 19th: A group exhibition of over 50 individual artworks created by Oakland Unified School District students, Kindergarten through 12th grade. Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Craft and Cultural Arts Gallery, State of California Office Building Atrium, 1515 Clay St., Oakland, 238-6952, www.oaklandculturalarts.org
"Expressions of Time and Space" Through April 17: Calligraphy by Ronald Y. Nakasone. Julien Designs 1798 Shattuck Ave., 540-7634, RyNakasone@aol.com.
"The Legacy of Social Protest: The Disability Rights Movement" Through April 30: The first exhibition in a series dealing with Free Speech, Civil Rights, and Social Protest Movements of the 60s and 70s in California. Photograghs by: Cathy Cade, HolLynn D'Lil, Howard Petrick, Ken Stein. The Free Speech Cafe, Moffitt Undergraduate Library, University of California-Berkeley, hjadler@yahoo.com.
"The Art History Museum of Berkeley" Masterworks by Guy Colwell. Faithful copies of several artists from the pasts, including Titian's "The Venus of Urbino," Cezanne's "Still Life," Picasso's "Woman at a Mirror," and Botticelli's "Primavera" Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9, 2028 Ninth St., 841-4210, www.atelier9.com.
"Errata" through May 4: An exhibition of the photographic work by Marco Breuer, focusing on the gaps, mistakes and marginal events that occur in daily life. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Traywick Gallery, 1316 10th St., 527-1214
"Open: Objects" through May 4: An exhibition featuring sculptural objects by Los Angeles artist Karen Kimmel. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Traywick Gallery, 1316 10th St., 527-1214
"Urban Re-Visions" Apr. 4 through May. 4: A two-person exhibition featuring the colorful anthropomorphic sculptures of Tim Burns and the figurative/narrative paintings of Dan Way Harper. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland, 836-0831, gallery709@aol.com
"Quilted Paintings" Through May 4: Contemporary wall quilts by Roberta Renee Baker, landscapes, abstracts, altars and story quilts. Free. The Coffee Mill, 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-4224
"Jurassic Park: The Life and Death of Dinosaurs" Through May 12: An exhibit displaying models of the sets and dinosaur sculptures used in the Jurassic Park films, as well as a video presentation and a dig pit where visitors can dig for specially buried dinosaur bones. $8 adults, $6, youth and seniors. Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Dr., above the UC Berkeley campus, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org
"Masterworks of Chinese Painting" Through May 26: An exhibition of distinguished works representing virtually every period and phase of Chinese painting over the last 900 years, including figure paintings and a selection of botanical and animal subjects. Prices vary. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-4889, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu
"Marion Brenner: The Subtle Life of Plants and People" Through May 26: An exhibition of approximately 60 long-exposure black-and-white photograys of plants and people. $3 - $6. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film
"The Image of Evil in Art" Through May 31: An exhibit exploring the varying depictions of the devil in art. Call ahead for hours. The Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., 649-2541.
"The Pottery of Ocumichu" Through May 31: A case exhibit of the imaginative Mexican pottery made in the village of Ocumichu, Michoacan. Known particularly for its playful devil figures, Ocumichu pottery also presents fanciful everyday scenes as well as religious topics. Call ahead for hours. The Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., 649-2540
"Being There" Through May 12: An exhibit of paintings, sculpture, photography and mixed media works by 45 contemporary artists who live and/or work in Oakland. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. 12 - 5 p.m. $6, adults, $4 children. The Oakland Museum of California, Oak and 10th St., 238-2200, www.museumca.org
"East Bay Open Studios" Apr. 24 through Jun. 9: An exhibition of local artists' work in connection with East Bay Open Studios. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland, 763-9425, www.proartsgallery
"Scene in Oakland, 1852 to 2002" Through Aug. 25: An exhibit that includes 66 paintings, drawings, watercolors and photographs dating from 1852 to the present, featuring views of Oakland by 48 prominent California artists. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. 12 - 5 p.m. $6, adults, $4 children. The Oakland Museum of California, Oak and 10th St., 238-2200, www.museumca.org
Cody's on Telegraph Ave. Apr. 4: Helen Caldicott reads from her new book "The New Nuclear Danger"; Apr. 5: Adair Lara reads from "Hold Me Close, Let Me Go: A Mother, a Daughter, and an Adolescence Survived"; Apr. 6: Sue Mingus reads from her memoir "Tonight At Noon"; Apr. 9: David Davidow reads from "The House of Blue Mangoes"; All events begin at 7:30 p.m. unless noted and ask a $2 donation. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852, www.codysbooks.com.
Eastwind Books Apr. 20: Noël Alumit reads from "Letters to Montgomery Clift"; 2066 University Ave., 548-2350.
Berkeley Public Library's Teen Playreaders Apr. 13: 2 p.m., A multilingual poetry reading in honor of National Poetry Month. Free and recommended for age 10 and older. North Branch, 1170 The Alameda, 981-6250, www.infopeople.org.bpl.
Poetry Flash @ Cody's Apr. 3: Jerry Ratch, Richard Grossinger; Apr. 10: Brandon Brown, Brian Glaser; Apr. 17: Marilyn Chin, Morton Marcus; Apr. 24: Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Kurt Brown, Sandy Diamond; Apr. 28: 3 p.m., National Poetry Month Celebration featuring Gerald Stern, Willis Barnstone, Kazuko Shiraishi, $5; All events begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted, $2 donation. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852, www.codysbooks.com.
Poetry Reading Apr. 13: Bay Area Poets Coalition is holding an open reading. 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Claremont Library, 2940 Benvenue, 527-9905, poetalk@aol.com.
PoetrySquish Apr. 25: 8 p.m., spoken word, poetry, prose and voice event. Club Muse, 856 San Pablo Ave., Albany, 528-2878.
Call for Poems: Apr. 20 deadline: one poem, 21 lines or less, with name and address, Celestial Arts, PO Box 1140, Talent, OR 97540 or enter online, www.freecontest.com.
Call for Spiritual Poems: Apr. 15 deadline: one poem, 20 lines or less, Free Poetry Contest, 3412 - A, Moonlight Ave., El Paso Texas 79904 or enter online, www.freecontest.com.
Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387.
Habitot Children's Museum "Back to the Farm" An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. "Recycling Center" Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org.
UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley "Tyrannosaurus Rex," ongoing. A 20 foot by 40 foot replica of the fearsome dinosaur 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" A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22-23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Free. Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 642-1821.
Holt Planetarium Programs are recommended for age 8 and up; children under age 6 will not be admitted. $2 in addition to regular museum admission. "Constellations Tonight" Ongoing. Using a simple star map, learn to identify the most prominent constellations for the season in the planetarium sky. Daily, 3:30 p.m. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5 ; free children age 2 and younger. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lhs.berkeley.edu.
Lawrence Hall of Science Mar. 16: 1 - 4 p.m., Moviemaking for children 8 years old and up; Mar. 20: Spring Equinox; "Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Auditions Live Science Demonstrations" A directed activity in which children "audtion" to be a dinosaur in an upcoming movie. They'll learn about the variety of dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park exhibit as well as dress up, act, and roar like a dinosaur. Through May 12: Mon. - Fri. 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.; Sat. - Sun. 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. 3 p.m. $8 adults, $6 children. Centenial Dr. just above the UC campus and just below Grizzly Peak Blvd. 642-5132
UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002.
Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.
Out & About Calendar
– Compiled by Guy Poole
<\h3> Saturday, April 6
Library Grand Opening
Berkeley Public Library
The celebration will include a ribbon cutting ceremony, a keynote speech by Alice Walker, musical guests, and building tours. 548-7102
Graduate Theological Union presents Suavecito — The Politics and Poetics of Asian American Soul Music in he 1970s.
UC Berkeley Krutch Theater,
Clark Kerr Campus
2601 Warring Street in Berkeley
A panel discussion and musical offering explore the interplay between soul music and community politics.
For more information, call 849-8244.
Noche Latina in Berkeley
7-11 p.m.
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its second annual Noche Latina event. This fundraiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law
Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Ave.
For more information, contact Estrella Fichter at 510.549.3506 or
estrella.fichter@earthlink.net
Emergency Preparedness Class
9 - 11 a.m.
A class in basic personal preparedness for emergency situations. 981-5605
Third Annual Mad Scientist Sale
and Open House
noon - 6 p.m.
The Crucible
1036 Murray St.
Industrial-grade materials and machines that have been appropriated for a second life as materials for art. Demonstrations in welding, neon, blacksmithing and ceramics. 843-5511, www.thecrucible.com.
Sunday, April 7
Peace it Together
2218 Acton St.
Fund-raising festival hosted by Minding the Body, Inc. Participatory Booths, Jugglers, Storytellers, Performance Art, Co-creation of Music, Poetry and Art and a Vegetarian Potluck. mindingthebody.org.
"Remedios" — Benefit for Poet Aurora Levins Morales
For more information, contact: 415-285-9734
Weekly Peace Walk around Lake Merritt
Mission 911: Bay Area Poets for Peace
Oakland Museum Curator's Talk
Gallery Talk by Curator Harvey Jones, discusses the exhibition Scene in Oakland, 1852 to 2002. Artworks celebrating the city's 150th anniversary
10th & Oak Streets, Oakland
238-2200, www. museumca.org
Respite Caregiver Volunteer Training
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
433 Jefferson St., Oakland
Part one of a two day training for anyone interested in becoming a respite care volunteer. 768-3147, betty@cceb.org
Part two of a two day training for anyone interested in becoming a respite care volunteer. 768-3147, betty@cceb.org
Berkeley Camera Club
Northbrae Community Church
941 The Alameda
Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. 525-3565.
Sultan Room
Center for Middle Eastern Studies
340 Stephen's Hall, University of California at Berkeley
Center for Jewish Studies and the UC Berkeley welcomes Robert Alter, on rhetoric in Deuteronomy and collective memory; Galit Hasan-Rokem, on midrash between experience and myth; Ron Hendel on memory and the Hebrew bible; Dina Stein on rabbinic discourse and the destruction of the temple and Yair Zakovitch on post-traumatic memory.
Spring Travel Writer's Workshop
Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore
The Fire Escape is Locked For Your Safety
Toastmasters on Campus Club
2515 Hillegass Ave.
Free, on-going meetings 2nd and 4th Wednesdays.
Spring Travel Writer's Seminar
Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Award-winning poet, travel writer, author of Namako: Sea Cucumber and The Hand of Buddha)
Topic: Mechanics of Travel Writing
Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore
For more information 843-6725
Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil
A Community Dialogue and
Lecture on Islam
Luthern Church of the Cross
A presentation followed by a question and answer period. 848-1424.
Proposed Amendment to
North Berkeley Senior Center
1901 Hearst Ave.
Proposal to prohibit the use of sharp material on top of fences in residential districts. Proposal to modify the Zoning Ordinance Amendment Process. 705-8189.
Hutchinson, Brown team up to down Bruins
By Jared Green, Daily Planet Staff
Cal starter goes 8 2/3 for the win, while closer gets one-pitch save
Cal's Trevor Hutchinson threw almost 120 pitches on Friday against UCLA but couldn't quite finish the game. Teammate Matt Brown needed just one.
Hutchinson threw 8 2/3 innings for his seventh win of the season, and Brown slammed the door by getting UCLA pinch-hitter Casey Janssen to pop out to end the game on the first pitch he threw for a 5-3 Cal win.
Hutchinson got the win on a day when he wasn't at his best, battling through the first six innings before settling down to retire nine Bruins in a row. He gave up runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but limited the damage to just one run in each inning.
"Trevor wasn't his sharpest today, but he competed well and gave us a solid effort," Cal head coach Dave Esquer said. "Whatever he has on any given day, he can find a way to get through."
The Bears (21-14, 4-3 Pac-10) broke the game open with three runs in the fifth inning. Jeff Dragicevich started things off with a one-out single off of UCLA starter Chris Cordeiro, going to third base on a David Weiner base-knock. Weiner took off on the next pitch and UCLA (13-18, 0-1) catcher Josh Arhart threw the ball into center field, scoring Dragicevich for a 3-2 Cal lead.
After a Conor Jackson groundout and Carson White walk, catcher John Baker came through with a two-out RBI single to right. David Nicholson followed with a single up the middle to score White for a 5-2 lead.
The Bears got the win without an offensive contribution from Jackson, as the Pac-10's leading hitter went 0-for-4. Weiner had a big game with a home run in the fourth inning to go with his RBI single, and Baker got two hits after missing the last 11 games with an broken hand. Dragicevich was 3-for-3.
"This might be the first time we've won without Conor doing something, because he's been hitting in every game," Esquer said. "It's big for us to win without him carrying the load. We obviously need the rest of the guys to create some runs."
Hutchinson would give up just one more run, a solo homer by Matt Sharp in the sixth inning, and it looked as if he would get the complete game when he set down the first two Bruins in the ninth and had two strikes on Sharp. But the UCLA leftfielder hit a single to right and Esquer, mindful of his starter's high pitch count, immediately made the move to Brown, who led the Pac-10 in saves last year as a freshman.
"Trevor came so far, I didn't want to put him in the position to lose the game," Esquer said. "I'd hate to have him throw his 120th pitch and make a mistake that cost us the ballgame."
Hutchinson said that while he would have liked to finish the game, he understood why he was removed.
"You'd always like to get a complete game, but I had a pretty high pitch count," he said. "It's the coach's decision and I wouldn't question it."
Brown did the job quickly for his sixth save of the season. With such a quick outing, the sophomore should be available for the next two games with the Bruins, leaving Esquer with a fully-stocked bullpen for the weekend.
"That's very big for us, because UCLA is very capable with the bats," Esquer said. "I anticipate the weekend games being close just like this one, so it's nice to have all my options open."
PG&E increases its annual payment to city
Pacific Gas & Electric announced this week that its annual payment to the city for use of public roads to run gas and electric service is $842,000, a $175,000 increase over last year.
"We're happy to make the payment to Berkeley," said PG&E spokesman Jason Alderman. "It has an impact on the city's ability to fund its basic services."
Statewide, according to a PG&E statement, the company will make $145 million in "franchise fee" payments to the 290 cities and counties it services, a 44 percent increase over last year.
The payments are based on PG&E revenues, and the company's revenue increased from $9.6 billion in 2000 to $10.5 billion in 2001, according to Alderman, accounting for the rise in franchise fee payments.
According to a PG&E statement, the increase in revenues last year is largely due to escalating energy costs during last year's energy crisis.
The increase in the Berkeley payment is lower than the statewide increase, said Alderman, because money is doled out on a city-by-city basis, according to revenues in each municipality.
Alderman said Berkeley likely consumed less energy than other cities because it had smaller population growth, and possibly, better energy conservation.
Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz said the payment matched city expectations.
PFA artist in residence screens provocative videos
by Peter Crimmins, Special to the Daily Planet
'I prefer stories about squalor," said Esme to the narrator in J.D. Salinger's short story, "To Esme – With Love And Squalor."
"I'm extremely interested in squalor."
Salinger's precocious middle-class character isn't off the mark: people are interested in squalor, especially when they don't live in it. Photographer and video artist Donigan Cumming is particularly interested in the destitute denizens of the poorer neighborhoods of Montreal, people who often go unbathed, unmedicated, unkempt, and basically squalid conditions in their tiny apartments.
Cumming was an artist in residence by the invitation of the Pacific Film Archive April 2-5, lecturing and showing his provocative videos featuring his troupe of subjects Colin, Nettie, Pierre, Brenda, and many others living on the economic fringe in Montreal, many are alcoholics and addicts in various stages of recovery, or not at all.
Viewing the videos may bring to light Pierre blubbering drunkenly about a lost love with snot stringing out of his nose ("After Brenda"), or a naked elderly man dancing and rubbing his swollen belly ("Ecstatic Angel"), or Cumming himself as the cameraman in "Culture" (screening today) rummaging through the apartment of a hospitalized friend and discovering under the bed rotting food covered with flies and alive with bugs.
"I don't want you to stay stuck in the garbage," said Cumming, "but I want you to reflect on what it's like to see flies gathered around an open tin. And to smell it. I mean, you can smell the video."
The truth of the matter is that you can't smell the video, but still cringe at the grotesqueries presented along with the rough beauty and fading pride in these people populating the world of Cummings' videos. Cumming clearly has compassion for his subjects – a humanity often muddled and complicated by his role as a documentary photojournalist and video artist. Part of his motivation in working is to examine and critique the tropes and clichés of documentary photojournalism, dancing on the line between truth and fiction, and finding the truth within the fiction.
"When I fool with documentary, I like a documentary that bites it's own tail," said Cumming, who began a project almost 20 years ago called "Reality And Motivation In Documentary Photography." When he says that cumbersome, over-academic title his tongue is in his cheek, but nevertheless he has a very thoughtful approach to the issues of ethics and truth in journalism.
He said in the 1970s he was reading critics of "serious, ameliorative" photojournalism. "It was excellent on paper," said Cumming, agreeing with everything the critics said, "but many of these people weren't great artists. They were good critics." He began what became a controversial project with Nettie Harris, an elderly woman whom Cumming photographed in various poses, clothed and naked, once or twice a week, for 10 years until she died.
In a lecture on images of aging people given last Thursday at UC Berkeley as part of a series presented by the Townsend Center For The Humanities, Cumming showed slides and video footage that clearly illustrated Nettie, a hammy performer by nature, and Cumming, a demanding photographer, had a symbiotic relationship.
Exploitation was not an issue with the photographs of Nettie's sagging breasts and emaciated pelvis – some of which were banned in France and Germany. Nor could the trust be questioned with Cumming and an epileptic woman approaching hysteria when Cumming asks her about her boyfriend – an exchange which forces Cumming to reveal his own personal life. Even when he suddenly asks her to sing "Que Sera, Sera" a cappella to the camera, and zooms the lens to the broken teeth, their relationship remains unshaken.
The question of trust, however, is then thrown to the audience: can we recognize her honor and humanity while listening to her butcher the old Doris Day song with half a mouthful of teeth, standing in what could be described as squalor?
Cumming admits he puts his subjects through paces. He is not a fly-on-the-wall filmmaker jumping into a situation extemporaneously.
"The idea is you create a circle and you enter it, and things happen in that circle. The control is the perimeter of the circle." The wielder of control in Cumming's videos often flip from subject to documenter and back again. Sometimes the change of power happens moment-to-moment.
The hand-held camerawork and rambling dialogues give Cummins's work the feel of spontaneity, as if he had captured the subjects on camera in a moment of candor or passion, when in fact bits of his videos are sometimes re-shot, rehearsed, even scripted. A viewer watching a Cumming video without knowing how he works would naturally assume this is a fly-on-the-wall recording of a truth about destitute living in Montreal.
"It is, and it isn't," said Cumming. "I think it's only right and proper to bring a level of self-awareness to these things when you're trying to explain or describe a situation or communicate something about the lives of other people. But you've got to be careful not to be too oracular about it, that you don't pretend to know what's going on. I think you arrive at a truth when you do that."
While speaking to an audience last Thursday evening at the PFA theater ("a performance," he says) Cumming said he stares at his subjects, his troupe, with a palm-sized DV camera, and the act of staring is regarded by many to be good when it is intimate and familial, and bad when the subject is unwhole or disfigured. Cumming, however, is a champion of staring.
"I like voyeurism. I like it a lot. I think there's a case to be made for positive voyeurism," he said in the studio of KALX radio. "We're all little lemmings in a maze, and it's important for us to know what's going on to the left, to the right, behind and in front of us. We need to watch each other. We probably evolved to nurture a certain level of voyeurism. It's survival feature."
Whether is be evolutionary, anthropological, or socially edifying, Cumming suggests that the lives of the ugly and infirm and maladjusted are something we are extremely interested in.
Bears sixth after one round
Daily Planet Wire Services
After a three-week break from competition, No. 20 California was tied for sixth after Friday's opening round of the PING/ASU Invitational but was only two strokes out of first place. The Golden Bears carded a 294, their 12th round under 300 this season, to share sixth place with No. 3 Tulsa.
No. 4 Texas, No. 23 New Mexico and No. 31 Stanford are deadlocked in first with a 292, followed by No. 11 Arizona State and No. 14 USC at 293. Ten of the tournament's 15 teams are ranked in the top 25 in the nation according to the Golf Week/Sagarin Rankings.
Junior Vikki Laing led the Bears with a personal season-low round of 70 to grab a four-way tie for second. Arizona's Lorena Ochoa, the nation's top-ranked golfer, is two shots ahead with an opening round of 70.
Also in the top 10 for the Bears is sophomore Sarah Huarte, who is tied for seventh after carding a 72. Cal also would love to have sophomore Claire Dury's round of 72 count towards the team score, but she is competing as an individual. If Dury was in the starting five, Cal would have a four stroke lead over the field with a team score of even-par 288.
Division of Public Health honors 25 in community
By Jia-Rui Chong, Daily Planet staff
As part of National Public Health Week, 25 members of the Berkeley community, involved in projects from domestic violence to mobile clinics, were honored Tuesday night by the city of Berkeley's Division of Public Health.
"It was an opportunity to honor and recognize community members nominated by the Public Health Division staff for their contributions to a healthy Berkeley community," said Kristin Tehrani, a health educator with the division.
This year's focus was on community members, though Public Health Week in previous years focused on issues such as environmental health or HIV/AIDS.
Martha Cueva, of the Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement's School-Age Program, said she was surprised, but very happy, about the nomination.
"For me, the return is to see the children learning about how to be safe with food," said Cueva. "It's great timing with the Cesar Chavez memorial, so that the children can see what happens with the whole farm issue."
Cueva coordinates a market every Tuesday at BAHIA so that local Latino and African-American farmers can sell their pesticide-free produce, brings speakers to BAHIA, sometimes acts as a Spanish translator for the speakers and circulates a newsletter with health tips. She has also helped create a garden curriculum at BAHIA for parents and children.
"I do a lot of volunteer work with the city health department on health and nutrition. A lot of Latino families are not clear about pesticides or how to help Latino farmers," Cueva said.
"I'm a doer and I don't like to wait around for something to be done. I just like doing it," she said.
Reverend D. Mark Wilson at McGee Avenue Baptist Church was so busy with church duties he didn't even know he had been nominated until after the ceremony had taken place.
"I'm embarrassed," he said. "It was Holy Week, and I didn't even open the letter until Wednesday."
But he acknowledged that it was nice to be recognized.
"There are seldom and few rewards. But there are times when you bump into someone unexpectedly and you see the hope it brings them. When they say, 'I was helped by coming to the church. I was served more than a meal,' that's a reward," Wilson said.
Wilson's church works with the South Berkeley Community Church on a community lunch program three times a week. Wilson has also worked to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS in the primarily African-American community members who come to his church.
"The church is a space to connect faith and health. The church has traditionally been a place for the African-American community to come together. But it has been a place of condemnation and fear about HIV/AIDS. Here, we try to heal some of that," Wilson said.
The other honorees were Vincente Avila, Sarena Chandler, Maliyah Coye, Pauline Bondonno Cross, Reverend M. Gayle Dickson, Emma Donnelly, Juanita DuVal, Wendy Georges,Sandy Kwong, Claire Levy, Ricky Martinez, Shobha Menon-Hiatt, Nancy Holland, Nancy Johnson, Nancy Jordan, Marty Lynch, Anya Pearson, Alonzo Ramirez, Chayla Summers, Cecilia Walls, Mia Washington, Miriam Wong and Pastor K.R. Woods.
"It's always important to recognize people who better their community through very special work," said Mayor Shirley Dean on Friday.
She praised not only the community members, but also the city's Public Health Division, which is only one of three city Public Health offices in California.
"I'm very proud of our health department," Dean said.
"If someone lived in Oakland and wanted to contact the health department, that person would have to go to the county facility to do that. We can do it right here in our own city. It's much more convenient."
Public Health Week runs through April 7. But Berkeley's Division of Public Health sponsors events all year round. Their next event is a "Party for Your Health" in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sat., April 13. It will feature health screenings, alternative health services, food and live music.
Author Ray Bradbury gets star on Walk of Fame
LOS ANGELES — Ray Bradbury, author of "The Martian Chronicles" and other science fiction classics, received a star Monday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the city kicked off a monthlong reading campaign.
Bradbury, 81, has been a Los Angeles resident since he was a teen-ager.
He sold newspapers on local street corners while developing his writing career.
"I received so much inspiration from the city that it is a wonderful feeling to be a permanent part of my home town," Bradbury said at the ceremony, where he received the 2,193rd star on the Walk of Fame.
The event marked the beginning of the "One Book, One City L.A." program.
In order to boost readership and city pride, residents will be encouraged to read the same book: Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," an anti-censorship saga about a futuristic firefighter whose job is to burn books.
"By reading great literary works like Ray Bradbury's we can foster dialogue among our city's diverse groups," Mayor James Hahn said.
Today is Saturday, April 6, the 96th day of 2002. There are 269 days left in the year. A reminder: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks go forward one hour.
Highlight in History:
On April 6, 1909, explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson became the first men to reach the North Pole. (The claim, disputed by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation.)
On this date:
In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, N.Y.
In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee.
In 1896, the first modern Olympic games formally opened in Athens, Greece.
In 1917, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.
In 1965, the United States launched the Early Bird communications satellite.
In 1971, Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky died in New York City.
In 1994, Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun announced his retirement after 24 years.
In 1994, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a mysterious plane crash near Rwanda's capital; widespread violence erupted in Rwanda over claims the plane had been shot down.
In 1998, country singer Tammy Wynette died at her Nashville, Tenn., home at age 55.
In 2000, a private company mapping the human genetic blueprint announced it had decoded all of the DNA pieces that make up the genetic pattern of a single human being.
Ten years ago: The Supreme Court limited some undercover "sting" operations as it ruled that a Nebraska farmer had been entrapped by postal agents into buying mail-order child pornography. The European Community recognized the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina as an independent state. Science-fiction author Isaac Asimov died in New York at age 72.
Five years ago: NASA officials announced they were cutting short the 16-day mission of space shuttle Columbia by 12 days because of a deteriorating and potentially explosive power generator on board the spacecraft. A blizzard shut down much of the northern Plains. Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke died at age 84.
One year ago: Algerian national Ahmed Ressam, accused of bringing explosives into the United States just days before the millennium celebrations, was convicted twice in the same day — first in France for belonging to a group supporting Islamic militants, then in Los Angeles on terror charges. Pacific Gas and Electric filed for bankruptcy in an offshoot of the California energy crisis.
Today's Birthdays: Composer-conductor Andre Previn is 73. Actor Ivan Dixon is 71. Country singer Merle Haggard is 65. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 65. Actor Roy Thinnes is 64. Movie director Barry Levinson is 60. Singer Michelle Phillips is 58. Actor John Ratzenberger is 55. Actress Marilu Henner is 50. Figure skater Janet Lynn is 49. Actor Michael Rooker is 47. Actress Ari Meyers is 33. Actor Paul Rudd is 33. Actor Jason Hervey is 30. Actor Zach Braff is 27. Actress Candace Cameron is 26.
Big Brother is watching
SANTA ANA — Exercise and disability checks apparently don't mix.
A woman pleaded guilty to insurance fraud after she was caught on video participating in an aerobics class while receiving disability payments, authorities said Thursday.
Noel DeSota, 55, entered the plea last month and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 120 hours of community service, according to the state Department of Insurance. She was also ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution and a $200 fine.
DeSota slipped and fell in April 1998, apparently injuring her left hip, knee, back and neck. She was treated by a doctor and put on temporary disability.
State investigators discovered DeSota joined a "Jazzercise" class in January 1999 while continuing to claim she was unable to work because of her injuries. After taping her workout, investigators showed the video to DeSota's doctors, who said she had misrepresented her ability to return to work.
COPES CORNER, N.Y. — Nearly a year and 3,000 miles later, Michael Lester got a response to a message he put in bottle and his teacher tossed out to sea.
The response was postmarked from Ireland.
The 14-year-old teen threw his message into the waters off Cape Cod last April. The 20-ounce Pepsi bottle, which was sealed with hot glue, washed up 3,000 miles away in Ireland.
Richard Barrett found it there on March 10 and sent a short letter back to Lester. The teen sees the letter as a link to his great-grandmother, who lived in Ireland.
Try hopping this fence
MENTZ, N.Y. — Town officials wanted a fence, so junkyard owner Gene Crandall gave them one to remember — a quarter-mile long chain of junked cars, stacked three and four high.
Mad about a 3-year-old order to
fence his auto junkyard and local officials' efforts to shut his business down, Crandall put up the chain of junked cars.
The fence features a colorful assortment of makes and models: pickups, convertibles, vans and sedans, most without tires.
Town officials aren't pleased.
The town's attorney said the crushed cars violate local law and create a health risk. The newly elected town supervisor said he just wants the feud over with, noting that the town has paid more than $40,000 in legal expenses.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) — A woman driving home ran over an alligator, which then bit through her car's bumper and lifted part of the vehicle off the ground.
Stephanie Feola, 43, said she first thought she hit an opossum Wednesday night but she saw the tail of an almost 7-foot alligator under her car.
"The car started shaking and it was lifting the front end up," she said. "I thought it was going to come up through the floor."
Feola put the car into reverse to get away and called police on her cellular phone. The animal was caught and killed by a trapper, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Morse said the animal's reaction is often to fight what it thinks is an attacker.
"The alligator doesn't know what's going on," Morse said. "He's got a brain the size of your thumb."
Public Health Institute links soda consumption at school and obesity
Bay City News Service
The Public Health Institute today released a report analyzing soda contracts at the state's 25 largest school districts to address how marketing practices to increase soda consumption ultimately contribute to California's growing obesity epidemic.
"Huge multi-national soda companies woo cash-strapped schools with the promise of money for concession, advertising and pouring rights," said Carmen Nevarez, medical director at the Berkeley-based Public Health Institute.
"Soda companies are clearly in the best position to dictate terms to school officials that are favorable to soft drink companies but not the health of our children,'' she said.
Childhood obesity and tooth decay have been linked to the consumption of soft drinks that are high in sugar and calories but offer little nutritional value, according to the Public Health Institute, which says children often opt for the sugary drinks in lieu of healthy beverages like milk.
"In order to prevent the incidence of obesity among our children, adults and public institutions must consider programs and policies that promote healthy eating habits and physical activities," said Robert Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment, which commissioned the report.
"Overweight children become overweight adults, putting them at risk for many chronic but preventable illness. As adults, we have the responsibility of ensuring that our children develop habits to last a lifetime."
Herbicide used in landscaping could be finding its way into compost
SANTA ROSA — Gardeners and compost producers worry that an herbicide used in landscaping and farming is finding its way into the compost, and could wind up hurting plants instead of helping them.
The weedkiller, clopyralid, is produced by Dow AgroSciences and has been found in at least three Sonoma County compost operations. It also may be in commercially bagged soils.
The chemical is not considered a threat to animals or humans. It already has been found in animal waste, and may already have found its way into the water.
Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby said his office has asked commercial landscapers and gardeners to stop using the herbicide, and said most have.
Dow said in a release that the chemical is an important tool against "hard-to-control invasive or noxious weeds such as yellow starthistle, which currently infests about 15 percent of California."
Most herbicides and pesticides become inert in the composting process, but clopyralid tends to concentrate and is usually at a higher density when found in manure or compost.
The company doesn't know why that happens.
"It's a puzzle that still has us stumped," said Dow spokesman Garry Hamlin. "We think there's something in the composting process that changes the compound."
Last week, state regulators began tightening restrictions on some products containing clopyralids, which can kill broadleaf plants such as tomatoes, peas, lettuce, peppers and daisies. The new regulations address only those herbicides designed for lawns.
And state officials say they have no documented cases of the compost that has clopyralid in it adversely affecting plants.
The state is waiting for detailed lab analysis of the composts.
"We certainly believe there is a potential hazard here," said Glenn Brank, spokesman for the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, adding that the agency will look into the matter. "We want to act not only as quickly as possible, but as effectively as possible."
Mike Reynolds, who runs Santa Rosa's Laguna composting operation, said he doesn't think a total ban would come for at least three years. By then it would take even longer to get the chemical out of the composting cycle, he said.
"Ultimately, I think a national ban is the only way to handle this," Reynolds said.
Segregated testing meetings for parents raise eyebrows
By Stefanie Frith, The Associated Press
ELK GROVE — Middle school principal Philip Moore knows Hispanic and black students typically have lower scores on standardized tests than white or Asian students, so he called segregated meetings for parents to discuss how to prepare for the tests.
Because of the lower scores, Moore said, some Hispanic and black parents may feel uncomfortable talking about them in front of white or Asian parents.
But in a state in which Hispanics make up a third of California's 35 million residents and in which a single school district might speak 100 different languages, such a plan is segregating parents and students when it should be integrating them, critics say.
Asians make up about 11 percent and blacks represent seven percent of the state's population.
Before settling on the divided meetings, Moore said he spoke to about 20 parents of students at T.R. Smedberg Middle School. Parents and school officials will discuss test scores and grade point averages, and if scheduling is a problem, parents can attend any meeting, regardless of race.
Because such meetings are so new to education — officials and analysts nationwide said they had heard very little about them outside California — the education community outside Elk Grove knows little about them. There is, however, a vague feeling of uncertainty.
Instead of bringing students and parents together to produce higher test scores and better education, the meetings may backfire, said Jan Domene, president of the California Parent Teacher Association. "You don't want kids to feel it's OK to do (segregate)," and if school officials see segregation expanding, they should stop the meetings.
Fifty-one percent of Smedberg students who took last year's tests were white, state records show, while 15 percent were Hispanic, 14 percent Asian and 11 percent black. White and Asian students scored similarly well in the ranking, outscoring Hispanic and black students by more than 75 points.
Overall, the school posted an Academic Performance Index score of 730, with the state-set performance target being 800. The scores are based largely on the annual Stanford 9 test, which shows how individual and groups of California students in second through 11th grades are doing in comparison to other students in the United States.
The API scores can determine if schools receive extra state money and measure overall performance, so there's increased pressure on schools to improve their scores.
That's where the meetings at Smedberg come in, Elk Grove officials said.
Smaller groups make parents more comfortable, Moore said, adding that 53 different languages are spoken in his district south of Sacramento. "We want to get real honest answers."
Also, Moore said, students told him that if they had low scores they would be embarrassed to talk about their scores in front of a large group of people.
"I think stereotypes could be reinforced in a big group environment," Moore said.
Elk Grove Unified School District Superintendent Dave Gordon said Smedberg's seventh and eighth grade students understand the meetings are not "to segregate the parents" but to gather information.
Some parents complained after first hearing about the meetings, Moore said, but most have understood his intent.
"The meetings show the school is sensitive to the differences (among test scores)," said Deborah Thomas-Smith, a black parent with an eight-grade son at Smedberg. "It should be the norm that those unique individuals with unique problems get together."
Sometimes separation can make sense, said Gregory Hodge, leader of California Tomorrow, an Oakland-based advocacy group promoting culture and education. Some immigrant groups often feel intimidated by large groups and authority figures, such as principals and police officers.
Still, segregated meetings "might unconsciously set up more division than you intend," said Hodge, who is also a member of the Oakland Unified School District board. He added that a couple years ago, a middle school in Oakland segregated parents based on race so that they could discuss after school programs openly.
In the end, said Terry Francke, general counsel of the Sacramento-based California First Amendment Coalition, it's up to Moore to decide.
"He can hold meetings with anyone he pleases," Francke said. "If he believes there is a problem or issue more prevalent or relevant to one racial group in the school then I don't think anyone would question his ability."
Gordon isn't, saying Moore has his complete support. "It's well worth trying different strategies."
Water beds for cows — a moo-ving experience
By Joseph B. Frazier, The Associated Press
MOUNT ANGEL, Ore. — They say happy cows are more productive cows. Arie Jongeneel is hoping his herd of Holsteins, resplendent on their water beds, will bring forth a dairy deluge.
Cow water beds redefine the concept "creature comfort." Some farmers say their charges are so eager to bed down on them they will actually stand in line.
"I grew up among cows in Holland," said the 64-year-old Jongeneel. "When my cows are happy I'm happy. It's just that way."
Eight or nine Holsteins lounged in a row on water beds at Jongeneel's farm on a recent afternoon, looking thoughtful as they chewed their cuds.
The water beds — rubber bladders filled with 18 gallons of water and covered with thick rubber mats — undulated when the 1,400-pound cows shifted their weight.
The beds form to the shape of the cow and theoretically give the animals a more comfortable rest.
Jongeneel, who began experimenting with 15 of the specially made water beds in January, said he is ordering 80 more for his 1,600 black-and-white cows on a dairy farm in Oregon's lush Willamette Valley.
"If it's better for the cows it will increase milk production, there's no doubt about that," said Jongeneel, who has been in the business here 32 years.
The Dutch- and British-made water beds have been in use in Europe for seven or eight years. Three years ago, the London Free Press reported about 15,000 cow water beds in use in Europe, mostly for dairy cattle.
Cow water beds began appearing in the New York-Pennsylvania area and the Midwest about three years ago, and are catching on in the West.
"The cows liked it right away," said Jongeneel. "They laid right down and were comfortable."
The water beds — which go for about $150 each — are easier to clean than mucking out stalls, said Jongeneel.
Those who distribute the water beds claim they reduce wear and tear on the cows' joints and prevent swelling and burning of hocks.
"In principle it is probably a sound piece of equipment to use on dairy cows," said Mike Gamroth, a dairy cattle specialist at Oregon State University. "They lie down six to eight hours a day to digest their food. To keep the cows comfortable for a third of the day is important to milk production.
"We have learned a lot in the past eight or 10 years about fine-tuning cow comfort," he said. "Milk production is so high you have to do all the small things to push it any further."
Some producers have reported an increase in yield they attribute to the water beds, Gamroth said, but there are no hard numbers available.
"It's pretty difficult ... to actually measure changes in milk production from one style to another. But we see people buying them so there has got to be something to them."
Gamroth said some cattle still seem to prefer a deep bedding of straw, "but you have to (change) it almost every day."
At Fisher Farms in Lenox, in upstate New York, cows will wait in line to use the stalls that have water beds.
"Sometimes they'll stand there waiting for a cow to leave so they can get in on the water bed," said Doug Ford, a sales representative for the farm, which also sells the beds. "When they come back from the milking parlor those are the stalls they fill first."
John Marshman, a dairy farmer in Chenango County, N.Y., has witnessed the same phenomenon.
"The stalls with the water beds fill up faster than the other stalls," said Marshman, who has purchased 150 of the beds and is so pleased with them he plans to buy another 100 for his 370 cows.
"Cows are just like everybody else," said Marshman. "When they figure out something is more comfortable, that's where they will go."
Irish microchip maker Parthus announces merger with unit of American-Israeli firm
By Shawn Pogatchink, The Associated Press
DUBLIN, Ireland — Microchip maker Parthus Technologies PLC of Ireland said Friday it plans to merge with Ceva Inc., a division of an American-Israeli technology concern DSP Group.
The new company, ParthusCeva Inc., would combine the two companies' skills in designing chips and software for mobile Internet communications, a field of great potential but elusive profit in recent years.
The combined company would supply products, chiefly for Internet-capable mobile phones and handheld computers, to nine of the world's top 10 computer chip makers.
One of DSP's specialties is speech compression software, which allows telephone and computer users to have their voice converted into text or execute other functions over wireless Internet connections.
In what both partners describe as a merger of equals, DSP shareholders would hold a 50.1 percent stake in the new firm. Parthus shareholders would have the remaining 49.9 percent.
Their marginally different ownership shares are a result of U.S. tax laws. DSP needs a nominal majority stake so that it can spin off Ceva on a tax-free basis before the merger, said Barry Nolan, a Parthus vice president for marketing. Shareholders would be issued new shares in ParthusCeva in exchange for their existing shares.
To equalize the respective market capitalizations of Parthus and Ceva, Parthus shareholders also would receive a one-time payment of $60 million, Nolan said.
The merger requires regulatory approval in Ireland and the United States and approval from Parthus shareholders, but is expected to be completed in July.
In early trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Parthus shares were down 5.4 percent, or 35 cents a share, at $6.15 while DSP shares gained 2.5 percent, 50 cents a share, to $20.50.
DSP has headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif, and a design center in Herzelia, Israel.
Parthus said the merged firm would open new headquarters in San Jose, Calif., near the current Ceva base, while most management would remain in Dublin. It would employ more than 400 people worldwide, chiefly in research and development. Its shares would be listed on the Nasdaq and in London.
DSP Group chairman and chief executive Eli Alayon would become chairman of ParthusCeva and Parthus president Kevin Fielding its chief executive. The merged company's board of directors would be split evenly with four members from each partner.
Parthus has been losing money since 1999, in line with the cooling of the entire high-tech sector and growing indebtedness of mobile phone firms.
In its full-year 2001 results released in January, Parthus reported it lost $34.7 million on sales of $40.9 million, versus a loss of $16 million on revenue of $31.9 million in 2000.
Parthus said it expected to break even this year and, following the merger, forecast revenue in 2003 of around $80 million.
"This combined company will have a strong revenue growth and be profitable," predicted Parthus chief executive Brian Long, who would become vice chairman of ParthusCeva.
He said the new firm would command "a very dominant position in terms of customer base."
http:// www.parthus.com
http://www.dspg.com
Through the eyes of Mrs. Mingus
By Andy Sywak, Special to the Daily Planet
Sue Mingus, widow of the late jazz great Charles Mingus, will be at Cody's Books on Telegraph Avenue this evening to read from her new book, "Tonight at Noon: A Love Story." A memoir of her 15-year relationship with the famous bassist and composer, the book's title itself is pulled from a Mingus tune.
The event begins at 6 p.m. with a performance from four members of the Mingus Big Band, a group of performers Ms. Mingus pulled together to continue to play her late husband's music. The group performs later that night at Yoshi's.
A former magazine editor and publisher, Mingus had the publication of "Tonight at Noon" coincide with the 80th anniversary of her husband's birth. The book tells the story of the couple's courtship that began serendipitously at a New York nightclub in 1964 and weaved its way through the avant-garde jazz circles during the next two decades. Talking about the challenge of writing her first book, Mingus jokes, "I was supposed to have a page of acknowledgements but didn't get it in on time."
Mingus said she originally wanted to have her book focus on her husband's death caused by Lou Gehrig's Disease in 1979. Titled "The Portrait of an Artist as a Dying Man," it was to chronicle his final days as the couple visited a witch doctor in Mexico in a last-ditch attempt to save Charles' failing health. The original intentions carry over into "Tonight at Noon" as Mingus admits that one-quarter of the book
deals with their final time together in Mexico and the scattering of his ashes in the Ganges River – a request of her husband who believed in reincarnation.
"People started asking me lots of questions and it turned into a much more personal memoir than I had anticipated," she said. "It turned into a book about a relationship." Describing the writing of the book as a "fearsome project," Mingus filtered through old memories over a three-year period to complete her memoir.
"It [Charles' death] was much more painful to live through," Mingus said. "It was an experience that I wanted to write about. I was tired of the perception of Charles as this one-sided, generally aggressive man." Mingus refers to her husband's legendary temper that earned him the moniker as "jazz's angry man."
Known as much for his deft compositions and mastery of the bass as for his brusque demands for audience obedience and voracious appetite, Charles Mingus wrote and recorded music with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington among other jazz titans. Since his death, Ms. Mingus has been active organizing orchestras and concerts devoted to the performances of her husband's compositions.
With other books out that talk at length about Mingus' musical vision, Ms. Mingus did not intend "Tonight at Noon" to cover her husband's artistry and the history of jazz.
"This book is hardly an objective study of Charles Mingus as a composer, it's a reflection on our relationship," Mingus said. Describing her late husband as somebody who "lived up to every value shouted to him onstage," Mingus aimed to present "Charles as people do not know him," in her book.
Click and Clack Talk Cars
Setting matters straight about warranties
Dear Tom and Ray:
I read your article about the study you did in which dealers charged more for the same repairs than independent shops. But I have a question. I have a competent mechanic, who I have used on my vehicles for years. However, I recently bought a new Honda Accord and purchased the extended warranty. Now I'm reluctant to take my car to this competent mechanic for repairs because I'm concerned that the dealer won't honor the warranty and pay for the repair bill. Might he use this as an excuse to not pay my repair bill? — Sam
RAY: Well, now that you've given him the idea ...
TOM: Actually, we need to differentiate between the factory warranty, the extended warranty and scheduled maintenance, Sam. What you say is true for the factory warranty (that's the 3-year/36,000-mile coverage that comes with every new Honda). Repairs or recalls covered under that warranty are handled exclusively by Honda dealers. And if you go someplace else and try to send the dealer the bill, he'll tell you to go jump in a transmission-fluid-filled lake.
RAY: But the extended warranty is a completely different story. Most extended warranties that dealers sell are administered by third-party insurance companies -- not the vehicle manufacturer. And the insurance companies don't care where you get the repair made.
TOM: Here's how it works: When a customer of ours has an extended warranty, we have to call the insurance company before we make the repair. After we spend an hour on hold listening to Wayne Newton Muzak, we tell the representative what's wrong and what we plan to do, and he or she gives us an authorization number. Then the deal's done. After that, the insurance company is committed to paying the bill. And the money can be sent directly to the repair shop, or you can pay the bill and have the reimbursement sent to you.
RAY: And it works the same way for the dealer. With a third-party extended warranty, dealers have to get preapproval for repairs, too.
TOM: Now, for scheduled maintenance (i.e., oil change, 7,500-mile service, 15,000-mile service), you can go anywhere you want, EVEN during the factory warranty period. These services can be much cheaper if done by your own mechanic. And having them done by someone other than the dealer does not void your warranty, despite rumors to the contrary.
RAY: So I'd take your car to the dealer for repairs while it's under factory warranty, Sam. And if you like the dealer, you can do your maintenance there and keep going there after the factory warranty runs out. But if don't like it, or if you prefer someone else, you can do your regular maintenance and use most extended warranties anyplace you like.
Ventura County woman sentenced to death for murdering sons
VENTURA — A Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced a Santa Rosa Valley woman to death for killing three of her four sons.
A jury convicted Socorro Caro, 44, in November of three counts of first-degree murder and found true the special circumstances of multiple murder and intentional discharging of a gun to inflict death. The jurors subsequently recommended the death penalty.
During the trial, defense attorneys contended that Caro's 53-year-old husband, Dr. Xavier Caro, killed the children, then shot and framed her.
Prosecutors said Mrs. Caro became angry after a fight with her husband and on Nov. 22, 1999, methodically shot sons Joey, 11, Michael, 8, and Christopher, 5, with a .38-caliber handgun, then wounded herself in the head. The physician immediately filed for divorce after the killings.
Signs honoring drunk driving victims on California highways
By Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press
CUPERTINO — Three families wept and embraced while unveiling new state highway signs Friday memorializing their loved ones, victims of drunk drivers on California roads.
The three signs reading "Please Don't Drink and Drive, In Memory of ..." each carry the name of a woman killed by a drunk driver — Kimberly Wirth, Carol Klamm and Allison "Ali" Sanwo.
The project of the state Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, is meant to raise awareness of drunk driving, as well as replace the impromptu memorials often erected on the sides of roads for drunk driving victims.
"When people drive by and they see these names on the signs, that brings it home," said Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus. "It's going to be a reminder that drunk driving does hurt, drunk driving does kill, and drunk driving is not going to be tolerated."
California is the latest state to start a program to erect official memorials on highways. Oregon and Washington have similar programs, and several other states are considering them.
Some states — including California — ban impromptu shrines outright, calling them a distraction to motorists and a safety hazard to both the families who put them up and the workers who take them down.
"We can remember them in a dignified way, and we're not going to endanger the lives of family members," Haus said.
Sharon Sanwo, the mother of Ali Sanwo, applied for the program in February after she read about the new law, which went into effect Jan. 1.
Sanwo's daughter was killed on Monterey Road in San Jose after her car was hit by a drunk driver and pushed 25 feet off the road. Ali Sanwo's sign will be erected by April 12 near the spot where she died, just a few days after the five-year anniversary of her death on April 2, 1997.
"It's hard. It's a good moment, but it's very hard," Sanwo said. "We have a special bond now to the place where she died."
In California, families are eligible if their loved one was killed on a highway, was not drinking at the time of the accident and if the person responsible for the accident was convicted of drunk driving.
The family must pay $1,000 for the sign, which Haus said would pay for installation and maintenance.
Sanwo said she hopes when people see Allison's name on the sign near where she was killed they'll stop themselves before they drink and get behind the wheel of a car.
"This is what can happen," she said, struggling to control her tears. "This is the sadness of it."
Priest claims 'no-tolerance' attitude after named in Las Vegas lawsuit
SANTA ROSA — The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese needs to abandon old practices of dealing with sexual abuse, and will begin turning over to police all credible cases of such abuse involving priests, Bishop Daniel Walsh said.
The statement came less than a month after Walsh was named in a Las Vegas lawsuit for allegedly standing by while another priest molested six teen-age boys.
Walsh's statements were perhaps his most candid remarks since the national scandal erupted in January involving the Catholic Church, including the Santa Rosa Diocese. At least five Santa Rosa priests have been accused of molesting minors, including Don Kimball, who is standing trial on charges he raped a teen-age parishioner in 1977. Kimball also is charged with lewd conduct toward another underage parishioner in 1981.
On Monday, Walsh vowed that any Diocese of Santa Rosa priest suspected of sexual abuse will face criminal prosecution and also be stripped of his title.
"If you step across the line, you're finished as a priest," Walsh told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Walsh did not, however, disclose information during the interview about the suit filed last month against a Catholic church in a Las Vegas suburb where he worked 13 years before his appointment to Santa Rosa in 1999.
The suit names Walsh and three others as defendants, including current Bishop Joseph Pepe, alleging that church administrators investigated reports of sexual abuse but failed to act.
The lawsuit, filed in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas on March 11, alleges that Rev. Mark Roberts sexually abused six teen-age boys over a period of four years.
Walsh was unavailable for comment on Friday.
On Monday, Walsh said the church's past policy to rehabilitate and transfer priests who have sexually abused minors often has proven to be the wrong course of action.
"We were advised then that therapy could lead to rehabilitation," Walsh said. "We were following the medical opinion of the time."
Walsh discussed the Las Vegas suit publicly. Dan Galvin, an attorney for the Santa Rosa Diocese, would not comment on whether the suit prompted Walsh to announce his "zero-tolerance" attitude.
Galvin also would not say whether the Clark County district attorney was considering criminal charges.
Governor Gray Davis declares April as 'California Poetry Month'
By Jennifer Coleman, The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — State's poets honored/April devoted to verse/Governor's order.
Gov. Gray Davis on Friday declared April "California Poetry Month" to celebrate the state's cultural life and literary heritage — from the 17-syllable haiku to epic verse.
"Poetry allows language to free our imaginations and expand our creative horizons," Davis said. "It offers opportunities for those seeking self-knowledge, but it especially encourages children to discover the wealth of language and expression in their own lives."
The governor's executive order encourages Californians to read, perform and discuss poetry in all its forms, said Adam Gottlieb, spokesman for the California Arts Council.
"What poetry month means is a celebration of literature, a celebration of learning," Gottlieb said. "How we use language defines us and shows our humanity."
The event is a "wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our love of language and share the spark of creativity," he said.
The monthlong celebration, which Gottlieb said may be California's first, includes events this weekend in Venice, San Francisco and Sacramento.
The event comes as the governor is deciding among three finalists for the state's poet laureate. The finalists are Francisco X. Alarcon, 48, of Davis; Diane DiPrima, 67, of San Francisco; and Quincy Troupe, 59, of La Jolla.
The winner will serve a two-year term and be eligible a stipend that hasn't yet been determined. Past poets laureate were appointed for life.
For more information about specific poetry events, visit the California Arts Council at http://www.cac.ca.gov.
Communications satellite pioneer dead at 92
By Matthew Fordahl, The Associated Press
SAN JOSE — John Robinson Pierce, an electrical engineer who pioneered satellite communications and coined the word "transistor," has died. He was 92.
Pierce, who died Tuesday in Sunnyvale, also was a musician and science fiction writer. He recorded some of the first synthesized music and wrote under the pen name J.J. Coupling.
But he once said his greatest contribution took place in 1948 while he worked at Bell Laboratories, then the research arm of AT&T. Colleagues had invented a solid state device that amplified electrical signals.
One of the inventors, Walter Brattain, knew of Pierce's ability with words and asked for advice for a name. He suggested it be called a transistor.
"It was supposed to be the dual of the vacuum tube," he said in a PBS interview for the program "Transitorized!" "The vacuum tube had transconductance, so the transistor would have 'transresistance.'
"And the name should fit in with the names of other devices, such as varistor and thermistor," he said. "And ... I suggested the name 'transistor."'
The name stuck and transistors would be used to develop everything from small radios to computers, ushering in the digital age.
In 1954, Pierce said satellite communication would be possible by bouncing signals off an orbiting object — an idea first proposed by science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke in 1945.
Pierce's ideas were proven in 1960 with the launch of Echo, a giant balloon that bounced phone calls across the country from the Bell Labs facility in Crawford Hill, N.J.
In 1962, he played a key role in the development and launch of Telstar, the first active communications satellite. In addition to carrying phone traffic, it relayed the first live television images between the United States and Europe.
Clarke later applauded Pierce for turning his dream into reality. Pierce, on the other hand, credited Clarke for inspiring his work.
Pierce won one of engineering's top awards, the Draper Prize, with fellow satellite pioneer Harold Rosen in 1995. He also was awarded the prestigious Marconi Fellowship by Columbia University.
Pierce retired from Bell Labs in 1971 as director of research in communications. He returned to his alma mater, the California Institute of Technology and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as an engineering professor.
Later, he was a music professor at Stanford University and wrote books on theories of music and sound.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda Woodard Pierce, as well as a son and daughter from a previous marriage.
SF Examiner dropping Sunday edition to expand Friday edition
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Examiner no longer will publish on Sundays in favor of expanding its Friday edition with more weekend sports and entertainment information.
Zoran Basich, the Examiner's executive editor, said the change will allow the paper's staff more time to craft each weekday issue, adding that the paper has noticed a surge in weekday circulation.
"There's some small incidental savings in terms of paper and printing, but this is more about looking at where we are with our ongoing efforts to survive long term," Basich said Friday. "Deciding to go to five days a week makes more sense to us."
The change means the Examiner will publish Monday through Friday mornings. The paper has not been published on Saturdays under its current ownership.
About 15,000 Examiners are sold from newsracks each weekday, which is up after a stagnant summer, Basich said. The expanded Friday edition is one component of the Examiner's overall redesign, which is set to debut in the next couple of months. The change will not require layoffs, he said.
The Examiner is operating largely on a $66 million, three-year subsidy from the Hearst Corp., former owner of the newspaper.
Hearst purchased the San Francisco Chronicle in 2000 and later merged its Examiner staff with the Chronicle's. The Fang family, which already published several giveaway papers, became owners of the Examiner and hired its own staff of writers and editors.
Police look for clues in deaths of Santa Clara family
By May Wong The Associated Press
SANTA CLARA — Poems and paper flowers dotted the halls of the school where Elsa Schiefer was known as a bright, athletic, cheerful girl.
The 12-year-old straight-A student and her family were killed in what police are calling a murder-suicide, and all day Friday, students at Hyde Middle School in Cupertino questioned how their schoolmate could have met with such a tragic ending.
Police were seeking the answer to the same question.
"We're still trying to piece together the puzzle," said Santa Clara police Detective Kurt Clarke.
Elsa, and her 5-year-old sister, Jessica, were found dead in their Santa Clara home Thursday, along with their mother, Tae Young Schiefer, 42, and her estranged husband, Ulrich "Uli" Schiefer, 38.
Police say the woman shot and killed the others before turning the .38-caliber revolver on herself. The woman, a stay-at-home mom, had locally purchased and registered the gun last month.
The family was found dead Thursday afternoon after Ulrich Schiefer's co-worker stopped by to check on him because he hadn't shown up at work for several days.
Inside, police later found Elsa in the family room and Ulrich Schiefer in the foyer downstairs. In an upstairs bedroom, Jessica was on the bed, wrapped in a blanket next to her mother with the gun nearby.
It appeared that Ulrich Schiefer was trying to escape, police said: he was found with multiple gunshot wounds by the front door.
Police believe the family died Monday.
A motive has not been determined, but police believe the couple's marital problems are a key factor. The two had been separated for the past two months, and Ulrich Schiefer was living in Sunnyvale and had custody of Jessica.
Police did not know why Ulrich Schiefer was at the Santa Clara home on Monday, the day witnesses last saw the couple alive.
Neither neighbors nor school officials said they saw prior evidence of domestic violence.
The younger daughter and her mother had just dropped off flowers and a homemade drawing for their elderly neighbors across the street on Easter Sunday. The family attended block parties and neighborhood watch meetings.
"Elsa was a delightful child, and there was no sign that she came from a troubled home," said Steve Parker, the principal at Hyde school. "This is very bizarre."
As recent as last winter, the family had sent out "Seasons Greeting" cards, bearing a picture of the smiling family of four in front of a Christmas tree.
Police also say they have not found reports of violence but are still looking.
Family Court records do not show that either parent had filed a restraining order — a sign sometimes of brewing trouble.
The case is also unusual because the apparent perpetrator was a woman, police said.
"The police always assume it's the male, but this case shows it could be the woman as well," Clarke said.
The couple met in Germany and married eight years ago, police said.
Tae Young Schiefer was Korean, and Ulrich Schiefer, German. Elsa was Tae Young Schiefer's daughter from a previous marriage, and police are trying to locate the girl's father in Korea, along with other relatives living there.
Small "Post-It" notes and loose papers with writings in German and Korean were found in the family home, and police are trying to determine if any of them will offer clues as to what happened.
Ulrich Schiefer was an engineer at Remedy Corp. in Mountain View, a business software company that was recently acquired by Peregrine Systems.
"We're all very much saddened by the tragedy," said Tamara Doney, a spokeswoman for Peregrine.
Parents must be notified of day care providers' criminal histories
SAN FRANCISCO — Child care providers must tell parents their workers' criminal histories, but they aren't allowed to reveal the nature of their crimes, troubling parents and providers alike.
About 2 percent of the 275,000 licensed child care workers in the state, including cooks, gardeners and administrators, have criminal convictions. Most of them are for misdemeanors, such as shoplifting and check fraud.
But CBS News won the right in state appellate court in August to examine the names of those who had been convicted of crimes and where they worked, and the Orange County Register ran a series about convicts who were working as day care providers, but who should have been ineligible to work with children.
Getting a license involves fingerprinting and a check against the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice databases. The state can grant a license to someone with a conviction if it determines the person is not a threat to children.
Following the news reports and the lawsuit, Gov. Gray Davis suspended exemptions for six months and ordered a review of the background check process. The state Department of Social Services, acting on directions from Davis, then ordered providers to notify parents immediately about staff members with criminal records.
The Social Services Department said 6,156 people in day care in California have exemptions.
Davis is committed to the moratorium while the department conducts a review.
"He has always believed that parents should have more information rather than less information in trying to make a decision about what's best for their families," said Davis spokeswoman Hilary McLean. "He's not going to change his mind."
Some parents say they are conflicted about a person's right to privacy and the safety of their children.
Claudia Menjivar, who has a 4-year-old in day care, told the San Jose Mercury News that she would be disturbed to find out if someone at her daughter's day care center had been convicted of a crime.
"And if you don't know why, you're left with a doubt. So why give out the information if you can't fully inform people?"
Not all day care centers have started informing parents. On the advice of attorneys, Rosie Kennedy, president of the San Francisco Family Child Care Association, which represents home-based day care centers, said she is advising members not to notify parents, saying it would "generate unfounded fears."
To address the problem of inadequate information, state Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, is drafting legislation that would let parents get information on the specific crimes committed upon request.
Centers that do not comply can be cited and fined $100, and it is also grounds for revocation of the license, said Andrew Roth, spokesman for the Department of Social Services.
The state will know who has complied by looking in children's files, where there should be a form signed by parents acknowledging that they have been given the information, Roth said.
ANWR debate: Tiny footprint, or giant spiderweb of roads?
By H. Josef Hebert, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — An industrial footprint covering 2,000 acres — or a spiderweb of roads, rigs and pipelines over an area of Alaska hundreds of times that size?
In the sparring over whether to let oil companies onto a 25-mile-long strip of coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the truth is in dispute between supporters' claims and opponents' counterclaims.
The Senate is to make a decision next week on the issue. In the runup to the vote, each side is accusing the other of distorting the potential environmental impact of opening the refuge to oil exploration.
Pro-drilling advocates maintain that only a sliver of the vast refuge, known as ANWR (pronounced an-wahr) will be disturbed by drilling rigs, support buildings, airstrips and production facilities. Roads will be limited to those made of ice so they can melt in spring. Travel between well pads will be generally by air.
"Out of 19 million acres, no more than 2,000 acres will be utilized for development. That's about the size of the average regional airport," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
Environmentalists complain those characterizations are a distortion, or at the very least misleading. In the path of the development, they maintain, are calving areas for caribou, the home of musk-oxen, the winter dens of polar bears and the summer stopover for millions of migratory birds.
"They would like people to think it's a postage stamp footprint, but it would be a sprawl of pipelines, roads and platforms across the entire coastal plain. They're trying to put one over on people," said Peter Rafle of the Wilderness Society.
A House-passed bill and a measure to be introduced next week in the Senate would cap the direct surface area to be used at 2,000 acres. But those acres can be spread across the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, virtually all of it precious to wildlife, environmentalists say.
The debate over drilling in ANWR has never been about all 19 million acres of the refuge, an expanse that includes everything from coastal wetlands to large peaks and forests. It is about the narrow strip along the Beaufort Sea — the 25-mile-long coastal plain — that contains the oil and in 1980 was specifically barred by Congress from being developed.
Government geologists estimate as much as 11 billion barrels of oil — reserves almost as large as nearby Prudhoe Bay — might rest beneath the coastal strip, but they don't know exactly where. Unlike Prudhoe, which is one massive field, the ANWR oil is believed to be in as many as 30 or more smaller fields.
No one is certain how the wells would be distributed. Most agree that a large part — if not all — of the coastal plain would be dotted with gravel-based drilling pads, connected by a network of pipelines raised off the ground by supports.
There could be 200 to 300 wells, estimates Roger Herrera, a lobbyist for Arctic Power, a group funded by the oil industry and the state of Alaska, to try to persuade lawmakers to open the refuge to development.
Herrera, a former oil industry geologist who spent 30 years working for BP, the British oil conglomerate, said the planned environmental restrictions and modern oil exploration and drilling technologies will allow production and still protect wildlife.
"The footprint is going to be minimized and the impact on wildlife is going to be minimized accordingly," he said in an interview, echoing the views of President Bush, who has made opening the Arctic refuge a centerpiece of his energy policy.
Herrera and Interior Secretary Norton dismiss claims by environmentalists that the 2,000-acre limit is misleading, and they accuse opponents of ANWR drilling of engaging in distortions of their own.
They complain environmentalists seek to stir emotions by distributing photographs that do not show the refuge as it is during the bleak winter months when oil exploration would occur. And, said Herrera, they ignore 30 years of study showing wildlife can coexist with oil fields.
If the refuge is opened to development, Norton said she will "impose the toughest environmental standards ever applied to oil production."
A bill already passed by the House requires the interior secretary to guarantee "no significant adverse effect" on wildlife and their habitat.
The Congressional Research Service analyzed the House bill and said many of the requirements on road building and other development "will depend on the secretary's interpretation."
Four California rail routes still at 'high risk,' Amtrak warns
By Andrew Bridges, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Amtrak officials warned Friday that California's four long-distance routes remain at "high risk" despite signs of help from Congress as it seeks to secure $1.2 billion in federal funding.
In a letter to Gov. Gray Davis and his counterparts in the 45 other states served by Amtrak, railroad President George Warrington said that 18 long-distance routes may be discontinued in October.
Among them are the Sunset Limited, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief and Coast Starlight. The four are the lone long-distance passenger rail routes that connect California with the rest of the nation. At least one of them, the Southwest Chief, has been established as a route since the 1920s.
Warrington wrote that Amtrak is encouraged by the response of lawmakers to the beleaguered railroad's plight, but that it must prepare for the possibility it will not have enough money to maintain its current routes. Other, shorter routes are also at risk.
"We're just dealing with reality here. You can't run service without funds. This is an effort to give the governors an update to where we are," said Elizabeth O'Donoghue, a spokeswoman in Amtrak's western regional office in Oakland.
The Coast Starlight, a daily train that connects Los Angeles and Seattle, carries 500,000 passengers a year, or more than any other of Amtrak's long-distance routes.
Pierre Bagley, a film producer and director, was dismayed to learn of the potential cuts. The 48-year-old rides Amtrak two to three times a week between his home in San Diego and Los Angeles, and was planning to take the Starlight north next month with his wife.
"I would hate to see this happen, because it limits the options. I would really be distressed," Bagley said Friday as he prepared to return home from Los Angeles' Union Station.
Jeff Morales, director of the state Department of Transportation, said California's focus will be on its three intercity routes.
Each year, about 3.5 million passengers use those increasingly popular routes, which are underwritten by the state. Just 1.2 million ride the long-distance routes, a number that is slipping.
"On a relative basis, it's a very minor impact," Morales said of the potential loss of the longer routes.
Jack Kyser, the chief economist at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., echoed that viewpoint.
"It would have a modest impact on tourism, because most of the visitors to California either fly or drive," Kyser said. "If those four lines went away, you would have more of an impact on people living along the route who use this as basic transportation."
Alan C. Miller, of the Sacramento-based Train Riders Association of California, said Warrington's letter was likely intended to increase political pressure on Congress to approve Amtrak's funding request.
Associated Press Writer Sandra Marquez contributed to this report.
Final energy bill likely to offer little help for landowners
By Judith Kohler, The Associated Press
DENVER — A consultant for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Friday an energy bill now before Congress probably won't help landowners who have to allow oil and gas companies on their property.
John Watts, who works for Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said the Interior Department and some members of Congress are looking at ways to resolve conflicts between the oil and gas industry and landowners.
"You have to be pretty unfeeling not to sympathize with what a lot of ranchers are going through," Watts told an audience at a conference on coal-bed methane development in the Rockies.
But, Watts added, laws giving mineral leaseholders more rights than landowners would have to be changed, and the industry adamantly opposes that. "I think in the near term, it's going to be difficult to get a sharp change in the law," he said.
Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, and others want to do something to resolve the conflicts, Watts said. One option might be incentives for companies to enter agreements with landowners on location of roads and equipment and compensation for damage.
The clash between landowners and companies leasing minerals under their land was one of the topics in the two-day conference sponsored by the University of Colorado Natural Resources Law Center. The sessions ended Friday.
Landowners and activists vented their frustration with companies they claim violate environmental laws and threaten their livelihoods as coal-bed methane wells multiply throughout the Rockies.
Industry representatives complained critics sometimes spread horror stories unsupported by facts. "If we can't agree on the facts, we'll never agree on what we're going to do about it," said Mark Sexton, president of the Evergreen Corp., a Colorado gas company.
Industry officials said during a panel discussion Friday that energy conservation is crucial but won't be enough to meet the nation's rising demand. Natural gas from coal-bed methane and conventional wells pollutes far less than coal, they said.
Interior Department officials have said coal-bed methane will be an important part of the Bush administration's plan to increase domestic energy production and reduce oil imports.
Methane gas is captured by pumping groundwater to relieve the pressure trapping the gas in coal seams. Significant commercial production began in the 1980s.
The San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado is the country's largest coal-bed methane field. The Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana is quickly catching up, with about 10,000 wells in place and than 70,000 predicted over the next several years.
Watts said the energy bill before the Senate may recommend boosting by about $20 million the Bureau of Land Management's budget for inspecting wells and enforcing regulations.
He said when debate resumes next week, he expects a proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development will fail.
The multibillion-dollar question is what will happen when the bill goes to conference committee, because the House backs drilling in the refuge, Watts said.
E-mails show LA archdiocese struggling to get handle on abuse cases
By Leon Druin Keith, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Leaked e-mails sent by officials and attorneys with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paint a picture of an organization scrambling to defend its handling of sexual abuse by priests even as more allegations surface.
"It's the new cases ... that keep the story alive," Cardinal Roger Mahony wrote Wednesday in an e-mail. "With our various cases now I don't even know what the numbers (of accused priests) are myself!"
The e-mail was among about 60 released by radio station KFI of Los Angeles on Friday. Talk show host Ken Champou said they came from a listener who had contacted the station through its Web site.
The Los Angeles archdiocese — the nation's largest — went to court Thursday to prevent KFI and the Los Angeles Times from disseminating related e-mails, but a judge rejected the request.
In a letter faxed to The Associated Press and others, archdiocese attorney John P. McNicholas exhorted media outlets not to publish the e-mails and return to him any copies they receive. Publishing the communications "will violate state and federal statutes and tort law regarding invasion of privacy," he wrote.
Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg's only comment on the e-mails Friday was that they were "illegally obtained" and that the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department and federal prosecutors had been contacted.
"Beyond that, I would say the people who are in ministry positions in the archdiocese are in full compliance with California law in the mandatory reporting of child neglect and sexual abuse," Tamberg said. The law requires priests, teachers and others to report abuse allegations.
FBI spokesman Matt McLaughlin said agents were investigating whether someone obtained the e-mails through hacking or other illegal means.
Pressure on the archdiocese to release information on alleged sexual abuse among priests increased when the Times reported last month that six to 12 priests accused of wrongdoing dating back as far as 10 years had been removed.
The archdiocese has not released the number of priests removed, although Mahony has said some priests have been ousted and that the archdiocese cooperates with law enforcement when accusations arise.
The e-mails — most of them marked "privileged client-attorney communication" — show top-level archdiocesan officials learned about the removal of at least two priests just last month. Both were members of religious orders, meaning they did not work directly for the archdiocese.
The e-mails indicate officials were concerned about priests beyond "the big 8" Mahony referred to in a March 30 memo to his attorney, Sister Judith Ann Murphy.
In an earlier memo, Mahony told Murphy the archdiocese made a "huge mistake" in failing to turn over three sexual abuse cases involving priests to police, and urged her to talk with detectives about the cases.
"It was a huge mistake on our part," Mahony wrote. "If we don't, today, 'consult' with the detective about those three names, I can guarantee you that I will get hauled into a grand jury proceeding and I will be forced to give all the names, etc."
In other e-mails, officials warned Mahony against overstating what the archdiocese's response has been in communications with media and law enforcement.
For instance, a draft of a letter to Police Chief Bernard Parks "gives the impression that for years we gave names over to law enforcement contemporaneously with the time we learned of events," Monsignor Craig A. Cox wrote March 28. "If an example of even one case comes out where we didn't pass on the name then, but only more recently, it will blow up."
The issue of how much information to release to police is discussed in several e-mails.
In the case of one priest under scrutiny, "I am leaning towards giving it to the LAPD to review," Mahony wrote in a Monday e-mail. "We could be very vulnerable on any case where there is a dispute among folks, and we have not referred it out."
In preparing Monsignors. Cox and Richard A. Loomis for interviews with investigators, Murphy wrote, "Remember Sergeant Joe Friday — 'Only the facts, sir, only the facts.' ... Do not volunteer information. This is not a session to be chatty."
In some cases the desires of victims complicated the release of information, Mahony wrote March 30 after meeting with three victims "from very old cases, two from the big 8."
"All insisted strongly that I not release the names of their perpetrators since their personal lives would be placed in jeopardy — marriages, jobs, etc.," Mahony wrote.
In his Wednesday e-mail, Mahony estimated that by mid-May, "any new problems will have been uncovered, and that we can begin the healing process over the coming months."
State pushing at all fronts to rework power deals
SACRAMENTO — Through complaints with the federal government and a mobilized cadre of lawyers, the state of California is trying to shed some of the long-term power contracts tying it to much higher than market rates.
When he made the deals last year, Gov. Gray Davis called them a force to stabilize the state's volatile energy market. Since then, however, the state has tried a variety of tactics to poke holes in those contracts and get a better deal.
But that's happening in a tenuous utility environment in which many companies are wallowing in Enron-related accounting problems and trying to stabilize their sagging finances.
San Jose-based Calpine Corp. has four of 56 long-term contracts with the state, worth about $11.7 billion of the $43 billion total. Those deals have Calpine set to provide about 25 percent of the power under the long-term contracts.
But the Department of Water Resources has been negotiating hard with Calpine to change the terms. Both sides said Friday they had no deal.
"We are close, but we've been close before," said Oscar Hidalgo, DWR spokesman.
However, since the deals were signed, Calpine has faltered. Standard & Poor's downgraded its credit rating to junk status, because of its large debts and concerns renegotiated energy deals with the state could cut badly needed revenues.
That means Calpine really has nothing to offer the state, said University of California, Irvine, economist Peter Navarro. Any new deal Davis would reach with Calpine would have little meaning.
Calpine, spokesman Bill Highlander said, is still "very stable."
The state started buying power in January 2001, after three utilities amassed billions of dollars in debts due to high wholesale costs and couldn't buy energy for their customers.
Davis said the long-term deals tamed the market and provide reliable supplies.
Since then, wholesale electricity prices have dropped to less than half the $69 per megawatt hour average of the long-term deals, leading critics to say the state was rolled by the power companies and stuck consumers with a decade's worth of high prices.
In February, the state asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review some of the deals, saying the power sellers charged unfair prices and used illegal tactics to drive them higher. The state Electricity Oversight Board and the Public Utilities Commission want the contracts' costs cut by $21 million.
Energy sellers say the contracts are fair given the cost of energy at the time. Instead, said Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers, the state has buyer's remorse, which is discouraging companies from investing in California.
Also, fallout from the collapse of bankrupt energy giant Enron is making it hard for generators to find money to build power plants, Smutny-Jones said. That could lead to another energy crunch in two or three years.
Concern over a future shortage of generation is why the state tied about 70 percent of the long-term contracts to the building of new plants, Hidalgo said.
Whether the contracts actually require energy companies to build a plant is open to interpretation.
A recent Bureau of State Audits report found the contracts "typically do not impose the substantial penalty of termination for failure to build such generation ..."
That hasn't stopped DWR attorneys from telling Sempra Energy Resources, which holds a $7 billion deal, that it hasn't lived up to its contract and may lose it because it hadn't brought a 300-megawatt power plant online by April.
Sempra responded by saying that plant could have been part of a larger, cleaner facility being built in Bakersfield. Sempra just decided not to operate the smaller plant while the larger one was being built, spokesman Tom Murnane said.
Also, Murnane said, the contract doesn't require Sempra to build anything, while the state claims the contract requires the company to have the plant working now.
In fact, Hidalgo said, the promised new plant was the reason the state agreed to pay Sempra $160 a megawatt hour.
Sempra president Michael Niggli said the state is just playing "political games" to break the contract.
Sheldon Shultz, the owner of a biomass plant in Soledad, agreed.
The DWR canceled a five-year, $35 million contract with Soledad Energy last week, saying the company had only supplied 30 percent of the power they were supposed to sell the state in the last several months.
A mechanical problem has slowed production at the plant, Shultz said, and would have been fixed soon.
Instead, he said, the state gave him a "take-it-or-leave-it offer" that would cut Soledad's rate to below cost. That's because of "the political pressure on the governor and the governor's pressure on the agency to do something."
Among California's power woes, his 13-megawatt biomass plant "isn't on anyone's radar," he said, but since the state is his only customer, he shut the plant down and laid off 21 workers. "We're a mouse in a battle of elephants and I guess we didn't get out of the way."
New Mexico fire more than triples to 35,000 acres in Gila
RESERVE, N.M. — Firefighters dug fire lines to impede a fast-moving blaze that charred 37,000 acres of forest land, drawing within three miles of the main ranchhouse of a well known cattle ranch.
Winds gusting to 25 mph had made firefighting more difficult early Friday, but by sundown the winds had died back to a minimal 3 to 5 mph, fire information officer Dave Wells said.
"We"re calling it 40 percent contained," he said. "That's the big change today. It's the first sense that we're getting some containment."
Wells said the lack of winds helped firefighters build bulldozer lines in the path of the blaze, which had burned northeastward within 1 1/2 miles of Forest Road 30.
Higher winds, in the 25 mph range, are forecast for the weekend, he said, making it "a very important weekend" to clamp a lid on before winds can get the blaze moving again.
Elk Springs, a cluster of 18 to 20 summer cabins, is located farther west along Forest Road 30. Elk Springs was a target of a voluntary evacuation Wednesday, but by Friday it appeared the fire might have passed that stretch of road, coming closest to F.R. 30 a few miles to the east.
In that area, the O-Bar-O ranch stood in the path of the blaze, Wells said.
A special "strike force" of six structure-protecting fire engines was stationed at the Elk Springs area and at the O-Bar-O.
"This fire is far from out, but some of the risk factors of the subdivision and the O-Bar-O have been mitigated," Wells said late Friday.
Wells said 37,000 acres isn't so big when considering the size of the 1.3 million-acre Gila National Forest. He said many areas for camping, hiking and other activities, like the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, remain open.
Forest officials had no estimate when the lightning-caused fire, first spotted Sunday in the Gila Wilderness, might be contained.
Crews hit the flames directly, by building lines along the leading edges, and indirectly, by burning out brush ahead of the fire, giving it nothing to consume, Wells said.
"There are challenges in that a lot of the fire is growing on the light winds, it's so dry up there. With a little more wind up there, there's a chance of fanning the flames and making them more intense," he said.
About 550 firefighters, plus 11 air tankers, two helicopters, 27 engines and six bulldozers are assigned to the Middle Fire.
Air tankers took to the sky again Friday, assaulting the fire with drops of red-dyed retardant slurry. Crews were helped in the ground battle with fire engines and bulldozers.
The fire was burning generally in meadows, grass and brush among ponderosa pines at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, Wells said.
"It's moving so quickly that the big timber is not being engulfed," Gila spokeswoman Loretta Ray said.
"It's consuming the ground fuels and ground litter but fortunately, we have just not seen that torching effect occur or the crowning (flames leaping from treetop to treetop)," she said.
Wells said firefighters describe forest conditions as bone dry, and he urged people to pay attention to fire restrictions around the state.
Roads in the vicinity of the fire are closed.
Forestry officials last Sunday had decided to keep a close watch on the Middle Fire, then at about 100 acres, and allow it to burn out brush.
But flames flared up Wednesday and the fire scorched across 10,000 acres by that night. Firefighters estimated the blaze had burned about 30,000 acres by midday Thursday.
Last week, a fire roared through a subdivision in the Sacramento Mountains near Ruidoso, forcing the evacuation of 1,300 people and destroying 28 homes.
No one was injured in the blaze, which burned 972 acres. Another fire the same week on the nearby Mescalero Apache Reservation burned one home and 16,422 acres.
Berkeley native trapped in Bethlehem
Berkeley native Kenneth Cardwell and Oakland native Myron Collins, professors at St. Mary's College in Moraga, are among the 12 Lasallian brothers, a group of Catholic priests, still surrounded by Israeli troops at Bethlehem University.
They have been restricted to their residence on the campus since 2:30 a.m. Monday.
Cardwell, whose parents still live in Berkeley, earned a Ph.D from UC Berkeley in 1986. He has been able to stay in contact with friends and relatives through telephone calls and e-mail.
"They are locked in, but surviving. They've got light, heat, telephone and food," said Mary Cardwell, Kenneth's mother. She said she was glad to be able to keep in such close contact by "virtue of e-mail."
Brother Ronald Gallagher, a professor at St. Mary's and former president of Bethlehem University for four years, has been speaking continually with the brothers. He spoke to the Daily Planet on Thursday just an hour after Cardwell's last call.
"Their house was searched again today," he said.
He thought it was ridiculous, saying, "Israeli troops went through their closets and drawers looking for terrorists."
He laughed dryly.
"But I guess they found none."
Although the brothers have been unable to move from their house, they can pick up the phone or use e-mail whenever they want.
But Gallager said he did not know whether their calls were monitored.
"My calls were monitored when I was there. They were routed through the Isreaeli Governor's Office," he said.
Gallagher said that, based on conversations with his friends in Bethlehem, he thinks there are about 100 troops are using the university as a staging ground for the half-mile between the university and the Church of the Nativity.
"The brothers are not in immediate danger because it is an Israeli-occupied camp. They're not going to bomb their own soldiers," said Gallagher.
Nevertheless, he said, "We are very concerned."
Gallagher said that because the soldiers arrived while the students were on Easter Break, no students are confined on-campus. But the students, who are all Palestinians from the Jerusalem and Bethlehem area, have been confined to their homes.
Brother Raphael Patton said he was not surprised that the university was targeted. "If I were the Israeli Army, that's what I'd do, too," said Patton. "You want to get the Europeans and the Americans out of there, because once they're gone, the international press will leave, too. And then the Israeli Army can do what it wants."
Cardwell, who is now 55, lived in Berkeley until he was 20. He went off to college at St. Mary's College and also did graduate work at the University of Washington and Oxford University. When he came back to Cal, he was already a mature student.
That made him stand out to Professor Emeritus Thomas Sloane, who worked with him on his dissertation, "Francis Bacon and the Interrogation of Nature."
"He was a very bright guy. And he brought to learning a certain understanding from his maturity," said Sloane.
Sloane said he was not aware that Cardwell had any interest in the Middle East. When Sloane was working with Cardwell, the student was focusing on "the intersection of rhetoric, science and religion."
Cardwell has been on the St. Mary's faculty since the mid-1980s, said Gallagher. Two years ago, he went to Bethlehem to help the university with its English language program and also to advise its administrators.
"He went to the Middle East because he wanted to know more about the Middle East, because he had studied Arabic," said Mary.
But their son's knowledge about the area did not necessarily ease his parents' fears.
"Of course we're worried," she said.
Revolting, the peace protest was anything but
Tom Wandall
I find Eric Meyerson's characterization of the April 2nd peace march as a "revolting display of civil disorder" to be completely without merrit. I attended Tuesdays march and many others in the past and this was one of the most peaceful and non-confrontational I have witnessed.
Remember the Free KPFA protests and "Camp KPFA" in the middle of MLK for days? The Gulf War protests? Seattle?
The march down University to the freeway is standard issue and this one went off almost without incident.
The closest thing to a "revolting display" I saw was the police pepper spraying a few nonviolent protesters.
If the "stand off" had not lasted as long as it as it did I doubt we would have received the media coverage we had. The idea that these "ridiculous actions" (slowing the Tuesday night traffic) will undermine peace in the Middle East is itself so ridiculous as to almost not deserve comment, almost. I thank the Daily Planet for its coverage and also Mr. Meyerson for his comments. I invite him to join us in finding more effective ways to reach the public.
Everyone's input is welcome.
Compiled by Guy Poole
City Commons Club
2315 Durant Ave.
"Reporting from Berkeley" Charles Burres, staff reporter, San Francisco Chronicle. $1. 848-3533.
Oakland Museum Teacher Open House
"First Friday Teacher Features" Try your hand at Gold Panning, and find out about our popular Gold Rush Program. Free for Teachers.
238-3818 to register
Oakland Museum Artist Gallery Talks
Jamie Brunson, Milton Komisar and Amy Evans McClure, artists in the exhibition "Being There: 45 Oakland Artists", discuss their works in the gallery
Berkeley Women in Black
Bancroft Way and Telegraph Ave.
Stand in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end
to the occupation, which will give greater hope for an end to the
violence. 548-6310, wibberkeley.org.
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its second annual Noche Latina event. This fund raiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Avenue.
3rd Annual Mad Scientist Sale
Fundraising festival hosted by Minding the Body, Inc. Participatory Booths, Jugglers, Storytellers, Performance Art, Co-creation of Music, Poetry and Art and a Vegetarian Potluck. mindingthebody.org.
On the Road in the former Soviet Union
Story of Mozart returns to the big screen — through the eyes of the film's director
by Peter Crimmins Special to the Daily Planet
The advent of DVD technology for home theaters has made the concept of "director's cut" nearly obsolete. With so much "alternative" footage and running commentary for most movies packed onto those little discs, there is very little thunder left to merit a theatrical re-release of a film.
"Amadeus: The Director's Cut" proves the exception, if only for the soundtrack. The return of the 1984 fictionalized account of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which swept the Oscars by winning eight statuettes, delivers Mozart's music sweetly, at times languid, at times bombastic. If you tell the projectionist not to be shy with the volume knob, the big theatrical sound comes close to doing justice to the genius at the center of the film.
There are also 20 added minutes, bringing the running time up to just more than three hours, including one drawing room scene which had been completely excised from the original that featured some clever sound design: while attempting to audition as a potential tutor for the daughter of a rich dog-lover, Mozart's harpsichord is drowned out by howling hounds. The baying dogs are as irritating to the audience as they would have been to Mozart's ear.
The scene is useful to illustrate Mozart's underappreciated gift; a musical muse the film's narrator, contemporaneous rival Antonio Salieri (Oscar recipient F. Murray Abraham) contemplates as a divine mystery. How could a merciful God speak through the music of a crass, vulgar young man like Mozart while leaving the chaste, petty, career-oriented Salieri with a desire to compose holiness that was far greater than his mediocre talents could produce?
The soundtrack is not the only thing at play. It is reined in to support this central question of divine grace bestowed or eluded, and the hubris of a man cheated by God. The real Salieri may or may not have plotted to kill Mozart, as he reportedly ranted in his old age, but the facts and the rumors and the fictions assembled by playwright and screenwriter Sir Paul Shaffer make for a ripping good murder mystery backed with some tasty theological doubting.
Now that we've been a lot of computer-generated bells and whistles in movies – meteors and dinosaurs, etc, that look impressive but nevertheless fake — "Amadeus" has a unique quality to the construction of its fiction: truth. From the buildings to the furniture to the wigs, "it was all authentic," said the film's producer Saul Zaentz, owner of the Saul Zaentz Film Center in West Berkeley.
The film was principally shot in Czechoslovakia, where you can turn a camera 360 degrees and never leave the 18th century. Zaentz and director Milos Forman were also able to get the Tyl Theater as a shooting set, the oldest all-wood theater in Prague and a carefully preserved treasure. The performance of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" was shot there almost 300 years after Mozart himself conducted it's premiere in the same theater. Czech firemen patrolling their national treasure nervously watched the film crew replace the electric chandeliers with 6,000 candles imported from Germany.
"It's always a search for the truth, if you can get it," said Zaentz. "Pre-production is more important than post-production, and almost as important as shooting, when the actors come in and it's better than they imagined."
Zaentz said he was under constant surveillance for three months in Czechoslovakia, and not for putting their Tyl in danger. "The government didn't want us there because they thought we were spies," he said.
A man in a leather coat and leather hat "out of bad casting" was posted outside his rented apartment. It was hardly a secret. They waved to each other every morning. "The idea of a totalitarian government, either left of right, is to instill paranoia," reasoned Zaentz. He said they bugged his phone then later advised him what not to say to colleagues.
Back in Berkeley, Zaentz owns the somewhat less grandiose Fantasy Building on 10th and Parker streets. Although the boxy, squat building boasting seven floors of 60's tiered architecture does not inspire awe among passersby, inside is a filmmakers paradise. Affordable office space has been rented to an array of award-winning filmmakers and documentarians: currently Francis Reid and Deborah Hoffman ("Long Night's Journey Into Day") and Gail Dolgin ("Daughter From Danang") are based there, among many others. The Alan Spelt sound mix theater on the third floor has attracted big Hollywood productions.
Zaentz said he tried to build a film community inside his building, and often offers facilities and post-production staff for no charge to tight-budget tenants making promising films. "We get it back if they sell it," Zaentz said, applying a businessman's acumen to the projects of shoestring filmmakers. "They always believe in it, but we have to believe in it, too."
The facilities can be available to tenants if they are not being used for "cash projects," i.e. big-money film productions. Which is happening more often as directors and producers venture north from the Hollywood enclave. Many filmmakers, like Gus Van Zant and John Waters, are repeat customers. "They find they guys here more sympathetic," said Zaentz, "much more so than people in L.A."
Arts & Entertainment Calendar
924 Gilman Apr. 5: The Frisk, The Tantrums, Last Great Liar, Intrepid A.A.F., I Decline; Apr. 6: All Bets Off, Time in Malta, Animosity, Breath In, For the Crown; Apr. 12: Missing 23rd, Himsa, Bleeding Through, Belvedere; Apr. 13: Labrats, Damage Done; Apr. 19: Ludicra, Sbitch, Watch Them Die, Beware, Hate Mail Killer; Apr. 20: The Sick, All Bets Off, Vitamin X, Sharp Knife, Dead in the End; Apr. 21: Harum Scarum; Fleshies, Iowaska, Disobedience; Apr. 26: The Lawrence Arms, Taking Back Sunday, Before The Fall; Apr. 27: Pitch Black, Fall Silent, The Cause, The 86ers, As I; All shows begin a 8 p.m., most cost $5. 924 Gillman St., 525-9926
Anna's Bistro Apr. 5: Anna de Leon & Ellen Hoffman, 10 p.m., Hideo Date; Apr. 6: Renegade Sidemen; Apr. 7: Danubius; Apr. 8: Renegade Sidemen; Apr: 9: Singers open mic; Apr. 10: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Apr. 11: Hanif and The Sound Voagers; Apr. 12: Anna de Leon, 10 p.m., Hideo Date; Apr. 13: Ed Reed, 10 p.m., Ducksan Distones Jazz Sextet; Apr. 14: Choro Time; Apr. 15: Renegade Sidemen; Music starts at 8 p.m. unless noted, 1801 University Ave., 849-2662.
Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center Apr. 5: Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums, $11; Apr. 6: Kotoja, $12; Apr. 7: Wadi Gad, Sister I-Live & The Songbirds w/ the 48th Street Band, $10; Apr. 9: Tim Rigney w/ Flambeau, $8; Apr. 10: Red Archibald & The Internationals, $8; Apr. 11: Alan Winston & The Mosoco Ceilidh Band, $8; Apr. 12: Drums of Passion, $15; Apr. 13: Gator Beat, $11; Check venue for showtimes, 1317 San Pablo Ave., 548-0425.
Blake's Apr. 5: Orixa, American Rebus, $7; Apr. 6: Felonious, Psychokinetics; Apr. 7: Forcing Bloom, $3; Apr. 8: The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee; $4; Apr. 9: Filibuster, Mr. Q, $3; Apr. 10: Hebro, free; Apr. 11: Electronica w/ Ascension, $5; Apr. 12: Kofy Brown, Subterraneanz, $7; Stonecutters, $5, Apr. 14: Ted Ekman; Apr. 15: Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533.
Downtown Apr. 5: Danny Caron; Apr. 6: Michael Bluestein Trio; Apr. 7: Gary Rowe; Apr. 9: Aaron Greenblatt; Apr. 10: Dave Mathews; Apr. 12: The Hot Club of San Francisco; Apr. 13: Walter Earl; Apr. 14: Gary Rowe; Apr. 16: Mimi Fox; Apr. 17: Dred Scott; Apr. 19 and 20: Rhonda Benin and Soulful Strut; Apr. 21: Gary Rowe; Apr. 23: Aaron Greenblatt; Apr. 24: Dave Mathews; Apr. 26: Joshi Marshall; Apr. 27: Danny Caron; Apr. 30: The Ned Boynton Combo; 2102 Shattuck Ave., 649-3810.
Freight & Salvage Apr. 5: Peter Kessler & Gail Fratar, Rick Shea & Brantley Kearns, Apr. 6: Greg Brown; Apr. 7: Dervish; Apr. 10: Martin Carthy; Apr. 11: Bryan Bowers; Apr. 12: Fiddlers 4, Michael Doucet, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky & Rushad Eggleston; Apr. 13: Scheryl Wheeler; Apr. 14: John Gorka; Apr. 15: Bob Paisley & The Southern Grass; $15.50 - $19.50, 1111 Addison St., 548-1761, folk@freightandsalvage.org
The Starry Plough Apr. 5: 9:30 p.m., Dave Gleason's Wasted Days, Bellyahcers, The Mother Truckers, $6; Apr. 6: 9:30 p.m., 86, Warm Wires, Sonny Smith, $5; Apr. 7: 8 p.m., The Starry Irish Music Session; Apr. 8: 7 p.m., Dance Class and Ceili (traditional Irish music), free; Apr. 9: 9 p.m., Bonnie Price Billy, RainYwood, $12; Apr. 10: 8:30 p.m., Poetry Slam, $7; Apr. 11: Jessica Lurie Ensemble, Will Bernard Trio, $6; Apr. 14: 8 p.m., The Starry Irish Music Session; Apr. 15: 7 p.m., Dance Class and Ceili (traditional Irish music), free; Apr. 16: open mic, free; Apr. 17: 8:30 p.m., Poetry Slam, $7; Apr. 18: 9:30 p.m., Dallas Wayne, Amy Rigby, $6; Apr. 19: 9:30 p.m., Tempest, Brazen Hussey, $10; 3101 Shattuck Ave., 841-2082.
"Compania Espanola De Antonio Marquez" Mar. 13 & 14: 8 p.m., Artistic Director Antonio Marquez showcases his dazzling and dynamic program of flamenco. $24 - $36. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, 642-9988
"A Fairy's Tail" through Apr. 7: 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 5 p.m. Sun., The Shotgun Players present Adam Bock's story of a girl and her odyssey of revenge and personal transformation after a giant smashes her house with her family inside. Directed by Patrick Dooley. $10 - $25. Mar. 16 - 31:Thrust Stage at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St.; Apr. 4 - 7: UC Theatre on University Ave.; 704-8210, www.shotgunplayers.org.
Pacific Film Archive Apr. 5: 7:30 p.m., Journey to the Sun; Apr. 6: 7:30 p.m., If Only I, My Dinner with Weegee, Culture; Apr. 7: 2 p.m., La Commune; Apr. 8: 3 p.m., Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 7 p.m., In the Realm of the Senses; Apr. 9: 7:30 p.m., Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story; Apr. 10: 3 p.m., Weekend, 7:30 p.m., New Arab Video 5; Apr. 12: 7:30 p.m., Untitled; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412
"Domestic Bliss" Through Apr. 4: Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany, 524-9283.
Freshman impresses as Panthers pound Redwood
Tully throws five-inning shutout, strikes out eight to end St. Mary's losing streak
The St. Mary's baseball team went into Thursday's game against Redwood Christian at the low point of their season. The Panthers had lost all three games at the San Marin Tournament earlier in the week, and most of the players were hurting in some fashion.
But nothing cures a team's ills like a blowout win, and that's just what St. Mary's got, a 14-0 whipping of the visiting Wildcats. Even more importantly, the Panthers may have found a little pitching help.
Freshman Scott Tully, fresh from the junior varsity roster, threw five scoreless innings for the win, giving up just one hit and two walks while striking out eight. While Redwood Christian isn't quite at the level of future BSAL opponents, Tully showed the ability to throw strikes, field his position and take some pressure off of the woefully thin pitching staff.
"(Tully) was pretty good today," St. Mary's head coach Andy Shimabukuro said. "He's going to stay up with us. If he just shows a little better command, he should be fine at the varsity level."
Shimabukuro left the door open to making Tully his second starter, behind workhorse Joe Storno, but the freshman will likely pitch in relief for the time being. With two pitchers likely out for the year and little varsity experience left on the staff, Tully could be an important cog in the team's success.
Tully showed poise on the mound and wasn't afraid to let the Wildcats hit the ball, experiencing just one rough inning, loading the bases with one out in the third on two walks and a hit batsman. But he bore down and struck out the next batter, then got Ryan Dole to ground out to end the inning.
"I felt pretty comfortable. It's nice to play with better defense behind you because you have more confidence," Tully said. "Hopefully I can continue to pitch well and help the team."
If the Panthers continue to hit like they did on Thursday, it won't take much to get the pitching staff some more victories. St. Mary's batted around in each of the first three innings, scoring 12 runs before Shimabukuro began removing his weary starters. Tom Carmen did the most damage with two bases-loaded blasts, the first a double in the second inning followed by a triple in the third, for six RBIs on the day. Chris Morocco, hitting in the leadoff spot, chimed in with three hits, including two doubles, and three runs. Storno had a two-run double in the first inning and two sacrifice flies, totalling four RBIs. All this production was even more pleasing because it came with regular cleanup hitter Chris Alfert on the bench with a shoulder injury. Alfert, along with centerfielder Chase Moore, had been carrying the team with their bats for much of the early season.
"I think we have a really good lineup all the way through," Carman said. "Once we get everyone going, we'll put up some big numbers."
Thursday's win also continued the Panthers' strong play at home, upping their record to 6-2 on their own field, including their first two BSAL games, both wins. They are just 1-7 on the road, however, including their three losses at San Marin.
"We just seem to swing the bat better here," Shimabukuro said. "I can't explain it."
The Panthers will try to shake their road woes on Wednesday when they travel to BSAL favorite Salesian. With Storno on the mound and a week of rest, that game will be their only regular-season shot at the Chieftans.
"We're just getting ready for Salesian, and this was a good way to finish the week," Carman said.
UC enrollment down next year
Some students concerned with decline in minority admissions
Compared to last year, UC Berkeley has accepted fewer minority students and fewer students overall, while the statewide University of California system has accepted more minority students and more students overall, according to admissions figures released Thursday.
Overall admissions for next year's UC Berkeley freshman class are down 2.5 percent, while admissions for "underrepresented" student groups – African-Americans, Chicano/Latinos and Native Americans – are down 2.2 percent. White admissions are down 1.7 percent.
System-wide, UC admissions are up 4.9 overall, and 7.6 percent for underrepresented groups.
Some UC Berkeley students are concerned about the decline in minority admissions, no matter how small.
"Any decline is not a good thing," said student Senator Sajid Khan. "California is a majority-minority state and it's time to make our campuses more reflective of that."
UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore noted that admissions are down in all ethnic groups, including the 1.7 percent decline for whites. She added that the university will work hard to convince students of all backgrounds to attend.
"We greatly value diversity on this campus," Gilmore said.
Hanan Eisenman, spokesman for the larger UC system, said it is difficult to determine the reasons for increased application and acceptance rates for minorities, and all students, at UC universities state-wide. But he suggested that a combination of three university programs may have had an effect.
Prior to this year, Eisenman noted, UC accepted 50 percent of students on grades alone and examined the rest through a "comprehensive review" process, which includes an assessment of both academics and qualities like leadership and motivation. This year, UC moved to comprehensive review for all students.
Eisenman said this policy shift may have allowed for greater acceptance of minority students, but emphasized that the university put it in place to get a broader picture of all applicants.
Second, Eisenman said, for the second straight year, UC has guaranteed admission to the top four percent of students at every California high school for the second straight year, broadening the university's net.
Finally, Eisenman said, a $180 million outreach program to high school students may have had an effect.
But Wally Adeyemo, UC Berkeley's student body president said these efforts are too scattered, and that a more focused plan is required to boost minority enrollment.
"I don't feel that we have a comprehensive, strategic plan for increasing minority enrollment in the UC system," said Adeyemo, who is African-American.
In a statement, UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor of Admissions and Enrollment Richard Black said the university reduced overall acceptances by about 100 students this year because more students have been accepting UC Berkeley offers of admission, and the university wants to hold steady on freshman enrollment.
Black said the university is committed to a 15-year agreement with the city, signed in 1990, that places a cap on UC Berkeley enrollment.
Gilmore said the university has not yet completed calculations for next year, but expects to be in compliance with the enrollment cap.
Kudos to Zoning Adjustment Board
Victor Pineda
I am very pleased at our Zoning Boards decision to add mixed housing units to downtown. Andy Katz has been a vocal advocate for Close Affordable and Livable (CAL) Housing, fighting to improve the lives of students and fighting to improve our beautiful downtown.
The newly approved project on the corner of University and Shattuck is yet another great addition to rejuvenating our downtown. Adding more pedestrians and more housing is the right thing to do.
We should continue to support such projects, especially when they give our community members options for low and very low income, and disabled residents.
With projects like this we really are creating an inclusive and vibrant Berkeley.
Hats off.
Author Michael Moore continues to pound Bush, war or no war
By John Flesher, The Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The publisher almost pulled the plug on Michael Moore's latest book, fearing a backlash because of its bare-knuckle attacks on President Bush.
So now that "Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation" is atop the New York Times best seller list, Moore is feeling a bit more charitable toward his No. 1 target — right?
"This 80 percent approval rating — this is not about 80 percent of the country approves or loves George W. Bush," Moore said Monday during a stop on his promotional tour. "This is more like love the one you're with. This is who we're stuck with."
Moore, known for a wicked humor that skewers conservatives and corporations such as General Motors, was true to form in a speech at Northwestern Michigan College. A capacity crowd of about 400 packed Milliken Auditorium, and hundreds watched through closed-circuit television in another campus building.
By turns jocular and indignant, Moore hammered Bush, Enron and the administration's handling of the war on terrorism. He also provided a sneak preview of his coming film, "Bowling for Columbine," which pokes fun at the gun culture and features interviews with members of the Michigan Militia.
The first chapter of his book describes the 2000 presidential election as "a very American coup." As far as Moore is concerned, Al Gore is the rightful president of the United States
"People say, 'Get over it.' Well, I'll never get over it," he said. "There's nothing more basic in a democracy than the right to vote, and if you don't stand up for that — if someone tries to rig it or steal it and we sit silent, what message do we send?"
He also called for a special prosecutor to investigate the Enron scandal and ties between the company and government officials.
"If they could waste our time for four years with a special prosecutor looking at a stain on a blue dress, they could certainly dig out the criminals involved in this mess," Moore shouted over the crowd's roar.
Dressed casually in his trademark baseball cap, jeans and tennis shoes, Moore drew laughter by recounting his discussions with HarperCollins executives who feared the nation's post-Sept. 11 mood would sink his book — especially with chapter titles such as "Kill Whitey" and "Idiot Nation."
If people in the audience were offended by his no-holds-barred brand of politics, they kept it to themselves.
"He's wonderful," said Traverse City Mayor Margaret Dodd. "He cares about the things America is supposed to care about, and he has the courage to do something."
Erin Chamberlain, an organizer of the newly formed campus Green Party, said Moore was a role model. Shannon Hemingway, a volunteer with the college radio station, praised him for presenting complex issues in simple terms.
"He's genuine," Hemingway said.
Cope wins at Worlds
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Former Cal swimmer Haley Cope, the 2000 Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year, won the 100-meter backstroke Thursday at the Short Course World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
Cope, who competed for the Bears from 1998-01, won the 100-meter back in a time of 59.01. This past summer, she was the world champion in the 50-meter back (28.51) at the Long Course World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Current Cal junior Staciana Stitts qualified for the semifinals of the 50-meter breaststroke.
Lord to transfer from Cal
Freshman women's basketball player Jackie Lord has decided to transfer from Cal, head coach Caren Horstmeyer announced Thursday. Lord, who hails from Brea, has yet to determine where she will transfer but intends to return to the Los Angeles area.
The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 14.6 minutes per game in 21 contests off the bench in 2001-02 for the Golden Bears. Lord posted 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. She missed the first seven games of the year while she rehabilitated an ACL injury.
Shipp voted MVP
Junior forward Joe Shipp, who led Cal with in scoring with 14.8 points per game, was named the Golden Bears' Most Valuable Player at the team's annual banquet Thursday night at Haas Pavilion.
During the 2001-02 season, the 6-foot-5 Shipp reach double figures 26 times in 32 games, including a career-high 31 points vs. Fresno State when he also set a school record with nine 3-pointers. An honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection, Shipp ranked second on the squad in rebounding (4.7 rpg) and third in blocked shots (18). In March, he became the 31st player in school history to pass the 1,000-point barrier, and he will enter his senior season next fall with 1,034 points.
Local Web site used to urge peace
E-mails, faxes sent to
leaders calling for an end to Middle East violence
Since Friday, more than 134,000 people from the Bay Area and around the world have used a Berkeley Web site to send e-mails and faxes to American, Israeli and Palestinian leaders calling for an end to Middle Eastern violence.
"It's really picking up a lot of steam," said Steve Freedkin, who operates the site, www.progressiveportal.org, and serves as a member of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission.
The Web site, launched in May 2001, serves as a vehicle for citizens to contact decision-makers on a wide range of issues. Progressive Portal's most prominent campaign was a one-million-letter effort to dislodge members of the Pacifica Radio board last year.
The Middle East message calls for an end to Israeli military action in Palestinian-controlled areas. The letter also advocates an end to suicide bombings, carried out by Palestinian radicals, against Israeli citizens. Visitors to the site, if they choose, can edit the message.
Freedkin said he has no illusions that this week's e-mails and faxes, alone, will bring peace to the Middle East.
But he suggests that they may play some small role in easing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has escalated in recent weeks.
"Maybe we can, in some small way, contribute to the larger effort of governments and citizens and action groups around the world to step back from the brink of chaos in the Middle East," he said.
Freedkin said that quick, e-mail activism also helps people feel more involved. He said he hopes this sense of involvement leads to greater activism.
Norma Harrison, a Berkeley real estate agent who used the service, said she is already a busy activist. But Harrison added that she does appreciate the convenience of www.progressiveportal.org and other similar sites.
"This is one of the easier things to do," she said. "I do this as much as possible."
"I really just want to do something," added Annie Smiley, a UC Berkeley senior who used the site after seeing a link on jerusalem.indymedia.org.
Freedkin said people from Japan, Turkey, Italy, Canada and several other countries have joined local activists in making use of the site.
Freedkin said the e-mails and faxes only targeted American and Israeli leaders until Saturday night, when he added Palestinian leaders to the list.
The problem, he said, was that Israeli attacks on the Palestinian stronghold of Ramallah disabled several web sites and made it difficult to find contact information for the appropriate leaders.
Now, he said, those who send messages through the web site reach the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Negotiations Affairs Department. Freedkin said he will add Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Mikhail-Ashrawi to the list shortly.
Freedkin said most of the faxes and e-mails have reached their destinations. But, he added, fax machines at the State Department and White House have been busy at times and the Israeli Deputy Defense Minister's e-mail account has been full, and unable to accept new messages, on several occasions.
Thus far one recipient, a member of the Israeli Knesset, Uri Ariel, has responded to a Progressive Portal message calling for an end to military action. The response: "Thank you for writting (sic) me, but that won't be possible, we have to protect our lives here."
Protesters: Think about tactics before you block off traffic
Ruth Bird
I was in the demonstration against Israel's attempt to be both David and Goliath at the same time by declaring the Palestinians to be "N's" (the usual meaning, as well as Nobodies, Nonpersons).
Sadly, the usual reason for conflict in our species as well as many others is territory. I am writing to dispute not your reporting but the tactics or lack of by some participants.
The march was peaceful and the police helpful in deflecting traffic until we got to 6th Street. I could see no reason for conflict with the police.
Closing I-80 at rush hour could only serve to antagonize drivers, who until that point had been uniformly supportive, honking and waving.
People who, tired and hungry, want to get home and/or call for their children, etc., etc., will be justifiably angry and unsympathetic to any group or cause which makes them very late. Please, people, next time think about the results of your tactics.
On a related subject, maybe your paper or a radio station could interview the proverbial "self-loathing Jew". ("I am such a despicable person I shouldn't be allowed to occupy space. I disgust myself........")
I know and am related to many people of Jewish ancestry, and while many could be described as injustice-hating people, none could be remotely described as self-hating. Maybe, if he or she exists, he or she would contact the media for an interview.
Otherwise, I hope we've heard the last of this ridiculous construct.
Nevada Power to appeal PUC ruling on $922 million rate hike
LAS VEGAS — Nevada Power Co. said it will ask the state Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its order that rejected almost half of the $922 million rate increase the utility sought to recover the cost of buying power last year.
Nevada Power's parent company, Sierra Pacific Resources of Reno, also announced it intends to delay transmission line projects in southern and northern Nevada to save $125 million.
State Consumer Advocate Tim Hay called delaying the Centennial transmission line project in the south and Falcon-Gonder transmission project in the north "regulatory blackmail."
Sonya Headen, Nevada Power spokeswoman, said Thursday that the utility will file its appeal by April 15.
In a statement outlining both moves, Sierra Pacific Resources chairman Walter Higgins said the PUC's decision "erred in excluding evidence that the company's power purchase costs were prudently incurred."
He said granting just $485 million of the $922 million rate increase didn't "fulfill" a state law passed last year to protect the company "as we took risks to protect our consumers from the meltdown of western energy power markets."
He referred to the company's decisions to lock into long-term contracts to buy power while prices were high and neighboring California was experiencing shortages and rolling blackouts.
Paul Heagan, a Sierra Pacific vice president and spokesman for Nevada Power, said that among other cost-cutting measures, the company is looking at whether it can continue to hook up new customers.
"Our first obligation has got to be the customers we have today," he said.
The utility has not laid off any of its 1,800 full-time employees, but is considering reducing the number of contract workers and interns.
The company also has not said whether it will reduce its quarterly stockholder divided of 20 cents per share or file for bankruptcy protection.
Hay said cutting dividends should take priority to cutting necessary projects.
He said Sierra Pacific was punishing large customers that opposed the state-record $922 million rate increase.
Fred Schmidt, a lawyer representing the utility's largest customer, the Southern Nevada Water District, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the plan to curb transmission projects "shows disrespect for the customers, and unmitigated arrogance."
However, Joyce Newman, president of the Utility Shareholders Association of Nevada, said the utility might have no choice but to cut back on capital projects.
The PUC will have 40 days to respond to a Sierra Pacific appeal.
Nevada Power and Reno-based Sierra Pacific Power Co., which serves northern Nevada, would have to obtain PUC approval before delaying the transmission line projects.
The 180-mile, 345-kilovolt Falcon-Gonder transmission line is planned to run from the Falcon substation near Carlin to a location north of Ely.
The Centennial project would provide transmission lines to move electricity produced at several planned power projects at the Apex Industrial Park north of Las Vegas to Nevada customers and to other western states.
Hay said independent power plants will need the $300 million Centennial project to ship their electricity to market.
Heagan agreed with Hay that the transmission line project is critical.
"They have to have a way to get their power to market, and there is no way to do it without Centennial," the power company official said.
The Jews are attacked near campus
By Devona Walker, Daily Planet Staff
On Thursday morning at 2 a.m. , two Orthodox Jews were reportedly attacked within one block of the Clark Kerr neighborhood. Witnesses say they believe the crime was just another bloody example of increased anti-Semitism.
Shnear Zalman Stern, a 40-year-old University of California at Berkeley student and Yossi Serris — son of one of the top clergy of the Berkeley Chabad, Rabbi Serris — were beaten by two unidentified assailants very much near the Serris' residence.
Stern sustained such severe injuries in the attack that he was held overnight at Alta Bates for treatment.
Tomer Altman, a student activist at the Hillel Center, says there has been a notable increase in anti-Semitism on campus since 9-11 and particularly since the increased violence in the Middle East.
"In this academic year, there has already been several attacks," Altman said. "Two students were beaten up last semester and the Hillel Center was vandalized. On the front of the building, they wrote fuck the Jews."
Altman said that many Jewish students feel as if they are under attack and that it has become unsafe to walk on campus.
"After 9-11 in the campus plaza there were several statements made about the attack and amongst the statements there were anti-Semitic statements saying 'It's the Jews. Blame the Jews, l' " Altman said. "Students are getting to the point that they don't feel safe walking around campus alone, and it's a shame that they are beginning to not feel safe at the Hillel center as well.
Some students are even beginning to talk about organizing escorts so that Jews don't have to walk alone."
At this point the Berkeley Police Department has not decided whether or not they will pursue this attack as a hate crime but the family of both victims as well as Altman stated that the community will be pushing for it to be declared a hate crime.
If this attack was declared a hate crime, the assault would then be a federal offense and carry a significantly larger sentence.
There were four witnesses to the attack and they say that they too believe the victims were targeted because they are Jewish.
"We believe they were targeted because they were Orthodox Jews and very identifiable. Also, there was no money or anything taken. They were just attacked for being there," Altman said.
"I was already asleep, and I heard a very loud banging on the door. My girl cousins locked the door because they were scared," said Shmuel Plotke, whose house Serris ran into directly after the attack. "And then we see it's Yossi, and that his face is covered in blood. He says 'there beating up Zalman,' and he told us to run and hide because he said they were running after him."
But Stern himself says that he can only say that maybe he was attacked because he was Jewish. Stern says he cannot be sure because the suspects never made any derogatory statement about Jews during the attack.
"They were across the street then they made a b-line towards us and asked Yossi for a cigarette. As soon as Yossi reached for the cigarette the one guy began pummeling him, like a punching bag" said Zalman Stern. "Yossi was stumbling back trying to defend himself but totally ineffectively. And eventually I stepped in and Yossi was able to wiggle away from him, and I was pummeled."
Stern says he was treated for shock and blunt trauma to the face.
There are no suspects in custody.
BHS crew deserves P.E. credit
Cynthia Papermaster
My daughter is on the novice women's crew team at BHS. I think it is absurd to even CONSIDER not giving P.E. credit for this sport. These girls get up at 4:30 a.m. every weekday to go to Lake Merritt and practice for two hours.
They get themselves back to school on time for class. This sport is intense and the practices are year-round and grueling! Crew is very well-organized, well-coached and very educational.
Being on the team requires conditioning, nutrition awareness, self-discipline, teamwork, and extreme dedication. I can't imagine any P.E. class requiring this degree of effort or imparting this degree of education.
The team is diverse. Scholarships are available. No one is excluded and a great deal of effort goes into recruiting from the public middle schools. I am extremely proud of my daughter, the whole team, and the organization.
Not only are they out there representing Berkeley High School throughout the state, and being excellent ambassadors for our high school and community, they are terrific examples of what can be accomplished at the high school level by women athletes!
When something works this well it makes sense to nurture it-- not to do it harm.
Imprisoned Indian activist sues FBI for violating civil rights
WASHINGTON — FBI agents and Director Louis Freeh denied imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier a fair chance at clemency and parole when they publicly protested against him in 2000, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleged.
The FBI has said the agents were off-duty at the time and had a constitutional right to protest the possibility of Peltier's gaining freedom after being convicted in the death of two agents.
The action, filed in federal court in Washington, charges Freeh and the agents "engaged in a systematic, and officially sanctioned campaign of misinformation and disinformation designed to prevent" Peltier's clemency request from receiving fair consideration. Freeh retired from the FBI last summer.
The FBI on Thursday dismissed the allegation, saying employees' comments are protected free speech.
"FBI employees, like other federal workers and citizens, have the right to express their views on issues they feel passionate about — in this case the brutal killing of two FBI agents," Assistant Director John Collingwood said.
"They were reminding the American public of the consistently upheld murder conviction of Leonard Peltier, and they were doing so on their own time," he said.
The suit requests the court to order the agents' silence on the issue and to pay $1 million in damages.
"I have a problem with them speaking at all if they are active agents," Peltier's lawyer, Bernard V. Kleinman, said Thursday.
The agents should be ordered not to protest because "there may still be individuals that could still be affected by the case," Kleinman added. "If that's the case then I don't understand why they're able to speak at all."
Just before leaving office, President Clinton considered granting Peltier clemency for his convictions in the 1975 killings of the two FBI agents.
Ultimately, Clinton denied clemency. Kleinman says that's because the president may have been swayed by the march of more than 500 FBI agents and families outside the White House.
Peltier was convicted in the June 26, 1975, murders of agents Ron Williams and Jack Coler on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as they were searching for robbery suspects, according to FBI officials. Both were shot in the head at point-blank range after they were injured. The bodies were left on a dirt road.
Peltier was charged with taking part in the slayings, but whether he fired the fatal shots was never proved. After fleeing to Canada and being extradited to the United States, he was convicted and sentenced in 1977, despite defense claims that evidence against him had been falsified.
Peltier defense: http://www.freepeltier.org
Clemency opponents: http://www.noparolepeltier.com
Today is Friday, April 5, the 95th day of 2002. There are 270 days left in the year.
On April 5, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death following their conviction in New York on charges of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union; co-defendant Morton Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison (he was released in 1969).
In 1614, American Indian princess Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
In 1621, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, Mass., on a return trip to England.
In 1649, Elihu Yale, the English philanthropist for whom Yale University is named, was born.
In 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.
In 1887, British historian Lord Acton wrote, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, who'd accused the writer of homosexual practices.
In 1964, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur died in Washington at age 84.
In 1975, nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek died at age 87.
In 1976, reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died in Houston at age 72.
In 1987, Fox Broadcasting Co. made its prime-time TV debut by airing the premiere episodes of "Married ... With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show" three times each.
Ten years ago: Medical student Suada Dilberovic became the first fatality of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina as Serb nationalists began forcibly opposing the republic's secession from Yugoslavia. In Washington, D.C., a crowd estimated by authorities at half a million marched in support of abortion rights. Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton died in Little Rock, Ark., at age 74.
Five years ago: Allen Ginsberg, the counterculture guru who'd shattered conventions as poet laureate of the Beat Generation, died in New York City at age 70.
One year ago: The United States and China intensified negotiations for the release of an American spy plane's crew; President Bush, in a conciliatory gesture, expressed regret over the plane's in-flight collision with a Chinese fighter that triggered the tense standoff. Dutch driver Perry Wacker was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in prison in the deaths of 58 Chinese immigrants who suffocated in his truck in Dover, England. Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player to play in the NBA when he took the court for Dallas against Atlanta. (Wang scored six points and grabbed three rebounds as the Mavericks beat the Hawks 108-to-94.)
Today's Birthdays: Actor Gregory Peck is 86. Novelist Arthur Hailey is 82. Actress Gale Storm is 80. Movie producer Roger Corman is 76. Country music producer Cowboy Jack Clement is 71. Impressionist-actor Frank Gorshin is 69. Secretary of State Colin Powell is 65. Country singer Tommy Cash is 62. Actor Michael Moriarty is 61. Writer-director Peter Greenaway is 60. Actor Max Gail is 59. Actress Jane Asher is 56. Singer Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA) is 52. Rock musician Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) is 37. Country singer Troy Gentry is 35. Singer Paula Cole is 34. Country singer Pat Green is 30.
New HIV infections on the rise in SF
SAN FRANCISCO — New HIV infections are on the rise in the San Francisco Bay area, in part, because a small proportion of gay men who are having unprotected sex, a new study shows.
The study said despite years promoting condom use to prevent HIV infection, some gay men are actively seeking out partners who will have unprotected sex with them.
"What it says is that, in this group, other needs supersede prevention of HIV transmission," said Gordon Mansergh, lead author of the study and a behavioral scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
"Our conclusion was that we need to develop new prevention interventions differently. People are decidedly not using a condom. The old way is not working," he said.
The study by researchers at the CDC and San Francisco's Department of Public Health is the first serious analysis of the practice of "barebacking," in which gay or bisexual men intentionally engage in sex without a condom with someone other than their primary partner.
Seventy percent of the 554 gay men contacted for the survey said they were familiar with barebacking, and of those, 14 percent said they had engaged in the practice within the past two years. Twenty-two percent of HIV-positive men had done so, compared with 10 percent of HIV-negative men.
Participants in the survey were recruited at bars, dance clubs and community organizations in San Francisco and Oakland, and the study was conducted between July 2000 and February 2001.
The practice of barebacking has grown at the same time that rates of HIV infection have begun to rebound in San Francisco. City health experts estimate that there will be 700 to 800 new HIV infections in San Francisco this year, numbers rivaling the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
High-tech firms worried about violence in Israel
SANTA CLARA — Silicon Valley firms are worried about the increasing violence in Israel, a major hub of the world's high-tech industry.
Some of the San Francisco Bay area's biggest companies, including Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems, have offices, labs or factories there, employing thousands of Israelis.
Chipmaker Intel runs a chip design and development center at Haifa, site of one of the grisliest suicide bombings in recent weeks.
And as attacks increase against Israeli citizens, some fear the bloodshed could make American companies and investors hesitate to sink more money into the region.
"I'm sure there are some people staying awake at night worrying about this," said Risto Puhakka, a high-tech analyst at VLSI Research. "My gut feeling is that they'll just hold tight. However, you wouldn't make any decisions (to build new plants) in Israel right now. That would be foolish."
Venture capital investment in Israeli technology companies dropped in 2001, falling from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $843.6 million last year, according to the VentureOne research firm.
Several analysts cautioned, however, the decline could be the result of the worldwide technology spending slump rather than the Palestinian uprising.
Bay Area Briefs
Salmonella poisoning causes FDA warning on cheese
SAN JOSE — More than 50 reported cases of salmonella poisoning since January have prompted state health officials to warn consumers to avoid an illegally produced cheese popular among Latinos.
Many of the cases linked to the soft white cheese — queso fresco — occurred in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
Of the 36 cases studied so far by health officials, 14 were hospitalized, including seven children, according to epidemiologist Dr. Michele Cheung, who is overseeing the investigation.
Officials have been unable to identify the maker or distributor of the contaminated cheese. The strain of salmonella bacteria causing the outbreak, called Newport, worries epidemiologists because it is known to be resistant to certain antibiotics.
The cheese is available at grocery stores, but also can be purchased from street vendors and homemakers in the Bay Area. Much of it is produced legally, using pasteurized milk, but some is made with unpasteurized milk that can contain salmonella and other bacteria.
Symptoms in the recent outbreak include severe vomiting, bloody diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, Cheung said.
New bridge across Bay on I-238 could cost $8.2 billion
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Skyrocketing cost estimates are making plans to build a new Southern Crossing span across the San Francisco Bay look more like fiction than fact.
The cost of a new toll bridge between Interstate 238 in San Lorenzo and Interstate 380 in San Bruno is estimated at $8.2 billion, according to a report released to a regional panel studying the project.
Two other potential projects also were given high price tags, according to the report prepared by Korve Engineering of Oakland. A proposed second transbay tube for Bay Area Rapid Transit is estimated at $10.3 billion, and a rail tunnel to handle commuter trains and high-speed rail is estimated at $11.8 billion.
The transbay tunnel would swoop south of the Bay Bridge and end up in West Oakland, while the rail tunnel would begin at the Transbay Terminal, following the same route under the bay into West Oakland.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission also is studying less expensive alternatives, including a $2 billion expansion of the San Mateo Bridge or a $286 million project restoring the old Dumbarton railroad bridge and running Caltrain and Altamont Commuter Express trains across it.
Woman dies in crash hours after getting marriage proposal
SANTA CRUZ — A Modesto man faces a manslaughter charge for the death of his girlfriend in a car crash hours after he proposed to her.
Shawn Bridgen Bruntmyer, 21, pleaded innocent Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance.
Shannon Bartoni, 17, of Modesto was killed March 28 after a car driven by Bruntmyer drove into a 45-foot ravine in Santa Cruz. Bruntmyer suffered serious head and face injuries. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
Police say Bruntmyer was under the influence of marijuana when the accident occurred. Several bags of the drug were found in the car, and Bruntmyer told officials he intended to take the drugs back to Modesto to sell, said prosecutor Ellen Campos.
He also told investigators he had asked Bartoni to marry him just before the crash. The girl's mother said her daughter never called to share the news before the accident. She said the two had been dating about two months.
Bruntmyer was ordered to stay with his mother in Riverbank, northeast of Modesto. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 22.
Senate passes $25 billion school bond issue for ballot
SACRAMENTO — More than $25 billion in education bonds to help fix up deteriorating schools was approved by the state Senate Thursday, sending the issue to Gov. Gray Davis.
The Senate voted 27-11 for the bill, which authorizes the placement of two bond measures before voters this November and in 2004. It passed in the Assembly in March by a 71-6 vote.
A $13 billion bond proposal will go on the November 2002 ballot and would be followed in 2004 with a $12.3 billion bond issue.
They combine for a bond package worth almost three times as much as the $9.2 billion deal approved by voters in 1998.
Davis hopes to sign the bill soon, said spokeswoman Hilary McLean. "He hopes that it (the bill) will be passed by the voters (in November and 2004) and will benefit a whole generation of California students."
Money from the bonds will help low-performing and overcrowded schools, design upgrades and expand buildings at community colleges, and campuses of the California State University and the University of California.
The deal encountered early opposition from Republicans, but two early opponents, Republican Sens. Dick Monteith of Modesto and Maurice Johannessen of Redding, changed their votes and backed the bonds.
Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said the plan unfairly gives some districts more money than they deserve. He said Los Angeles Unified School District's proposed 40 percent share of the $4.1 billion allocated for critically overcrowded schools, is too high.
The Long Beach Unified School District would receive $200 million, Oakland receives $124 million and the San Diego Unified School District would get $118 million.
Even $25 billion isn't enough to fix everything, said Sen. Dede Alpert, D-Coronado. "We have more need than there is room in this bond."
If voters approve the bonds in November, $4.8 billion will become immediately available to schools that have already applied for construction projects, Alpert said.
"This is a historic bond," Alpert said. "It's a bond every school district deserves to have access to."
The Office of Public School Construction estimates that more than $21.1 billion in state bonds are needed in the next four years for K-12 school construction alone.
Three out of every four schools are more than 25 years old. The state estimates that 12,775 additional classrooms and 331 new schools will need to be built over the next five years.
Alpert said the bond deal would also set aside $1.7 billion for critically overcrowded schools, as well as help districts pay for land on which to build schools.
"By placing these bonds on the ballot now, California can take advantage of historically low interest rates," said Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz. "It is important that we give voters an opportunity to decide if these bonds are necessary for California's future."
Scientists identify new insect species in Southern California
SAN DIEGO — Scientists said Thursday they have discovered at least a half-dozen new species of insect in Southern California, some of them in the midst of the nation's seventh-largest city.
The newly identified insects, still unnamed scientifically, are for the most part varieties of Jerusalem cricket, a six-legged, wingless bug marked by its heft. The others include new species of silk-spinning cricket and millipede.
Some specimens of the newly found Jerusalem cricket species reach lengths of 3 inches or more and resemble bloated ants.
"This is the largest insect by mass in Southern California and it was undescribed" scientifically, said Robert Fisher, a zoologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in San Diego.
Previously, scientists believed all the Jerusalem crickets in California represented a single species. But specimens collected in the field, including by David Weissman of the California Academy of Sciences, revealed that there are different species, each of varying size and aspect.
Planned genetic work could show there may be 20 or more species of the insect living in California, scientists said. Such work would also allow scientists to chart the extent of their respective habitats.
"You suddenly have a lot of things that everyone thought was the same thing," said Fisher, who showed off three of the insects during a briefing on biodiversity at the University of California, San Diego.
The finding is an unusual one given how densely urbanized Southern California is and how that threatens many species already known to science.
"There are more listed species, more threatened species here than any place else," UCSD biologist David Woodruff said of the San Diego region.
Several specimens of the new crickets were found within the San Diego city limits, where they were trapped as part of a survey of the region's reptiles and amphibians. The bugs had eluded detection because some appear to be active only during certain seasons of the year.
The insects are thought to play an important role in the ecosystem, both as a food source for animals such as coyotes and as a host for a parasite that calls the crickets home for a portion of its life.
Colorado river rafters want voters to guarantee access
By Robert Weller The Associated Pressv
DENVER — Colorado rafting groups, battling a lawsuit aimed at restricting passage through private property, will try to put an initiative on the ballot guaranteeing access rights.
Colorado is the largest destination river rafting state in the nation.
"We have tried to work out these issues in a discussion forum, however, recent events point to the need for these policy decisions to be in the hands of the citizens of Colorado," said Kevin Schneider, chairman of the Colorado River Outfitters Association.
He said a small Lake City-based rafting company, Cannibal Outdoors, was forced to close its operation this week because of the cost of defending its right to raft the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.
Four other outfitters will still float the Lake Fork while their appeal continues of a court decision declaring their activities to be trespassing.
"Floating and fishing rivers is a part of our frontier history, quality of life and vital tourism economy," Schneider said. Most other states west of the Mississippi River guarantee access to public waterways.
Commercial river rafting in Colorado represented an economic impact of more than $125 million in 2001, according to a recently released report by the association. It represents more than 55 commercial river outfitters who work the state's 13 world class river systems.
Rafting supporters helped persuade the state Senate to kill a bill this session that would have outlawed float-fishing on waterways adjacent to private land without the landowner's permission.
A lawsuit seeking to block the rafters from floating the Lake Fork remains in court. A judge has rejected the rafters' claim that the law guarantees them to right to float rivers.
John Hill, the lawyer representing the landowners, said a ballot initiative guaranteeing the right to float private property would be unconstitutional unless landowners were compensated.
Cannibal Outdoors was sued by landowners who wanted to stop it from floating the Lake Fork. Earlier this week Cannibal Outdoors sold its river rafting equipment and other company assets in an attempt to reorganize its business, which also offers jeep tours and hiking in the nearby San Juan mountains.
Since June 1, 2001, when the lawsuit was filed, Cannibal Outdoors gained additional support from American Whitewater and the Colorado White Water Association. America Outdoors and the Colorado River Outfitters Association jointly filed a motion in support of Cannibal Outdoors.
Home Matters: Home repairs are no longer a guy thing
Day-to-day maintenance isn't gender-specific. Nowhere is it written that leaking faucets are a "guy thing" or wallpaper is "women's work."
Nowhere is this truer than among a fast-growing segment of homeownership: single women. As women find out all too quickly when something goes wrong at home, their options are to hire the work out or do it themselves. Apparently, more opt to roll up their sleeves and dive in.
"We talk to a lot more women who want to know how to do their own repairs and projects around their house," says Beth Boyd, a marketing manager for Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. "They want the tools, they want the know-how, and they want a degree of self-sufficiency."
The learning curve for how-to skills is shorter than you might think, says Boyd. She advises first-timers to try their hand at routine tasks before inevitable repairs or emergencies arise.
This may be as simple as tightening screws on cabinet doors, hammering in exposed deck nails, filling nail holes in walls with spackle or oiling squeaky hinges.
As skills — and can-do confidence — grow, the decisions about personally making repairs or hiring professionals can be made on a case-by-case basis. "Unless its something that needs immediate attention, take the time to see if it matches your skill-sets and abilities," says Boyd. True emergencies, such as electrical, heating and cooling breakdowns are best left to specialists.
For most single homeowners, it all starts with basic tools for basic tasks. Boyd's short list of equipment for women includes:
—Cordless rechargeable screwdriver (with Phillips and flat heads)
—Extension cord and work light
—Pliers, plain and locking type
—Cordless drill and assorted drill bits
—C-clamps in various sizes
The best advice, however, might be that, when in doubt, ask for help. Boyd says women should check their qualms and misgivings at the door the moment they walk into a home-improvement store. She says that the mindset of stores now is that there are no questions that are too basic. There are plenty of store associates to answer questions and how-to brochures, books, and instant help available. "There's no embarrassment in asking for help," she says.
Lowe's is a national chain of nearly 750 home improvement, appliance and gardening stores in 42 states.
Luscious peaches begin with planting
By Lee Reich The Associated Press
A truly ripe peach is one that makes you jut your head forward with each bite to keep yourself from being showered with juice. You rarely can buy such a fruit, but you can grow it. Get it off to a good start with correct planting.
Peach trees usually are sold bare-root; that is, they are dug when dormant, and shipped wit hout soil. Unwrap the roots, then soak them in water for a few hours.
Your tree needs pruning before planting. Trim back frayed or excessively long roots. If your tree is branched, select three or four robust branches to become permanent limbs — the lowest 2 feet from the ground and successive ones a few inches apart and arranged in a spiral up the trunk. Cut away all other branches and the trunk just above the top branch.
Shorten saved branches to a few inches in length. If your tree is not branched, cut the trunk back to 3 feet and select permanent branches as the tree grows.
If a soil test indicates a need for lime or phosphorus, mix these materials into the ground where you'll dig the planting hole. Farther out, sprinkle these materials on top of the soil to work their way downward by the time roots spread.
Dig a cone-shaped planting hole two times the spread of the roots and just deep enough to get the roots in the ground. Rough up the soil at the sides of the hole to help roots penetrate the surrounding soil.
Put enough soil back in the hole to create a mound on which to set the spread-out roots. While holding the trunk, push soil back into the hole, working it in among the roots with your fingers.
Once the tree is self-supporting, shovel in additional soil, tamping it gently with your fingers or a stick as you work.
After you have filled the hole, create a catch basin for water by building up a low dike of soil around the base of your tree 2 feet out from the trunk. Spread compost, then straw, wood chips or leaves as mulch over the ground. Slowly pour enough water into the catch basin to thoroughly drench the soil and settle the tree in place.
Don't turn your back on your tree and forget about it. Keep weeds at bay and water regularly the first season, and you should taste your first peaches within a couple of years.
Installing decorative ceiling medallions
James and Morris Carey
If you regularly read our column you know that we are third-generation contractors. You also might recall that we grew up in a home built by our grandfather at the turn of the 20th century. The home was Mediterranean-style construction, plaster in and out, with spacious rooms and high ceilings. Not only were the ceilings high, in some rooms they were coved at the perimeter and had decorative cornice or picture mold. Other rooms, such as the living room and dining room, had intricate plaster moldings that bordered the ceiling and ornate ceiling medallions used as foils for chandeliers.
Artisans have been affixing plaster decorations to walls and ceilings for centuries — mostly in imitation of Greek and Roman bas-relief. In modern times, the practice peaked in the early 19th century when Greek Revival architecture reawakened an interest in classical ornamentation.
Today, plaster moldings again are popular — either to give authenticity to a restoration or just add interest to an otherwise flat wall or ceiling. The designs offered range from chaste Greek-key borders to Baroque ceiling medallions.
Although plaster ornamentation still can be had — during a recent trip to Europe we witnessed local artisans create it on site — wood and plastic alternatives now can be readily found at lumberyards, home centers and hardware stores. We prefer the plastic material because it is lightweight and easy to work with. They are constructed of a foam or urethane core and vinyl-like finish that takes paint beautifully. When finished, the plastic medallion can't be distinguished from the real thing.
For dressing up a ceiling, decorative medallions are very popular. We believe this is because they are reasonably priced, easy to install and are so attractive. Ceiling medallions come in various shapes and sizes. They are round, square, oval, rectangular and triangular. You can have a hexagon, octagon or even a star. And although a decorative ceiling medallion is often used as a "rosette" or foil for a chandelier, it is equally popular as a focal point of a room's ceiling. In either case, you will be amazed at just how easy it is to install one.
When installing a ceiling medallion where a light fixture exists, the fixture must be removed and reinstalled after the medallion installation is completed. Begin by turning off the power to the light fixture at the breaker panel or fuse box. Don't rely on the light switch since the power for light might originate at the fixture rather than the switch. We learned that lesson the hard way.
With the power off, carefully remove the light fixture — usually held into place with a couple of screws and-or a nut on a short length of threaded tubing. Lower the fixture canopy and carefully disconnect the wires. Use the opportunity while the fixture is down to give it a good cleaning and polishing.
Place the ceiling medallion upside down and cut a hole in the center, using a drill or fine-tooth saw. The hole should be large enough to allow wiring and one or more threaded bolts to pass through, yet small enough to be completely covered by the fixture canopy. Next, apply a minimum of a 1-half-inch bead of adhesive along the outside edge on the underside of the ceiling medallion. Place the medallion into position on the ceiling immediately after applying adhesive. Use four 1-and-5-eighths-inch paneling nails equally spaced on the medallion to hold it in place while the adhesive sets up. Later, countersink the nails using a nail punch, and conceal the nail heads with spackle.
Instead of paneling nails, the medallion can be fastened to the ceiling using construction screws. As you would with paneling nails, countersink the construction screws and conceal with a patching compound.
Apply a bead of caulk at the perimeter of the medallion and smooth, using your finger or a damp sponge. Once the caulk has dried, the medallion is ready for paint. For best results, prime the medallion with an oil-base primer and finish with one or more coats of latex in the color of your choice.
Complete the job by reinstalling the light fixture. Reverse the steps used to remove it. Due to the added ceiling thickness, longer screws and-or threaded tubing might be needed to properly anchor the light fixture. Reconnect the wires using approved wire connectors, reinstall the canopy and turn on the power.
Step back, admire your work, and ponder what room you next will enhance with a ceiling medallion.
Tip of the week:
Removing grease stains from concrete
If your concrete driveway, carport or garage floor looks like an Indy 500 pit stop, we have a cleaning recipe for you. First, soak up the grease with some cat litter. Cover the area with a generous amount and grind it in with the soles of your shoes. Sweep it up and properly dispose of the soiled material. Next, saturate the area with a cola beverage, working it into the concrete with a stiff bristle broom — but not allowing it to dry. Once the cola has stopped fizzing, flush the area with clean fresh water. Whiten the gray stain that remains with a solution of 1 cup of powdered laundry detergent and 1 cup of liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of very hot water. Finish the job with a final rinse.
By Morris and James Carey The Associated Press
Q. Chris asks: The paint on my outside wall is peeling. What is the best way to remove it before I put on a new coat of paint?
A. Paint removal by a do-it-yourselfer is most easily accomplished with a pressure washer. Although pressure washers are available for rent, if you are a homeowner we suggest you seriously consider buying one. The uses around the house are endless. But you need to be careful. If you aren't, you could damage the siding below. Pressure-washing takes patience, attention to the matter at hand and a careful touch.
Once you have finished pressure-washing, you might want to touch things up with a paint scraper. Also, sand areas where the pressure washer lifted the wood grain. Next, use sandpaper to feather in all the edges between the remaining paint and any bare wood. Finally, apply a coat of high-quality, oil-base primer and then your finish coat. We suggest high-quality acrylic latex.
Q. Joe asks: I have two questions. I have cracks in my concrete basement floor from which I believe radon gas is creeping in. What is the best way to seal those cracks? How can I decide what type of heavy-duty snow shovel to buy? I want one that doesn't get its edges rolled up by snow and ice?
A. Before you do anything about that cracked floor, test for radon. Better yet, have a professional make the test for you. Another reason for contacting a professional: you might need to install a system to exhaust the vapors if radon is present in a dangerous concentration. The concentration of radon should be checked both before and after the concrete is sealed.
Sealing the cracks in the floor of your basement might be all that you need to do. Then again, perhaps more work will be needed. We hope you will not have to install the exhaust system we mentioned. In any event, use a polyurethane concrete caulk. You are dealing with simple, old-fashioned gas vapors. There doesn't seem to be much pressure associated with radon vapors, so most concrete caulks will do. We have recommended the type that bonds the best and that holds up the longest.
As far as snow shovels are concerned, we suggest you contact someone at your local tool rental store for unbiased advice. The brand that they buy will be the one that probably holds up the best and will, more than likely, have been purchased locally. It, therefore, should be readily available to you, as well.
Livermore is like a very near Napa Valley
By Susan Fornoff, San Francisco Chronicle
LIVERMORE — The golf nut wants to go to Monterey. The wine lover lobbies for Napa. Yet, they agree on one thing: They want a magic carpet to drop them in the middle of some fun without having to wait behind lines of cars or people.
So, abracadabra, they're off to Livermore. Just 35 miles east of San Francisco, the Livermore Valley is a great place to get away from it all without really going anywhere.
The golf doesn't rival Pebble Beach, but it beats just about everything else in the Bay Area, with three well-groomed courses.
The 21 vineyards offer a similarly wide mix, with mom-and-pop operations like Retzlaff neighboring bigger producers like Concannon, and a few new boutique wineries like White Crane.
And though the restaurant and lodging lists are short, it's a relief not to have to dig deep into the wallet for a meal or a bed.
Hubby Marc and I, both of us golf nuts and wine lovers, set out on a dreary Sunday for the Purple Orchid Inn and Spa.
Ten years ago, visitors had to settle for day trips to the Livermore Valley or stay in one of the hotels near the freeway. But then nurse Karen Hughes got lost delivering a prescription to a home-care patient and came across the property where the Purple Orchid now stands. While she was admiring the scenery, a pickup truck pulled up and a man asked her if she wanted to buy the place. Then and there, they wrote up a contract on the back of her home-care notes.
Hughes built an upscale log cabin with six comfortable rooms and two suites, and worked touches like hand-carved doors into the theme of each room. Last year Hughes moved the spa into its own building and added two rooms and a conference center.
A stay at the Purple Orchid includes a full breakfast and a wine-and-cheese cocktail hour plus spa discounts.
After a serene drive into the golden vineyards our day began with brunch at the Wente Vineyards Restaurant.
It's difficult to spend less than $100 here on lunch or dinner for two with wine — Wente wines are marked up to two and three times what they cost next door in the tasting room. At lunchtime, Stony Ridge Winery offers the best deal in town, with a taste of Italy in the form of antipasti, soups and sandwiches in the $3-$7 range.
But brunch seemed a sensible way to indulge at Wente — even with mimosas that cost $9.95. The coffee is plenty good, and the breakfast pastry basket alone is worth the trip, with an assortment of melt-in-your-mouth crumpets, croissants and scones for $8.50. We took our leftovers with us and found them every bit as good the next morning on the golf course.
Tasting is always pleasant at Wente, where there are plenty of choices for both the white and red wine lover, and the shop surely has that wine-glass-covered tie you've been wanting. But we were eager to try something a little different, so our pourer suggested we head to Livermore Valley Cellars.
LVC is a funky place; you get out of the car and pass Beverly Hill, a small garden alongside the tasting room, which has an inviting hammock propped in the front yard. Only 1,600 cases or so of wine are produced here each year, and principals Jim Denham and Tim Sauer seem to want you to try all of them. Our pourer, Eileen, didn't ask if we were fans of any particular varietal, she just started pouring generously, right down the line of about a dozen bottles.
"The philosophy here is that wine is supposed to be fun," she said.
We bought three bottles of wine before happily heading off to the former Ivan Tamas, now known as Tamas Estates. Here, Denise was the generous pourer, and our taste buds weren't yet too shot to appreciate the Steven Kent Merrilee, Tamas' premium label.
Denise sent us to family-owned Cedar Mountain, selected one of America's great Cabernet Sauvignon producers by the Wine Enthusiast. We arrived to a barrel tasting, with a nice spread, souvenir glass, live music and fine company for only $10.
There was no dining out that evening, just an in-room pizza delivery as we slipped into our Purple Orchid robes, delved into the video collection and dipped into the hot tub to prepare for the next day's golf.
Breakfast at the Purple Orchid is hearty; we took ours in our suite because it has a table looking out into the olive groves.
Truth be told, we would rather play at Wente than almost anywhere else. Just about every hole is memorable, and the tee times are spaced to create the sense that it's just you and the golf course. But for about half the money, Poppy Ridge is a great alternative; like Wente, it has lots of vineyards and no houses around it, and the maintenance is top-notch.
Even more affordable is Las Positas, but that course is near the freeway, on the way home, and weren't quite ready to head that way yet. When we did, we enjoyed another of Livermore's perks: The 40-minute drive home wasn't long enough or congested enough to sweep away the vacation vibes, and we were content to know that we can easily return.
A year into bankruptcy: Did PG&E choose wisely?
By Karen Gaudette The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — It was April 5, 2001, and Gov. Gray Davis was assuring millions of Californians watching the evening news that the state was coming to grips with its energy crisis.
The next morning, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. filed for bankruptcy, rejecting the governor's closed-door efforts to use state money to keep the lights on while paying off the ballooning debts of California's largest utilities.
PG&E preferred the shelter of bankruptcy court, where it has asked a federal judge to approve a corporate restructuring that would free it from the state oversight it blames for reducing the 97-year-old utility's credit to junk status.
Southern California Edison announced a different path to solvency days later — a deal secretly negotiated with the Davis administration that ultimately passed its billions in debts on to ratepayers and shareholders.
A year later, it's still not clear which utility's choice was wiser when it comes to their long-term health. In the short term, both utilities remain months away from regaining good credit, but their parent companies seem healthy — Edison International earned $1 billion in 2001 and PG&E Corp. reported earnings of $1.1 billion, bouncing back from major losses the year before.
But Wall Street analysts say PG&E's strategy still makes good business sense, given California's continuing confusion over how to emerge from its failed experiment in energy deregulation, which plunged the state into rolling blackouts and left a $6.1 billion hole in the state's general fund.
California lawmakers and regulators have made so many missteps that Standard & Poor's said the farther PG&E can get from state oversight, the speedier it will regain its good credit, said Richard Cortright, a utility analyst with the credit rating agency.
Although SoCal Edison paid most of its creditors in February and is on course to regain its good credit, its future remains tied to what Cortright calls the state's "harsh" regulatory environment.
And though Edison International's stock price has recovered from a low of near $7 to more than $16, PG&E has fared better on Wall Street — PG&E Corp. shares were trading at $22 Thursday, up from a low of $6 the day it filed for bankruptcy.
PG&E has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali to let it redesign the entire structure of its operation, a process described in a reorganization plan the size of a phone book and defended by a team of $475-an-hour attorneys.
The utility wants to shift most of its California operations into three new companies regulated only by federal agencies, which have been far less aggressive when it comes to protecting consumers. Pipelines and power lines would move under the umbrella of its parent company, PG&E Corp., along with the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, dozens of hydroelectric dams and surrounding land in the Sierra Nevada.
Under federal regulation, the company could more easily charge market rates for its services, borrow more money to pay its $13.5 billion in debts, and resume buying electricity directly for its customers — all, it claims, without a rate increase.
The Utility Reform Network, a consumer watchdog group, counters that PG&E's plan actually would cost consumers a total of $20 billion more for electricity over the next 12 years, or about $100 more a year for a typical residential customer.
First, PG&E must convince an already skeptical Montali that federal bankruptcy code allows it to disregard dozens of state laws and regulations, including a California law that bars the sale or transfer of power plants until 2006.
"We continue to believe that we have the only feasible solution," said Ron Low, PG&E spokesman, adding that the California Chamber of Commerce and California Taxpayer Association both back the utility's reorganization plan.
Like Edison, PG&E would settle its debts. Unlike Edison, it no longer would have to wrangle with state regulators over how much it can earn from the electricity it churns at its power plants, and its parent company would gain more freedom to parlay assets into billions of dollars in cash.
Most large creditors have supported PG&E's plan in court, while opponents include consumer groups, state officials and the Public Utilities Commission, which will soon offer its own reorganization plan that would maintain state oversight.
Montali hasn't ruled out PG&E's approach, but he put the burden on the utility to prove that public health and safety won't be harmed if it disregards state laws. After all, he noted, a bankrupt liquor store could not expect the court to let it sell liquor to minors to escape debt.
If the judge settles on some other way of paying off PG&E's debts, the utility will have spent $150 million on lawyers and be stuck with the stigma of having been the fifth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Severin Borenstein, an energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley, doubts Montali, who has had to rapidly absorb the scope of California's energy woes while deftly juggling the bankruptcy case, will approve PG&E's entire wish list.
"Whether it's good public policy or not, I think the bankruptcy judge is going to be more inclined to take smaller steps than going to something that could be a fairly major change," Borenstein said.
Whatever the resolution, ratepayers have the least to gain. Montali's first duty is to ensure creditors get paid, not worry about higher power bills for Californians.
"They shot for the moon and anything they get short of that will make them pretty happy," said Nettie Hoge, TURN's executive director. "It's just so discouraging ... Deregulation has just been a failure on so many levels."
http://www.pge.com
http://www.canb.uscourts.gov
http://www.sce.com
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov
Cloth keyboard is chic, but frustrating
By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
It's the holy grail of handheld computing: A technology that makes it just as easy to enter information into a mobile device as it is to type into a desktop personal computer.
Existing solutions don't cut it. Plastic folding keyboards are bulky compared to the handhelds. Thumb keypads are difficult to master. And Palm's Graffiti system of drawing squiggly lines is unbearably slow.
Logitech Inc. has jumped into the fray with a variation on portable keyboards. Its new KeyCase is made of fabric and is so flexible it can do double duty as a protective cover.
It's a terrific idea in theory but disappoints in real-world tests. It only works with the latest Palm handhelds and the keys are frustratingly small. And it doesn't solve a vexing problem of all keyboards for handhelds: many programs require switching between stylus and keypad.
Owners of Pocket PCs, Handsprings, older Palms and mobile phones are out of luck. The KeyCase only works with the Palm Universal Connector, which is found in the Palm m125, m130, m500, m505, m515 and i705 Series.
The pad, which sells for $99.95 and is available only online and in catalogs, is made of a lightweight gray fabric that feels like canvas on the outside. The keyboard side is slightly softer but durable. The lightweight fabric, called ElekTex, consists of conductive fibers combined with traditional textiles. It can sense when a key is pressed and how hard.
Setup is easy. After installing the proper drivers using Palm's desktop software on either a PC or Mac, the handheld snaps to the cloth keyboard via a mount that holds the Palm upright while typing.
The keyboard is just the right size to wrap around a handheld with an attached elastic band to keep it in place, but this limits the real estate necessary for full-size keys.
Unfolded, the KeyCase is about the size of a laptop keyboard, but the keys are smaller and closer together, particularly in the top two rows of numbers or shortcut keys.
The keyboard's sensitivity can be adjusted through a Palm program, though this didn't improve my accuracy. I often launched the Memo program when I meant to hit "Backspace."
Perhaps smaller hands work better.
The KeyCase's feel reminded me a lot of the flat, membrane keyboard of my first computer, the Atari 400. In both cases, two-finger typing worked better than using all 10 digits.
The KeyCase seems useful for punching in a quick note or updating a calendar listing, but the coolness of having a cloth keyboard wears off quickly while entering anything longer than a few sentences.
Another bonus is that the fabric repels liquids. I dumped beverages on the keypad (luckily avoiding the Palm) and even tried typing after eating potato chips. It still worked.
Logitech also added some interface improvements, which are supposed to minimize switching between the keyboard and tapping the screen with a finger or stylus.
On startup, a scrollable list appears of all available programs. The KeyCase's scroll buttons can be used to navigate the list, and "Enter" launches the selected program.
The top row of keys is devoted to shortcuts for common tasks such as selecting, cutting, copying and pasting as well as launching various programs.
But once a program has launched, be prepared to pull out the stylus. Though the KeyCase has an "OK" button, it does not work unless "OK" is a specific option on the screen. It doesn't work for logically similar buttons such as "Done" or "Yes."
AvantGo, a popular program for browsing downloaded content, does not support using the tab key to move through links, unlike most desktop PC Web browsers. The only option is tap the screen with a finger or stylus.
Berkeley-funded cultural center destroyed
By Jia-Rui Chong Daily Planet staff
Thursday April 04, 2002
The building had been destroyed three times before. Each time, Palestinian refugees in the Dheisheh camp in the West Bank rebuilt it with the help of Berkeley's Middle East Children's Alliance.
This time will be no different.
The Ibdaa Cultural Center, whose name means "something out of nothing" in Arabic, was attacked two weeks ago by the Israeli Army. The building that housed a children's library and a computer center was destroyed, but the guest house is still standing, though the roof was used as a sniper's nest by the army.
Barbara Lubin, Executive Director of MECA, said that MECA has worked in the refugee camp for 14 years and is not about to give up now. She left Dheisheh two days before the cultural center was taken over.
"Getting the building back together will probably cost us $50,000, but we will do it," she said.
She said there was no way to take precautions against the Israeli army, but felt that MECA had to keep trying.
"There's not much for kids to do in Dheisheh. So it's important to the heart of the community."
Councilmember Kriss Worthington praised MECA's efforts to get Berkeleyans involved in international issues.
"The wonderful thing about Berkeley is that people are willing to get involved in human rights and peace issues all over the world," said Worthington.
Ziad Abbas, Ibdaa's director, said that he and other refugees that grew up in Dheisheh vowed in 1994 that the next generation of Palestinian refugees would be better educated and better connected to the wider world. They set to work on a building that used to be a health clinic and transformed it into a cultural center through the MECA partnership.
"I learned to throw stones before I learned to read or write. They should learn to read and write and use computers before they learn how to throw stones," said Abbas, who is currently in San Francisco.
"We built the cultural center as a challenge and if they destroy it, we will build it again," he said.
Abbas and 16-year-old Kayan Alsaify had come to the U.S. to attend the Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles because Alsaify is in the Oscar-nominated film "Promises."
"Since the Israeli incursion, it's extremely dangerous, if not impossible to go back," said Alsaify, through a translator. "We called our families and they said the army was shooting everyone, even international people and journalists. They said we would most likely get killed."
But Alsaify said she hopes to make the most of her extended stay in America. "I came here for the Oscars, but my main goal is to bring the message about the reality of life in the camp."
"What we see is killing and blood," she explained. "What we hear is guns, shooting and Apache helicopters. What we smell is the tear gas they throw in the camp."
The confinement that limits their everyday movements and continuing, disheartening violence make the Ibdaa Cultural Center so much more important to them, she said.
"It's the only outlet for us in which we are exposed to the outside world, where we're exposed to other children in the world we live. It allows us to travel, meet other children, perform in other parts of the world. It opens up our personalities and gives us hope and strength," said Alsaify.
Alsaify had first come here three years ago on a MECA-sponsored dance tour of the U.S. to raise money for their cultural center's activities. She was most recently in Berkeley on Friday and Saturday, talking to KPFA and visiting Lubin.
"I'm pleased to be in the U.S. to talk to the media and to get my voice and my people's heard," she said. "I hope we can join hearts with the people in the U.S. and put pressure on the U.S. government to stop the Israeli violence."
Berkeley High wins second straight San Marin title
By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
NOVATO - It's called the San Marin Tournament, but they might want to rename it the 'Jacket Classic.
The Berkeley High baseball team claimed their second San Marin Tournament title in as many years on Wednesday with a 6-3 win over the host Mustangs. Junior Sean Souders settled down after a rough two first innings to get the win on the blustery afternoon, running his record to 3-1.
Berkeley scored five runs in the second inning. Souders hit into a fielder's choice to score Jason Moore, then Lee Franklin lined a triple to right-center to plate two more runs. After DeAndre Miller was hit by a pitch and stole second base, Clinton Calhoun singled home Franklin and Miller for a 6-3 lead. Calhoun had three RBIs in the game, driving in Miller following a triple in the first inning.
That was enough for Souders. After adjusting to the sandy mound at San Marin, he bounced back from four walks in the first two innings, which led to all three unearned Mustang runs, with no more free passes and just three hits in the final five innings.
"There was a big hole where I plant my foot," Souders said of the mound. "My delivery just wasn't right. But once I found a good place to plant I started to throw strikes."
Berkeley head coach Tim Moellering said he was a little worried that Souders might not go the distance after throwing more than 30 pitches through two innings. Playing their third game in three days, the 'Jackets' bullpen was thin.
"I was concerned that I might have to use my bullpen early," Moellering said. "I told Sean he was on a pitch count of 100, and he finished the game at 99."
Berkeley did suffer a blow when cleanup hitter Matt Toma pulled up lame while running out a ground ball in the third inning. He pulled his left hamstring and stayed down for several minutes before being helped to the bench. He will likely be limited to designated-hitter duty next week, when the 'Jackets play games on three straight days, including two ACCAL games.
"We've got another injury to deal with, but we've got some good players to fill in," Moellering said. "We'll be cautious with Matt."
Toma's injury leaves the 'Jackets with just one healthy catcher, junior Sam Geaney. Senior Jeremy Riesenfeld, who is working back from two surgeries on his throwing arm, was hurt in an off-the-field incident last weekend and may not be available next week.
Berkeley's bats were relatively quiet on Wednesday as they struggled to figure out San Marin starter Darrell Fisherbaugh's multiple arm angles and off-speed stuff. Fisherbaugh didn't give up a hit after the second inning, allowing just two baserunners on hit batsmen. After scoring in double figures in five of their previous six games, scoring six runs was a meager output for the 'Jackets.
"We wanted to come out and put up some runs, but the weather kind of held us back," said Franklin, who was voted tournament MVP. "But six runs was all we needed. Once Sean settled down, they couldn't touch him."
Tuesday's protesters were unorganized, ridiculous
Eric Meyerson Berkeley
The protesters expressing their anger over the Israeli occupation of the West Bank should be ashamed of themselves for their revolting display of civil disorder April 2. After their march ended at the University Avenue overpass, they spilled out in the street and blocked the major driving artery in and out of Berkeley for no good practical reason.
Few people or businesses reside near the intersection with 4th Street. What use is a political demonstration where the only witnesses are rush-hour drivers who miss dinner or are kept from their families by those very protesters? Is this productive in changing the policy of a foreign government?
In spite of their very worthy cause — peace in the Middle East — these disorganized protesters undermined it with their ridiculous actions.
It's a shame police didn't arrest more of them for illegally blocking the streets and disrupting the lives of those who live and work in Berkeley.
Eric Meyerson
The Band's 'The Last Waltz' takes another spin
By Scott Bauer The Associated Press
Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson challenging each other with progressively intense guitar licks.
Van Morrison high-kicking into the air.
Neil Young staring openmouthed and awe-struck at Bob Dylan.
Moments like these are why critics and music fans consider 1978's "The Last Waltz" one of the great rock documentaries.
Now, the film capturing the Band's 1976 farewell concert is being rereleased in a limited theatrical run beginning Friday in San Francisco. The soundtrack has been remixed by Robertson, the Band's lead songwriter and guitarist, who now works as a creative adviser for DreamWorks Records. A CD is due April 16 and a DVD May 7.
"The main job here is to pass the baton — pass this on to other generations," Robertson said in an interview from Austin, Texas, where he was promoting the project.
The idea of "The Last Waltz" started humbly enough. Members of the Band, known for such songs as "The Weight" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," besides backing Dylan in 1965-66 and 1974, decided to give a farewell concert on Nov. 25, 1976, at San Francisco's Winterland after 16 years on the road.
To help them bow out, friends were invited to join them on stage. As the list grew to include the likes of Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Clapton, Morrison and Young, Robertson said he thought the event should be chronicled.
The Band sought out director Martin Scorsese, who had helped work on director Michael Wadleigh's "Woodstock" seven years earlier.
"'Woodstock' was about the crowd," Robertson said. "This movie's about the music. We are never, ever going to see these kind of people all together at one time again."
The concert as envisioned by the Band, Scorsese and his crew, which included Hollywood production designer Boris Leven, had a dramatic flair unusual at that point in a rock film.
The 38-piece Berkeley Promenade Orchestra provided background music during a turkey dinner for the 5,000 fans who paid $25 a piece to attend. Sets from the San Francisco Opera's "La Traviata" were rented as a stage backdrop. Three chandeliers designed for "Gone with the Wind" hung above the stage and several classical statues were borrowed from the prop department at 20th Century Fox.
Rock promoter Bill Graham, who produced the show, referred to it as "rock and roll's last supper" in his autobiography.
"It was stunning because we were used to the Winterland being a pretty sparse and funky arena once used for ice skating shows," said music journalist Ben Fong-Torres, who covered the concert for Rolling Stone.
The crowd responded to the swanky surroundings, Fong-Torres said.
"There were some tuxedos among the crowd," he said. "This was like prom night."
The Band hit the stage shortly after 9 p.m., and the concert ended more than five hours later. The music included blues, folk, rock and country.
"It's one of the pleasures of my life to be on the stage with these people," an almost giddy Young says at one point.
One of the highlights is seeing Morrison, known as a mercurial and temperamental performer, end an emotional singing of "Caravan" by repeatedly kicking into the air.
"He was just so exuberant. He just had a ball," Fong-Torres said. "And his outfit — it was almost like a circus outfit, like a trapeze artist."
Dylan, in an outlandish feathered white fedora, closes the show by leading the reassembled guests in "I Shall Be Released."
And interspersed throughout the film are interviews with members of the Band, talking about life on the road.
After "The Last Waltz," the group never toured with Robertson again. Remaining members — pianist Richard Manuel, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko and drummer Levon Helm — did regroup and tour together beginning in 1983.
Three years later, Manuel hanged himself in a Winter Park, Fla., hotel room. In 1999, Danko died in his sleep, overweight and with an admitted drug habit.
Robertson has no regrets about quitting the road when he did.
"As far as what my instincts were telling me, it was a choice that needed to be made," Robertson said. "I always loved playing music with those guys. I always loved making records. But it just ran its course."
Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club
On-going meetings 1st & 3rd Thursdays, emphasizing metaphysical topics. Free. 848-6510.
Graduate Theological Union presents liberation philosopher Enrique Dussel
noon- 2 p.m.
Dinner Board Room, Flora Lamson Hewlett Library
Enrique Dussel, pioneering scholar of the philosophy of liberation and a leading figure in Latin American liberation theology will present his recent work in "Modernity, coloniality and Capitalism in the World System." 649-2464
Freedom From Tobacco
University Health Services Tang Center
2222 Bancroft Way
A quit smoking class free to Berkeley and Albany students, residents and employees. Five consecutive Thursday evenings. 644-6422, quitnow@ci.berkeley.ca.us.
"Reporting from Berkeley" Charles Burres, staff reporter, San Francisco Chronicle. $1.
Stand in solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian women to urge an end to the occupation, which will give greater hope for an end to the violence. 548-6310, wibberkeley.org.
For more information, call
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its second annual Noche Latina event. This fundraiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Avenue.
Fundraising festival hosted by Minding the Body, Inc. Participatory Booths, Jugglers, Storytellers, Performance Art, Co-creation of Music, Poetry and Art and a Vegetarian Potluck. www.mindingthebody.org.
Part two of a two day training for anyone interested in becoming a respite care volunteer.
768-3147, betty@cceb.org
Bicycle Maintenance 101
1338 San Pablo Ave.
Rodian Magri will teach participants how to perform basic adjustments on their bikes to keep them in good working condition. 527-7377
Witnessing War
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Boalt Hall
A speaking event co-sponsored by Doctors without Borders and UC Berkeley, International Human Rights Law Clinic, Boalt Hall School of Law. 643-7654.
Scratching the Surface:
Impressions of Planet Earth,
from Hollywood to Shiraz
Easy Going Travel Shop Bookstore
Spring Travel Writer's Seminar. 843-3533
Grandparent support Group
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Malcolm X School Arts and Academics School
1731 Prince St.
For Grandparents/Relatives raising their grandchildren and other relatives. A place to express their concerns and needs and receive support, information and referrals for Kinship Care. 644-6517.
Oakland Museum Lecture
"Publishing in the Bay Area and Other Facinating Subjects", behind the scenes in the publishing world with Malcolm Margolin, publisher of Heyday Books
"Myths About Aging," Susan V. Mullen, D.C. Chiropractor. $1. 848-3533.
Bancroft and Telegraph Ave.
9 a.m. - 1 a.m.
10th Annual Chinese Masters in Martial Arts Series
Haas Pavilion
Day-long event will include competition in contemporary, traditional and internal styles of wushu. The Masters demonstration will begin at 8:00 p.m. 841-1486.
Rescheduled BPWA Path Walk
"Boundary Walk"
10 a.m.- noon, rain or shine
Join naturalist, Paul Grunland, as he leads an exploration of the Berkeley
Paths on the Berkeley Kensington Boundary. Meet at Grizzly Peak/Spruce, the reservoir.
Building Education Center- Free Lecture
"What You Need To Know Before You Build or Remodel"
10 a.m.- noon
Preview of the Homeowner's Essential Course, presented by builder Glen Kitzenberger - learn to solder pipe and more!
School district lessens cuts to music program
By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet staff
The Berkeley Unified School District administration has scaled back plans to cut the music program next year, recommending fewer teacher layoffs than it proposed earlier this year. But some teachers and parents still have concerns about the layoffs and the larger class sizes that will result.
"It doesn't seem like there's going to be very much of a learning process going on," said Madeline Prager, who teaches strings in district elementary schools.
Members of the Board of Education, who must approve the plan, and cut a total of $5.4 million to balance next year's budget, said they support the administration's recommendations.
"Given our budget situation, I think the cuts are minimal." said board member Terry Doran, one of two reached by the Daily Planet. "We are going to have a music program. It isn't decimated."
"I think the thing to do is go ahead with it and see how it goes," added board member Ted Schultz, noting that the district could make adjustments as needed.
Earlier this year the district recommended cutting 2.4 of 11.5 full-time teaching positions and issuing a layoff notice to Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Suzanne McCulloch, who runs the music program.
The new proposal, laid out in the packet for next week's Board of Education meeting, recommends cutting 1.7 teaching positions for an estimated savings of $82,560, and keeping in place McCulloch's position, just created in the fall.
About half of McCulloch's salary comes from the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project, a special local lax, a quarter from state grants and a quarter from private grants.
One of those private grants, a $10,000 award from the East Bay Community Foundation, will not be renewed next year, and district administrators have raised concerns about picking up the tab.
But under the new proposal, the administration would seek funding from Berkeley Public Education Foundation, on top of Berkeley Schools Excellence Project and state money. McCulloch said the district is reasonably certain that it will be able to secure foundation funding and keep her position alive.
Some teachers were pleased that McCulloch will apparently remain in place.
"We really need someone to coordinate with all the schools and take care of all our concerns so that everything can run smoothly," said chorus teacher Mabel Dong.
"We've got a million bucks worth of instruments," added Michael Kelley, co-chair of the Music Curriculum Committee, which advises the board. Kelley said McCulloch has been vital in tracking those instruments and developing curriculum.
But Kelley, while acknowledging that the district is in dire financial straights, had concerns about cutting 1.7 teaching positions.
"That's a 15 percent cut in staffing," he said. "We're (already) operating on a shoestring."
Under the new model, the district would assign two to three, rather than three to four teachers, to a given elementary school, raising class sizes from a current average of 10, according to district figures, to a range of 18-25.
"I think it's a recipe for a less-than-successful music program," said Prager, noting that tuning instruments and fixing broken strings already takes up a significant portion of class time, and arguing that class size increases will only exacerbate the problem.
Prager added that music instruction often requires individualized attention, worrying that teachers will be able to provide less of that attention with larger classes.
The district's new music plan also includes an expansion of instruction to the third grade. Currently, students in grades four through 12 take music classes through the district's official program. Some elementary schools, according to McCulloch, have used funds from Parent-Teacher Associations or the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project, a special local tax, to fund their own, indivdual K-3 programs.
The new approach, McCulloch said, would create district-wide equity, ensuring that all students are equally prepared for the fourth-grade music program.
But Dong has concerns that the district will now be "squeezing" fewer teachers into more class time with the expansion to third grade.
In the end, McCulloch said, the music program will adjust. "I think it's a workable solution," she said, commenting on the whole package.
District administration was out of the office for spring break and could not be reached for this article.
Panthers go winless in tourney
NOVATO – The St. Mary's Panthers pulled off another huge comeback against El Cerrito on Wednesday, but this time they couldn't hold on for the win as the Gauchos mounted a comeback of their own to win, 10-9, in extra innings at the San Marin Tournament. Jacob Lucas's single scored Randy Minix in the bottom of the eighth inning to end the game and send the Panthers home winless in three tries in the tournament.
Going into the fifth inning down 5-2, the Panthers scored three runs to tie the game. Although El Cerrito pushed across a run in the sixth, St. Mary's answered right back with four more runs in the seventh to grab a 9-6 lead.
Panther starter Joe Storno was clearly exhausted by that point, but St. Mary's thin pitching staff left head coach Andy Shimabukuro little choice but to send him back out to the mound. He got Jamonte Cox on a strikeout to start the inning, but Lucas knocked a double to left to get things going. After a walk, passed ball and a flyball out, pinch hitter James Cannon hit a two-run single up the middle. Storno hit Josh Harvey with the next pitch, and Ryan De La Rosa hit a slow grounder to short for an infield single, with Cannon coming all the way around to score on Manny Mejia's late throw to first to tie the game again. Storno got Greg Murray to fly out to end the inning, but the momentum was clearly back in El Cerrito's favor.
Tom Carman pitched the eighth for the Panthers, facing just three batters before taking the loss. Carman pitched on Monday, and was further hampered by a sore elbow after being hit by a pitch in the sixth inning on Wednesday.
The game was sloppily-played in the early going, with each team committing five errors in the first five innings. The Gauchos took advantage early, hitting just one ball out of the infield but scoring three runs in the opening frame. Harvey got things going with a double to lead off, and De La Rosa followed with a single. St. Mary's third baseman Chris Morocco muffed a groundball by Murray to load the bases, and Minix drove in the game's first run with a flare that fell in front of centerfielder Chase Moore, although Moore got a force at third. Lucas then hit a grounder to second base that Marcus Johnson couldn't handle, and Dave Greenstein walked to force in another run.
"We have to get a better defensive effort," Shimabukuro said. "We're still giving away way too many outs."
The Gauchos were nearly as bad on defense. Just one of St. Mary's first five runs was earned, and El Cerrito finished the game with six errors.
The Panthers' grueling schedule calls for their fourth game in as many days today against Redwood Christian, and Shimabukuro has few options left for pitching. He plans to call up a junior varsity pitcher for today's game, but with a 5-9 overall record, the St. Mary's coach knows his team must win the BSAL title to have a shot at post-season play.
"I know we're really thin right now, but the only thing that matters now is to get out and win our league games," he said.
Developer Kennedy is doing a good thing with the New Arts Theater
Victor Pineda Cal Grad, Former Student Senator and Berkeley Resident
I commend Patrick Kennedy for his insight and vision in creating beautiful mixed use "ACCESSIBLE" space. The New Arts Theater will be another contribution to create more "Berkeley Space." Berkeley space is cultural space, artistic space, space for low income residents, and accessible and livable space for the disability community.
As a disabled resident it gives me great pleasure to see an active developer like Patrick Kennedy creating space for low-income/disabled students and residents to find Close, Affordable, and Livable Housing. His work is VITAL for me and others, 20 percent of his units are set aside for low-income and disabled residents.
Graduating from Cal, and trying to join the community is not easy. Finding accessible housing in Berkeley is very difficult, finding livable accessible apartment near campus is next to impossible. The spaces that Panoramic interests have created are award winning designs that have taken access seriously.
We can not overlook that quality of life starts with the home. And it is this quality of life that Kennedy brings to our disabled community members.
We should all support the creation of this space because for some of us this space did not exist before.
Cal Grad, Former Student Senator
and Berkeley Resident
Newly released UC study says regular churchgoing links with longer lives
Church is good for you, according to a new Bay Area study, which will be published in today's edition of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine.
The study, conducted by UC Berkeley in conjunction with the California Department of Health and the Public Health Institute, a local nonprofit, adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that regular church attendance is linked to longer, healthier lives.
The study, which draws on an Alameda County survey conducted during the course of 31 years, found that people who attended religious services less than once a week or never had a 21 percent greater risk of dying from circulatory diseases and a 21 percent greater overall risk of dying, even when controlling for other factors like age and exercise patterns.
"Because of religious faith, frequent attendees may have greater access to what is called 'religious coping mechanisms,'" said Doug Oman, a lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and co-author of the study.
Oman said religious people may subscribe to the notion that "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away," allowing them to quickly recover equilibrium after a stressful event and avoid circulatory and other diseases.
The study also suggested that regular attendees have lower mortality rates from respiratory and digestive diseases. Those who attended church less than weekly had a 66 percent greater risk of dying from respiratory and 99 percent greater chance of dying from digestive diseases.
Oman warns that the sample size for these diseases were smaller, which may have distorted the figures. But the trend, he said, is unmistakable.
The new study, which found no significant differences between regular churchgoers and the population at large when it came to cancer, mirrors the results of a national study conducted by University of Texas researchers in 1999.
Other studies have suggested that Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists live longer, healthier lives because their religions encourage abstention from smoking, high-fat diets and other risk factors.
Oman said his study still leaves several questions unanswered.
"It will be interesting to find out about people who describe themselves as spiritual and not religious," said Oman, noting that the "spiritual" category has only showed up on recent surveys, and that long-term studies will therefore take time to unfold.
Paul McCartney enriches us and endures
Elliot Stephen Cohen Berkeley
Way back in 1967 when Paul McCartney sweetly crooned, "when I get older losing my hair, many years from now," in "When I'm 64," a sentimental little Beatles' ditty predicting a time when he would be puttering around the garden with grandchildren on his knee, who could have dared predicted that 35 years later he would be rocking The Oakland Arena as he did on Monday night, resembling the thin short-haired strutting rocker in his famous photos of the pre-fame Beatles onstage at Germany's noted Star Club in 1962?
While his current music from the fine "Driving Rain" CD may seem irrelevant to many of today's teen-aged music buyers, the Beatles' classics McCartney passionately performed like "Back In The U.S.S.R.," "Carry That Weight," and "Blackbird," (a song he introduced as being about the civil rights struggle of the late 60's) will endure long after Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys will be living out their golden years. Thank you Sir Paul McCartney for enriching our lives with your wonderful music and indomitable spirit.
Elliot Stephen Cohen
Today is Thursday, April 4, the 94th day of 2002. There are 271 days left in the year.
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.
In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red-and-white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union.
In 1841, President William Henry Harrison succumbed to pneumonia one month after his inaugural, becoming the first U.S. chief executive to die in office.
In 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated.
In 1887, Susanna Medora Salter became the first woman elected mayor of an American community — Argonia, Kan.
In 1902, 100 years ago, British financier Cecil Rhodes left $10 million in his will to provide scholarships for Americans at Oxford University.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S. forces liberated the Nazi death camp Ohrdruf in Germany.
In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty.
In 1975, more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashed shortly after take-off from Saigon.
In 1981, Henry Cisneros became the first Mexican-American elected mayor of a major U.S. city — San Antonio, Texas.
In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage.
Ten years ago: His campaign acknowledged that Bill Clinton had received an induction notice in April 1969 while attending college in Oxford, England; Clinton said the notice arrived after he was due to report, and that his local draft board had told him he could complete the school term.
Five years ago: Space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral on what was supposed to have been a 16-day mission; however, a defective power generator forced the shuttle's return four days later.
One year ago: Chinese President Jiang Zemin demanded the United States apologize for the collision between a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet; the Bush administration offered a chorus of regrets, but no apology.
Today's Birthdays: Singer-actress Frances Langford is 88. Composer Elmer Bernstein is 80. Actress Elizabeth Wilson is 77. Author-poet Maya Angelou is 74. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is 70. Recording executive Clive Davis is 70. Actor Michael Parks is 64. Bandleader Hugh Masekela is 63. Author Kitty Kelley is 60. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 58. Actor Walter Charles is 57. Actress Caroline McWilliams is 57. Actress Christine Lahti is 52. Country singer Steve Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers) is 51. Writer-producer David E. Kelley is 46. Actor Phil Morris is 43.
\Actress Lorraine Toussaint is 42. Rock musician Craig Adams (The Cult) is 40. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 37. Actress Nancy McKeon is 36. Actor Barry Pepper is 32. Country singer Clay Davidson is 31. Singer Jill Scott is 30. Rock musician Magnus Sveningsson (The Cardigans) is 30. Magician David Blaine is 29. Singer Kelly Price is 29. Rhythm-and-blues singer Andre Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 28. Actor Heath Ledger is 23. Actress Natasha Lyonne is 23.
Thought for Today: "A man is only as good as what he loves." — Saul Bellow, American author.
For release Thursday, April 4
League is wrong, we've had enough development
James K. Sayre Oakland
Your recent Forum article, "Getting beyond the fear of change to a thriving community" (The Daily Planet, March 30) was shocking and depressing. It seems that the local League of Women Voters (LWV) has morphed itself into the League of Women Developers (LWD).
They say that we should just roll over, play dead and allow 44,000 more people to move into Alameda and Contra Costa Counties over the next 20 years.
It seems that all of these additional residents have special needs which can only be met by cramming them into massive high-rise apartments in our bayside communities.
Somehow, the LWD suggests that cramming additional thousands of people locally is going to make our neighborhoods more livable… Oh, sure.
Frankly the East Bay is thriving enough as it is.
The last thing that we need is thousands of more cars and apartments, with shopping malls to match. What ever happened to the notion of Zero Population Growth (ZPG) or even better, Negative Population Growth (NPG)? The earth is finite. The East Bay is finite. It's time to stop reproducing and inviting in ever more immigrants.
Let 'em stay home.
We are suffering from fear of insane development, evermore crowding the Bay Area until the livability index approaches zero. Let's think about our residential needs, not those of hypothetical immigrants.
This land is our land, not their land.
James K. Sayre
A pizza reward for fire safety
HUDSON, N.H. — If your smoke detector works, your next pizza in this town could be free.
As part of program intended to boost fire safety, firefighters will accompany pizza deliverers to people's homes. If residents have functioning smoke detectors, the pizza is free courtesy of the pizza shop and the fire department.
If the detector doesn't work, the department will offer batteries or free detectors.
The department hopes to be the first in New Hampshire to kick off a "Did You Check?" program geared at public education about the importance of detectors and their proper maintenance.
A malfunctioning detector will mean the pizza must be paid for, but the department will leave a coupon for a future pizza.
Firefighters also will give residents information about fire safety as part of the program, which the department hopes to start by mid-April.
Fire Marshal Charles Chalk said the department got the idea after learning about a similar program in Watertown, N.Y. The Hudson program will be funded through donations, Chalk said.
University professors hold a bake sale
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Professors at the University of Iowa have a secret weapon in their fight to help the school rebound after losing millions of dollars in state budget cuts.
They want to hold a bake sale.
"Obviously, it is unlikely that a bake sale will raise the approximately $40 million in lost funding," said engineering professor Wilfrid Nixon. But "there's clearly a public relations aspect to this."
The Iowa Faculty Senate approved a resolution by a 15-10 vote Tuesday to hold the sale.
"It is better to bake a brownie than curse the cuts," said Nixon, who proposed the resolution. The plan now goes to the faculty council.
All money will go to help students, such as through scholarships.
Not all senators found the idea palatable. Some said it would send the wrong message: that faculty members had enough time to bake.
"I think this could backfire on us," said Charles Lynch, a professor in the College of Public Health.
Sheldon Kurtz, a law professor, joked that critics could turn around and say to the faculty, "Let them eat cake."
JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — Alexander Brueggeman is a junior at the University of Memphis who hopes one day to get a doctorate in plant molecular genetics from Harvard or MIT.
But first he has to enter his teens. Alexander is only 12.
On Monday, he got word that he was the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater scholarship. At first, he thought it was a joke.
"I was thinking, 'Cool,"' he said. "But it was April 1, so I thought maybe it was an April Fools' joke."
Brueggeman's parents quickly realized there was something different about their child when they began to educate him at home.
"When he was 6 years old, we started with first grade, but Alex needed more," said Gay McCarter, Brueggeman's mother. "He did four years of work — tests and homework — in less than seven months."
Brueggeman was at the high school level by age 8 and was attending classes at Jackson State Community College and Lambuth University a year later.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A man suspected of bungling a bank robbery in Richmond should have stopped when he was behind.
Police said Robert Mustafa Farook Muhammad, 43, is facing a handful of charges after following a botched attempt at knocking off a bank here with another failed attempt in Hanover.
In Richmond, police said a suspect demanded and received a bag of money from a teller shortly after 9:15 a.m. Monday, but dropped it in his haste to flee the building.
Empty-handed, he knocked a woman down as she was trying to get in her car in the parking lot, stole the vehicle and drove off, unable to get the alarm to stop blaring.
About 15 minutes later, Hanover police said a man walked into another bank and gave a teller a note demanding money. She complied, but the robber again fouled his departure. While rushing out the bank's back door, he knocked over a male patron, who then began chasing him, joined by an off-duty correctional officer and another man.
The three caught the suspect and held him until a deputy sheriff arrived.
Insurance on Golden Gate Bridge expected to double
SAN FRANCISCO — Insurance costs for the Golden Gate Bridge will more than double as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the new policy will not include any coverage in case of future terrorism.
"It was obvious that a number of insurers were withdrawing from the market," said Chris Ewers, the bridge's insurance broker. "We told the bridge district that this was going to be a problem."
Ewers was preparing to negotiate with carriers over a new policy in November, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday. Gov. Gray Davis said he was tightening security statewide because of a credible threat to one of four suspension bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge.
Davis revealed last month a second threat to the Golden Gate Bridge surfaced a few days after the first, but it was not widely publicized because it did not seem as credible.
"My underwriters typically pick up on these kinds of things," Ewers said. "It didn't help the negotiations."
He approached nearly two dozen insurance companies about taking on the bridge's policy, which expires Monday. Many were interested, but only if acts of terrorism were specifically exempt from coverage.
The bridge's board of directors voted last month to stick with its present insurer, ACE USA, but to bow to the carrier's demands for substantially higher fees and drastically reduced coverage.
The bridge district now pays about $500,000 per year for $125 million in coverage, including terrorist attacks.
As of next week, the bridge district will pay twice as much in premiums, $1.1 million, for a fraction of the coverage — $25 million in physical damage to the span and $25 million in loss of toll revenue.
Worse, by exploiting a loophole in state regulations, ACE has managed to skirt terrorism coverage. The new one-year policy includes no coverage in the event of an attack.
ACE spokeswoman Lisa Fleishman-Hicks said company policy forbids her from discussing details of individual policies.
But bridge directors were quick to voice their frustration when they swallowed hard and approved the new contract on March 22.
The Golden Gate Bridge District is an independent state entity whose board is made up of officials from San Francisco Bay area counties.
The bridge presently operates on a $116 million annual budget.
ZAB continues Alta Bates debate to April 25 meeting
In a switch of votes after three role call votes were completed on Tuesday night, the Zoning Adjustments Board finally decided 5-3 to continue discussion of the renovation plans for the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.
The ZAB will take up the project again April 25, which is also the last day for the group to act on the use permit according to the Permit Streamlining Act. Continuance was given for the hospital and the neighbors to work out the remaining traffic circulation issues.
"Usually a project is shuttled through in one to two meetings," said ZAB member Andy Katz, who made the initial motion to continue the discussion. "But this one hasn't come to a resolution in that time. It would be great if we could have a resolution."
The neighbors had submitted a last-minute proposal that the cul-de-sac on Colby Street be moved northward to create more of a buffer between hospital traffic and the neighborhood. Alta Bates officials and neighbors had talked about the proposal about a week ago, but it was not part of the proposal before the ZAB on Tuesday.
"We're very pleased because this is what we were asking for," said Debbie Leveen, of the Interneighborhood Hospital Review Committee.
"I think the ZAB was heartened by the element of compromise in the plan. They thought we could reach an agreement, so they gave us time to reach an agreement."
"We're very disappointed because we've taken every step we've been required to take to get approval on this process," said Debbie Pitts, spokesperson for Alta Bates.
Pitts said that attempting to incorporate the cul-de-sac into their current plans, which were approved by the Design Review Committee in January, will set them back months. They will have to create new site plans for the driveways as well as initiate another process for "street vacation."
Because Colby Street is a city-owned street, the decision to change it would have to go through other city departments such as Public Works.
The hospital now has to scramble to re-submit the plan for the April 18 DRC meeting. Though the deadline for submitting materials for that meeting was yesterday, said Margaret Kavanaugh-Lynch, Senior Planner for the city of Berkeley, the deadline has been waived.
"It's going to be really tight turnaround, but we're doing what we can," said Kavanaugh-Lynch.
Alta Bates and the city will have one day to incorporate the DRC input in order to meet the April 19 deadline for submissions to the April 25 ZAB packet is April 19.
"I don't know how we're going to do it," said Pitts.
She suggested that if the city allows the hospital to get started on the first phase of their renovation, then they could work on the street vacation in the mean time.
"It will take at least nine months for us to do our radiology department, which will have no external impacts. I'm told that the street vacation could take six to nine months," said Pitts.
Kavanaugh-Lynch, whose job it is to bring both sides to the table, said she is going to coordinate one or two meetings in the next week.
Because there was no majority in any of the role call votes, the motion would have been tabled by the chair. But some members, who are allowed to change their votes afterwards, changed them in order to carry a motion.
Leveen said she is looking forward to further discussions with the hospital because there are still two other issues that the neighborhood would like to see addressed: the confusing access to the emergency department for people in private cars and the overall circulation in the Webster-Colby area.
But, she added, "I'll be glad when this is over."
Contact reporter Jia-Rui Chong at: chong@berkeleydailyplanet.net.
Dow to use microbes to clean up groundwater contamination
By Jessica Brice The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Marking the end of a five-year lawsuit, Dow Chemical Co. announced plans Wednesday to contribute $3 million for San Francisco Bay protection while using new technology to clean up groundwater contamination at its nearby Pittsburg chemical facility.
The deal — struck between environmental group San Francisco BayKeeper and Dow — lets the company back out of a previous agreement to build a groundwater pumping plant to clean up the contamination, which could have cost the company up to $100 million.
Instead, Dow says it will use bioremediation cleanup technology in which nutrients are pumped 100 feet into the ground, stimulating naturally occurring microbes that will eat away at the contaminants.
"Dow figured out a better mouse trap," BayKeeper spokesman Jonathan Kaplan said.
The cheaper alternative will cost the company $15 million to $20 million to build and $1 million to $2 million per year for upkeep, according to Dow spokesman Randy Fischback.
In exchange, BayKeeper wanted some of the savings passed on to them. Dow has agreed to contribute $3 million to BayKeeper, the Coastal Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. to purchase or restore wetlands at Bel Marin Keys in Marin County, and in Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties.
BayKeeper sued Dow in 1997, alleging that the Pittsburg plant — which now produces latex and agricultural chemicals — unlawfully discharged waste that contaminated groundwater and eventually ran into San Francisco Bay.
In 1999, the two organizations agreed that Dow would build a plant to pump the water out of the ground, clean it up and return it. But that solution turned out to be costly, labor intensive and would have left waste to be disposed of somewhere else. Dow was fined nearly $200,000 by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board when it failed to follow through with those plans.
The company already has started to build "bio-walls" that will circulate nutrients — sodium formate, sodium lactate and possibly even molasses — in the groundwater. The nutrients will stimulate the one-celled bacteria that already exist at the site to consume the contaminants faster. The process could take from a couple of years to decades.
The technology, typically used to clean spilled petroleum, has been successful at other sites throughout the nation but rarely has been attempted on such a large scale, Fischback said. The Pittsburg plant, 35 miles east of San Francisco, takes up nearly 1,000 acres.
The relatively new technology, however, leaves questions unanswered. Once the microbes have finished their work and exhausted their food supply, they could die — and it's unclear what effect that would have on the surrounding environment.
"We realize it's cutting-edge technology and that there's some level of risk," Kaplan said. "We feel it's an acceptable tradeoff."
Police release 911 tape from SF fatal dog mauling incident
SAN FRANCISCO — An elderly neighbor frantically called police as Diane Whipple was fatally mauled outside her apartment door, saying she was too afraid to intervene, according to a tape of her 911 calls.
The 10-minute tape was not used in the trial of Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, the dogs' caretakers, who were convicted on all five counts they faced in the mauling. Jurors didn't hear the tape, released by police Tuesday, because it was deemed inadmissable hearsay.
The recording begins with Esther Birkmaier's first call on Jan. 26, 2001, about seven minutes after the dogs Bane and Hera began attacking Whipple, a 33-year-old lacrosse coach.
"Yes, I'm just a wreck," the 75-year-old woman said. "Please send police ... We have two dogs rampaging out in the hall up on the sixth floor and I think they have — their — even their owner cannot control them. They are huge."
"OK, the owner knows that the dogs are in the hallway?" the dispatcher asked.
"I think they're attacking the owner too, I reckon — she's screaming right now, and I don't dare open the door 'cause the dogs are huge."
"Please hurry!" she continued. "I hear her screaming and I don't dare open the door, these dogs are ferocious."
The dispatcher then reports not an attack, but that the dogs are out of control.
A second 911 call was made by David Kuenzi of New York, staying with a friend in the building. He said he heard a woman screaming and a dog barking and feared someone was under attack.
"I'm going to go up and see what the hell is going on," Kuenzi said.
"I wouldn't — I wouldn't go up there because you never know what you might get into," the dispatcher replied, promising help was on the way.
Still, the police had not yet arrived and the attack had been going on for a dozen minutes. Trapped behind her chained door, Birkmaier called 911 again.
"I called five minutes ago, we have two ferocious dogs on the loose at 2398 Pacific," she frantically said.
"So you've already called us?"
"We're on our way ma'am, you just have to be patient. You only called five minutes ago."
Thirty seconds later, at 4:12 p.m., seven minutes after Birkmaier's first call, the first two officers arrived. They urgently called for an ambulance and animal control officers.
It was too late for Whipple, who died that night.
Knoller, who was with the dogs during the attack, could get 15 years to life for second-degree murder. She and Noel could get four years in prison on the other charges, including manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed someone. Their sentencing is May 10.
Improvements planned for Redwood Highway U.S. 199
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The first in a series of safety projects to improve the narrow canyon stretch of the Redwood Highway that winds above the Smith River in Northern California has been put out for bid, officials say.
The first project on U.S. 199, set for this summer, is a barrier rail that will be installed around the perimeter of the turnout near California milepost 8.3 along the main link between southern Oregon to the Northern California coast.
The rail will replace a few boulders that now are the only thing between the highway turnout and the steep slope leading down to the river.
The California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, is planning seven projects over the next four years on U.S. 199, but officials say only the first project has been approved. The rest are still being developed and public comments are being solicited.
Next Wednesday, Caltrans officials will hold a workshop in Crescent City, Calif., to present information on the first project and the other proposals. The workshop will feature displays including a full-size model of the "see-through" barrier rail set for installation at the turnout.
Another project, a curve realignment near milepost 7.5 about a mile north of Hiouchi, Calif., is now in the environmental review phase and is tentatively set to be built during the summer of 2003.
Other projects being proposed include restoring and improving highway shoulders near milepost 8.7 and milepost 8.2, possibly during the summer of 2004 and 2005. Also, a highway realignment project near milepost 23.6 including a retaining wall or viaduct is being considered for the summer of 2005.
The Hardscrabble Creek Bridge, located near milepost 11, is tentatively planned to be replaced during the summer of 2006.
"What we're trying to do is address all spot locations where we have a collision history," said Gary Banducci, project manager for Caltrans.
Teen birth rates down statewide
SACRAMENTO — The rate of teen births in California dropped 31.3 percent since 1990, Gov. Gray Davis announced Wednesday.
California also saw a 4.2 percent drop in the rate of teen-agers having babies from 1999 to 2000.
"The good news demonstrates that California's prevention programs and initiatives work," Davis said in a release. "The rate decrease means that 1,200 fewer teen births occurred in 1999 than in the previous year."
More than 30 of the state's 58 counties saw a decrease in the teen birth rate, with the greatest percentage drops occurring in Siskiyou, Calaveras, San Benito and Shasta counties. The survey uses statistics from teens ages 15 to 19.
During 2000, California saw 56,268 births to mothers under 20 years of age.
INS says no evidence orphans were brought to United States
SANTA ANA — Federal immigration officials say there is no evidence that hundreds of Afghan women and children, including orphans, have been brought to the United States.
Officials began investigating earlier this week when hundreds of California families said they applied to be foster parents to the orphaned children after receiving an e-mail from an aid agency. The e-mail said there were 529 Afghan women and children who were fleeing the fighting in Afghanistan.
"The whole story that's been presented so far defies logic," Bill Strassberger, an Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman, told The Orange County Register for Wednesday's paper. "We've checked and can find nothing that would verify claims regarding 529 Afghan women and children coming to the United States."
More than 350 people attended meetings in Los Angeles, San Jose and Garden Grove this weekend to sign up for foster care licenses.
A Los Angeles-based Muslim social group that helped sponsor the meetings, NISWA, said it has been overwhelmed by the number of calls from prospective parents.
The group is setting up additional meetings in San Francisco, San Diego and Arizona.
But U.S. officials say there is no evidence any Afghan women or children were brought into the United States. Even NISWA officials said they have been unable to confirm the report.
There has been no indication that families have been asked for money in exchange for custody of the children.
The group that allegedly brought the group from Afghanistan, International Resources, has not returned telephone calls seeking comment. The California Department of Social Services said the organization is not a licensed adoption agency or a recognized adoption facilitator.
But during a meeting last month, a woman who identified herself as Julie Fahrer said the organization had been working with military officials to bring children to the United States. She claimed some of the children were flown to Los Angeles at night and taken to a church. Some were later placed in homes, she said.
Strassberger said the U.S. has admitted 200 Afghan refugees in the past six months.
He said adoptions of foreign children nearly always requires arrangements to be made before children can enter the country.
Valdez owners say ship should return to Alaska
By Gene Johnson The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The company that owns the tanker Exxon Valdez argued before a federal appeals court Wednesday that the ship should be allowed to return to Alaska's Prince William Sound, where it spilled 11 million gallons of oil in 1989.
The Exxon Valdez, which now sails between the Middle East and Asia, has been barred from the sound since 1990, when Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act. The act prohibited any tanker that has spilled more than 1 million gallons since March 22, 1989, from entering Prince William Sound.
Lawyer E. Edward Bruce, who represents Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary SeaRiver Maritime Inc., told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the law is unconstitutional because it singles out SeaRiver for punishment.
It's the job of the courts, not Congress, to impose punishments; thus, the Oil Pollution Act violates the separation of powers assigned to the branches of government, he said.
"This (law) was designed to exclude the Exxon Valdez from Alaska because of the hostility of Alaskans to the vessel," Bruce told the court.
Bruce said Congress clearly wanted to punish the Exxon Valdez when it set the date in the law as March 22, 1989. The ship ran aground the next day.
Justice Department lawyer Mark Stern responded that the law is constitutional. It doesn't single out SeaRiver, he said, but includes any ship that spilled more than 1 million gallons after March 22, 1989.
Around the world, dozens of other tankers have spilled that much oil since then, and none of those would be allowed to enter Prince William Sound under the law, he said.
Congress had every right to set a date that would bar the Exxon Valdez from the sound, Stern said, as long as it did not limit the ban to that particular ship.
Stern said the law was designed to protect an ecologically sensitive area, not to punish anyone.
"There is nothing constitutionally suspect about it," he said.
The case reached the 9th Circuit on appeal from U.S. District Court in Alaska. That court sided with the government and upheld the law last July; SeaRiver appealed.
The Exxon Valdez spill was the nation's worst. It devastated fish and wildlife and smeared oil across approximately 1,500 miles of coastline.
Exxon Mobil says it has already paid more than $3 billion in cleanup costs and compensation. In November, a panel of the 9th Circuit threw out a $5 billion judgment against the company as excessive.
The appeals court ordered a lower court judge to reduce the amount.
Drought puts the Southwest, East at high risk for wildfire
By Chuck Oxley The Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Wide swaths of the Southwest and a patchwork of forests along the East Coast are at the highest risk for wildfire this summer, National Interagency Fire Center officials said Wednesday.
In the Southwest, drought and the amount of moisture in plants has reached a critically low level, said Rick Ochoa, the national fire weather program coordinator.
Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have already had some spring wildfires. Ochoa said some trees and shrubs were burned to white ash — an indication of fire intensity due to bone dry conditions.
"The southwest might be the epicenter of the fire season this year," Ochoa said.
The western drought extends from Southern California northeast to southwestern Montana. Plant moisture content in Southern California's Inyo National Forest is at historic lows and reflects conditions normally associated with mid-autumn, Ochoa said. Rainfall in the southern Rocky Mountains is as little as 30 percent of normal.
In Flagstaff, Ariz., about an hour's drive south of the Grand Canyon, U.S. Forest Service officials have already hired one hotshot firefighting crew and plan to hire more as quickly as the federal government can finance the positions, said Raquel Poturalski, spokeswoman for Coconino National Forest.
"Our fuel moistures are similar to what they were in 1996, and that was our worst fire season ever. We're looking at a really similar season this year," she said.
On the East Coast, forest officials are concerned about several years of scant rainfall. A drought has left parched forests from Georgia to northern Maine and into Canada.
"Spring is our busy time of the year," said Jim Downie, spokesman for the Maine Forest Service. "The ground is extremely dry. We have had five fires in January burn down under the snow and then resurface."
In eastern hardwood forests, leaf litter builds up to a thickness of several feet on the forest floor. When the material dries, it become extremely flammable, Downie said.
Although New England has had some additional moisture in recent weeks, officials are getting ready for a tougher season.
The U.S. Forest Service has positioned an additional large fire bomber in Vermont, Downie said. And officials are dusting off a cooperative agreement that will allow aircraft to be called in from Canadian provinces to fight forest fires.
"We're going to see the true effect of the drought over the last couple of years," Downie said.
It is a completely different story in the Northwest, where fires last year in Oregon and Washington burned thousands of acres. This year, except for southeastern Oregon, the Northwest has an abundance of rain. Western Washington is especially wet.
Last year, 89,079 fires burned 3.57 million acres across the nation. That is far less than the historic season of 2000, when 123,000 fires destroyed 8.4 million acres of range and forest and cost taxpayers $1.3 billion to fight.
This year, the federal government has set aside $2.29 million to fight wildfires.
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
Senate committee balks at banning houses on old nuclear meltdown sites
By Jim Wasserman The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — Legislation that would forever ban Ventura County from approving houses on 2,800 acres surrounding an old nuclear meltdown site suffered a temporary setback Wednesday.
The Senate Local Government Committee balked at the idea, part of a larger bill on contamination cleanup standards proposed by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica. Kuehl promised to return with changes, addressing concerns that the idea is too restrictive and affects too much land.
Kuehl wants the state to block Ventura County's land-use authority on the site of a 1959 partial nuclear meltdown, and that of other cities and counties on future meltdown sites. She cited the state's similar land-use authority over properties fronting San Francisco Bay, the Lake Tahoe Basin and the 1,100 mile California coastline.
"Local zoning isn't capable of dealing with something like a nuclear meltdown," Kuehl said.
The site is still contaminated with radiation and undergoing cleanup.
The Santa Susana Field Laboratory near the Ventura and Los Angeles County lines, ran 10 nuclear reactors from the 1950s to the 1980s for Atomics International, Rocketdyne International Corp. and Boeing Corp. Though a Ventura County voter initiative blocks development on the site before 2020 and the county's general plan calls for open space, current zoning allows homes on five-acre lots.
Kuehl fears growth pressures could local officials to approve housing, schools and day care centers on the site. Boeing Controller Jack Bradley said the company is restoring the land to federal residential standards in hopes of selling it.
"Our concern is the flexibility of the property," Bradley said. "We want to clean it up for the highest and best use." He also criticized a ban on thousands of surrounding acres, far from the actual meltdown site.
Attorney Richard Locke of PG&E said the bill could block the company from developing 14,000 acres around its 750-acre Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County.
Ventura County issued no position on the bill. But a letter from County Supervisor Judy Mikels expressed concerns about the state usurping local decision-making.
Read S.B 1444 at www.senate.ca.gov.
Printers quietly become standout technology
By Brian Bergstein The Associated Press
SAN JOSE — While most of the high-tech world perpetually focuses on the next new thing, a familiar device quietly has gotten so good as to be almost stunning: the printer.
Galleries and frame stores can download artwork from the Internet and make richly colored prints directly on fine paper or canvas within minutes.
Big laser printers and digital presses allow corporations to make customized glossy publications in-house and in short runs, without the expense of shipping them to specialty printing houses.
Inexpensive photo printers let consumers instantly develop sharp-looking shots from digital cameras, skipping not only the traditional trip to a photofinishing store but also a time-consuming upload onto a personal computer.
"These things keep improving in quality while coming down in price," said Keith Kratzberg, director of photo imaging for Epson America Inc. "We have totally refined the way these things are designed and manufactured."
New inks fuse to paper much easier and in smaller particles, permitting greater resolution and sharper images with more subtle hues.
Other refinements make printing faster.
The iGen3 digital press expected soon from Xerox Corp. should help graphic arts companies and corporations do their own publishing. Forty feet in length and about $500,000 in cost, the press can crank out 100 pages per minute.
For the rest of us, even a 17-page-per-minute desktop printer can be had for around $150.
One company built almost entirely on the recent advances in printing is Brightcube Inc. Its high-end ink jets let art galleries and frame stores make posters and high-quality prints on demand, reducing the need to keep costly inventory around.
One painting of a Mediterranean-style cottage and a garden, downloaded from Brightcube, emerged on a large canvas alive with sharp reds and yellows. The brush strokes of the original also stood out on the digitally made copy.
"Sometimes customers want to come in and order a specific piece, and rather than order it, we'll just print it," said Scott Gilsinger, owner of the Framing Loft in Sun City, Ariz., who uses the Brightcube service to make 20 to 30 prints per month. "It's excellent quality."
For now, El Segundo, Calif.-based Brightcube has only 40 employees, about 100 customers and a somewhat limited supply of art and photography available to download.
But its potential is intriguing. Brightcube's technology keeps track of which works are downloaded and printed, so artists can collect proper royalties.
Beyond artwork, Brightcube hopes retailers will want to download official logos and designs from their parent companies' headquarters and customize advertisements for individual stores.
Combining the Internet with new high-end printing technology is also a goal at Hewlett-Packard Co., which recently closed a deal worth as much as $800 million to acquire Indigo NV, a Dutch company that makes digital presses.
Digital presses let big companies, advertising agencies and printing houses create fancy color newsletters, brochures and ads quickly, in relatively small batches — and with customized content.
For example, HP and a European airline are exploring ways to use a digital press and Web-based customer-service platform to make personalized in-flight magazines for first- and business-class passengers.
"You'd find seat 12-K, and with the magazines sitting there, on the top is one geared to you and your flight, welcoming you on board, giving you a summary of your frequent flier miles, saying here's your menu, here's your videos you asked for, and here's the articles you might like to read," said Bill McGlynn, an HP digital publishing vice president.
Eyeing similar opportunities, Xerox expects its iGen3 digital press to bring in $15 billion in revenue in the next decade.
But despite their flexibility, digital presses likely will supplement the equipment large printing companies already have, rather than steal their business altogether, said Mike Croke, who consults with companies on big printing tasks and farms the work out to specialty houses.
"It will start to take a toll on some of the mom and pop shops, some of the medium-sized shops. But it's not going to knock the large printers down," Croke said. "I don't see a large insurance company going back into the printing business."
http://www.brightcube.com
http://www.xerox.com
http://www.epson.com
http://www.croke-printing.com
END Advance
Investigators say Enron now cooperating
By Jennifer Coleman The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — Enron executives have been cooperating with a Senate committee investigating the state's energy crisis, under threat of a Senate vote to find them in contempt of a legislative subpoena, the committee's chairman said Wednesday.
Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana, said Senate investigators have gone to Houston to review documents there, and plan a trip to Enron's Portland, Ore., office, which is the energy trader's west coast hub.
Investigators have unearthed evidence that energy companies, which pushed deregulation as way to lower consumers' costs, knew the state's experiment with deregulation would result in a volatile electricity market, Dunn said.
The now-bankrupt energy giant led the push for the state to deregulate its energy market in 1996, which was "perhaps the greatest fraud ever perpetrated against consumers," Dunn said.
He spoke at a Capitol news conference with consumers groups who called on state and federal lawmaker to tighten regulations to prevent future business failures such as Enron's.
Energy companies wouldn't have pushed for deregulation, Dunn said, unless it would benefit their profits and "that instead of competition driving prices down, there was no real competition and prices would go up."
Dunn's committee has readied subpoenas for three former Enron employees, including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling. Those subpoenas have not been served, Dunn's staff said, because they are working with the former employees to arrange voluntary testimony.
The Senate Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation in the Wholesale Energy Market delayed Wednesday's deposition of Jeff Dasavich, a former governmental affairs employee who worked in Enron's San Francisco office. Dunn said he was still gathering documents for that deposition and expected it to take place within two weeks.
The committee also plans to depose former executive vice president Steven Kean.
The committee, convinced that Enron has destroyed financial documents under legislative subpoena, voted in February to seek criminal charges against the company for concealing evidence and conspiracy.
Committee members also voted then to ask the full Senate to find Enron in contempt of two legislative subpoenas — one issued in June seeking documents related to California's energy market and the other for testimony about destruction of documents.
Since then, the energy company's officials have been cooperating with investigators, Dunn said.
Dunn said he was in talks with Skilling's attorney and expected to depose the former CEO in Texas. The committee could complete its investigation in two months, he said.
Protest takes over University Avenue
By Jia-Rui Chong and Devona Walker Daily Planet staff
What began as a march for peace in Palestine on Tuesday at approximately 5:00 p.m. ended in an ugly standoff between protesters and the Berkeley Police Department at Fourth Street and University Ave some five hours later.
About 600 protesters participated in the march, which caused the closure of University Ave between San Pablo Avenue and Fourth Street near the onramp to I-80.
"We're marching because there is no military solution to the Middle East conflict," said Amir Terkel of Jewish Voice for Peace.
"The only way for there to be peace is for Israel to stop its 35-year occupation of Palestinian land."
David McClure of Students for Justice in Palestine said both sides of the conflict should want a peaceful solution.
"This isn't a Jewish vs. Arab or Jewish vs. Christian issue. It's a U.S. foreign policy issue," he said.
He said that March has been the deadliest month for Palestinians and that 1,200 Palestinians and Israelis have been killed since the Second Intifada.
"It's our job, because it's our money," said McClure.
Penny Rosenwasser of the Middle East Children's Alliance agreed. "We have to tell them where we want our tax dollars to go," she said.
"Lots of American people feel that it's important that the U.S. get involved, send monitors, get them to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza. We want to make this visible," she said.
The event began with a rally at the Downtown Berkeley BART station. As the protesters marched down University Ave, people out walking their dogs and riding bikes joined the procession. Drivers in their cars honked and gave the marchers thumbs up.
The protesters were allowed to proceed down University until they reached Sixth Street at about 6:30 p.m. Up until this time, there had only been a handful of bicycle cops onhand to control the crowd. Their ranks, however, multiplied drastically by backup BPD and the California Highway Patrol dispatched to the site for crowd control and forming a line across University Ave to block the procession.
Around 8:00 p.m. every on-duty officer for the BPD waspresent to maintain that line at Fourth Street, according to Capt. William Pittman. Pittman was the officer in charge.
During the maintaining of the line, tensions between the officers and the protesters apparently peaked and resulted in one woman's arrest for battery on a police officer.
But 28-year-old Xochitl Johnson, of Berkeley, said the only physical contact she had with the police occurred while her arms were locked with three other women, and she was shoved in the chest with a baton by BPD officer Lindenaugh. After being pushed, she said she fell forward and at this point was taken down by several officers.
Several protesters, interviewed independently of each other, reported a very similar situation.
Don Najita, also of Berkeley, said he was standing within four feet of Johnson moments before her arrest.
"I saw several officers being very aggressive," Najita said. "They were shoving the crowd back away from the line. One officer shoved her with the baton, she fell back, then forward and they arrested her. Then the crowd went crazy."
"Within 15 minutes, they let her go," Najita added.
Johnson said while she was sitting in the back of the police car she heard officers saying they did not have the numbers to control the crowd.
"One woman cop said to me, 'If we let you go, will you promise to go home? And I said 'no.'"
It was unclear last night where the protesters wanted to end the march, or why the holding pattern lasted so long.
Several protesters reported that they were displeased with the aggressive nature of the police department, but they also stated that the march was pretty disorganized and that they too were unsure why the standoff on Fourth Street continued.
"I'm protesting in solidarity for the people of Palestine, I'm staying until the police disperses," said one protester.
"We're angry," said another, adding that some agreement had been made that the crowd would disperse if Johnson was let go and were angered because there was an assumption that she would not be charged.
Pittman said he was not aware of any agreement between BPD and protesters.
"There was no agreement — that's just what happens — you are charged, then released."
Our priority is to maintain this line safely, he added.
Johnson said the continued presence was in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
"People are out here for Palestine not me — look at what is happening in Palestine. There are walls stained with the blood of children," Johnson said. "That's why I'm still here because I can't stomach it anymore."
"I'm hoping that people on Ramallah in the West Bank can see this. I know they probably can't because they've cut most of their electricity. But I wish they could see that we held the streets tonight," she added.
However, she also said that she welcomed everyone to show up at her April 23rd court date at 2120 Martin Luther King Way in Berkeley to protest her what she considered a bogus charge.
No protesters were interviewed by the police department last night regarding the battery charge.
Pittman said it was customary to take the accounts of witnesses if there was an opportunity.
"This is not a situation that presents that opportunity. The protesters will not even engage in conversation with us," Pittman added.
The order to disperse came in shortly before 10 p.m. and at that point both protesters and officers left the scene without further incident.
Berkeley bats remain hot as 'Jackets reach tourney final
Berkeley High continued its offensive barrage on Tuesday, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat El Cerrito 12-2 in five innings at the San Marin Tournament in Novato.
Every Berkeley starter reached base at least once and all but one scored at least one run against the Gauchos, while southpaw Cole Stipovich settled down after a rocky start for an abbreviated win. The 'Jackets face the winner of the San Marin-Windsor game today at 1:30 for a shot at their second tournament title in as many years.
The 'Jackets have scored at least 10 runs in five of their last six games, getting contributions from every spot in the order and even some good production off the bench.
"We're hitting everywhere, all the way through the lineup," Berkeley head coach Tim Moellering said. "Everybody's hitting right now. It doesn't matter who I put out there."
Tuesday's new additions were rightfielder Raymond Pinkston and designated hitter Chris Wilson, who combined go 3-for-3 with a run and three RBIs at the bottom of the order. Pinkston walked twice and singled home two runs during the 'Jackets' five-run third inning, while Wilson continued a hot streak he started with two hits against Pinole Valley last week. With Jon Smith and Kory Hong also vying for playing time in the outfield and Wilson backing up Lee Franklin and DeAndre Miller on the infield, Moellering has the pleasant dilemma of getting all of his hitters enough at-bats.
Other highlights included a 3-for-4 day by cleanup hitter Matt Toma, who ended the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a bases-loaded double that put Berkeley up by the final score, and a two-hit, two-run day by Miller. Clinton Calhoun was the only 'Jacket not to get a hit, but even he walked twice and scored a run.
Toma said the Gauchos got a little too loud after scoring two scratch runs off of Stipovich in the first inning, giving the 'Jackets some extra motivation playing against a team they'll face twice in the ACCAL season.
"They put up two runs early and started to get loud and rowdy," Toma said. "That gave us a little extra reason to shut them up."
Stipovich quieted the El Cerrito bats, not letting a runner past second base for the next four innings while his teammates pounded four different Gaucho hurlers. Although he wasn't his sharpest, Stipovich got the outs when he needed them, stranding seven runners.
"I was kind of tired today, but I managed to throw strikes at good times," said the senior, who faced El Cerrito twice last season. "I was worried they would see me and know what was coming, but they didn't hurt me too much."
El Cerrito starter James Cannon lasted into the third inning, giving up five runs, and his bullpen wasn't any better. Both teams rested their aces on Tuesday, not wanting to tip their hands before the two games that count in the league standings. Berkeley's Sean Souders will pitch today in the championship game.
"We followed the game plan we wanted," Moellering said. "We made it to the championship without having to use Sean or even use our bullpen too much."
Moellering said he would prefer not to face ACCAL teams outside of league play, but Stipovich is hoping Tuesday's pounding will provide some extra confidence when the 'Jackets see El Cerrito later in the season.
"Hopefully this will be a forecast of things to come," he said with a grin.
Berkeley will play in the championship game at 1:30 p.m. today.
A solution for the P.E. conundrum at BHS
Jim Sinai Berkeley
While I appreciate the school board's effort to cut costs and balance the budget, cutting funding and P.E. credit for interscholastic athletics isn't the right approach. I concede the fact that the Crew team and other JV teams could look to the parents and the community for more financial support, but to deprive the students of P.E. credit only deflates participation and forces more students into the school's Physical Ed. program. Instead of trying to reduce the amount of students getting P.E. credit, BHS should extend PE credit to any student participating in any organized, supervised extra-curricular sports like rugby, mountain biking, martial arts, etc. This would allow the school to save money on an already poor quality Phys. Ed. Department.
Jim Sinai
Don George (Travel Editor Lonely Planet Publications)
Topic: Finding the story, exploring the experience
North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council
Monthly birthday party will feature The Dixieland jazz Band, Gasteswingers and refreshments.
1901 Hearts
Melody Ermachild Chavis: "Reporting from Recent Trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan
East Bay Regional Parks District, special events
Gathering of the Scottish clans,
Ardenwood Historic Farm
34600 Ardenwood Boulevard, Fremont
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its second annual Noche Latina event. This fund raiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Ave.
For more information, contact Estrella Fichter at 510.549.3506 or estrella.fichter@earthlink.net
UC recalls students from Israel
The University of California has pulled the plug on its study abroad program in Israel, citing concerns about escalating violence in the Middle East.
"Safety is the number one priority," said UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman.
Eisenman said the decision will affect 27 students, including eight UC Berkeley students, studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the University of Tel Aviv, and Ben Gurion University in the southern city of Be'er Sheva.
Twenty-eight other students have already voluntarily returned to the United States this year, according to the university.
UC has also decided to put its fall 2002 program on hold, pending improvements in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Eisenman said the university plans to continue the program at a later date.
"We're not abandoning this program at all," he said.
UC is leaving staff and program infrastructure in place to prepare for the eventual return of students.
Eisenman said the university cannot force students to return, but is strongly recommending the move and will provide financial and transportation support as needed.
Those who stay will not have access to the Israeli universities. But, like those who return, they will be able to finish their courses through an "independent study" program and receive full credit.
"Both ways, we're going to work as hard as we can to facilitate this," Eisenman said.
UC has suspended study abroad programs before. In recent years, the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, the Gulf War in the Middle East and the 1999 civil uprisings in Indonesia have all temporarily halted UC study abroad programs.
This year, UC did not permit students to study in India during the spring semester because of increasing hostilities between India and Pakistan.
According to a UC statement, the University of Washington and the University of Colorado have already recalled their students from Israel this year.
Gabriel Hughes to transfer from Cal
The Cal men's basketball team, already hurting for size with the probable departure of freshman Jamal Sampson, got even smaller on Tuesday when sophomore center Gabriel Hughes received a release from his scholarship.
"It came down to playing time," Hughes said. "This year wasn't fully what I expected it to be. Hopefully, I'll get that opportunity at another school."
Hughes, a 6-foot-10, 215-pounder from Carson, played in 21 games for the Bears this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds. He is the second post player to transfer away from Cal in the last two years. Center Nick Vander Laan transferred following the 2000-01 season.
The brother of departing senior Solomon Hughes, Gabriel said he plans to take several recruiting trips over the next few weeks but doesn't have a specific school in mind.
Without Hughes and Sampson, who declared for the draft two weeks ago and has since withdrawn from Cal, the Bears will be left with just one big man veteran next season, freshman Amit Tamir. Tamir is more of a perimeter player, however, and recruit David Paris could be forced into playing immediately.
Cal head coach Ben Braun was disappointed with Hughes' decision, but released the player from his scholarship obligations at his request.
"I knew Gabe was particularly frustrated with his lack of playing time, which was understandable," Braun said. "I felt that Gabe had made tremendous progress over the past two years, but he has expressed an interest in pursuing other opportunities with another program."
DNA testing of inmates is wrong
Michael Bauce Berkeley
Kudos to John Burton for threatening to kill the proposed forced DNA testing of inmates. While the current political climate may support this invasive bill; many of us recognize it as the first step in gutting our civil rights in the name of law and order. Perhaps some Republican senator may soon propose the forced DNA testing of all Americans to substantially increase the database. More prisons can be built to house the thousands more that may need to be incarcerated; others could be disposed of more quickly. Given the unreliablity of medical testing today, we would, in effect, all become possible casualties of this latest misguided war on people.
Michael Bauce
Plainclothes officers to stalk parking meters
Parking vandals, beware.
Very soon, plainclothes policemen are going to be watching parking meters near the UC Berkeley campus and the downtown area.
If someone puts in anything besides a coin in the e-PARK meter that person will be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. This could result in fines up to $1,000 and six months of jail time.
Parking vandalism is a problem again,the Berkeley Police Department said in a press release Monday. While three years ago the problem was chopping off whole meter heads, for the past two years it has been coin slots clogged with metal slugs, coins wrapped in paper, paper clips or gum.
"We think they're doing it because they're looking for free parking all day long," Lt. Bruce Agnew of the Traffic Bureau said Tuesday.
In the last six months of 2001, said Agnew, 6,515 meters in the city had to be cleared. 5,116 of the repairs were made on the greater UC campus area and 1,256 in the downtown area.
To step-up enforcement, officers who have otherwise been involved in traffic enforcement or other units, will be posted in the two problem areas periodically to do surveillance, according to Agnew. One officer might follow the parker to see where he/she is going while another officer checks the meter. Officers will also be time cars parked at broken meters, issuing citations when the maximum time limit for that spot is exceeded.
This is not going to entail extra hours by police officers or more staff, but will be part of being on-duty, said Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz. If a more important call comes in, of course, police will answer those first.
Parking meter vandalism has been an expensive problem for the city, said Kamlarz. He estimated that the city will lose $800,000 and $1 million of meter revenue by the end of this fiscal year. And this cost to the city does not count the 1,000 to 1,200 hours of staff time spent fixing the meters or the parts.
"25 cents is no big deal, but this is a million-dollar problem," said Kamlarz. "It's going to have an impact on services. If it doesn't change, we're going to have to cut back our services by $1 million."
But Kamlarz said that upping enforcement is only one approach the city hopes to employ to solve the vandalism problem. His office has also proposed to City Council that the police be allowed to issue more than one citation for a car that parks illegally for an entire day. Because the city can only issue one citation – if any at all are issued – people are willing to gamble on the ticket instead of seeking a parking garage or feeding the meter, said Kamlarz.
The city is also looking to work with the businesses on Telegraph Avenue, the worst hit part of the city, on a pilot project in which certain zones will be designated as one- or two-hour parking areas.
"The good news for auto drivers is that, in this pilot program, parking is free. But if they overextend their stay, then there's a double fine," said Kathy Berger, Executive Director of the Telegraph Area Association.
There has been a problem with commuters coming into Berkeley and staying in at spots with broken meters all day, said Berger. But businesses would prefer a higher turnover.
"The hoped-for result is more short-term parkers who want to do business in our area," she said.
"Those people who stay there all day long, do you think they're really shopping in our district?"
UC Police Captain Bill Cooper said that the university hasn't had a problem with meter vandalism because the university does not own that many, nor does it enforce the parking at meters near its campus. He did say that parking permit dispensing machines at their lots have sometimes been vandalized.
"We have occasional problems, but nothing lately," said Cooper.
St. Mary's slaughtered by league rival Salesian
The St. Mary's High baseball team is taking their lumps in the San Marin Tournament, following a 4-2 loss to Windsor on Monday with a 13-0 thumping by BSAL rival Salesian on Tuesday.
St. Mary's managed just three hits off of Salesian starter Derek Yow, and the Panthers' two inexperienced pitchers combined to walk nine in just four innings. Marcus Johnson took the loss, giving up 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
St. Mary's has just one experienced pitcher currently available, senior Joe Storno. St. MAry's head coach Andy Shimabukuro said he didn't want to throw Storno against the Chieftans and give them an early look at the pitcher who will have to carry the Panthers through the BSAL season.
"We've played three games in three days before," Shimabukuro said. "You've just got to go with what you've got."
Yow had four RBIs in the game, including a bases-loaded triple in the third inning during which the Chieftans sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs.
The Panthers will face El Cerrito at 10:30 a.m. today in the losers' bracket finale.
Don't turn tennis courts into parking lot
Sincerely, Senta Pugh Chamberlain
Dear Chancellor Berdahl,
On behalf of 622 petitioners, I ask you to not convert the six UC tennis courts on top of the Lower Hearst Parking Structure into 138 new parking spaces. The courts are a UC and community resource that benefits many people all day. The parked cars claim space and often benefit only one driver per car.
By agreement with the city and under the California Environmental Quality Act, it is promised that all the courts will be replaced. Such replacement is superior to what occurred when a total of ten courts were removed at the Tang Center and Strawberry Canyon, with just two replacement courts at Clark Kerr.
However, we think the Scenic courts should stay intact in the first place because:
a. The six courts are in walking distance for the dorm residents of Foothill, Stern, and the Co-ops, the future La Loma residence and the LBNL and the Northside community. If the Scenic courts go, the wait time for the three La Loma courts will prevent many students from using them for recreation.
b. Since the Tang and Strawberry courts have never been at all properly replaced, the Scenic courts should stay in place. The additional placement of new courts at Smyth Fernwalk would be a good thing to begin to take care of the recreational needs of a growing student population, especially when the 6 Bancroft and the 9 Channing courts also go, as is projected.
UC has many other options that would allow them to deal with the continuing problem of too few parking spaces for a constantly growing population of drivers.
a. A free Class/Eco pass for faculty and staff following the renewed UCLA project that is subsidized through one million dollars in parking permit revenues. This could include a "free ride-home" provision.
b. Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition is eager for creation of a North-South bike trail. This echoes the historical plan for an underground North-South campus passage. Mopeds and Vespas use could be encouraged with special parking permits and space.
c. Special space and permits for carpool parking could be encouraged, particularly at the Lower Hearst structure where the recreational space is at risk. If even 1/3 of each of the existing three levels were reserved for parking of cars with two or more passengers, the courts could be saved quite painlessly.
d. If these measures were done, it would be much easier for persons dropping off students to get to the University, not to mention the reduced pressure of fewer cars on the city of Berkeley and the environment.
e. Plans like those mentioned would be more fitting in a post-Sept. 11 world where the acceptability of any continued foreign oil dependency is coming into question, where the patriotism of using less gas and oil could well be a more important goal as the next years pass by. Isn't it appropriate for a University where leading scientists attend international conferences on Kyoto Accords and Greenhouse Warming, to use all its talent and intelligence to be a leader in planning for the coming transportation changes that may be necessary in this century.
By leaving the six Scenic tennis courts intact, perhaps by building more student housing near campus and striving to maintain good community relations by providing recreational space for students and town, UC will improve the quality of life in and around the campus. The press of cars on the streets of Berkeley as far away from the campus as two and three miles in the residential areas of the city is a constant source of bad will in Berkeley. A long term plan to reduce UC traffic would do a lot to heal some of the negative impact of this great, university in our midst.
You yourself, Chancellor Berdahl, during Charter Day ceremonies used the phrase "our university's most cherished values of improving the world and improving people's lives." We agree, and hope you will start the improvement by helping relieve the relentless pressure of university-related traffic on Berkeley's streets and continuing to sponsor recreation space for your students and larger university and general community.
Senta Pugh Chamberlain
RECENT ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT:
Daily Cal, 2/26/02:	"Berkeley should not accommodate polluting cars"
Berkeley Daily Planet
3/2-3/02:
"U.C.'s contradictory transit policy shows disregard for Berkeley"
"U.C. transit critic just doesn't understand"
"Restore transit before building more garages to increase traffic"
"Cal could coordinate with city in providing transit passes"
"U.C. must implement alternative transportation"
"All commuters are not equal"
3/23-24/02	"Fewer cars would mean more happy drivers"
"Give transit a chance and show just how different Berkeley is."
"Face facts about parking garage"
Today is Wednesday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2002. There are 272 days left in the year.
On April 3, 1860, the legendary Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif.
In 1865, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.
In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Mo., by Robert Ford, a member of James' gang.
In 1936, Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, N.J., for the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh infant.
In 1946, Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed outside Manila.
In 1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries.
In 1968, the day before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "mountaintop" speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers.
In 1968, North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up preliminary peace talks.
In 1982, Britain dispatched a naval task force to the south Atlantic to reclaim the disputed Falkland Islands from Argentina.
In 1996, an Air Force jetliner carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and American business executives crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.
In 1996, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was arrested.
Ten years ago: President Bush, speaking in Philadelphia, said members of Congress should shorten their annual sessions and retire after 12 years, calling for changes in "a failed status quo"; Democratic leaders accused Bush of "scapegoating."
Five years ago: About 2,000 youngsters in California and Georgia lined up for shots to protect them against hepatitis from a contaminated shipment of frozen strawberries.
One year ago: President Bush warned China it risked damaging relations with the United States unless it quickly released the American crew of a damaged Navy spy plane. (The plane had made an emergency landing in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter.)
Today's Birthdays: Actor Marlon Brando is 78. Actress-singer Doris Day is 78. Actress Miyoshi Umeki is 73. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is 72. Country singer Don Gibson is 70. Jazz musician Jimmy McGriff is 66. Actor William Gaunt is 65. Singer Jan Berry (Jan and Dean) is 61. Actress Marsha Mason is 60. Singer Wayne Newton is 60. Singer Billy Joe Royal is 60. Singer Tony Orlando is 58. Singer Richard Thompson is 53. Country musician Curtis Stone (Highway 101) is 52. Rock musician Mel Schacher (Grand Funk Railroad) is 51. Rock musician Mick Mars (Motley Crue) is 46. Actor Alec Baldwin is 44. Actor David Hyde Pierce is 43. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 41. Rock singer-musician Mike Ness (Social Distortion) is 40. Rock singer Sebastian Bach is 34. Actress Jennie Garth is 30. Actress Amanda Bynes is 16.
Experts dissect Enron, criticize reform legislation
A panel of experts dissected the Enron fiasco, and poked holes in the pension and accounting reform proposals that have emerged in the wake of the energy company's scandal, at a UC Berkeley seminar Tuesday.
"I don't think the legislation that is proposed so far is going to do much," said John Menke, president of Menke & Associates, a San Francisco firm, which designs and administers employee stock ownership plans.
Menke was particularly critical of pension reform legislation offered by Rep. George Miller, D-California, who represents portions of Contra Costa and Solano counties.
Many employers, like Enron, provide contributions to employee retirement plans in the form of company stock. Miller has proposed legislation that would allow employees to dump company stock after a year of participation in a retirement plan and diversify their holdings.
Miller says, if his legislation passes, employees' retirement plans would no longer be bound to the fortunes of companies like Enron.
But Menke objected to Miller's "Employee Pension Freedom Act" Tuesday, arguing that the employer contribution is a bonus offered by the company, and the company should have control over how it is invested, at least for a reasonable period of time.
Menke, acknowledging that some reform is inevitable, threw lukewarm support behind alternative legislation offered by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, which allows for diversification after three years.
Clancy Houghton, an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and former partner with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, attacked legislative proposals requiring companies to rotate auditing firms periodically.
"It takes awhile to get to know a client," Houghton said, arguing that rotations would lead to a decline in the quality of audits.
But current legislation was not the only topic of conversation. Panelists also suggested several reasons Enron and other companies are doctoring their books, and told investors how they can avoid losing money in similar meltdowns in the future.
Brett Trueman, UC Berkeley professor of accounting, said managerial compensation packages laden with stock options, and a growing number of "momentum investors" who hop into the market and penalize companies for falling short of earnings projections, encourage executives to hide losses.
Trueman also suggested that accounting firms who have large consulting contracts with clients, on top of auditing contracts, may be more willing to accept doctored financial statements and please the client.
Increasingly complex business transactions, and accounting standards that have not kept pace, Trueman said, only add to the problem.
Trueman suggested that investors look at the fine print of financial statements and calculate items, like long-term leases, that do not appear on typical balance sheets.
Bala Dharan, a professor of management at Rice University in Houston, Texas, walked through the early signs of Enron's collapse last year, including the Oct. 16 announcement of $618 million in losses and the Security and Exchange Commission's Oct. 22 announcement of a probe into Enron.
"Whenever the SEC announces a probe, settle," Dharan advised a packed house at UC Berkeley's Wood Krutch Theatre.
Dharan seemed to enjoy the attention.
"Usually, we accountants never get invited to anything," he joked. "All of a sudden, we're almost like rock stars."
Contact reporter David Scharfenberg at:
scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net.
Dead infant found in San Francisco's financial district
SAN FRANCISCO — Police are investigating the death of a premature infant found discarded in a financial district building's restroom.
A janitor found the baby wrapped in plastic in a women's restroom trash can on the 16th floor of an office building around 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Medical inspectors say the infant was a 27-week-old female, weighed two pounds and was 13 inches long. A full-term pregnancy lasts around 37 weeks.
The San Francisco Police Department's homicide unit has launched a criminal investigation into the baby's death and are still looking for a parent of the child.
"We would strongly encourage the mom to come forward," homicide inspector Maureen D'Amico told KPIX-TV. "This is a very sad, sensitive, delicate situation and we would like to give her the support — emotional and medical — that is needed. And we would like to give the baby a proper resting place."
On Tuesday, medical examiners conducted an autopsy on the fetus, Ackerson said. Investigators won't know whether the mother of the infant went through a miscarriage, an abortion or what killed the infant until they get the results of the autopsy.
Several law firms, a music company and a media company share the floor where the infant was found.
Investigators interviewed workers on Tuesday, but would not say whether they believe the mother is an employee at the building.
The restroom is unlocked and open to the public.
The building is under reasonably tight security. Employees use ID cards to get into their workplaces and must sign in at the front desk after hours.
VIP parking tightened at Oakland airport
OAKLAND — Oakland International Airport officials say they plan to tighten the rules for a free VIP parking lot next to the terminals.
Officials have said they were embarrassed by a recent report by the Oakland Tribune pointing out the large number of free parking permits handed out to former politicians and airport officials, judges, private business executives and even dead people.
Most airport travelers pay as much as $30 a day to park at the airport.
Aviation Director Steve Grossman suggested revoking parking privileges after four years and cutting down a list of 656 people who can park at the airport for free.
Some port commissioners criticized the plan for not going far enough.
Port Commission President Phil Tagami called for a plan barring politicians, business and community leaders, city officials and airline employees from parking in the lot for free. He said airport volunteers, employees and vendors, however, would continue to have the privilege.
El Cerrito mourns festive man
EL CERRITO — El Cerrito is mourning the man who was known for creating elaborate Christmas displays, which in the past attracted up to 70,000 tourists from as far away as Sacramento and San Jose.
Sundar Shadi died Friday at the age of 101.
From 1949 until failing eyesight forced him to retire in 1996, Shadi built Nativity displays on his sprawling hillside yard every Christmas. He created other displays as well, including an annual Halloween display and Thanksgiving exhibit.
When asked why he went to all the trouble, Shadi replied: "Everyone has a duty to do something for their fellow beings ... I was enjoying my life, nice wife, nice house, nice children. So I felt I ought to do something for the community."
Born in 1900 near Sargodha, which is now part of Pakistan, Shadi came to the United States in 1921. He married UC Berkeley professor Dorothy Clarke.
The El Cerrito Soroptimists Club is working to preserve what's left of Shadi's sculptures, including the farm scene and the Christmas Nativity scene.
San Jose airport starts runway construction
By Michelle R. Smith The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Seven flights were diverted and others were delayed Tuesday after construction began on a major runway at San Jose's international airport, one of three San Francisco Bay area airports renovating runways this summer.
Twenty-three arriving flights were delayed Tuesday because of fog, according to Noelle Knell, a spokeswoman for the San Jose airport.
Simultaneous projects at the area's three major airports mean some passengers could be sitting on their planes longer this summer, or even finding themselves landing at a different airport.
"This is the best time to complete this work," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jerry Snyder. "Just because you are going to have delays doesn't mean you don't do the necessary repairs and renovations."
In late May, a runway used mainly for private planes at Oakland International Airport will be closed for three to six weeks as it gets a new overlay. San Francisco International Airport is currently repaving its longest runway for 75 days during evenings and some weekends.
Until Tuesday, the San Jose flights would have been able to land in the fog on runway 30 Left, which is outfitted with a system to ease such landings. But that runway was closed at midnight Monday for a six-month-long project to reconstruct the old asphalt surface with concrete. All flights will now arrive and land on the same runway.
"People who have been on that runway may note it was a little bit of a bumpy ride, so this will improve that," Knell said. "They'll definitely notice the difference."
Knell said such diversions were infrequent, the most recent being a few months ago. Before that, a San Jose-bound flight hadn't been diverted for at least a year. She said some of the flights Tuesday were sent to Sacramento and Oakland. One landed at San Francisco International Airport, according to spokesman Ron Wilson.
"When you start diverting airplanes that's pretty serious," said Rich Burton, San Jose representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Controllers had asked the FAA to put off construction at San Jose because aircraft on the runway can't be seen from the tower. That wasn't a problem when all arrivals landed on one runway and departures left from another, according to Burton. But he said both arrivals and departures on the same runway are difficult to manage.
The FAA last Friday said the work could go ahead.
"I think a lot of people will be inconvenienced by the shortsightedness of the FAA and the airport," Burton said.
Aviation officials called Tuesday's diversions just part of the system used when weather closes an airport, and said more diversions could be in the cards for the summer if the weather gets bad.
"It's unusual for San Jose, but not unusual under the circumstances," Snyder said. "You deal with it and manage it as best you can."
At San Francisco International Airport, passengers likely won't notice that airport's construction, Wilson said. The project is scheduled for off hours, and a taxiway is being outfitted as a runway to accommodate smaller planes.
But Wilson said San Jose's construction could spill over and affect San Francisco travelers, especially during the airport's foggy and busy summer season.
"San Jose will be prone to diverting aircraft because one runway is down," Wilson said. "If San Jose has problems, that could mean flights are diverted to San Francisco, which could put additional burden on us, and could lead to additional delays."
"There's no good time to close a runway," Wilson said.
Mill Valley mother, child found safe after lost in Maui
HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii — Park rangers on horseback found a California woman and her 3 year-old-daughter Tuesday morning near a cabin in the crater of a dormant volcano on Maui, where they had spent the night after losing their way while hiking the day before.
Julie Reinganum of Mill Valley, Calif., and her daughter, Maya, were found near Holua cabin in the crater of Haleakala, said Karen Newton, chief ranger at Haleakala National Park. They had spent the night at another cabin, Kapalaoa cabin, Newton said.
Park operations chief Ron Martin spotted the two with binoculars Tuesday morning, and a ground crew was sent in on horseback to meet them, Newton said.
They were escorted from the park unharmed, park officials said.
The pair had been missing since Monday morning, when they got separated from a companion, Nadine Newlight of Maui, during a rainstorm.
Park visitors found Newlight on Monday night on the Sliding Sands trail, so cold that she had difficulty communicating. She was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center suffering from hypothermia.
The two women and the child had spent Sunday night at the Kapalaoa cabin, before setting off early Monday morning on the Halemanu'u trail, about 8,000 feet up on Haleakala's west slope, Newton said.
During a rest stop they were caught in a heavy rain shower, and Reinganum took the child in search of shelter toward the Sliding Sands trail, which is at a higher elevation.
The women became separated when Newlight paused to collect her belongings, Newton said. She tried to catch up to Reinganum but got lost, she said.
Park rangers, who did not learn of the incident until after sundown Monday, spent two hours hiking into the area where it seemed likely Reinganum would end up.
Paul McCartney packs Oakland Coliseum concert with Beatles tunes
By Kim Curtis The Associated Press
OAKLAND — Paul McCartney has nothing left to prove.
He's a Beatle. He's a knight. He's an honorary American. He's been everywhere, done everything.
But in Oakland Monday night, he showed up simply "to rock 'n' roll." And after a 2 1/2-hourlong feast for the eyes and ears, McCartney had done his job. He left a sell-out crowd of 15,000 satisfied.
With a non-stop set dominated by Beatles tunes from "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Yesterday" to "The End" and "Getting Better," which McCartney claimed had never before been performed in concert, he rocked, he rolled, he paid tribute to John Lennon and George Harrison, but, mostly, he brought the Beatles back to life. And the audience, dominated by gray-haired, 50-somethings who grew up with the Fab Four, loved him for it.
McCartney, who turns 60 in June, hit all the high points of his Beatles, Wings and solo years — a career that now spans more than four decades.
He's one of the best-selling songwriters and recording artists of all time. McCartney's 1970s band, Wings, scored seven No. 1 albums. In 1999, he was named the Greatest Composer of the Last 1,000 Years in a BBC poll, beating Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.
He's kept an especially high profile recently, showing up at the Academy Awards, the Superbowl and the Concert for New York City.
Monday was the opening night of his "Driving USA" tour, which will land in 19 cities through May 18.
A parade of costumed characters, from court jesters carrying balloons to contortionists to a man on stilts and a woman walking on a gigantic rolling ball, began the evening's entertainment. They frolicked in the audience and on stage until McCartney appeared in sillouette on a screen holding his famous violin-shaped Hofner bass guitar high in the air.
He was backed by a group of tight, well-rehearsed Los Angeles musicians, several of whom performed on McCartney's latest release, "Driving Rain."
McCartney was the consummate entertainer. He strained to hit a few high notes, he messed up some lyrics and his voice sounded a bit hoarse at times, but his energy was infectious.
Women screamed when, after a few songs, McCartney stripped off his charcoal jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his gray shirt.
He sang "All My Loving," against a bank of video screens that played black-and-white Beatles footage. He told the story of "Blackbird" and how it was meant to tell about the Civil Rights-era struggle of a young black girl.
The stripped-down, acoustic set, which McCartney says is the first time he's ever played guitar onstage without accompaniment, also featured "We Can Work it Out," "Mother Nature's Son," and "Carry That Weight," during which he was forced to improvise: "This is the part where I don't remember the words. Maybe I'll remember them by the end of the tour," he sang.
No one seemed to mind. The mistakes made him human, made the crowd love him even more. By the time he got to "Hey Jude," it was a full-fledged love-fest, with ear-to-ear grins and waving arms filling the auditorium.
He indulged the crowd with two encores, wrapping things up with "Sgt. Pepper" and fittingly, "The End."
Gemstar-TV Guide shares drop on accounting concerns
By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Executives of Gemstar-TV Guide International tried to calm nervous investors Tuesday as worries over its accounting practices sent its shares tumbling more than 37 percent.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, Gemstar said it recorded $107.6 million in revenue over the past 29 months from one company even though none of that money has been paid.
Gemstar said the revenue is owed by Scientific Atlanta, which makes cable television set-top boxes. The companies are locked in a patent dispute that is expected to drag on another three months after a judge with the International Trade Commission delayed his decision, expected last week, until June.
A separate disclosure that $20 million in advertising revenue from Gemstar's interactive program guide was non-cash caused two analysts to question Gemstar's assumptions about how fast revenue from its critically important IPG business is growing.
That news, combined with concerns over an abrupt management change announced last week, sent shares tumbling $5.35 to close at $9.01 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The two accounting procedures were approved by auditors and do not alter the company's business model or expectations, Gemstar chief executive officer Henry Yuen told analysts in a conference call.
"We do not have any accounting practice issues at all here," Yuen said. "Our financials were filed with a clean opinion from our auditors and therefore, in our opinion and theirs, the recognition of revenues are reasonable and fair and appropriate."
Yuen emphasized that Gemstar is signing up new advertisers for its guide, including major broadcast and cable networks.
Last week, the company reported that advertising revenue increased 339 percent in 2001, from $23.1 million to $101.4 million. Tuesday, Yuen said that reducing that amount by $20 million, which came in the form of bartered advertising time, does not alter the company's outlook.
"Even if that amount is taken out, there is still huge growth," Yuen said. "We actually wanted to build a real new media and we did that. The viability of this new media is absolutely not in question."
Earlier Tuesday, analysts questioned Gemstar's "aggressive accounting," although John Corcoran, who follows the company for CIBC World Markets, said Gemstar did not violate accounting rules. Still, he questioned the wisdom of the company's decisions.
"The additional disclosure ... reveals accounting treatment that could have significant implications for the company going forward," Corcoran said in a note he issued Tuesday.
Corcoran downgraded the stock Tuesday and lowered his earnings estimates, citing the stock's volatility. Jessica Reif Cohen at Merrill Lynch maintained her "strong buy" rating, saying Tuesday's stock slide was "overblown."
Scientific Atlanta allowed its license agreement with Gemstar to expire in 1999. Gemstar subsequently sued the company for continuing to ship boxes that contained an interactive programming guide Gemstar claims is based on its patents.
Gemstar said it decided to continue to log revenue on its books based on its expectation that it will win its lawsuit and Scientific Atlanta will have to pay those amounts.
Microsoft's linking competitors with state adversaries may not be enough
By D. Ian Hopper The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Microsoft Corp. is using a potentially risky strategy to avoid tough antitrust penalties, legal experts say. The company is portraying states that want the penalties as tools of its competitors.
San Francisco antitrust lawyer Dana Hayter said Microsoft has to prove more than a close relationship exists between the states and the technology companies that compete with Microsoft, the world's largest software company. The company also has to show that the penalties the states are seeking won't benefit consumers.
"The only reason helping competitors is bad is if it helps competitors but not customers," Hayter said. "But if it helps customers by helping competitors, that's the point of antitrust."
Over the past two weeks of penalty hearings before a federal judge, Microsoft has argued that its largest rivals are using the nine states that refused to accept the federal settlement with Microsoft to pummel the company for their own marketplace losses.
For their part, the states say the tough antitrust penalties they're seeking are the product of listening to both sides in the debate and reaching their own conclusions.
Only the opinion of U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly counts, and it remains unclear how she will react to Microsoft's strategy in deciding the company's punishment for breaking antitrust law and cutting back on consumer choices.
The nine states want Kollar-Kotelly to force Microsoft to create a stripped-down version of its flagship Windows software that could incorporate competitors' features. The states also want Microsoft to divulge the blueprints for its Internet Explorer browser.
In questioning the states' witnesses, Microsoft lawyers have tried to show that its rivals hope to get from the court what they couldn't pry away from Microsoft in the marketplace. Those rivals, the lawyers argued, fed ideas to the states and even shaped their proposed penalties.
"You do personally harbor an intense dislike for my client, Microsoft," lawyer Dan Webb asked former Intel executive Steven McGeady last week.
McGeady acknowledged calling Microsoft an "evil corporation" and referring to its lawyers as "bozos." McGeady testified during the liability phase of the trial, and said he was angered that Intel shut down his pet program at Microsoft's insistence.
Later, Microsoft confronted Novell chief technology officer Carl Ledbetter with an agenda for a meeting between Novell and Microsoft representatives. In it, Novell planned to "discuss how Novell could help Microsoft in its current legal discussions" if Microsoft agreed to make a Novell product work better with Windows.
A Microsoft attendee wrote that Ledbetter "made clear that if we did this deal with Novell, he would talk with the (Justice Department) and certain senators," according to Microsoft lawyer Michael Lacovera.
"I think I said it was clear they could go either way," Ledbetter said.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller dismissed Microsoft's strategy as "both silly and a diversion." He said hearing from the competitors is the only way the states could decide what antitrust penalties to seek, particularly in such a technology-heavy case.
"The whole idea in our situation is to get both sides of the story," Miller said. "We've told the Microsoft competitors 'no' more often than we've told them 'yes."'
Microsoft will get a chance this week to question witnesses from two more rivals, Sun Microsystems and AOL Time Warner.
Microsoft attacked archrival AOL on the first day of the hearings, producing an AOL document outlining antitrust remedies that later turned up in the states' proposal. Microsoft released a similar e-mail from handheld computer leader Palm in which it proposed changes that later appeared verbatim in the states' remedies.
"If the touchstone of an antitrust remedy is supposed to be consumer welfare and not competitor welfare," Webb told the court, "then the nonsettling states' remedy, designed to benefit our competitors without regard to the impact on consumers, is wrong, and it shouldn't happen."
Mitchell Kertzman, head of the interactive television software firm Liberate Technologies, testified Tuesday. Kertzman said strong remedies are needed to protect Liberate and other nascent competitors from Microsoft's dominance.
Microsoft's interactive television program is struggling compared to Liberate, though the firm has made significant investment in cable companies.
Microsoft lawyer Webb accused Kertzman of trading his public position in the antitrust case in return for a deal that would have had Liberate purchase Microsoft's interactive television business. The deal did not occur.
Kertzman said he changed his opinion on whether Microsoft should be broken in two for his own reasons, not to entice Microsoft to make the deal.
On the Net: Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com
National Association of Attorneys General on Microsoft case: http://www.naag.org/features/microsoft/law/index.cfm
PeopleSoft shares skid after first-quarter revenue warning
NEW YORK — The stock of PeopleSoft Inc. dropped sharply Tuesday after the maker of business software warned that first-quarter revenue would be well below Wall Street's expectations.
The Pleasanton, Calif., company said new software licenses would be $130 million to $135 million in its first quarter, or more than 20 percent below the mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. The company expects to post quarterly earnings from recurring operations of 14 cents a share, below the 15-cent consensus estimate.
Analysts were surprised by the magnitude of the license revenue miss. Several bulls, including Goldman Sachs & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston, rushed to downgrade their ratings on the popular business-software maker. Some fear an 18-month-old product upgrade is winding down and its cross-selling of new products has slowed.
In trading Tuesday, shares of PeopleSoft fell $12.21, or 33 percent, to $25.16 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Some of the company's supporters highlighted the fact that the projected earnings miss was minimal, despite the license revenue shortfall. They also noted that maintenance and consulting revenue appear to be in line with expectations.
"We see this miss more as evidence of the difficult spending climate than an indication of a serious misexecution problem," said Jim Mendelson, analyst at SoundView Technology Group, who kept his strong buy rating.
PeopleSoft executives told analysts that no one product or geography accounted for the shortfall. Lower activity across the board caused the delay of both large and small contracts, rather than competitive losses, executives told analysts. The company did not hold a conference call and will release final results April 25.
Critics, however, see more problems ahead for the company. PeopleSoft's results were buoyed by the introduction of a new version of its flagship product, PeopleSoft 8, in August 2000 and that upgrade is losing steam. Sales of a customer relationship management product launched last June have also slowed, the critics say.
PeopleSoft's shortfall, which follows similarly disappointing results from rival Oracle Corp. in its February quarter, reignited a debate on Wall Street about whether investors' expectations for the software sector remain too optimistic.
BHS slugger leads the 'Jackets in Giambi, Bonds fashion
By Nathan FoxDaily Planet Correspondent
Matt Toma is a home run king. Last spring as a junior, Toma led his Berkeley High School Yellowjackets squad in long balls. He is not without some measure of pride when he says this.
Toma tells me about his 2001 home run crown, conjuring images of recently departed Jason Giambi leading his Oakland Athletics last year with 38 bombs, and of Barry Bonds (of course) leading his San Francisco Giants (and the rest of the planet) with a staggering 73. Bonds, Giambi, Toma — the big boppers of the Bay Area.
But Toma is uncharacteristically sheepish when asked how many dingers it took to lead his team last season.
That's because the number is two.
Berkeley coach Tim Moellering laughs when told this story.
"Well, he is smart," says Moellering. "But to his credit, he could have had more. He hit a couple long balls at places without fences."
Those must have been some deep drives. Doubles, triples - couldn't Toma have beaten any of the relay throws all the way around the bases for inside-the-park home runs?
"No," says Moellering.
Toma is a catcher. A first baseman. A cleanup hitter. Draw your own conclusions about Toma's speed but at 6-foot and 210 pounds, Toma is also an offensive guard – he started there for the Yellowjackets this fall, and filled in at defensive tackle as well. Next fall Toma will attend a Division II or III school, where he will likely play both sports.
"I could probably play a higher level baseball," says Toma, "but my size restricts me from playing offensive guard at that level. I'm being pretty heavily recruited for baseball at Pomona College and Amherst College, and I'm also looking at a small college in southern Wisconsin — Beloit — and at UC San Diego."
Toma's girlfriend, Berkeley High second baseman Emily Friedman, will be heading to the University of Wisconsin at Madison on a softball scholarship.
Toma, an excellent student, intends to pursue political science, government, or pre-law. Moellering thinks that Toma's decision on a lower-level college is a wise one.
"I think he could be a Division I hitter," says Moellering. "But choosing somewhere that he'll be able to play, and that is also a good academic institution, is a very intelligent and mature decision on his part. I think he'll be able to play football and baseball at any one of them."
Toma, who was a unanimous first-team all-leaguer in football this year, and third-team All-East Bay, wants to keep playing football but says that baseball is still his favorite sport – "by far."
During last season's playoffs, Berkeley faced Deer Valley's Dan Denham in the first round, giving Toma his toughest test to date. Denham, who became the 15th overall pick in the major league draft in June, has a 94-mph fastball and is now a top pitching prospect in the Cleveland Indians ball club. Denham bulldozed the Yellowjackets, 4-0, but Toma was one for three with a line-drive single to right field – an at-bat he treasures as a highlight of his prep career.
"It was fun facing somebody at that level," says Toma. "It was amazing to learn that I could hit against somebody like that."
Yes - Toma can hit. He hit .400 on the nose last year, with a Giambi-esque .493 on-base percentage. And perhaps most impressively, he struck out in league exactly as often as he went deep – only twice.
"It's pretty rare to find a power hitter who doesn't strike out very often," says Moellering. "He can spray the ball all over the diamond, and has power the opposite way. He doesn't have a weak spot."
Toma hopes that his production in the cleanup spot will help boost the 'Jackets to a league title.
"It's just a matter of playing to our full potential," says Toma. We should be able to beat any team we play - whether or not we do is up to the baseball gods."
Hopefully the baseball gods will keep smiling on Matt Toma. If they do, Barry Bonds might want to look over his shoulder. Toma is at two – and counting.
League, the Hearst zoning is consistent with Plan
Zelda Bronstein,ChairPlanning Commission
The League of Women Voters is a venerable organization noted for its commitment to fair and candid dialogue about public affairs. It was thus disappointing to read the letter from the officers of the League's local chapter that appeared in the Planet's Easter weekend edition (March 30-31).
That letter accuses the City Council, the Planning Commission and the Hearst-Curtis-Delaware Neighborhood Association of succumbing to "fear of change," manifest in the recent downzoning of the 1100 block of Hearst Avenue from R-3 to R-2A. The downzoning, the LWV contends, betrays the principles of the Housing and Land Use Elements of the city's newly updated General Plan, approved first by the Commission and then by the Council in the latter part of 2001. According to the League, "Those policies and those documents are meaningless, and all those years of study and public input are wasted, if they can be set aside so soon after their adoption."
In fact, the downzoning of the 1100 block of Hearst is in keeping with both the letter and the spirit of the revised General Plan. As the League observes, the Plan calls for increased housing to be built along transit corridors. But the League then goes on to contend that: "[s]urely, the concept of increasing apartment development along transportation corridors also includes encouraging or at least permitting such development in appropriately zoned areas very close to transit corridors." On the contrary: the new General Plan nowhere encourages or permits new construction on areas "very close to transit corridors." As even a brief visit to the area makes clear, there is a marked difference between San Pablo Avenue and the adjacent 1100 block of Hearst Avenue. The Plan formally recognizes that difference by designating San Pablo as a Major Street and the 1100 block of Hearst Avenue as a Local Street.
The League also fails to note that the first goal of the Land Use Element is "to maintain the character of Berkeley." Policy LU-3, dealing with in-fill development, states: "Encourage sensitively designed, thoughtfully planned in-fill development that is compatible with neighboring land uses and architectural design and scale." Policy LU-7, treating neighborhood quality of life, reads: "Preserve and protect the quality of life in Berkeley's residential areas through careful land use decisions." And the first goal of the entire General Plan is to "[p]reserve Berkeley's unique character and quality of life."
2. The League seems to think that the policies informing the General Plan are perfectly consistent with one another. That is not the case. The goal of increasing housing — especially affordable housing — is in tension with the goal of preserving and protecting the special character of Berkeley, and the distinctive quality of residential neighborhoods in particular. In our dense, built-out city, this tension is not going to disappear; it can only be carefully negotiated, project by project, site by site, through the city's discretionary zoning process.
When it approved the Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation to downzone the 1100 block of Hearst, the City Council successfully conducted just such a negotiation. It balanced the competing goals of new housing construction and neighborhood preservation. The League would have us believe that the newly applied R-2A category forecloses any further development on this block. But the R-2A zoning actually permits an additional 22 housing units to be added to the 45 existing units, for a total of 67 units--an increase of about fifty percent. In other words, it allows for a moderate amount of change that will respect the medium-density character of the neighborhood.
A final note: it has become commonplace for advocates of "the sky's the limit" development to accuse their critics of fearing change. What a simplistic charge! Are we really expected to believe that all change is for the better?
The new General Plan provides a conceptual framework for judicious decision-making that evaluates proposals for development in accordance with the complex, nuanced character of Berkeley's settlement and life.
Zelda Bronstein,
The Enron Debacle: What Happened and What's Next?
9-noon
Clark Kerr conference Center
Wood Krutch Theater
keynote speaker Bala Dharan, J. Howar Creekmore Professor of Management at the Jesse H. Jones graduate school of management at Rice University will explore the complex issues surrounding the demise of Enron, implications for the accounting profession and its widespread implications for the stock market and its supporting institutions. The event is organized by the Center for Financial Reporting and Management at UC Berkeley.
For more information call 642-0324.
Don George (Travel Editor Lonely Planet Publications
Monthly birthday party will feature The Dixieland jazz Band, asteswingers and refreshments.
1901 Hearst St.
For more information, 981-5190.
Melody Ermachild Chavis: "Reporting from Recent Trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan"
For more information, 415-285-9734
The Huston Smith Series on Religion: Why Religion Matters
Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin St. in San Francisco
World renowned expert on Islam, Dr. Seyyed Nasr, to speak on Why Islam Matters
Free, on-going meetings 1st & 3rd Thursdays, emphasizing metaphysical topics. (510) 848-6510.
Enrique Dussel, pioneering scholar of the philosophy of liberation and a leading figure in Latin American liberation theology will present his recent work in "Modernity, coloniality and Capitalism in the World System."
For more information, call 649-2464
Stop Sweatshops! Teach-in
War in Colombia: A Panel Discussion
2601 Warring St.
Fore more information, call 796-0663
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its second annual Noche Latina event. This fund raiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Ave.
Sunday, Apr. 7
Minding the Body, Inc, a nonprofit corporation, is hosting a Fundraising Festival called Peace it Together
2218 Acton St. between Bancroft and Allston streets. Proceeds will help send an emissary from the Bay Area (Elise Peeples—mediator, author and activist) to exchange peacemaking skills with people from all over the world at the 10th Annual International Conference on Conflict Resolution in St. Petersburg, Russia in May.
There will be: Participatory Booths, Jugglers, Storytellers, Performance Art, Co-creation of Music, Poetry and Art and a Vegetarian Potluck
For more information, please visit our web site at MindingTheBody.org or e-mail elise@mindingthebody.org.
Alta Bates renovation could go forward today
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, the only hospital that provides emergency services in Berkeley, may finally get to work on renovating its emergency department, if the Zoning Adjustments Board approves its plan at tonight's meeting.
It's a project 10 years in the making that keeps changing all along the way. The proposal now on the table – which dates back to 1999 – asks for a use permit to renovate the inside of the hospital's emergency department and reconfigure its parking area and driveways.
The largest external change would be to create a second door and driveway for ambulances. Currently, one door serves as the gateway for ambulances and private cars so that gurneys compete for space with people who have less serious injuries.
"We're not changing the footprint," said Debbie Pitts, an Alta Bates spokesperson.
The ZAB decides today whether to approve the plan as is, approve with conditions, deny or continue the process. The public hearing closed March 14, so tonight's meeting will only consist of board member discussion and questions directed to staff.
Alta Bates neighbors, who have had a rocky 20-year relationship with the hospital, are generally pleased with the proposal.
Debbie Leveen, co-chair of the Interneighborhood Hospital Review Committee, said that the only major point of contention is the circulation pattern on Colby Street.
The new driveway for ambulances is too close to a tot park and residences, she said. Currently, vehicles only travel halfway down the block. But the new plan routes vehicles down to the cul-de-sac to turn around and pull into the hospital.
"We need just a bit more of a buffer between the hospital traffic and the neighborhood," she said. IHRC would like the cul-de-sac to be moved 30 to 50 feet northward and the space between the new cul-de-sac and the park to be landscaped.
She said the cost could be paid by the hospital in exchange for the city's sale of the sidewalk on the east side of the driveway that they need to widen the space for ambulances.
"We say moving the cul-de-sac could be part of buying the sidewalk because they have to provide some benefit to the city for getting it," said Leveen.
She said the city may also pitch in if the cost is too high for the hospital.
But Leveen acknowledged that the IHRC proposal may not be practical because it is already very late in the game. Although the group met with hospitals officials a week ago Friday, she does not think their plan can be incorporated, reviewed and approved by April 25. The Permit Streamlining Act requires the ZAB take final action on this project on or before that date.
She said that if the plan were approved as is, the neighbors would probably appeal the decision to the City Council. They will not be able to speak, but they will probably carry signs that say "Continue the progress," asking the ZAB to extend the permit review so that their suggestion can be incorporated.
Public Relations Director Carolyn Kemp emphasized the urgency of the renovation project. "The emergency department was built in the 60s for 12,000 patients. Today, we see over 45,000 patients a year in space that it's not designed for," said Kemp.
Without expanding beyond the current walls, the hospital plans to create wider, more efficient spaces.
"We've got issues of confidentiality and dignity when there are people going through triage and being asked personal questions in front of the security guard and the person behind them," said Kemp.
Warren White, a dialysis patient who came to the emergency department on Friday after his head started swelling from a kidney failure, confirmed the uncomfortable conditions.
"I didn't have too much privacy," he said Monday while he was taking a break in front of the hospital.
"There were lots of people standing around when I was talking to the triage nurse."
Although he said he saw a sign that said "If you don't have enough privacy, tell the nurse," he said he did not pipe up about it because he was too sick to say much of anything.
Leveen said that the neighbors have tried to be sensitive to the hospital's concerns and put behind them past grievances. "We've had an unfortunate history with Alta Bates. They've been less than forthright with us in the past. But we know people are suffering and we know there are tremendous financial problems. We're willing to be reasonable," she said.
But they have wanted to be extra watchful because of the hospital's recent mergers and takeover.
"We wanted to make sure there was a careful public review because now it's part of Sutter Hospital," said Leveen. Sutter Health took over Alta Bates after Alta Bates merged with Summit Hospital in 1999. Sutter oversees 33 hospitals in Northern California.
"We kind of imagine that the decisions here might be made by an outside entity that would do what it wants and not what Berkeley wants," she said.
But IHRC also recognizes that Alta Bates supplies the only emergency services in Berkeley.
"We're very concerned that there still be an emergency department in Berkeley," Leveen said.
But if the city stymies the needed renovation, Kemp cautioned, the hospital would have to think about moving its emergency department elsewhere.
"If it grows increasingly difficult to do what we feel we have to do, then we will have to consider alternatives," she said.
Leveen wishes the city could make the emergency department a condition of approval, but knows that it cannot because of a 1997 court settlement between Alta Bates and the city.
The judge in 1997 gave the hospital an unusual use permit that allowed the hospital itself to determine how its space would be used because a city might not know how best to design a hospital. Most use permits specify the kinds of units a developer can build and to what use they will be put.
A condition of this special use permit, however, was that the hospital abide by city-ordained regulations for minimizing traffic and parking impacts.
"It's as if there's a wall around the Ashby campus and the city is monitoring from the outside," said Margaret Kavanaugh-Lynch, the city's senior planner in charge of the project.
The hospital would be subject to January reviews. If it is found to be creating impacts of over five percent, the city has developed a schedule of remedy and review. The ZAB is authorized to impose remediation strategies, including "decanting," which means that the hospital would have to shift services to another campus.
Leveen said that the neighborhood is especially pleased that the ZAB has some teeth in enforcing violations. She thinks it is one area in which neighborhood participation has really made a difference.
Indeed, Alta Bates wants to work with residents, said Pitts. Although it has the right to build a six-story building to be called the "East Building" because of a 1983 permit, she said, the hospital scrapped plans for the new building.
"We want to be good neighbors," said Pitts.
Postal Service must stop cutting its services to save finances
Dr. Mickey Frazier Sr.
The Postal Service is facing a financial crisis. They are looking anywhere and everywhere trying to cut costs. They incurred a $1.68 billion deficit in fiscal 2001 and this year does not look any better.
The only answer to this problem has been cut, cut & cut. They have cut enough and service is suffering. It is now time for Postal managers, supervisors and employees to come up with some creative ideas to help save funds. Clearly, with the additional 911 losses, the postal service has to rethink the way they view their assets.
One of their most overlooked assets is in the form of their real estate holdings. The Postal Service owns thousands of large buildings free and clear. By taking equity out of the buildings and putting it into their core operations they can give this cash strapped organization the infusion of cash it so desperately needs.
One way to accomplish this is through a sale -leaseback. The Postal Service would sale hundreds of the buildings they occupy and lease them back from the new owner.
There are three primary advantages. First, the Postal Service keeps the building that fits its needs. Second, the infusion of funds can have a positive effect on the bottom line. Third, they can stabilize the price of stamps for years which would end the constant rate hikes.
Orchestrating a successful sale-leaseback transaction requires a thorough knowledge of the real estate and investment markets, as well as the ability to evaluate tenant credit worthiness. They can work with workers within the service or this service can be contracted out.
Look at one example. The Marina Process and Distribution Center sits in a prime location on about 20 acres in Inglewood, California. The 228,000 square foot building could fetch around $100 million dollars. There are dozens of corporations and institutional investors who would love to have an interest in this prime location. The third most profitable Home Depot in America, located across the street, has expressed interest in the land. Many real estate experts feel the acres are under utilized. They utilize about 228,000-sq. feet. They have over 900,000-sq. feet.
The plan is to take advantage of the real estate situation and better leverage these assets so they can continue to build on their core services. They could sell the building and land for $100 Million.
Roughly 60% or $60 Million will come up front in net proceeds. The remaining $40 Million balance can be paid at a negotiated date. This move would improve our cash position immediately and help us with our bottom line. Keep in mind that everything in a lease is negotiable. They could negotiate a 10-year $250,000 (top end) month lease with another 10-year option and still come out ahead. They could start the lease at $200,000/month and top out at $250,000 in the final years. Ten years (120/months) at $250,000 every month is only $30 Million. They raised $60 Million up front with the sale. They need funds now! The Postal Service can raise capital by monetizing the value of their real estate assets today.
There are thousands of properties all over the country owned free and clear that can be sold and leased-back.
In short, the Postal Service is better off putting their capital to work in their core business rather than tying it up in real estate. There are creative options that can be used to bring in funds today.
They must remind themselves, if they don't become creative and use their options today, they may not have a tomorrow.
Some athletics included in school district budget cuts
Community members and Berkeley High School administrators are questioning athletic cuts already approved by the Board of Education, and debating further cuts suggested by district administration.
One proposal in particular – demoting boys' and girls' crew to club status – is generating strong controversy.
The school board, which faces a roughly $5.4 million deficit next year, approved an initial wave of $3.8 million in cuts Feb. 27. Those cuts included the elimination of one team for any sport fielding three – freshman, junior varsity and varsity.
The move, expected to save the district $34,500, would affect seven sports, according to BHS Athletic Director Robert Traum – football, baseball, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' basketball and girls' volleyball.
Traum said the move makes sense, in tight times, since physical education classes incorporate all the skills involved in those sports.
But some coaches and athletes are upset by the cuts.
"This will have a dramatic effect," said Vincent Trahan, head coach for the BHS boys' junior varsity basketball team, arguing that freshman and junior varsity squads serve as important training grounds for varsity teams.
"If they're not playing basketball and football, kids will be out getting into gangs and fights," added Ottis Gaskin, a BHS senior and lacrosse player.
BHS Co-principal Laura Leventer said high school administrators have similar concerns. As a result, the school's "shared governance team," which includes teachers and administrators, voted last week to recommend a shift in board policy.
The team will ask the board to withdraw the cuts in freshman and junior varsity athletics, and charge each of Berkeley High's 1,000 student-athletes a $75 transportation fee to generate revenue.
Low-income students would be eligible for fee reductions through the Berkeley Athletic Fund, a private fundraising group.
School board members reached by the Planet cautioned that they would need to see a financial analysis before making a decision, but said the idea was an interesting one.
"I'm open to that," said board member Terry Doran.
The athletic department developed the transportation fee proposal and the controversial crew recommendation earlier this year, according to Traum, and both appeared as items for "further analysis" in a budget document issued by Superintendent Michele Lawrence in February. The board has not yet formally considered, or voted upon either proposal.
BHS crew, the only public school squad in California, is not quite a "full sport." Like rugby or frisbee, crew is not recognized by the California Interscholastic Federation, a statewide body that governs high school sports. As a result, the program does not have to abide by the CIF rules that apply for full sports like basketball or volleyball. Crew athletes, for instance, can train year-round while basketball players cannot.
But, like a full sport, the crew program receives district funding for coaches and transportation, and physical education credit for its athletes.
If the board officially made crew a club sport, the district would cut off about $12,000 in funding, leaving rowers and parents, who already raise significant sums to supplement coaches' salaries and pay for equipment, to shoulder the full cost of the program.
The move would also strip rowers of credit for physical education classes.
Traum said the shift is only fair. Other sports that he equates with crew – club sports like frisbee, mountain biking and rugby – do not receive funding and physical education credit.
"It's hard to have a double-standard," Traum said. "How do you tell mountain biking, how do you tell rugby, that they can't get p.e. credit?"
Traum attributes crew's status to a "powerful parent lobby," intent on maintaining physical education credit, and freeing up space in their children's school schedules for other classes. He predicts that the board would have a difficult time bucking that lobby.
But David Biale, parent of a student on the girls crew team, said there are valid reasons for crew's status.
"Our daughters have seven workouts a week during the Spring season – five in the very early morning, two in the afternoon," Biale said, adding that rowers condition in the fall as well. "There's an enormous time commitment these girls are making...It's certainly appropriate for them to get p.e. credit."
School board members Ted Schultz and Doran said it only seemed fair that rowers, like other athletes, should get physical education credit. Doran said that, even if the district withdraws funding, it should make an exception for crew and continue to provide p.e. credit.
Molly Brannigan, coach of the girls' crew team, said demoting the squad to club status would be a blow to the rowers' pride.
"Berkeley High School is the only public high school in California with a crew team," she said, noting that the rowers square off against club teams in the area that pluck the cream of the crop from dozens of high schools. "We're proud that we're a school team."
Friday deaths double city's homicide rate
By Devona Walker Daily Planet staff
On Friday, 25-year-old Raymond Smith and 54-year-old Dwight Leeray both died at Highland Hospital from unrelated assaults, effectively doubling Berkeley's homicide rate for the year.
Last year there was only one homicide in the city, and it occurred in late December. Twenty-one-year-old Lazarus Ortega was arrested in connection with the murder of his mother, Charlotte Ortega, a teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School in Oakland.
On Jan. 22 two men were shot in the head on 64th Street while sitting in their car. Rammar Johnson, 28, died at Highland Hospital that evening and Noel Turner, Jr., 29, died a few days later. Both men were residents of Oakland.
Only Leeray was a Berkeley resident. He was attacked at 1:20 a.m. Feb. 24 during the course of a strong-arm robbery that occurred in the area of Telegraph Avenue and Webster Street. The victim was allegedly sitting on a bus bench when two men approached him from behind to rob him. One suspect allegedly held Leeray while the other went through his pockets, according to a police report.
Bryant Davis, a 37-year-old Oakland resident and Michael Porter, a 32-year-old Berkeley resident are both beind held at the Santa Rita jail.
According to Berkeley Police Chief Dash Butler because this assault occurred during the course of a robbery it could present a special circumstance and the two suspects, if convicted could possibly be facing the death penalty.
Smith, a resident of San Pablo, was shot to death on March 23 at approximately 11:30 p.m. in the area of Russel and McGee. Accoridng to Lt. Cynthia Harris, the suspect and victim had been gambling before the shooting borke out. There is no suspect in custody in this case.
And as of the double homicide in January, those suspects too are still at-large.
The police department has posted a reward in connection with the January shootings but still no one has come forward.
"No one has responded to the announcement of a reward," said Harris. "And there were no prints left on the scene."
Harris said she believes there are in fact witnesses out in the community who are just afraid to come forward, and she urges them to do so.
Though officials of the Berkeley Police Department say they have not been receiving more phone calls from the community about safety in the neighborhood or increased pressure from the city, they have stepped up their patrols in South Berkeley.
"We have increased patrol in South Berkely because we're concerned," Harris said. " Weknew we were going to have to address this. So at this point we are addressing it by an increased pressence."
Harris said the extra patrol cars will be scouting out any and all criminal activity.
She called the police department's effort a combination of community policing and strictly-enforcement.
"I think the residents will welcome our added presence, but the criminal element I don't think they will," Harris added.
Coincidentally, around the same time of the most recent homicide residents in South Berkeley held their monthly neighborhood meeting and ivited Chief Butler, Mayor Shirley Dean, City Manager Weldon Rucker and others to receive an update from the city about increased violence and drug activity in the negibhorhood.
Piror to January several telephone calls had been made by community members into city hall as well as the police department about increased violence in South Berkeley.
Today is Tuesday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2002. There are 273 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy."
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.
In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.
In 1805, storyteller Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark.
In 1860, the first Italian Parliament met at Turin.
In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.
In 1872, Samuel F.B. Morse, developer of the electric telegraph, died in New York.
In 1932, aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and Dr. John F. Condon turned over $50,000 in ransom to an unidentified man in a Bronx, N.Y., cemetery in exchange for Lindbergh's kidnapped son. (The child, however, was not returned, and was found dead the following month.)
In 1942, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded "American Patrol" at the RCA Victor studios in Hollywood.
In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou died in Paris.
In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.)
Ten years ago: Mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering; he was later sentenced to life in prison. French Premier Edith Cresson, who had served 10 turbulent months as France's first woman prime minister, resigned after election setbacks for the ruling Socialists. The space shuttle Atlantis returned from a nine-day mission.
Five years ago: The White House released documents showing how eager it had been to exploit the money-drawing powers of President Clinton and Vice President Gore during the 1996 campaign while coordinating with the Democratic Party's fund-raising machine.
One year ago: President Bush demanded that China promptly return a U.S. spy plane and its crew members. (The plane had made an emergency landing in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter.) Duke won its third national men's basketball championship with an 82-to-72 victory over Arizona.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Buddy Ebsen is 94. Actor Dabbs Greer is 85. Actress Sharon Acker is 67. Singer Leon Russell is 61. Jazz musician Larry Coryell is 59. Actress Linda Hunt is 57. Singer Emmylou Harris is 55. Actress Pamela Reed is 53. Actress Debralee Scott is 49. Actor Ron Palillo is 48. Actor Chris Meloni is 41. Singer Keren Woodward (Bananarama) is 41. Country singer Billy Dean is 40. Actor Isaiah Washington is 39. Rock musician Greg Camp (Smash Mouth) is 35. Rock musician Tony Fredianelli (Third Eye Blind) is 33. Actor Jeremy Garrett is 26.
A tardy note from the Department of Transportation
PITTSBURGH — Slackers and sleepyheads now have a new excuse for getting to work late, courtesy of the state of Pennsylvania.
The state Department of Transportation is offering Pittsburgh residents ready-made excuse cards on the Internet allowing them to blame their tardiness on the Fort Pitt Tunnel and bridge construction project.
A PennDOT Web site — www.epenndot.com — devoted to the three-year, $60 million repair project allows the city's 75,000 daily commuters to click on "Excuse Me!" and fill out a form explaining their untimeliness.
The forms have blanks for users to type in their bosses' names, their names and one of five excuses for being late. The reasons range from construction on the tunnels to "the sun in my eyes on the way to work."
There's even the old classic, "because my puppy chewed up my assignment."
The excuses are signed by PennDOT spokesman Dick Skrinjar and have the agency's official logo.
"We felt obligated to create a valid excuse card for motorists to use during the closing of the Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel. We now have a way for those affected by the closure and slackers," Skrinjar joked.
The Fort Pitt Tunnel connects the city's two largest arteries — Interstates 376 and 279, known locally as the Parkway East and West — which carry about 145,000 vehicles a day.
Attorneys argue over John Walker Lindh's conspiracy
By Larry MargasakThe Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors acknowledged Monday they do not have evidence that John Walker Lindh killed Americans in Afghanistan. But a federal judge said that would not be necessary to prove Lindh joined a conspiracy to murder Americans as a Taliban fighter.
When District Judge T.S. Ellis III asked whether the government's case included alleged attempts by Lindh to kill American citizens, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly replied, "At the moment, I am not aware of it."
Another prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis, added that "there's no allegation of personal involvement" by Lindh in the killing of Johnny Micheal Spann, a CIA agent who was slain during a prison uprising in Afghanistan at which Lindh was present.
Ellis said that as the government framed the broad conspiracy case, "You are not required to show that he shot at Americans." Later, the judge denied a defense motion for more details on the charges, saying, "I don't read the indictment as pointing to a specific murder," but rather as one of Lindh allegedly joining a broad conspiracy by al-Qaida and the Taliban to kill Americans around the world.
During the hearing on defense motions for numerous government documents and interviews, however, the judge repeatedly admonished prosecutors to give Lindh's lawyers any information they turn up that is favorable to the defendant.
Kelly said Lindh did allegedly join forces with al-Qaida and the Taliban, making preparations "for an expected onslaught" by U.S. forces after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Lindh is charged with conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, providing support and services to foreign terrorist organizations and using firearms and destructive devices during crimes of violence. Three of the 10 charges carry a maximum life sentence; the other seven have prison terms of up to 90 years. He was brought back to the United States by military escort on Jan. 23 and has been kept in jail since then.
Lindh, 21, wore a green prison jumpsuit and sat at the defense table. He conferred with his attorneys as they made their arguments at the hearing, one of a series of pretrial sessions concerned with legal issues. Lindh's parents, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker, sat in the second row for the proceedings, as they had for all previous court appearances.
Defense attorney James Brosnahan, in an interview with The Associated Press outside the courthouse, said he was heartened by the prosecutors' statements.
"I thought it was interesting that the government admitted it had absolutely no evidence that Mr. Lindh did anything against any American," Brosnahan said. "I think fair-minded people would wonder just what is the government's case."
In the courtroom, Brosnahan argued for a more detailed complaint, saying that prosecutors should have to specify whom Lindh allegedly planned to murder and the people he allegedly conspired with to kill Americans.
"We don't know who was supposed to be murdered," Brosnahan said. But Davis said the victims were "anyone and everyone. To pretend that a specific human being must be identified, that is absurd."
Davis also said that Lindh fought against U.S. forces after Sept. 11 in Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. "How more illegal can you get?" he asked.
Ellis ruled that many of the defense requests for information were too broad. "I would assume not everyone Mr. Lindh grunted at falls into that category" of a government official or U.S. soldier who should be made available to his attorneys, he said.
When defense attorney George Harris argued that Lindh's lawyers needed documents to show whether camps where Lindh trained in Afghanistan were for the purpose of terrorist or military activities, prosecutors said it didn't matter because Lindh joined a terrorist organization.
The judge then asked, "What was he doing over there?" Ellis quickly said his remark was improper and withdrew the question.
Ellis told prosecutors that they must ask U.S. civilian and military officials, al-Qaida detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others whether they would be willing to submit to interviews by defense lawyers.
The judge set May 31 for a hearing to determine who could be interviewed and said the defense could subpoena anyone who refused. Ellis said he would determine whether the interviews would actually take place.
He denied a defense request for access to some 30 e-mails that apparently were exchanged by Justice Department officials, ruling that the documents contained no information that would be helpful to Lindh's case.
Ellis refused Monday to permit arguments on one issue that had been considered likely to come up: the argument by defense counsel that statements Lindh made to U.S. authorities while in custody in Afghanistan, allegedly under duress, not be admitted into evidence.
Lindh's lawyers have said their client was held under horrific conditions after his capture in Afghanistan. In papers filed last week, the government denied this, saying his food and medical care equaled that of U.S. soldiers.
Despite the judge's decision not to allow arguments on Lindh's treatment, the defense submitted to the court a picture showing the defendant strapped to a stretcher and blindfolded.
Abalone divers deal with new rules
By Margie MasonThe Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Abalone season opened in Northern California on Monday, but divers used to bringing home 100 of the meaty mollusks a year will now be limited to 24, thanks to poachers, overfishing and potential disease.
The state Fish and Game Commission also dropped the daily limit in December from four to three as a safeguard to help preserve one of the world's richest remaining wild sources of red abalone, which cling to ocean reefs.
"Abalone in California is precious," said Chamois Anderson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game. "Only one species left in the entire family is at a level where we can even take it, and if we don't manage it carefully, it will fall on the list of extinction with the others. If it did that, it would be a real sad day."
Over the past decade, abalone take has increased 27 percent in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the most popular abalone diving areas. Businesses there fear the lowered limits will have a drastic effect. Nearly 40,000 abalone licenses are issued annually for the estimated $20 million industry, which dozens of bed and breakfasts, restaurants and specialty shops depend on for survival.
"I think a lot of people felt like that was a little extreme," Charlie Lorenz of Subsurface Progression dive shop in Fort Bragg said of the limit changes. "For a business that revolves around diving, it's most likely going to have some impact, and it's probably going to be negative to the overall economy."
Diving was closed off to all of the state south of San Francisco in 1997 after a disease called withering foot syndrome decimated much of the black abalone population there. The bacteria that causes the disease was recently found on the North Coast in the red abalone population, but biologists say there is no indication it's spreading.
The disease has forced thousands, who are no longer permitted to dive in the south, to come north. It also has driven black market abalone prices up to $80 apiece or $200 if smuggled to Japan, Andersen said. The mollusks, easily identified by their iridescent spiral shells, are eaten as a delicacy and used as an aphrodisiac.
A special abalone operations unit now uses high-tech equipment to track poachers who often dive with prohibited scuba gear. The team of game wardens sometimes spends months gathering enough evidence to bring down complex abalone rings. Penalties for poaching range up to $40,000 in fines and three years in prison.
"It's right up there with the drug trade. These are criminals that are stealing a resource that you and I own," Andersen said.
Some facts and rules governing abalone diving
•Abalone season runs from April 1 to June 30 and Aug. 1 to Nov. 30 off the California coast north of San Francisco. Diving is restricted to 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset.
• Free divers are allowed to take three red abalone a day and 24 a year. That's down from the previous four a day and 100 a year.
• Abalone must be at least 7 inches across the widest part of the shell. All animals must be brought on shore still inside the shell.
• Scuba gear is prohibited when diving for abalone.
• All divers must buy an annual state sport fishing license for $30.45 and an abalone report card for $12. The card must be carried by the diver and a hole must be punched to record the date, time and location for the abalone taken. The report card must be returned to the California Department of Fish and Game within 30 days after the season closes.
Abalone is for personal consumption only and may not be sold. Violators face fines up to $40,000 and a year in jail for misdemeanor charges and fines up to $10,000 and three years in state prison for felony conspiracy charges.
Source: The California Department of Fish and Game
State authorities to visit Littleton in beach death case
DENVER — California authorities planned to visit Littleton this week to continue their investigation into Tuesday's apparent double homicide-suicide near a Santa Cruz beach.
Authorities said it appears that two 19-year-old women sat quietly as their male companion shot each of them in the back of the head with a pump shotgun.
Autopsy results disclosed Friday show Melinda Leippe and her best friend Brenda White were shot point-blank. There were no signs of struggle, said forensic pathologist Richard T. Mason.
David Arthur Bachman, 26, then killed himself with the same shotgun, authorities said. The trio grew up in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., but more recently lived in Littleton.
The women were found on a bluff above Bonny Doon Beach, dressed in sweaters and cutoff jeans. Bachman was seated behind them.
"It looks like they were cooperating," Santa Cruz sheriff's Detective Alan Burt said Sunday.
Burt said California authorities will travel to Colorado this week to interview family and friends.
Investigators hope further interviews will reveal a motive. Friends have rejected the suggestion of a suicide pact.
White's former Littleton roommate, Terra Tritschler, said she can't believe the deaths were the result of a suicide pact. "She's not that type of person," she said. "She had plans."
Mason said deaths are not uncommon along the scenic coast, where he said people hope to commune with nature while they end their lives.
Baseball fans, concertgoers face traffic woes around Oakland Coliseum
By Michelle R. SmithThe Associated Press
OAKLAND — Take 40,000 baseball fans, add an ex-Beatle, a jazz crooner and a Latin pop sensation, then top it off with a dose of holiday airport traffic, and what do you get?
As Athletics fans geared up for the team's first game of the season and Beatles fans prepared for Paul McCartney's first stop on his U.S. tour, transportation officials warned them all to get ready for gridlock Monday night.
"There's only so much capacity on the freeway," said Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones, pointing out that Oakland International Airport is one exit away from the Coliseum and that Monday was the end of a weekend that included Easter and Cesar E. Chavez Day, a state holiday.
It all shaped up as a traffic nightmare, with the ballgame and the McCartney concert scheduled side by side and the other two concerts — featuring crooner Harry Connick Jr. and Latin pop singer Enrique Iglesias — happening just up the highway.
More than 40,000 people were expected to attend the A's opener against the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. Next door at the Oakland Arena, McCartney was expected to draw 15,000 people to his sold-out show starting at 8 p.m.
Caltrans suspended all work on Interstate 880 and had crews on standby in case of problems, but said there was little else that could be done to ease congestion, other than to encourage people to car pool, use public transit or take alternate routes.
"It's not like we can go out there and add more lanes," Jones said.
In downtown Oakland, about five miles north on Interstate 880, Connick was playing back-to-back sold-out shows at jazz club Yoshi's and the Paramount Theater was expecting a sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 for Iglesias.
"That's a lot of people," said Leslee Stewart, general manager of the Paramount.
Stewart said the theater encouraged people to arrive early and travel light, especially with increased security at the doors. She expected many concertgoers to take public transportation.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit system added nine trains and kept long trains out after the commute to deal with the crowds at the Coliseum and Arena, according to spokesman Mike Healey.
Healey said thousands more riders were expected to flood onto the system, which normally carries 311,000 riders a day.
"When you have two events like that and there's simply not adequate parking at the Coliseum, we'll usually have 18,000 to 20,000 additional trips," Healey said.
Sgt. Tom Hogenmiller of the Oakland Police Department said the big night presented no more of a problem than a Raiders' Monday night football game at the Coliseum. Such a game would draw more than the 59,000 combined audience at the baseball game and McCartney concert.
"It's not that big a deal," said Hogenmiller, who added that 24 traffic officers will be deployed around the Coliseum area. "There will be, obviously, backups. Those can't be avoided."
Woman shot and wounded; husband arrested after San Jose standoff
SAN JOSE — Police are investigating a bizarre family disturbance that ended after an 11-hour standoff involving a woman found lying shot in the head on the family's front lawn.
Police arrested her husband on charges of delaying a police investigation, but was unclear Sunday who shot the woman, said San Jose police spokesman Joseph Deras.
The standoff started shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, after police received a phone call from the 58-year-old husband saying his wife had shot herself. Officers arrived to find the woman lying in front of the house with a gunshot wound to her head. A weapon was nearby.
Deras said police also found a firearm inside the house after the husband barricaded himself inside and refused to cooperate with police negotiators.
About 30 officers surrounded the home during the standoff, but the neighborhood was not evacuated.
"At one point, he actually called us here at the 911 center and demanded to speak with a female, which we were able to provide him with," Deras said. "Then he wanted to speak to a captain. We had a number of captains on hand but none of them were female. His demands were kind of unusual and difficult to provide."
The 55-year-old woman was taken to San Jose Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition Sunday afternoon, said Leslie Kelsay, hospital assistant administrator.
The couple's son also was at the house during the incident. He told police his mother tried to kill herself. The woman, who was still coherent after the shooting, also told police she was trying to commit suicide.
"We don't know how accurate that is," Deras said. "We are still looking at what happened. Did she shoot herself or did someone else shoot her?"
Police have not released names of the man and woman involved.
Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange win round against feds
By David KravetsThe Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Vietnam veterans suffering from diabetes and prostate cancer after being exposed to Agent Orange won a round Monday in their battle against the federal government.
A federal appeals court ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs must pay retroactive disability payments to thousands of Vietnam vets. The disability payments must date to when veterans initially applied for benefits under a law that allowed them to do so beginning Sept. 25, 1985.
Because of a complicated rule-making procedure, the government said the prostate cancer victims could not receive benefits until Nov. 7, 1996, if they filed a claim after Jan. 4, 1994. The appeals court nullified that government interpretation, which affects an estimated 1,200 veterans, said Barton F. Stichman, executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program.
Also undermined by the ruling was the government's position that veterans suffering from adult onset diabetes could not get benefits until July 9, 2001, if they filed a claim between Jan. 4, 1994, and July 9, 2001, Stichman said.
"All I can tell you is for the last 20 years the VA has dragged its feet on the Agent Orange issue. They try every way they can to come up with theories to why they shouldn't give benefits," Stichman said.
He estimated that 30,000 Vietnam veterans with adult onset diabetes were denied full benefits.
His suit on behalf of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange first was filed in 1986. Three years later, the government recognized Agent Orange could cause the skin condition chloracne.
Over the years, the government has added a host of diseases associated with Agent Orange entitling veterans to disability benefits. Those include several cancers, including cancer to the lung, larynx and trachea. Last year, the government recognized adult onset diabetes.
Monday's ruling puts prostate cancer and adult onset diabetes in line with the other diseases acknowledged by the government to have links to Agent Orange, meaning disability benefits would be paid from when a claim was first filed.
Clifford Nash, a Vietnam Army veteran with prostate cancer, said the court's decision will allow him to keep about $11,000 in benefits that he may have had to return had the court ruled the other way.
For many Vietnam veterans, the government has been paying the retroactive benefits while litigation continued. The government reserved the right to take back the benefits if it won the lawsuit.
"I've heard some veterans say we fought there and now we got to fight for what's right and ours," said the 71-year-old Nash, of West Enfield, Maine. "Everything seems to be taking a turn for the better."
Phil Budahn, a Veterans Affairs spokesman, said the government had not seen the decision and could not immediately comment.
Veterans' disability benefits pay up to $26,000 per year.
Between 1962 and 1971, the United States sprayed 19 million gallons of herbicides over southern Vietnam to destroy jungle cover for communist troops. About 55 percent of that, or nearly 10.5 million gallons, was Agent Orange.
The case is Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 01-15325.
California beekeepers lead country, but worry about their future
VENTURA — Although their business is sweeter than that of out-of-state competitors, California's beekeepers are worried they're about to get financially stung.
Hives in the state made 28 million pounds of honey in 2001 to re-establish California as the nation's top producer, beating out longtime rival North Dakota.
Even so, California's production was the lowest in years, and the industry faces troubles ranging from foreign imports to pests to an ongoing dry spell.
"I wouldn't paint too rosy a picture, because it's not," said Red Bennett, a 60-year-old former NASA engineer who years ago gave up his interest in space flight for a honeybee farm north of Moorpark. "Beekeeping is pretty tough, and it has become quite difficult to stay in business. And right now, it's looking pretty bleak."
With good weather and lots of pollen, California has been the most productive honey state in seven of the last nine years. Nearly half a million colonies produced last year's crop, which was valued at $18.5 million, and the bees help farmers pollinate crops from almonds to summer squash.
But the state's beekeepers ranks have dropped about 25 percent to perhaps as few as 350 over the last decade, and the nation's production has fallen about 20 percent over the same period.
Prices have risen, in part because of tariffs recently levied against foreign exporters, but many U.S. producers say they're still struggling to break even.
"Beekeeping has changed so much in the last 20 years, and the industry has really shrunken," said Lyle Johnston, a third-generation Colorado beekeeper and president of the 900-member American Honey Producers Association. "I think all you'll find anymore are the die-hards working at it."
Eric Mussen, a honeybee expert at the University of California, Davis, said few younger beekeepers are waiting to take the place of the rugged individuals who have long made beekeeping their lives.
"But it's not too different from what you see in farming overall," Mussen said. "I think there are a lot of (beekeepers) who would be more than happy to turn the reins over to somebody else. The question becomes, who — if anybody — is going to take over?"
Max Eggman learned the profession from his father and older brother and has been beekeeping since 1967, but the 72-year-old Tulare County man said his children aren't following in his footsteps.
"It's a dwindling industry, no question," Eggman said. "I don't see it being a dead end. I just think it will be harder and harder to be prosperous."
Some beekeepers, including Brian Cox of Ojai, rent out their hives to stay afloat. Farmers pay good money for help pollinating almonds in the San Joaquin Valley, avocados in Ventura County and other crops.
"It's the biggest deal for beekeepers; it's basically what has kept beekeeping alive," Cox said.
States using tobacco settlement money to balance their budgets
By Paul QuearryThe Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Less than four years ago, Washington state's attorney general helped win billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for 46 states — money she saw as a bonanza for smoking-prevention programs and other health measures.
Now she is watching in dismay as states around the country — including her own — borrow heavily against their shares of the settlement to plug holes in their budgets.
States are not just spending the yearly checks on something else; they are spending decades of settlement payments all at once.
"This was the single biggest opportunity in the history of public health to address the most preventable cause of death in America," Attorney General Christine Gregoire said. "I sure hope I don't look back and say it was the biggest lost opportunity."
Since the settlement dollars started flowing in, anti-tobacco forces have battled with lawmakers about how the money should be spent, and have mostly lost.
Only five states meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that 20 percent to 25 percent of the settlement be spent to fight tobacco use, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Even in Washington state, where Gregoire's influence had helped keep the money earmarked for tobacco and public health programs until now, anti-smoking spending did not meet the CDC benchmark.
Elsewhere, moral claims on the settlement ran up against the cold statehouse fact that money is just money when it is time to balance the budget.
Compared to raising taxes or cutting spending, borrowing against the settlement — known as "tobacco securitization" — is easy money politically.
Washington plans to sell off the rights to about 20 percent of its settlement payments for the next 20 years to cover $450 million of its $1.6 billion budget shortfall.
In California, Gov. Gray Davis has proposed selling off 40 percent of his state's settlement share to raise $2.4 billion to help close a gap of $12.4 billion. Similar proposals are in play in other states, including New Jersey and Rhode Island.
In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott McCallum and GOP lawmakers are set to go whole hog: The entire settlement for the next two decades could soon be sold for about $1.3 billion, compared with the $5.9 billion the state expected to receive in payments over 25 years. All or nearly all of the proceeds would go toward balancing the current budget.
Critics — most vocally Gregoire and other anti-tobacco forces — liken the practice to taking out a second mortgage to buy groceries. The move costs the states interest and fees, and saddles them with debt payments that will long outlast the balanced budgets they helped achieve.
But budget-writers say they have few choices.
In Washington, Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Lisa Brown turned to tobacco as the least offensive of three unpleasant options.
"In this case, the alternative is $500 million in additional cuts or in general tax increases," said Brown, a Democrat.
At least 17 states or counties, including Alaska, Alabama, South Carolina, and counties in New York and California, have already sold off parts of their settlements.
At first, it was done mostly to pay for building projects, a widely accepted use of such borrowing. Alaska was among the first, selling off part of its settlement share in 2000 to replace and repair crumbling schools.
But as budget problems worsened, states began to see tobacco settlement money as a way to balance the books.
Washington Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov
Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/
Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire: http://www.wa.gov/ago
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/
Priest sex abuse case settles at $1.2 million
By Chelsea J. CarterThe Associated Press
IRVINE — A woman who claimed she was sexually abused by priests more than 20 years ago will receive a $1.2 million settlement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the parties said Monday.
Lori Capobianco Haigh claimed in a December lawsuit that an Orange diocese priest first sexually assaulted her in 1979 when she was 14, and impregnated her at age 16.
Haigh, who told a press conference that the priest, the Rev. John Lenihan, paid for her to have an abortion, said she was surprised at how quickly her lawsuit was settled.
"I was prepared for years. It says that they know," said Haigh, 37, who now lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
Most of the settlement will be paid by the Orange diocese. The Los Angeles archdiocese said its investigation could not confirm alleged abuse by an unidentified priest in its jurisdiction and it settled only because of the cost of defending itself.
Bishop Tod D. Brown, head of the Orange diocese, issued a statement Monday in which he apologized to the woman and other victims of sexual abuse.
"I am deeply sorry for the hurt caused," Brown said.
"The very painful reality of the injury caused by attacks on the innocent and vulnerable by a few priests have profoundly affected us all," he said. "The Church should be a safe place."
Haigh recounted her allegations at the office of her attorney Katherine Freberg.
"When I was 16 years old, Father John got me pregnant. When I told him about the pregnancy he told me that I had to get an abortion," Haigh said.
She said the priest, who she met when he was assigned to St. Norbert Church in Orange, paid for an abortion at Planned Parenthood.
The Los Angeles archdiocese will pay $240,000, or 20 percent, of the settlement, archdiocesan spokesman Tod M. Tamberg said in a news release.
"In two paragraphs of the 143-paragraph complaint, Ms. Haigh alleged that an unidentified priest of the Los Angeles archdiocese engaged in sexual contact with her that occurred around 20 years ago," the release said.
An investigation "did not yield specific enough information to identify this person or confirm whether the events described by Ms. Haigh ever occurred," the release said. The allegations were reported to Los Angeles police nonetheless, he said.
"The archdiocese settled (this) case based on the estimated cost of defending against (Haigh's) lawsuit, not on the merits of the allegations regarding the unidentified priest," Tamberg said.
Lenihan, 56, formerly of St. Edward Church in Dana Point, resigned last year after admitting sexual relationships over the years with several women and teen-age girls.
He has agreed to ask Pope John Paul II to be removed from the priesthood.
Lenihan told church officials in 1991 that he sexually abused a teen-age girl in the 1970s. The Diocese of Orange settled a lawsuit that year for $25,000. The victim, Mary Grant, now 38, attended Haigh's press conference on the latest settlement.
Freberg previously represented a man who said he was molested in 1991 at age 17 by Monsignor Michael Harris, principal of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in the Orange diocese.
Last August, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange settled the Harris case for $5.2 million. Harris, 56, denied the allegations but agreed to leave the priesthood. He has been on inactive leave from the church since 1994.
The mother of another alleged victim of Harris reported the alleged abuse in 1993 to a priest of the Los Angeles archdiocese.
Another priest of the Orange diocese, Michael Pecharich, 56, was forced to resign in March as head of Santa Margarita after admitting he molested a boy in 1983. His case had been known to church officials since 1996.
The U.S. Catholic church has been rocked by a clergy abuse scandal that started when Boston priest John Geoghan was accused of abusing more than 100 children while being shuffled from parish to parish. He was convicted of indecent assault and battery and sentenced to nine to 10 years for fondling a 10-year-old boy in 1991.
Data storage rivals try to profit from Compaq-HP fiasco
By Justin PopeThe Associated Press
BOSTON — With little to celebrate lately, businesses in the $25 billion data-storage industry are looking for some gains from the confusion over the planned merger between Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Compaq and HP have pointed to data storage as a key area for providing "one-stop shopping," blending HP's high-end storage products with Compaq's mid-range and so-called Storage Area Networks.
But rival EMC Corp., hit hard by the business-spending slump, insists it will be the real beneficiary.
At a recent industry conference, EMC Executive Chairman Mike Ruettgers predicted the merger would tie the two companies in knots for months, if not years. He said frustrated customers who had been looking for cheaper deals would return to the EMC fold.
For smaller companies, there are worries that a merged HP and Compaq could further crowd them out in the long run.
But in the short term, the merger, coupled with thousands of recent layoffs at EMC, could cripple the big companies' customer service, making room for the smaller businesses.
"There's always room for somebody who gives the right kind of hug to the customer," said John McArthur, a vice president at research company IDC, based in Framingham, Mass.
McArthur said he has recently heard from customers who have been happy with smaller companies, like privately held XIOtech, based in Eden Prairie, Minn. In lean times, McArthur said, customers "will basically take anybody who can solve their storage problems."
The data-storage industry provides the hardware and software used in such data-heavy systems as airline reservation and insurance.
Its phenomenal growth in the 1990s led to a flurry of research and development and a broader focus: products that not only store information but also manage, organize and exchange it with other systems.
But the last two years have been rough. IDC projects a 1.7 percent decline this year in total storage spending, before the industry picks up with a 5.2 percent increase in 2003 to $26.3 billion.
EMC, after more than a decade of consistent profitability, has lost money in two consecutive quarters and laid off 4,000 workers last year. Its stock, which traded at more than $100 a share in 2000, is trading at about $11.
The company hopes to return to profitability this year, but some analysts believe that will require further layoffs, and several have cut their earnings outlooks in recent weeks.
Getting a snapshot of the industry is difficult because the companies disagree over which statistics matter most.
Compaq prefers IDC's measurements for total storage revenues, where it leads. But because EMC doesn't make PCs or servers, it focuses on markets where it competes. EMC led the external-storage device market in 2001, and a combined HP and Compaq would still be smaller than EMC.
Compaq shareholders overwhelmingly approved a $19 billion buyout by HP last month.
HP has claimed that a preliminary tally showed the deal had been approved by a "slim but sufficient margin." But director Walter Hewlett has filed a lawsuit accusing HP of improperly enticing a big investor to back the merger.
The merger, if it goes through, could shake up the data storage landscape.
"I do think companies like the concept of one-stop shopping for storage," said Mike Winkler, Compaq's executive vice president. "Therefore breadth of offering is important, and the strength of your offerings is vital."
EMC insists any gains for the merged HP and Compaq will be canceled out by the integration costs of the merger.
"You can guarantee if you use both of those companies, you're going to be obsoleted on some of the products you use," Ruettgers said last month at the TechTarget Storage Management Conference in Chicago.
Ken Steinhardt, EMC's director of technology analysis, said the effects are already being felt.
"We're seeing customers now that have historically that have been dyed-in-the-wool Compaq customers or dyed-in-the-wool HP customers that are now looking broadly for (other) technologies," he said.
Small companies — at least those that have survived the recession — say customers are also antsy about the merger.
"Customers bring it up with us. They're a little concerned, they don't know what's going to happen, and they're afraid to make new commitments," said Scott Robinson, chief technology officer at Datalink in Chanhassen, Minn.
Datalink doesn't make its own hardware and software, but puts other systems together and gives advice. The last few years have been tough, Robinson said, and he is worried about the long-term effects of a merged HP and Compaq.
But for now, he's pleased. "Short term we see it as an opportunity, because there is certainly going to be some confusion," he said.
But Compaq's Winkler insists his customers have been, and will be, loyal.
"We've published a lot of the wins that we've had since the announcement of the merger," he said. "The business has been as strong as it has ever been."
Walter Hewlett excluded on HP's board candidate list
By Matthew FordahlThe Associated Press
SAN JOSE — Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board axed an olive branch to dissident director Walter Hewlett on Monday, reversing a plan to renominate him after he sued to try to stop the merger with Compaq Computer Corp.
Though Hewlett no longer will sit on the board, the move is unlikely to end or quiet the feud between company officials and the co-founder's son over the $19 billion union of computer giants.
After HP chief executive Carly Fiorina claimed a slim victory in the fight for shareholder approval, board members met with Hewlett "to develop a constructive working relationship," HP said.
The full board met with Hewlett on Wednesday and unanimously decided to renominate him. He then filed suit to stop the merger, which has yet to be officially approved.
"My fellow board members and I were ... shocked when just hours later Walter Hewlett filed a spurious lawsuit against the company," said Sam Ginn, chairman of the nominating and governance committee.
In the suit filed last Thursday in Delaware, Hewlett alleged the investment arm of Deutsche Bank switched its vote at the last minute after HP threatened to take future business away.
Hewlett also said HP misled investors about the progress of plans to integrate its massive organization with Compaq's. He said HP executives lied about their ability to achieve the deal's financial targets without exceeding their prediction of 15,000 job cuts.
The suit, which HP calls baseless, seeks to invalidate the vote by HP shareholders and declare the merger defeated or order a new election. HP and Compaq are incorporated in Delaware.
Hewlett, who has said he will work to support the integration if the deal closes, issued a statement Monday regretting the board's decision.
"It is unfortunate that the HP board has seemingly missed what the company's stockholders have clearly recognized: that dissent is not disloyalty, that healthy boards need not agree on every issue," he said.
David Katz, president of Matrix Asset Advisors and a merger opponent, said the decision comes at a time when investors are looking for independence on corporate boards.
"Here's a strong comment by a board who says, 'We love you as long as you're with us. If you're against us we're not going to have you there,"' he said.
In a rare news conference after the March 19 shareholder meeting, Hewlett, who has served on the board for 15 years, said he would like to remain active with the company.
That was despite months of sometimes personal attacks from both sides, including a company advertisement belittling Hewlett as being a musician and academic with no real business experience.
On Monday, the company's statement cited concerns about his "lack of candor and issues of trust."
John Coffee, a Columbia University law professor who advised the board after the lawsuit, said the directors were surprised Hewlett had not mentioned his planned suit during their talks preceding the filing.
"They were free to consider ... whether their current relationship with Mr. Hewlett would render the board a less cohesive, less congenial body in which candor and confidentiality would become problematic," he said.
Though HP's corporate bylaws allow for write-in board candidates, the deadline passed in November, company spokeswoman Rebeca Robboy said.
Shareholders will vote on nominations to the board at HP's annual meeting set for April 26 at the Flint Center in Cupertino.
Pending final closure of the deal, the nominees are current HP Board members Philip M. Condit, Patricia C. Dunn, Fiorina, Ginn, Richard A. Hackborn, George A. Keyworth II and Robert E. Knowling Jr. as well as Compaq board members Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr., Michael D. Capellas, Sanford M. Litvack, Thomas J. Perkins and Lucille S. Salhany.
If the merger transaction with Compaq has not closed prior to the annual meeting, HP's shareowners will vote on Condit, Dunn, Fiorina, Ginn, Hackborn, Keyworth, Knowling and Robert P. Wayman.
Shares of HP closed down 4 cents to $17.90 in trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, while Compaq shares were down 3 cents at $10.42.
HP: http://www.hp.com
Compaq: http://www.compaq.com
Hewlett's opposition site: http://www.votenohpcompaq.com
Silicon Valley 'most wired' area in nation
BOSTON — Silicon Valley still rules, but an annual survey of America's most Internet-savvy cities found that Boston and Salt Lake City made huge strides over the past year.
Boston jumped 12 places to No. 4 in this year's survey, published in the May edition of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine. Salt Lake City jumped 23 places to sixth, though the magazine said it could be a one-time spike caused by the recent Winter Olympics.
San Francisco, San Jose, and Austin, Texas, stayed in the top three spots, which they've held in all but one of the five surveys.
Don Wilmott, the magazine's technology editor, said the biggest news may be the fact that numbers were up almost everywhere, despite the recession. It took a score of 36 out of 40 to win this year, up from 33.3.
"Everyone's getting better," Wilmott said.
The magazine uses a formula that measures more than just Internet use and high-tech jobs to get a sense of which communities make the most of the Web. Wilmott said that analysis includes basic stats, the extent to which businesses are online and how sophisticated the users are.
"We measure that by how often they shop and how many have gotten fast access," he said.
The formula also includes an evaluation of content available in the area, including a ranking of how well local government uses the Net. That helped give Boston a boost.
"It really is one of the best city Web sites," said Wilmott of cityofboston.gov.
Top-ranked San Francisco has the highest percentage of households using the Net (78.8), is No. 2 in online spending per user ($356) and in domains per 1,000 firms (4,163), and sixth in broadband use and interest (54.9 percent).
The data is compiled from Forrester Research and Matthew Zook of the Internet Geography Project.
The magazine ranks 86 metropolitan areas. Seven of the top 21 areas are in California. The bottom three this year were Tulsa, Okla., Scranton, Pa. and Gary, Ind.
City of Boston, http://www.cityofboston.gov
Israeli reservist pans military campaign
By K.L. Alexander, Special to the Daily Planet
Monday April 01, 2002
As the Middle East peace process reeled from a week of heavy fighting in the West Bank, about 250 Berkeley residents packed a Unitarian church yesterday to renew their hope for an end to the violence.
Leading the calls for reconciliation was keynote speaker Tamir Sorec, one of more than 300 Israeli army reservists who has told his government he will not perpetuate the violence and fight for his country in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sorec, a sociologist, comes to Berkeley to rally support for a peaceful resolution to the Mideast conflict. "The Israelis and the Palestinians are going to destroy each other," he said to the standing-room-only crowd at the Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, at Cedar Street and Bonita Avenue. "The way to prevent them from doing this is to support us [objectors] and say [to the Israeli government] you don't have soldiers for this war."
Sorec's avowal not to fight comes just two days after Israel began calling up thousands of army reserve officers in response to attacks by Palestinian militants that left dozens of Israelis dead last week. The Associated Press reported Friday that 20,000 Israeli reservists could soon be mobilized, marking the largest call-up since the Gulf War.
Sunday's second speaker Marcia Freedman, an Israeli peace activist who spent the last five months in Israel, was also quick to condemn the recent military escalation.
"[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon is extremely shrewd and extremely brutal," Freedman said. "Israelis today don't really know what's going on... I really believe that if the people got to see this, the government would be operating in a different way."
Just hours before the Berkeley crowed assembled to soberly address Middle East violence, residents had gathered at the Unitarian church to celebrate Easter Sunday.
In Israel, the Jewish holiday of Passover passed uneasily. Schools were closed last week to children, but opened for registering army reservists for active military duty.
As a reservist, Sorec told the Berkeley audience that it was his moral obligation to resist military duty in the occupied territories. He said military operations thwarted the peace process and served only to abuse and humiliate Palestinians.
"The situation in which 3.5 million people live under military control and without civil rights is out of the question," he stated.
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank are killing innocent civilians, conducting unlawful searches of Palestinian homes, and denying residents access to their friends and family, Sorec explained.
He said that 800 Palestinian civilians had been killed in the last year and a half of fighting, while about 350 Israeli civilians have died.
As of yesterday, 383 conscientious objectors, including Sorec, had signed the widely-publicized declaration to refuse military service in the occupied territories. The protest is dubbed Courage to Refuse.
While Berkeley residents showed mostly admiration for the objectors, the dissidence has not been without its critics.
One member of the audience yesterday charged that the Berkeley forum was unfairly stacked with anti-Israeli proponents, claiming the two presenters had "warmth and love" for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
In Israel, government officials have also condemned the objectors, portraying them as fanatics going against the rule of the majority. Two reservists have been jailed for their protest, according to Freedman.
Israeli policy dictates that nearly all citizens serve in their military when they turn 18. Women generally serve until age 20, and men until age 21 — and in the reserves until age 45.
In 1996, Sorec explained that his opposition to Israeli military policy was born. Though, it wasn't until January of this year that he made his sentiment public.
"We came to the conclusion that if we keep our objection silent and quiet we will never be able to change the political situation,'' he said.
And according to Freedman, Israeli civilians are now wanting to see the situation resolved. She said Prime Minister Sharon's approval rating had dropped from 57 percent in December to 35 percent in March because of the recent military campaign.
"Israeli has never known such a right-wing government," Freedman said. She feared that continued Israeli force in the occupied territories would prompt a backlash by the Arab world and launch the entire region into war.
She praised the activism of Sorec as a means of helping temper the conflict.
Most Berkeley residents, including audience member Myrna Sokolinsky, showed support for Sorec as well.
"I admire him and the other conscientious objectors who are making a sacrifice and risking going to jail," Sokolinsky said. "They understand the oppression of the Palestinians."
"I'm sympathetic to people trying to get a fair peace... The only real solution is for Israel to pull out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and stop harassing and killing Palestinians," said Charlie Shain, a Berkeleyan. Sunday's event was sponsored by Bay Area Women in Black, a group of Jewish feminists and supporters.
The East Bay belongs to us
Let 'em stay home.
We are suffering from fear of insane development, evermore crowding the Bay Area until the livability index approaches zero. Let's think about our residential needs, not those of hypothetical immigrants.
Race, Gender, & the "War on Terrorism"
Graduate Theological Union presents The Image of Evil in Art
Flora Lamson Hewlett Library
2400 Ridge Road,
Runs through Friday, May 31
An exhibit depicting the many faces of the evil, from the fearful and loathsome creatures of medieval art to the seductive satanic figures of the 19th century and the monstrous human and animal forms of a 20th century artist like Francis Bacon. By contrasts, the devils of Latin American folk art are often caper and dance.
Graduate Theological Union presents Figuras Fastasticas! The Pottery of Ocumicho
Runs through Friday, May 31 Complementing the image of evil exhibit is a library case exhibit of the imaginative pottery made in he village of Ocumicho, Michoacan, known particularly for its playful devil figures the pottery presents everyday scenes as well as religious topics.
For more information, call 649- 2540
Graduate Theological Union presents History and Memory in Biblical and Rabbinic Literature
Renewable Energy Lecture
Berkeley Adult School
University and Bonar St.
Peter Asmus discusses the viability of renewable energy resources and how they can be used in Berkeley. 981-5435
Winter Lectures on Energy
What About Renewable Energy
Find out how to make the sun's energy work for you
University Ave and Bonar Streets
Melody Ermachild Chavis:
Reporting from Recent Trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan
The Huston Smith Series on Religion:
Why Religion Matters
For more information, call 415-575-6175
7 pm - Berkeley
Graduate Theological Union presents Suavecito
The Politics and Poetics of Asian American Soul Music in he 1970's.
The Bay Area Hispanic Institute for Advancement (Bahia, Inc.)is holding its
second annual Noche Latina event. This fundraiser will feature food catered by Cafe de la Paz, music and a silent auction. Bahia is an after-school
program for children ages 5-10. This year's event will be held at the Law
Offices of Duran, Ochoa & Icaza, which are located at 1035 Carleton Avenue.
Minding the Body, Inc. fundraiser
Peace it Together Fundraiser and Festival
2218 Acton Street between Bancroft and Allston Streets Berkeley
Proceeds will help send an emissary from the Bay Area to exchange peace-making skills with people from all over the world at the 10th Annual International Conference on Conflict Resolution in St. Petersburg, Russia.
There will be booths, jugglers, storytellers, performance art, Music, poetry, art — most events welcoming participation — and a Vegetarian Potluck
For more information, visit MindingTheBody.org or e-mail elise@mindingthebody.org.
Benefit for Poet Aurora Levins Morales
Mission 911:
Bay Area Poets for Peace
Girls shine, boys stumble for St. Mary's at Stanford meet
By Jared Green, Daily Planet Wire Services
Last year, the St. Mary's High boys were the strength of the track & field program, winning a North Coast Section title and finishing third at the state championship meet. But by the looks of it, the boys may take a back seat to their female counterparts this year.
Tiffany Johnson and Danielle Stokes both set personal records in their individual events and gave the Panthers a big boost in the relays at the Stanford Invitational this weekend. Johnson won the long jump with a top leap of 18'3" and finished third in the 100-meter dash, and Stokes took second in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing second to James Logan's Talia Stewart, who put up the state's top time this season.
The pair then teamed up with Chastity Harper and freshman Willa Porter to set a school record in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 47.5 seconds for surprising third-place finish in the event. Holy Names High of Oakland won the event with the state's fastest time of the season.
"That's a huge time for us," St. Mary's head coach Jay Lawson said of the relay team. "Our girls are doing great. They're stepping up and not fearing anyone."
Stokes and Porter also helped the Panthers' girls set a new state-best in the distance relay. Along with distance runners Bridget Duffy and Gabriella Rios-Sotelo, they finished the event in 12:05.9 on Friday night.
"This is the first time I've run outdoors against really good competition, so I'm very happy with how I ran," Stokes said.
Unfortunately, the 1,200-meter leg by Duffy left the senior worn out for the mile on Saturday. After leading for the first two laps of the race, she fell back to finish seventh in 5:03, nearly 15 seconds off her personal best.
"I think Bridget just isn't conditioned well enough yet to go back-to-back," Lawson said.
Kamaiya Warren completed the girls' impressive effort with second- and third-place finishes in the shotput and discus, respectively. Bakersfield's Rachel Varner won both events in a continuing duel with the St. Mary's senior, who took a narrow loss in New York last month but beat Varner at a meet two weeks ago. Warren set a personal and school best in the shotput, for which she has had more practice time so far this season after finishing third in the state last season.
"Kamaiya's improving by leaps and bounds every week in the shotput," Lawson said. "She'll show more improvement in the discus with more practice."
The St. Mary's boys, on the other hand, appear to need more practice in a few events. Although Solomon Welch put in a nice performance on Saturday, winning the triple jump by more than two feet and finishing fifth in the 110-meter hurdles at his future home stadium, the rest of the boys disappointed for the most part. Their highest finish other than Welch was a fourth-place finish by Jason Bolden-Anderson in the 110-meter hurdles (Anderson also finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles. Omarr Flood and Courtney Brown finished 17th and 20th, respectively, in the 400-meter race, and the 4x400 relay team finished 11th.
The biggest disappointment was the anxious feet of junior Steve Murphy. After missing most of last season with pneumonia, Murphy has been jittery so far in his return to the track, a trend that continued at Stanford. He false-started in the 100-meter dash on Friday night, then did the same as the first leg of the 4x100 relay on Saturday, disqualifying the Panthers from one of their stronger events. Murphy will likely be removed from the relay team for at least a week, but Lawson knows he needs Murphy to settle down if the boys are to repeat last year's strong efforts.
"In my mind, there's no excuse for the fast start in the relay, especially after talking all night about it after he did it on Friday," Lawson said. "You can chalk some of it up to a lack of experience, but it's more a lack of focus, which is something only he can fix."
The Panthers are still looking for a leader to replace departed stars Halihl Guy and Asokah Muhammed, both of whom consistently put up great finishes last season as well as anchoring the relays. Welch seems to have the consistency, but the other runners don't seem to be following his lead. Senior Chris Dunbar is another likely candidate, but he has battled hamstring injuries the past two seasons and is just now getting healthy.
"Our boys need to get tougher mentally if they want to have a decent season," Lawson said. "Someone has to step up into a leadership role."
Strike ends, rebuilding network next task for radio news reporters
Goliath has officially cried uncle.
The 26-month-old strike against Pacifica Network by many of its news staff is over.
And now with two of the most visible protesters against the network, former news director Dan Caughlin and former anchor Verna Avery Brown nestled comfortably into the helm of Executive Director and Deputy Director of the network, journalist say it is time to revive the financially-strapped network and move on..
"This all began in January of 2000 when Dan Caughlin ran a 30 second story about the protest and he was basically fired, and we all walked out in support," said Vanessa Tait, unpaid news staff for KPFA, a Pacifica owned radio station here in Berkeley. "
Tait said the protest and strike that began with 40 grew to 150 and many Pacifica affiliates pulled out on the network.
"Now we're not on strike — so we are trying to keep this great grass roots program on the air," she added speaking of the Free Speech Radio Network, a news program founded by the journalist during the strike.
FSRN has effectively replaced the Pacifica Network News which was cut about a month ago for budgetary reasons.
But some might ask how does one go about reviving a beast that took more than two years to slay and has bled more than $5 million worth of debt — largely contributed to the former board of the network.
According to Tait the support has already started to come in from member stations, like KPFA, who have been pleased with FSRN as a decentralized grass roots alternative to PNN.
One of the early issues that arose at Pacifica was the more mainstream approach of PNN. During the strike the radio journalist were in fact reportedly replaced by Feature Stories News and the same reports going out on air were being broadcast on FOX and ABC.
"KPFA has been very supportive. They are basically fund raising for us — and it's been great because the popularity of Free Speech Radio helps them to raise funds," Tait said.
According to a prepared statement released by Pacifica, the network has agreed to recognize the journalists as being a vital part of the success of the network and they have also pledged to never censor news reports again. "Censorship, firings and bannings had become a way of life at a network nicknamed 'the voice of the voiceless,' " the report stated.
"With all of the problems with Pacifica Network News, we found FSRN the only real option in terms of a progressive national newscast," said Denise Manzari, news director at Pacifica affiliate WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
"When the Pacifica freelancers went on strike, we were afraid their voices would be silenced. But with FSRN came the opportunity to air these reporters again, and we've been really happy to carry it."
The financial strives of Pacifica may take a while to put a dent into the $5 million debt but according to Tait there has already been a great amount of improvement in the quality of the news broadcast — but she admits that she is not the most objective judge.
"I think we're doing a pretty good job," Tait said. "It's just so much better and the reason it is so much better is that we are going more extensive in-depth grass roots coverage of peace and justice issues around the world."
Arrogance to blame for speaker series departure
Baird Whaley
I think we should be ashamed that the Berkeley Speakers Lecture Series has
had to be moved to Oakland.
Whether the Series President or the City Manager's Office was acting unreasonably is basically irrelevant.
The fault lies with Berkeley's activist demonstrators who intimidate attendees and shout down speakers with whom they disagree; and with the apparent majority attitude toward those rowdy activists, which ranges from acceptance to encouragement.
Berkeley is so arrogant and self righteous about its climate of tolerance and free speech, when in fact that climate applies only to those with approved opinions.
Councilmember Spring believes the Netanyahu incident was the Lecture Series' fault for not scheduling adequate private security and notifying Berkeley Police sooner. But the real issue is why it is necessary in Berkeley to have heavy security for those who wish only to exercise first amendment rights.
Bears salvage doubleheader
STANFORD – Eighth-ranked Cal (35-11, 2-1 Pac-10) was shut out, 6-0, by No. 3 Stanford (28-5, 1-2 Pac-10) in the first game of a double header, but came back to defeat the cross-bay rivals, 7-6, in the rubber match of the weekend series, Saturday afternoon in front of a Stanford softball record crowd of 962 at the Smith Family Stadium.
In the opener, Stanford scored four runs in the second inning and never looked back. After retiring the first batter in the home half of the second inning, freshman pitcher Kelly Anderson was pulled in favor of Jen Deering. The junior didn't last long as she hit the first batter she faced followed by a wild pitch that scored Maureen LeCocq from third. Jessica Mendoza and Sarah Beeson followed with walks bringing in another run.
Freshman Cassie Bobrow came on in relief of Deering, pitching the rest of the way. The Cardinal added two more runs in the fourth inning for the final margin.
Stanford pitcher LeCocq went the distance scattering four hits and recording her first shutout of the season to improve to 10-2. Anderson took the loss for Cal, dropping to 5-3 on the year.
The offense woke up just in time for the second game of the afternoon. Freshman Kaleo Eldredge led off the game with an infield single. Kristen Morley bunted Eldredge over to second and then scored on senior Candace Harper's deep double to the gap in left center. Junior Veronica Nelson followed with a single to left field and Courtney Scott slapped a RBI single to bring in Harper.
Cal went at it again in the second inning, bringing in three runs. With two outs in the inning, Eldredge reached on a fielder's choice. Morley walked and Harper was hit by a pitch to set up the table for Nelson, who singled again to left field for a RBI. Scott tallied her second and third RBI of the afternoon and her team-leading 31st and 32nd RBIs of the season when she placed a base hit into left center.
The Cardinal made a late surge to keep the game close as they used three hits to bring in two runs in the sixth inning and a two run homer by Jessica Mendoza, her 10th of the year, in the seventh. Sarah Beeson struck out and Kira Ching grounded to Chelsea Spencer at short to end the game.
The win for the Bears was its first at Stanford and the first series win over their rival since the 1999 season. Forest struck out three batters in her 19th complete game and her 90th career win, which is two shy of the No. 2 spot all-time at Cal held by Leslie Partch (1979-82).
Coming attractions for Shattuck is a five-story theater/apartment complex
When the credits roll on the last day of June, Berkeley cinéastes will have to bid adieu to the Fine Arts Cinema on Shattuck Avenue — but only temporarily.
Developer Patrick Kennedy of Panoramic Interests, who is considered by many growth-conscientious Berkeleyans a bit controversial, plans to replace the cinema's current building and the two next to it on the southeast corner of Shattuck Avenue and Haste Street with a new Fine Arts Building.
The 85,000-square-foot complex will keep a cinema-theme on the ground floor — combining a 300-seat state-of-the-art theater with a café and space designated for the Cinema Preservation Society.
The five-story building will also have apartments and parking spaces.
It has been designed in a "reminiscent art-deco" style by San Francisco architect Dan Solomon and should open in early 2004, according to Project Manager Chris Hudson.
During construction, the Fine Arts Cinema intends to take its show on the road. Details have not been finalized yet, said Keith Arnold, one of the cinema's operators. But they are planning an al fresco patio series at La Note restaurant and events at the Castro Theatre, the Red Vic and the Parkway Speakeasy Theater.
Arnold said he wanted to reassure loyal Fine Arts Cinema customers that they can still get their fix, though they may have to travel slightly farther to get it.
"It will still be classic Fine Arts Cinema: silent films, live music, highly-thematic double-bills," Arnold said.
Unlike many of Kennedy's projects, this appears to be coming to fruition without detractors or opposition. The planning and design process has been going smoothly since Panoramic Interests bought the property in 2000. In the past few months, both the Design Review Committee and the Landmarks Preservation Commission — which had to OK the demolition of some of the buildings which were over 40-years-old — gave the go-ahead. "I think most people have high hopes it is going to be a good project. i don't know anyone who opposes it," said Becky O'Malley of the Landmark Preservation Commission. "To tell you the truth I don't know anyone who is against it."
O'Malley pointed to two other Kennedy projects that have won the unanimous favor of neighbors and city hall.
City Councilmember Polly Armstrong, who has not even seen the plans, said she too was very pleased that something would be done with the buildings.
"I haven't seen the plans. I don't know the size, but I'm delighted he's going to save the theater," said City Councilmember Polly Armstrong. "Patrick has a good ear for knowing what people in Berkeley want to preserve."
The project will come before the Zoning Adjustments Board in April.
Councilmember Dona Spring, who represents the downtown business district, said she thought the new building would be a fine addition to the area.
"It's a prime location for a mixed-used project," said Spring. "There are places in Berkeley where it's appropriate to increase residential development."
In fact, this is one case where increasing density has not created strong neighborhood opposition.
"The building is going to stretch pedestrian activity down another block, so it will help the city achieve its dream of a pedestrian-oriented downtown," Hudson said.
The new plans will allow the cinema to improve its technology, create better sight lines and add more seating and a balcony, Arnold said.
The new building will also finally give the CPS, which is currently headquartered in one of the board member's homes, space to show films that even independent movie theaters have to pass up for fiscal reasons. Arnold is optimistic about the project.
"It'll be an improved environment. We expect a level of density that this part of town has never had. Increased foot traffic will have a positive effect on any storefront business," he said.
David Wheelan, who has been going to the Fine Arts Cinema since it first opened, was relieved that the cinema was not disappearing completely.
"I think it is one of the best art cinema programs in the Bay area and was mourning its pre-mature death, presumably but now incorrectly at the hands of a developer," he said.
"Its terrific that a developer can appreciate the needs of the community and respond so well."
Panoramic Interests has not yet sealed the contract with the Fine Arts Cinema, however. But Arnold is confident about the cinema's fate. Although they will have to pay higher rent in the new building, said Arnold, "It looks do-able. I have faith in this project and that he [Kennedy] will deal with us honestly for the long-term future. But would I like more commitment? Yeah."
Hudson said that Panoramic Interests intends to negotiate a long-term contract with the Fine Arts Cinema.
"There's no final agreement yet, but we are going to be paying for the improvements and signing a long-term lease.
We intend to have them there as long as they have the energy to operate it. It's not a money-making venture."
However, Youth Radio located in the storefront next to the Fine Arts Cinema as a supplement to their main space in the Kennedy-owned University Lofts, will not be coming back there in 2004.
"Youth Radio is a temporary tenant. We negotiated this sweetheart deal with them where they could use the building [next to the Fine Arts Cinema] as overflow space," said Hudson. "We are looking for other space that may be suitable for them."
Friends of the Fine Arts Cinema who want more information about on-the-road engagements should sign up for the mailing list at the theater itself or the web site www.fineartscinema.com.
Schools get connected
Planet Wire Report
The Alameda County Office of Education announced this week that schools throughout the county now have direct access to the Internet, including access to resources from the University of California and the California State University systems.
The gain is part of the Digital California Project, proposed by Gov. Gray Davis two years ago. The program provides $27 million a year to set up networking systems within school districts to benefit students.
Using the network, students will be able to access resources that were once only available at university libraries.
"Because of the Digital California Project, Alameda (County) students are combining education with interactive technology skill-sets that will prepare them for success in college and our technology-based real world,'" said county Superintendent Sheila Jordan.
LWV distorted facts to prove a point
Rob Wrenn
In their open letter (Daily Planet, 3/30-31), Nancy Bickel and other officers of the League of Women Voters claim that the City Council voted to rezone the 1100 block of Hearst Street from R-3 to R-2A because they were "moved by objections to a proposed apartment building".
There is no evidence to support this contention. In fact, the Council voted, with only one "no" vote, to rezone after receiving a unanimous recommendation from the Planning Commission. This recommendation had nothing to do with any proposed apartment building.
It is a matter of public record that the Planning Commission based its recommendation on the following: First, the R-3 zoning was anomalous. The 1100 block of Hearst was the only residentially-zoned block north of Hearst and west of Martin Luther King Way to be zoned R-3. Dozens of other essentially similar blocks in the area were zoned for less density than permitted by R-3 zoning.
Secondly, R-2A zoning is a better fit for the 1100 block than R-3. It allows additional housing development without permitting development that would be out of scale with the neighborhood. Staff analysis showed that the block, which currently includes 45 housing units, could hold 67.5 units with R-2A development standards. Thus, R-2A zoning permits additional units should property owners be interested in adding additional housing units on their properties. Testimony at public hearings made clear that additional units consistent with R-2A zoning standards had in fact been added in recent decades. It was also clear that residents of these blocks had been supportive of appropriately-scaled new housing development.
Third, and contrary to the assertion made in the League leaders' letter, rezoning is entirely consistent with policies in the recently adopted General Plan land use, housing and transportation elements. The General Plan encourages infill housing development in the Downtown, in the Southside close to the UC campus, and on transit/commercial corridors such as University, South Shattuck and San Pablo. The General Plan does not contemplate or advocate substantial increases in density in residentially-zoned areas.
The reason for this is not hard to understand. Berkeley is a built-out city and there are only relatively few vacant, undeveloped lots in residential areas. By contrast, there are many more suitable opportunity sites for housing in commercially-zoned areas. These are precisely the areas where new housing is currently being built. There was a net gain of 1140 housing units in Berkeley between 1990 and 2000 and there are numerous projects totalling hundreds of units in various stages of the development process now. Most of these are happening in precisely the kind of locations called for in the General Plan.
What is most objectionable in their letter is their use of the term "nay-sayers" to describe the many citizens who have taken the time to attend Planning Commission and City Council meetings. The residents of the 1100 Hearst area and the many residents from all over the city who attended the dozens of General Plan public meetings are to be commended for taking time from their families to participate in civic affairs. Residents have a right to voice their opinion about things that have an impact on them and on their families and neighborhoods.
More housing, especially affordable housing, is needed in Berkeley. There are many appropriate locations for this housing. Hopefully, the League will actively support the City Council's recent decisions in favor of affordable housing development on the City's Oxford parking lot downtown and on the Ashby BART station air rights. Both these projects directly address the League's concern that more housing is needed for people who work here but can't afford to live here.
Rob Wrenn, member, Berkeley Planning Commission
Trojans sweep Cal
LOS ANGELES – The Cal baseball team lost an 8-6 lead by giving up six runs in the sixth inning and went on to fall to USC, 13-9, in the third and final game at Dedeaux Field. The Bears were swept in the series and are 19-14 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-10. The Trojans improve to 15-13 (3-0), winning 11-3 Thursday and 9-1 Friday.
Freshman reliever Brent Hale suffered the loss as Hale and Jesse Ingram gave up five of the six runs in the sixth inning, including the go ahead two-run homer by Joey Metropoulos. The winning pitcher for USC was receiver Cory Campo and Jordan Olson earned his first save of the season.
Cal scored a run in the top of the first on an RBI ground out by Carson White and scored twice in the second on bases loaded walks by Ben Conley and Conor Jackson. The Bears did battle back after being down 6-3 going into the fourth inning by scoring three times in the fourth and twice in the fifth for its 8-6 lead. In the fourth the Bears scored on an RBI single by Conley, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly by Noah Jackson. In the fifth, Conley had another RBI single and Conor Jackson had an RBI double. Cal's other run came on a throwing error by USC shortstop Michael Moon in the seventh inning on a potential double play ball.
Conley (2-for-4, three RBI), Brian Horwitz (2-for-3, double) and Jeff Dragicevich (2-for-4, double) had two hits apiece for the Bears. Conor Jackson finished the series 6-for-8 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI.
Cal next hosts Santa Clara on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Evans Diamond before hosting UCLA in a three-game conference series beginning Friday at 2 p.m. at Evans Diamond.
Cal ruggers remain undefeated with win in British Columbia
BRITISH COLUMBIA, Vancouver - In the second match of the two game home-and-away series versus British Columbia, Cal (14-0) traveled to Vancouver and came out on top 28-17 over the Thunderbirds. Senior Dave Guest scored a team-high 13 points in the win.
For the first time this season, the Bears went into halftime without the lead, down 12-6. UBC got things started with a try in the seventh minute to put them up 5-0. Guest would answer ten minutes later, at the 17-minute mark, by hitting a penalty goal to bring Cal within two, 5-3. The Thunderbirds extended their lead at the 35-minute mark, scoring a try to make the score 12-3. At the 40-minute mark, Guest would hit the second of his three penalty goals to bring Cal within six going into the break, 12-6.
British Columbia started strong in the second stanza, scoring another try just four minutes into the half. Down 19-6, the Bears would go on to rattle off 22 unanswered points to come from behind and claim the victory, 28-19. Guest hit his third penalty goal at the 72-minute mark to put the Bears up for good, 21-19. Tony Vontz scored a try during injury time to extend the Bears' lead to nine.
"We had to dig down a bit in the second half but I was happy to see that we had enough in reserve," said head coach Jack Clark. "Full marks to UBC, we expected them to play well at home and they didn't disappoint us."
The Bears face UC-Santa Barbara at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Santa Barbara, Cal's last regular season match.
Happy April Fool's Day!
On April 1, 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during World War II.
In 1789, the U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting, in New York City. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first House Speaker.
In 1873, composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Novgorod Province, Russia.
In 1918, the Royal Air Force was established in Britain.
In 1933, Nazi Germany began persecuting Jews with a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.
In 1946, tidal waves struck the Hawaiian islands, resulting in more than 170 deaths.
In 1947, Greece's King George II died.
In 1970, President Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to take effect after Jan. 1, 1971.
In 1977, the U.S. Senate followed the example of the House by adopting a stringent code of ethics requiring full financial disclosure and limits on outside income.
In 1987, in his first major speech on the AIDS epidemic, President Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, "We've declared AIDS public health enemy No. 1."
President Bush pledged the United States would help finance a $24 billion international aid fund for the former Soviet Union. The House ethics committee publicly identified 22 current and former lawmakers as the worst offenders in the House bank overdraft controversy.
A U.S. Navy surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea, then made an emergency landing on China's Hainan island. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested on corruption charges after a 26-hour armed standoff with the police at his Belgrade villa. Notre Dame won its first national championship in women's basketball, defeating Purdue, 66-64.
Bankrobber needs tip about discretionary spending
SALEM, Ore. — A man suspected of robbing a bank gave himself away when he tipped a waiter $100 in order to get a seat away from the window.
Chris Ronemus was thrilled to receive the large gratuity on a slow day at DaVinci Ristorante, but he wasn't allowed to keep the money.
Scott Michael Farrow, a 33-year-old unemployed painter from California, allegedly threatened a Wells Fargo teller and fled with an undisclosed amount of money Wednesday.
Police canvassing the neighborhood entered the restaurant and asked if anyone had seen someone matching suspect's description. An employee pointed out a man at a table inside, and mentioned the $100 tip.
No barefoot reading, please
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A public library isn't trampling on a patron's constitutional rights by requiring him to wear shoes inside the building, a judge has ruled.
The judge threw out Robert Neinast's freedom of expression lawsuit Wednesday, and agreed with the library that the barefoot ban protects patrons from exposure to broken glass, blood and other bodily fluids that have been found on its floors.
"We think the rules are reasonable and are for the good of all customers," said library Director Larry Black.
Neinast, who had been asked to leave the downtown library for being barefoot several times from 1997 to 2001, said he sued the Columbus Metropolitan Library for blocking his healthy lifestyle and First Amendment rights.
"If any bureaucrat can make a rule regarding health and safety, state parks could make everyone wear sunscreen," Neinast said.
Man convicted in dog-mauling case says he fears for his life
SAN JOSE — The man recently convicted along with his wife in the dog-mauling death of their neighbor last year said he is not surprised by his conviction, but accused the prosecutors and judge of political maneuvering
Robert Noel also told the San Jose Mercury News in an interview from San Francisco Jail Friday that expressing remorse would not have made a difference in his or his wife's convictions. Noel and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, have also been criticized for appearing insensitive to the death of Diane Whipple.
"I saw where the jurors said, 'They didn't show any remorse,' but by definition remorse is an admission of guilt," Noel told the Mercury News. "Besides, what could I possibly say to this woman's family? That their daughter had just died in a horrible fashion? What relevance would there be to any words I could say?"
Noel also said he and his wife fear prison officials may try to have them killed. The couple, who are lawyers, have filed many lawsuits on behalf of inmates and have criticized California prison officials.
The couple's two large Presa Canarios fatally mauled 33-year-old Whipple in her apartment building nearly 14 months ago. Knoller and Noel, who kept the dogs for two California prison inmates, claimed they had no idea the dogs would turn into killers.
Knoller, who was present when the dogs attacked, was convicted of second degree murder. She was also found guilty, along with Noel, who was not there during the attack, of the lesser charges of manslaughter and having a mischievous dog that killed someone.
Noel, 60, has been in jail for a year since the attack. He faces four years in prison.
Windsor standoff ends with 2 dead
WINDSOR — An elderly man shot and killed his teen-age grandson before taking his own life Sunday, according to a Sonoma County sheriff's spokesman.
Windsor police and the sheriff's department evacuated Royal Manor Court Trailer Park shortly after a midmorning call from Carl Donohue, who said he had shot and killed his 18-year-old grandson Jesse, according to Lt. Matt McCaffrey.
Police had spent more than five hours outside the doublewide trailer when they heard a gunshot and saw smoke coming from the home. Firefighters contained the fire shortly afterward, but did not say what caused the fire.
When police entered the trailer around 4 p.m., they found the bodies of both men, McCaffrey said. It appeared they both had been shot to death.
Zinfandel grape might become state fruit
SACRAMENTO – David Phillips grows grapes, Zinfandel grapes. And one of his wine labels seems to describe best the way people feel about a wine that may finally be getting some respect.
"It's called the Seven Deadly Zins," said Phillips, who co-owns the Michael-David Phillips Vineyards in Lodi. "Zinfandel people are different. We're kinda wacky."
They're also wild about their wine and the grape it comes from. Last year, more than 10,000 people attended the annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) conference in San Francisco. A University of California, Davis researcher spent more than seven years tracking the grape's origins to the coast of Croatia.
And now, with a group of school children leading the way, the Zinfandel grape may become California's state fruit. That would help cap a revival of the grape previously best known as the source of the wine oenophiles love to hate — white Zinfandel.
Fourth graders from James McKee Elementary School in Elk Grove, on the edge of the state's Zinfandel belt, lobbied their local assemblyman, Republican Anthony Pescetti of Rancho Cordova, to write a bill proposing the Zinfandel grape as the state fruit.
The students and Zinfandel boosters point to the grape's 12 percent price increase last year, to $520 a ton, and the amount of land devoted to Zinfandel cultivation, 50,200 acres in California (second only to the Cabernet with 70,000), as more reasons why it's a perfect candidate for the state fruit.
Those fourth graders found that the Zinfandel is the most widely planted red grape in California; it was first planted in the state during the 1800s; some vines in the Sierra Nevada foothills are at least 125 years old and still producing grapes; and they were an important part of the agricultural growth in the west during the Gold Rush.
"Zinfandel people are very passionate," said Rebecca Robinson, executive director of ZAP. "I like to say it captures our pioneering spirit in a bottle. There's something different and fun and exuberant about the wine and the people who choose to grow it and drink it."
It's this different and fun image that often has wine aficionados turning up their noses at Zinfandel, which crushes into white and red wines. The white wine is actually pink, because at the crush the grape's skin is quickly separated from the juice, leaving a slightly sweet taste and rosy pink color.
The red wine has an older, spicier, more brash taste.
Until recently, white Zinfandel has had a history of being cheap, said Bruce Boring, owner of the California Wine Club, because it's a quick cash crop. It's made almost instantly, able to be bottled within 12 months of harvest. Wine critics say it is often used as an alternative to beer.
"There's a lot of inexperienced wine drinkers, so white zin is a good starting point," said Boring. "It's a pleasant wine."
But John Brecher, a Wall Street Journal wine columnist, said white Zinfandel is finally getting more respect, because people realize it's very food friendly.
"It can be a very good wine," Brecher said. "It's a nice, fun wine to drink that people don't have to feel intimidated about. And what's so wrong with that?"
It's also become unbelievably popular. White Zinfandel is estimated to have sold about 16.3 million cases in 2000, up from 9.3 million cases in 1996.
The Red Zinfandel market grew to 3.1 million cases in 2000 compared with 2.1 million cases in 1996.
Altogether, wines made from Zinfandel grapes represented 21 percent of the California premium table wine shipped in 2000, according to Gomberg-Fredrikson & Associates, which follows the wine table closely.
At the farm gate level, which is the amount the producer is selling their product for, the Zinfandel was worth $171,892,000 in 2000, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
While that shows Zinfandel is becoming bigger, honoring it as the state fruit is "kind of an off the wall idea," said Dave Parker, director of Canadian and United States merchandising for the California Tree Fruit Agreement, a Fresno-based organization representing fruits like nectarines, peaches and plums.
Also, said Dominique Hansen of the California Strawberry Commission, strawberries bring in more money than Zinfandel grapes. Last year, 87 million trays of strawberries were shipped from the 26,000 acres of strawberry fields in California last year. Their farm gate level was $767,360,000.
All told, said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture Department, agriculture brings about $27 billion to the state economy.
The students behind the pro-Zinfandel bill said they took all this into consideration but still backed the grape, pointing out that it's not just for wine, but jam and pasta sauce, too.
Plus, pushing the bill is "a really good feeling," said fourth grader Nadine Small. "It's like being a part of history."
Boring agreed, saying, "You can't find a friendlier wine."
Less abalone this season as concerns rise about maintaining fishery
By Margie Mason, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO – Sport divers who revel in finding abalone clinging to reefs will be bagging less of the meaty mollusks this season thanks to poachers, over fishing and potential diseases.
Abalone season opens in Northern California on Monday, but free divers used to bringing home 100 animals a year will now be limited to 24. The state Fish and Game Commission also dropped the daily limit in December from four to three as a safeguard to help preserve one of the world's richest remaining wild sources of red abalone.
Over the past decade, abalone take has increased 27 percent in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the most popular abalone diving areas. Businesses there fear the lowered limits will have a drastic effect on their bottom lines. Nearly 40,000 abalone licenses are issued annually for the estimated $20 million industry, which dozens of bed and breakfasts, restaurants and specialty shops depend on for survival.
"I think a lot of people felt like that was a little extreme," Charlie Lorenz of Subsurface Progression dive shop in Fort Bragg said of the limit changes. "For a business that resolves around diving, it's most likely going to have some impact, and it's probably going to be negative to the overall economy."
A special abalone operations unit now uses high-tech equipment to track poachers who often dive with prohibited scuba gear. The team of game wardens sometimes spends months gathering enough evidence to bring down complex abalone rings. Wardens estimate illegal fishing accounts for about 12 percent of the annual take, which is less than half of what's harvested legally.
The penalties for poaching range up to $40,000 in fines and three years in prison.
"It's right up there with the drug trade. These are criminals that are stealing a resource that you and I own," Andersen said. "It's tragic."
Marine biologists say that the lowered take, in effect until the 2004 season, was also implemented because abalone reproduction has been poor over the past few years. Abalone can live up to 35 years and reproduce well into its later years, but ocean conditions and events like El Nino make predicting population size impossible. Abalone also grows slower in cold water than in warmer areas.
Konstantin Karpov, senior fish and game biologist based in Fort Bragg, said about 2 million pounds of red abalone is taken during the seven-month season, and it takes about 14 years for an abalone to reach 7 inches, the minimum size for sport divers to take.
"There are not as many young coming in. We're taking more than can replace themselves," Karpov said. "Areas are getting fished down, and then people are moving on to the next location. It's almost like island hopping."
Fallen priest's Healdsburg parish still reeling
By Kim Curtis, The Associated Press
Rape trial shocks community
HEALDSBURG – In this bucolic Northern California town, where the Roman Catholic Church stands a few blocks from a grassy square bordered by wine and antique shops, parishioners are reeling from a 20-year-old sex scandal.
The Rev. Don Kimball, who worked at St. John the Baptist Church in the early 1980s, has been on trial for rape and lewd conduct. He is being tried now, more than two decades after the alleged crimes, because of recent changes in state law that extended the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving children under 14.
Kimball's trial is part of a nationwide purge of decades-old abuse. Pastors in some parts of the country are stepping to the pulpit and vowing the church no longer will brush aside its problem priests, or quietly transfer them to unsuspecting parishes as the Santa Rosa diocese did with Kimball.
The Santa Rosa diocese, in an effort to allay members' concerns, prepared a written pledge for distribution on Easter Sunday. The diocese pledged to strictly enforce a policy of no tolerance of sexual misconduct by a priest or any church worker.
"We state unequivocally that this diocese is committed to a prompt and decisive course of action in response to any and all such allegations," the three-page statement said.
But for some parishioners, it's too little, too late.
"Most intelligent people don't want the priest or the pope making decisions about how to proceed," lifelong parishioner Richard Catelli said. "You go to the police immediately. You don't ask permission from the bishop. You don't go to Rome. All these procedures are baloney."
Catelli, 65, is still giving money to St. John's, but the scandals have made him stop and think.
"It's hard to give any money because it's not going where it should go," he said outside St. John's before Good Friday services.
Former Santa Rosa bishop John Steinbock testified during Kimball's trial that he offered Kimball an assignment in a jail or hospital after Kimball admitted fondling six teen-agers. Kimball was suspended when he refused reassignment. He remains a priest, but does not administer the sacraments.
The Rev. Thomas Devereaux, current pastor at St. John's, says church secrecy and attempts to solve problems internally are things of the past.
"This is an awful thing to have happen in a church," he said Friday from his parish office. "This is not how clergy should behave. This is not how to build trust."
Devereaux said he's been open and honest with his 1,400 parish families since the sex scandals erupted.
"I didn't hide behind anyone or anything," he said, adding that he has addressed the topic during his sermons and held meetings after Mass. A few weeks ago, he talked to the parents of his First Communicants about it.
The diocese, which covers six Northern California counties and has spent $7.4 million settling sex abuse claims, has struggled with revelations of priest misconduct that led to one priest's suicide and imprisonment of another priest who founded a church camp.
In 1999, Catholics were stunned by the resignation of Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann, who admitted having an affair with a former Ukiah priest. In response, a five-member Sensitive Issues Committee was set up and charged with reviewing any new allegation of priest misconduct. No such allegations have surfaced since Ziemann's resignation.
Devereaux says he's seen Sunday Mass attendance drop as people become less trusting and more suspicious.
"I'm a little bit leery," said Tricia Shindledecker, 39, a Healdsburg attorney. "I was brought up Catholic, though, and there's still a feeling, especially on Good Friday, of healing. Sex abuse is a systemic problem, but it doesn't push you away from being Catholic, because being Catholic is so much more than that."
Nearly every churchgoer stopped outside St. John's on Good Friday believed priests should be allowed to marry.
"They have needs like everybody else," said 89-year-old Marge Montaldo. "Temptation is terrible. They're held to a higher standard, but they're only human. They're not some alien creatures down here."
A Gallup Poll released Wednesday found that 72 percent of Catholics believe the church has done a poor job dealing with sex abuse cases. It also found that almost three-fourths of Catholics believe the hierarchy is more concerned with protecting the church's image than solving the problems of sexual misconduct.
Nevertheless, Jon Jones, a pastoral associate at St. John's, believes upheaval within the church could have positive effects.
"We have a congregation that's demanding accountability," he said. "It helps the congregation achieve a sense of ownership that they are the church. In light of the scandals, we're all in this together."
Report: Ex-LAPD deputy chief investigated for money laundering
Son's alleged cocaine ring under scrutiny
LOS ANGELES – A retired Police Department deputy chief is under investigation for real estate transactions that authorities believe may have laundered money from a cocaine ring headed by his son, it was reported Sunday.
Police officials have been looking into allegations against 66-year-old Maurice Moore for more than a year, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A 40-year LAPD veteran, Moore retired in January as investigators from the Police Department and FBI probed his financial ties to his son, Kevin Moore, a convicted cocaine trafficker.
Authorities are looking at two real estate transactions connected with Maurice Moore to determine whether he attempted to hide assets generated by his son's Detroit-based cocaine dealing, the Times said, citing public documents and interviews with witnesses.
Both transactions occurred in 1992, while Kevin Moore was in federal prison for smuggling about a half ton of cocaine into the country. His drug dealing continued in prison, according to court records and sources, the Times said.
In one of the transactions, the elder Moore purchased an apartment building in Los Angeles in 1992. Seven years later, as Kevin Moore was about to plead guilty to money laundering, he claimed the apartment building belonged to him.
The other deal involves a house in Cheviot Hills that was transferred into Maurice Moore's name on July 7, 1992. The house was deeded to him by Cheryl Frazier, whose sister, Anna Moore, was married to Kevin Moore and participated in his drug and money-laundering enterprises.
In a 1999 plea agreement to money laundering in connection with prison orchestrated drug dealing, Kevin Moore agreed to turn over $1 million in drug profits to the government, and in return, prosecutors agreed not to seize the two properties.
However, records indicate that neither of those properties was his, the Times said. That was significant because federal law gives authorities the ability to seize property purchased with drug proceeds or used to facilitate drug transactions.
Maurice Moore, through his attorney, denied any wrongdoing but declined to comment further. His lawyer also declined to discuss the matter in detail.
The Times said LAPD detectives recently traveled to Detroit to meet with investigators who worked on the Kevin Moore cocaine case, as well as interviewing several potential witnesses in the Los Angeles area.
The allegations came as Moore concluded a long career with the LAPD. Moore joined the department in 1961 as black officers were being integrated into the force. He worked his way up through the ranks, and was promoted to deputy chief by Chief Bernard Parks in December 1998. He is a friend of Parks and also served as Parks' special assistant.
Government trains cyberdefenders
MONTEREY — Long before Sept. 11 and last year's virus-like attacks over the Internet, the U.S. government announced plans to train an elite corps of computer security experts to guard against cyberterrorism.
Officials warned it would be only a matter of time before terrorists learned to exploit vulnerabilities in major systems, from air traffic and banking to spacecraft navigation and defense.
Now, more than three years later, the first students have been awarded scholarships to study computer security in return for working at least two years at a federal agency after graduation.
But is it too little, too late?
"In terms of solving our cybersecurity problems, it doesn't have a chance," said Michael Erbschloe, vice president of research at the consulting firm Computer Economics and author of books on cyberwarfare.
Only about 180 students over four years will get scholarships from the first round of federal grants awarded last May to six universities. More schools will be added this year, increasing the corps by 120 students.
Though President Bush has asked for $19.3 million more for the cybercorps this fiscal year in an emergency $27.1 billion supplemental appropriations request, he has proposed only about $11 million for fiscal 2003 — the same amount Congress has granted the past two years.
"Eleven million dollars just doesn't buy you a lot," Erbschloe said.
Organizers acknowledge the numbers are small, but they believe even a few well-trained experts can make a difference and demonstrate the wisdom of more spending in security education.
Graduates are expected to become more well-rounded than most network specialists, who receive training merely on specific systems, or even computer science graduates whose academic programs often ignore security altogether.
The aim is to create experts who know enough about security to make decisions on buying equipment and software for government and to anticipate vulnerabilities.
"It might be nice to have 39,000 people, but the fact that we can have 100 is a lot better than having zero," said Andy Bernat, program director of Federal Cyber Service at the National Science Foundation, which is overseeing the program along with five other federal agencies.
At the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, about a dozen civilians are participating in the cybercorps and taking the same computer security classes as military students.
After two years, the students will have a master's degree in computer science with an emphasis in information security — along with practical experience.
In one exercise, each student will try to secure a system that will be targeted by hackers from the National Security Agency, Air Force and Army.
Other classes focus on hackers' techniques and security theories.
"We cannot ahead of time predict all the things someone might do to a system," said George Dinolt, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. "That's part of the problem with the approach people are taking to try to solve the security problem."
The cybercorps schools' emphasis on security differs from most college computer science programs, which tend to focus on programming and other basics rather than making systems all but impenetrable.
That is likely to change, given not only recent reports of serious vulnerabilities but also the realization that terrorists can and will exploit weak points — whether in airline security or computer networks.
Botox awaits FDA approval
LOS ANGELES — Not since the early days of Viagra has a lifestyle drug garnered so much attention as Botox.
Botox has erased early wrinkles on young women, flattened the furrowed brows of middle-aged TV anchormen, removed sweat stains under the arms of runway models, and even erased gamblers' unwanted facial expressions.
In the process, the muscle-paralyzing substance has become one of the most profitable products for Allergan Inc., which first branded the drug more than a decade ago for treating crossed eyes.
Botox is a laboratory refined strain of botulinum toxin — one of the most poisonous substances on earth — that's given in extremely small therapeutic doses. Botulinum toxin causes botulism and is a favored tool of bioterrorists. The cult Aum Shinrikyo dispersed a strain of it in aerosol form in several failed attacks in Japan in the early 1990s. Botox already has regulatory approval to treat certain spasmic disorders. But it's the drug's wrinkle-busting properties that have created a national buzz.
"I am getting to the point where the lines are a little more noticeable. (Botox) is an easy way to soften that change," said Lisa J. Davis, a 30-something Los Angeles TV producer.
Men and women of all ages have made Botox injections the most popular cosmetic medical procedure in the nation since 2000, even though the procedure may produce side effects such as swelling or numbness. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the drug for cosmetic use, but the agency doesn't prevent doctors from using it in this way.
Matinees provide a haven for hooky-players
By Molly Bentley, Special to the Daily Planet
It's Tuesday and I shouldn't be here. I have research to do and income taxes to file. Instead, I'm eating popcorn in a movie theater and it's not even noon. That would be fine if this were an arts theater with a limited run of a documentary. Instead, I'm watching "Death to Smoochy," a movie that even Roger Ebert panned. I can still make something of this day if I leave now.
"There's something scary about going to a matinee," said Bruce Buchanan who was buying popcorn at the concession stand. "I mean, I'm going to the movies in the morning. It's like you're playing hooky. But that's what makes it fun, isn't it?"
He, of course, had a pass with him — his 10-year-old son, Wiley. A child in tow makes a mid-week matinee legitimate.
"It's the Puritian ethic," said Michael Stoler, an employee at Shattuck Cinemas. "It's the idea that you should be doing something good during the day. Like work."
Only kids on holiday or retired adults seem to enjoy an afternoon at the movies without guilt. After all,they are the ones who buy tickets for mid-week matinees say local theater workers.
The Oaks theater, which showed "Death to Smoochy," and "Spike and Mike's 25th Anniversary Show" on Tuesday, schedules its matinees around school vacation, said Marti Throssell, an Oak's employee. Otherwise, their movies start after five.
Indeed, the majority of adults at the Oaks on Tuesday had children with them. Michael Fullerton came with his daughter, Molly, 10, who was on Easter break. Didn't she have homework to do?
"Finished that," said Molly, opening a box of Junior Mints.
Not all kids wait until the school bell rings before heading to the box office. There is the occasional hooky-playing teenager that Oak's worker Yousif Sassi spots easily. They act guilty when they buy tickets, he said. "They get all nervous and can't speak or talk."
At least the day off doesn't cost much. Tuesday's moviegoers said cheaper prices made matinees more attractive than regular shows. It's especially nice for families, said Heather Fong, who was out with her husband and son. A matinee is $5 at the Oaks and $5.75 at Shattuck Cinemas. Night time showings can be $3 to $4 dollars more expensive.
Cheaper daytime prices drew Greg Kelly and Barry Forgione to the theater. Forgione, who, according to Kelly is a "matinee star" and sees hundreds of matinees, says he likes the shorter lines and the peace of a near-empty theater. A recent weekday matinee of "Spike and Mike's" drew some 50 viewers, whereas the same time slot over the weekend drew 10 times that amount.
Kelly and Forgione said they have flexible work hours, so meeting in the morning isn't "a question of hooky." Forgione cited another advantage of an early start. "Sometimes I'll go to another movie if I have time," he said.
Not me. I'd dodged enough work today.
Path to be dedicated to Anne Brower, local environmentalist
Though Anne Brower was often overshadowed by her husband David, Berkeley will be honoring the woman who was a worthy environmentalist in her own right by dedicating a path in her name on Stevenson Avenue on Saturday.
Councilmember Betty Olds, who has been working on the project since Anne's death in November 2001, will be hosting the ceremony at 11 am at the entryway of the block-long path that runs down to Miller Avenue.
Ken Brower, who is Anne and David's son, said that he was happy his mother is getting some well-deserved recognition.
"She was the conscience and editor of my father and played a big unknown role in the environmental movement," Brower said.
Brower, a nonfiction writer who lives in Oakland, will be attending the ceremony with his sister Barbara Brower, a geographer at Portland State University.
The Brower's have not been very involved with the path project, but Ken said that he knows his mother loved the walk.
"As the wife of a mountaineer, she loved paths. She could walk from our home to the UC campus [where she worked] on trails and never went on streets except to cross them," he said.
Jackie Ensign of the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, one of the groups spearheading the effort, said that the Anne Brower Path was part of Anne's daily jaunt.
"It was in her neighborhood, and it was one she used a long time. We wanted to honor her with something that was very important to how she lived her life," Ensign said.
The BPWA has been maintaining, surveying and familiarizing people with Berkeley's path network for four years. As they were developing a map of the network, they discovered that this stretch had not yet been named. They knew that Olds was interested in honoring Anne's legacy and suggested the idea to Olds.
The Anne Brower Path will be Path 70 on the city's index of pathways and appear on the map that the BPWA hopes to make available next month.
But it's not a new path, said Ensign. "We were looking at old maps and saw that the path had been named Twain Path, which became Twin Path. It's been used by the neighbors a long time."
Local Boy Scouts also played a major part in improving the grounds. Eagle Scouts put down railroad ties and gravel to make the steep hill a little friendlier.
"The city has $50,000 a year to help maintain the paths, but that's not enough," Olds said.
"The Path Wanderers and the Boy Scouts have done an amazing amount of work. It shows you what positive things Berkeley residents can do instead of just protesting something," she added.
EPA sued over red-legged frog
SAN FRANCISCO— In an effort to save the threatened red-legged frog, a group of environmentalists has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Center for Biological Diversity accuses the EPA of ignoring the Endangered Species Act by allowing certain pesticides to remain on the market even though they are known to kill or deform the frog, according to the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
The suit claims the EPA is breaking the law by not consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on how the EPA's pesticide registration program affects threatened or endangered species.
"Ample evidence exists that pesticides are a contributing factor in the decline of the species, yet even the basic requirements of federal endangered species law have been ignored by the EPA," said Brent Plater, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.
The EPA denies the allegations.
"The EPA always considers endangered species when registering pesticides," said Leo Kay, a spokesman for the EPA's office in San Francisco. "We take the steps necessary to ensure that sensitive animals such as red-legged frogs receive an added protection from potential exposure to chemicals."
The red-legged frog, beloved in California thanks to Mark Twain's tale "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," is listed as threatened under federal law. Only 10 percent of the original population remains, and only four regions have populations with more than 350 frogs.
The environmental group said it hoped to pressure the EPA to start consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, stop the sale of pesticides that harm the frog and promote conservation programs.
Four Marin County 'family' members plead innocent
By Colleen Valles The Associated Press
SAN RAFAEL — The patriarch of a 13-child family, and three of the four women he lived with, pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges they let one young child starve to death and severely neglected the other 12 children.
Also on Tuesday, a Marin County judge said jury selection for their trial will begin Oct. 28.
Prosecutors allege the five defendants ran a house in which ill-fed children were beaten and neglected, culminating in the death of the 19-month-old boy.
Winnfred Wright and three women — Mary Campbell, Kali Polk-Matthews and Deirdre Wilson — pleaded innocent. The fourth woman, Carol Bremner, was in the hospital for leukemia treatment and is scheduled to enter a plea May 13, health permitting.
Defense lawyers suggested they may seek to move the trial from Marin County, where the family moved several years ago from San Francisco, though Wilson's lawyer said she wants to be tried here.
"This is clearly a complex case," said attorney Nanci Clarence. "Rarely do we find a case where the defendants' lives have been subject to such scrutiny."
Attorneys for the defendants argued for more time to prepare for trial, but the judge stuck with a tight schedule. Any motions, including a motion to dismiss the case, must be filed by June 3.
Douglas Horngrad, Wilson's co-counsel, said one motion to be considered was a "motion with respect to the composition of the grand jury." He said he could not explain because of the gag order imposed by Judge Terrence Boren.
"If there's anything left to this case, perhaps we can get ready for trial by fall," Bremner's attorney, Jack Rauch, told the court.
Prosecutor Ed Berberian said the case is unusual in that it likely will involve a lot of expert testimony. But, he added, "we would not have filed the case if we didn't think we had a case we could prove."
The judge also ruled that attorneys can be present when the five give handwriting samples requested by the prosecution. Berberian said the gag order prevented him from commenting on why the prosecution had requested the samples.
The judge did not rule, however, on whether to appoint the same attorneys that represented the children in a previous dependency hearing to represent the children in the trial. The prosecution claimed there could be conflicts with using the same attorneys, while the defense said not using the same attorneys would add another layer of bureaucracy.
A grand jury indicted Wright, 45, Bremner, 44, Wilson, 37, and Campbell, 37, the dead child's mother, in February on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and child neglect. Polk-Matthews, who has posted $100,000 bail, was indicted on charges of manslaughter and child neglect.
Authorities began investigating the cult-like family when 19-month-old Ndigo Campisi-Nyah-Wright was brought dead to a local hospital in November. A coroner concluded the baby died of malnutrition and neglect.
The children allegedly lived in a home where they were lashed and force-fed chili peppers if they misbehaved, according to papers filed with the court. They also reportedly were deprived of sunlight and suffering from rickets, a bone-softening disease caused by a lack of vitamin D. The dozen surviving children have been placed in protective custody.
Million-dollar dinosaur egg lands in Lawrence Hall of Science
Easter egg hunters would have had to look 65 million years ago to find this prize.
The Lawrence Hall of Science is displaying an orange-sized dinosaur egg as part of its "Jurassic Park" exhibit, which contrasts how dinosaurs are presented in movies with what scientists have learned from research.
"It's cool for people to see something so tiny that was going to end up the size of a school bus," said Don Lessem, who heads the Jurassic Foundation, a charity that sponsored the exhibit.
The segnosaur egg was one of five found by a farmer in China's Henan Province. Beetles which crept into the egg devoured the unborn dinosaur's flesh, but left the bones uneaten. The skeleton and yolk hardened into a fossil, which British Researcher Terence Manning values at $1 million.
Manning spent a year cleaning the egg with soap bubbles he applied through an eye dropper.
The exhibit also features replicas of the dinosaur creations used in the "Jurassic Park" films.
England's Queen mother Elizabeth dies
LONDON — The Queen Mother Elizabeth, a symbol of courage and dignity during a tumultuous century of war, social upheaval and royal scandal, died in her sleep Saturday died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, outside London. She was 101 years old.
She was best known to younger generations as the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and grandmother of Prince Charles. But those who were young when German bombs rained down on London in 1940 remembered her as the queen who endured the blitz with them and visited their shattered homes. The queen mother might have been expected to retire from public life when her husband, King George VI, died in 1952.
But after their eldest daughter's succession to the throne, she took a new title, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and a full load of royal duties. She carried them into her 90s, and delighted in meeting people from all walks of life.