bayarealureneb 340 - 359

340.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 20, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Gun enthusiasts fight new regulations”. East Bay officials were supporting new gun laws in 1994 in an effort to combat handgun crimes.

Then-California Attorney General Dan Lungren had released figures showing that the number of homicides in the state involving handguns had risen in 1992. These stories are too easy to write; it’s a story featuring the usual tossed salad of crime statistics, American political heroes and blood-soaked zombies from California’s history — like Charles Manson:

“Charles Manson and Richard Speck with a hatpin are against our beliefs. Jimmy Carter, a Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Teresa or a Martin Luther King with an ‘assault’ rifle present no threat,” he [American Pro-Constitutional Association president Martin A. Easton] wrote.

341.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 20, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Berkeley: Strict begging rules to be adopted”. Berkeley’s city council was split along the usual ideological lines when discussing problematic street behavior.

Ideological lines? With issues like this, it’s Berkeley’s far-left vs. the modern left of California, in my opinion. Most members of the 1994 Berkeley City Council would not have fit into the larger Democratic Party machine, just as heavily-observant Christians with the Republican Party in Alabama don’t fit with Republican conservatives on New York’s Wall Street.

Normally, Americans don’t need to pay attention to such divisions. But occasionally, the divisions erupt clearly. Right now, for example, May 23, 2009, we’re seeing a perfect example of this drama in the case with Nancy Pelosi, who is from the San Francisco Bay Area.

She is Speaker of the House for Democrats, but with her impulsive comments of the last few weeks regarding the Central Intelligence Agency and her trendy/cool trip to Syria in April of 2007, it’s hard to put her next to a “good schools” Democrat from Wyoming or Utah.

So, in 1994, we were seeing some of the same political dynamic operating in Berkeley regarding the poor, vigorous debate about the laws that should or should not be applied to them. It was a strictly local issue, however, unlike the issues into which Pelosi seems to redundantly mire herself.

342.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 20, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Safeco Insurance Company gets restitution”. Story is about man who was, allegedly, speciously reporting his financial loss from the 1991 East Bay hills fire.

I am laughing when I review this story today. The headline could have been, “How NOT to file a phony insurance claim.” The insured was trying to claim damages for his burned attic, for example, for its bedroom and bathroom that he claimed were being remodeled.

Problem is, his former wife and friendly neighbors were telling Safeco’s insurance investigators the attic as it actually existed was only 2-3 feet tall in most areas.

So, sure, he might have been “remodeling” the attic, but for the cat. There were other mistakes the homeowner made with his claim, too. The biggest error was in the man’s not realizing that property insurance companies recognize these fraudulent fire damage claims with very little difficulty in California, a state where fire is as common as the sun’s shine.

343.

Published news brief by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, May 2, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Landmark buys five East Bay theaters”. Text reports a change of ownership for Berkeley’s movie theaters.

“We’ll sell real, fresh brewed Peet’s Coffee,” said Gary Meyer, one of Landmark’s co-founders. “But we’ll also have the junk food that people like. If they want junk candy, that’s fine.”

If you don’t get the meaning of that quote, it’s this: Mr. Meyer is subtly acknowledging Berkeley’s uppity, elite facade when it comes to cinema.

The intellectuals see the films for the art house, and Berkeley’s simple herd sees the blood-and-guts garbage interlaced with the scenes featuring near-naked actresses with massive breasts.

All cities are the same this way, probably. When reviewing this small item on March 24, 2009, I can’t help imagining Mr. Meyer as an immensely successful stockbroker. The top movies for 1994 were Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and The Flintstones.

344.

Published news brief by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 20, 1994, East Bay Journal, “‘First strike — you’re in’ a regional approach to crime”. Runs alongside photo by Photojournalist Chester King showing Berkeley Officer F.R. Onciano on his bike, in uniform, in downtown Berkeley. Story was about a new government plan for cleaning up the streets of the San Francisco East Bay through preventative policing, social networking between government agencies of the Bay Area.

This story both bothers me on Memorial Day of 2009, and gives me hope. It bothers me because I am unsure of the crime statistics I was then given by local agencies for the story.

It had been an election year, 1994, and East Bay leaders needed to be seen by voters as doing something about violent crime. It was in their interests, naturally, to highlight some statistics over others. I will always be suspicious of crime statistics, considering the sources one is forced to depend upon at every angle; you’re looking at numbers about accused CRIMINALS being presented by public employees and/or elected officials whose jobs are secure -- or insecure -- based on reactions of the voting public to those numbers. It’s hard to deeply trust crime statistics, in my opinion.

My favorite book of all time is probably How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff, which came out in 1954, however, so maybe I am biased.

The story gives me hope, though, because Berkeley had a pretty good police chief then, Dash Butler. He retired, but by the time he did, the African-American chief had developed a solid reputation for being rational in his work. He could face the realities of East Bay crime, as this 1994 quote from my story indicates:

The last portion of April and some of May was a particularly violent month in Berkeley with five homicides. A few of those crimes were “heinous, vicious, ugly” murders which were “almost diabolical in nature,” [Dash Butler] said. “There are a lot of people who are hard-core criminals and that’s that,” he said.

He could also be counted upon to deal solidly with some of Berkeley’s career protestors, however. Such crowds could occasionally make accusations of police brutality that were complete nonsense, in my opinion. In summary, the East Bay will always have issues with crime and the reporter needs to be cautious in several respects about the story.

345.

Published news brief by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, May 16, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Berkeley budget busts financial reserves”. Berkeley had to review its spending, and update its sloppy accounting systems.

Last March, the city was embarrassed when the Oakland Tribune reported more than $4 million was missing from city coffers in uncollected fees, taxes and lease payments. City officials said it was a problem of outdated billing systems and inadequately trained staff.

Yet, in this proposed budget the Finance Department will share part of the load in reductions. Recommendations to cut some personnel from the Finance Department would save $46,015. The city is losing much more than that with archaic revenue-collection methods.

346.

Published news brief by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, May 16, 1994, East Bay Journal, “1994 — Another dry year”. I wrote this story for Berkeley residents to read, but the story leans heavily on information from regional experts on the state’s water supply of 1994. California is prone to droughts. Water shortages adversely affect residents, crops, and the state’s revenue. California is prone to fires, too, so its firefighters fear droughts.

Tourists who come to California rave about the sun. But with the sun comes dryness, and with dryness comes fire.

That was the case in the 1991 East Bay hills fire which took 25 lives and destroyed $1.7 billion in property. Four years of drought preceded those flames.

Droughts are unique among natural disasters; they’re insidious.

“Unlike floods, droughts are not clearly defined. Identifying periods of drought in a statewide context is a matter of subjective interpretations, even in retrospect. Even at a given location, however, it is a matter of judgment whether a period of greater-than-normal runoff represents the end of a drought or just a minor interruption,” according to a 1988 report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Everything I’ve seen points to the fact that California is not a water-rich state. We’re dependent on things like snowfall and we haven’t much. Industry is dependent on water. The economy of California is dependent on water. What isn’t?” said Berkeley City Councilmember Shirley Dean, who has pushed for quick action to prepare the city for drought.

347.

Published news brief by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, May 16, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Don’t drink the gray water”. This story related to adjacent drought story that I wrote for same issue. Gray water is water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks and washing machines used for landscaping in dry areas of the state like Santa Barbara. It was a semi-popular idea by some groups in the state during the drought, but viewed as an unsafe idea by many others.

Only those interested in maintaining their landscaping with gray water would have to invest in water equipment, such as surge tanks marked, "GRAY WATER STUB-OUT, DANGER -- UNSAFE WATER."

348.

Published news story by Lurene Helzer, July 4, 1991, El Cerrito Journal, “City considers big picture for funding; Ways to save not always obvious”. Story focuses on how El Cerrito’s spending or withholding of 1991-92 funds affects the city’s financial strength for the longer term. El Cerrito’s Al Miller put it this humorous way:

The CalTrans grant, if El Cerrito gets it, will be like “a free puppy,” [El Cerrito Parks and Recreation Commissioner Al] Miller said. After paying for vaccinations and sterilization, the dog ends up costing plenty.

349.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 6, 1994, East Bay Journal, “The trees of Telegraph”. Story is another one about the costs of Berkeley maintenance, it’s landscaping in particular. It has lively quotes from city commissioners and merchants, so I had to try for a lively, comedic opening:

To understand why Telegraph Avenue is looking so shamefully naked these days, one has to understand a few basic facts about trees. Trees don’t grow on money, for one thing.

A full-grown tree would cost the city around $15,000, which the city cannot afford, and a younger tree takes 12-15 years to grow no matter how much people wish to spend. City commissioners who have discussed the issue say people sometimes expect the council to simply allocate money and fix the problem.

“It’s not like trees just appear fully grown somewhere. They have to grow,” said Rebecca Rhine of the Telegraph Avenue Merchants Association.

People who frequent Telegraph Avenue are accustomed to panhandlers, homeless people and all varieties of odd societal phenomena. But even the best grin-and-bear it Berkeleyans would like to see the trees make a faster comeback.

Then, this area of the story below stands out in May 2009 because it’s not how we expect compassionate Berkeleyans to describe their smallest, weakest residents, whether the city’s broke or not:

Rhine said some were unhappy with the young trees because they look stubby and pathetic compared to the full-grown trees that froze.

350.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, June 6, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Women with AIDS — numbers are rising”. I interviewed Monia Perry and Kathy Stablito, who both had contracted HIV, for this article.

I knew Ms. Stablito, met her at the local gym years before she contracted HIV. She was blond, beautiful and loved exercising. In 1994, most of us were still thinking of AIDS as something gay men in San Francisco got. But after going with Paul for a decade, they split. She went out with new guys, was letting her guard down. This was 1994 now, and here I was interviewing Kathy:

She tested herself initially in January of 1991 — it came out negative. But in August that same year, she took another test at the clinic.

“I’ll never forget the day. Never, ever. It was a beautiful, hot day. The clinic where I got the test put me off for weeks. They kept saying the test was falsely positive, they weren’t sure the machines were working, and so forth and so on.”

One day they called her in. “They told me and I immediately started crying. All I could remember her doing is handing me a booklet of pamphlets and asking if I was going to be okay. I said, ‘No! I’m not going to be okay!’ and I couldn’t stop crying.”

“She (the clinician) was sympathetic but I felt like they should have stayed with me a little longer, not say, ‘You tested positive and drive safely…”

I still can’t find Kathy Stablito, or her kids, Jasmine Webb and Mathew Lyon (or Lyons). It’s a terrible story to revisit in 2009. I have many photos.

351.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, April 18, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Cabbies hot over cheating competitors”. Story is about uninsured cab drivers in Berkeley. Photo by Chris Duffey shows proud driver Guglielmi leaning against her “No. 333” past-era taxi in Berkeley:

Toni Guglielmi operates Bay Area Checker Cab, which consists of a single 1969 Checker Marathon, a black and white car manufactured by Checker Motors.

Designed for the streets of Manhattan, the car has two jump seats and can fit eight people. It was a private car for 23 years, and looks like something out of an old gangster movie. Guglielmi bought it because she grew tired of “driving garbage,” she said.

While waiting in front of Berkeley’s Durant Hotel, Guglielmi, along with another independent operator, Steve Hamlin of Halcyon Taxi Service, complained they have spent hours trying to get the city to enforce taxi laws.

They said shady companies cheat on safety inspections, permits, meter inspections and, most of all, insurance.

352.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, April 15, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Berkeley: Candidate seeks solutions to crime”. It was campaign time for Berkeley, and Carla Woodworth was seeking reelection to the District 7 seat on the city council. She shared a few memories for the story, which gave it some local, historical color:

In 1972, when Woodworth was not quite 18 and looking forward to voting for the first time, she decided to get involved in politics. She worked on democratic candidate George McGovern’s campaign for president against Richard Nixon.

The South Dakota politician [McGovern] lost the election and was branded by Nixon as the candidate of “acid, abortion and amnesty.”

Woodworth registered voters in Berkeley and East Oakland. She recalled piling sardine-style into a car with others her age to see the candidate at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

“Those are exciting times when you’re young,” she said.

She passed up an opportunity to brag now about her efforts for the man who ran against Nixon, instead, she played it down. “What did he win? One state? Two states?”

353.

Published news briefs by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, April 15, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Sexual molestation suit settled”; “Chavez remembered”; “Berkeley: Schools boss retires”.

Key words and names of first news brief are Berkeley Unified School District; General Star Indemnity; Connecticut-based insurer; child abuse; attorney Pamela Y. Price; U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco; Title IX Civil Rights Act 1964; attorney Robert Lyman.

Key words and names of second are Berkeley City Council; Viva Chavez; North Waterfront Park; Cesar Chavez Park; Citizen’s Committee to Honor Cesar Chavez; University Avenue; labor leader; north and south bound portions of Interstate Highway 80; Federico Chavez, nephew Mexican-American labor leader.

Key words and names of third are LaVonia Steele; retiring; Berkeley Superintendent; funding; $6 million; budget; funding prisons; funding public education.

354.

Published news story for East Bay Journal, July 15, 1994, by Lurene Kathleen Helzer and Svend Holst, “Two cities, two budgets, no answers”, regarding 1994-1995 budgets for Berkeley and Oakland, CA. In the summer of 1994, Jeff Leiter was Berkeley’s mayor:

Enter the council chambers of many Bay Area cities trying to pass a 1994-1995 budget and hear the sound of metropolitan discontent — numbers gnashing, social programs drowned by deficit, apologetic politicians.

Not so with Berkeley’s oddly tranquil budget night June 28. The room was filled with children in jeans and baseball caps holding green balloons. Compared to Oakland’s budget of $250 million, this one of $191 million surfed by, even with the $2.5 million deficit.

“What do we do? Do we lock our doors? Do we lead isolated and fearful lives? Or do we step out, collectively, to solve our problems?” said Berkeley Mayor Jeff Leiter.

The crowd, which filled the seats and occupied most of the floor space, listened carefully.

Reporter Holst wrote the Oakland section of this 1994 story, but I wanted to write something about that large city here. Oakland’s mayor that summer was Elihu Harris, who has not gone down as one of the city’s most inspiring leaders since its founding in 1852.

Elihu, as Oakland’s mayor from 1991-1999, is readily remembered by many locals for naming a building after himself, for being in office while Oakland considered recognizing Ebonics (black English) as a language-of-sorts for recognition inside some public schools, and for offering fried chicken to bring Oakland’s black voters to the polls.

Harris was succeeded as Oakland’s mayor by California’s Jerry Brown, who served from 1998-2006. Brown is the current California Attorney General in 2009. He was also the state’s governor from 1975-1983. But that’s not all when it comes to the Brown family of California.

California’s 2009 Attorney General Brown is the son of former California Gov. Pat Brown, who was in office from 1959-1967. The elder Brown is remembered as one of the state’s more dynamic leaders in a state that’s nearly impossible to govern.

Interestingly, Pat Brown lost one race to Ronald Reagan and won one over Richard Nixon while seeking California’s gubernatorial office. Few politicians can say that in 2009. In short, it’s almost a trigonometry course understanding the Brown family’s history inside California.

So, Oakland’s budget might not have been the big news in 1994, but Oakland’s history is far more than budget figures and crime statistics.

355.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, February 7, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Hancock leaves, Berkeley mayor slot still open”. Mayor Loni Hancock resigned the mayoral post in 1994 to accept a position with U.S. President Bill Clinton’s new administration.

Bill Clinton was serving his first term in the White House. In 2009, his wife, Hillary Clinton, is serving as U.S. Secretary of State under U.S. President Barak Obama.

When I revisit this 1994 story today — read the lead, consider the later events which would ensnarl President Clinton — I feel like I am describing more than one job opening in the 1990s, though I am only discussing Berkeley:

Are you politically complaisant? Will you work long hours for low pay? Can you endure being publicly lambasted? If you like all this and more, the Berkeley City Council may have a job for you.

By the end of the decade, Mr. Clinton could well have said it was a good description of his job, too. He was the subject of impeachment proceedings that ultimately did not lead to his impeachment. He was acquitted in February of 1999. So, whether you liked him or not, you might agree that he was publicly lambasted in office.

Democrat Loni Hancock presumably saw less grief and is, in 2009, serving in California’s Senate, 9th District.

356.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, April 4, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Berkeley breaks mayoral logjam”. The story, which reports Jeff Leiter is Berkeley’s new interim mayor, featured prominent political names and lively quotes from participants.

Photographer Chris Duffey’s photo of a smiling Mr. Leiter in a crisp business suit appears alongside the story, serving as a cheerful hint political playtime was over for 1994 Berkeley. Some areas of the story:

Several showed up at the meeting to oppose Leiter’s appointment. Calling themselves the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), a group of Leiter opponents said the city did not need an unelected mayor.

“CNA is concerned over widely circulated, credible rumors that hard-nosed campaigns have been organized by City Hall insiders on behalf of one candidate or another …the process stiff-arms participation by voters and taxpayers of this city...” said John Denton, who led the group.

Linda Powell, head of Henry Hearst Neighborhood Association, barely recognizable at the meeting due to her disguise as Mae West, was disappointed after the vote.

“Is that a backroom deal in your pocket or an interim mayor?” she said.

Congressman Ron Dellums meddled in Berkeley’s affairs by pressuring the council to vote for Leiter, she charged. Powell also opposed Leiter because of what she called his tendency to place “social service programs without consideration for the impact on the community” in some neighborhoods, and to support programs which keep the homeless “in a state of dependency.”

Leiter, commenting before the vote on his opponents, said they were obstructing the process for political reasons. “That saddens me,” he said.

…He also said he will step down from the Downtown Berkeley Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and any city-funded groups.

He said he planned to discuss his activities with City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque, to check for conflicts of interest.

…Leiter was sworn into office for the second time (since he went through the process the previous Friday) with the presence of his partner of 13 years, George Jang, a psychiatrist.

Jang held the Shattuck family’s 250-year-old Bible as Leiter went through the ceremony, smiling broadly...

357.

Published news analysis, part one of two, by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, July 15, 1994, East Bay Journal, “Analysis; Immigration — Tough issue for voters in November”. I had several sources for this story, perspectives. I was able to get my friend Uri Levi and his daughter, Galit Ben-David, to comment. Their comments genuinely improved the value of the story. Their comments were and remain difficult to get for publication:

In Uri Levi’s case, California’s debate on immigration is something more than a passing election-year flurry. His San Leandro roofing company employs recent immigrants.

Levi, although an immigrant himself, is unlike his workers in several respects. He speaks two dialects of Spanish, English, Hebrew, Arabic and can follow French and German. He is well-versed in the sciences, and in international affairs. He is also a property owner. His workers are predominantly poor and less educated.

Part of Levi’s success may be helped by his sensitivity to political hardship. To most Israelis — Arab or Jew — war is familiar.

“In Mexico, it more or less looks like a stable situation. But in those Central American countries, a coup is something that can happen any moment.” Levi employs two Salvadoran immigrants. “In El Salvador with the Death Squads, they’re cutting heads in the middle of the night,” he said.

Empathy aside, what keeps Levi in the market for immigrants?

“Two reasons,” he answered. “First of all, it’s cheaper to hire an immigrant. Secondly, they are ready to do what others are not ready to do. In other words, supply and demand matters. They want to work harder because they are new. Simple as that,” he said.

Levi starts his employees at $7 to $8 per hour. He said his employees may not be sophisticated, but all are legal. Illegal workers are more vulnerable, he said.

He has witnessed some getting paid as little as $1.90 per hour washing dishes, quite often by their compatriots.

“The Chinese will abuse the Chinese, an Israeli will abuse an Israeli, an Arab will abuse an Arab,” he said.

His daughter made an observation after she joined her father in the United States seven years ago. Much of the tension and elitism which existed between Arabs and Jews in Israel changed here.

Long-time Americans have a relationship of elitism with Latinos, similar to Jewish elitism shown toward Arabs in Israel, said Ben-David.

“The Jews wouldn’t work in the gas stations — what the Arabs do — because it would be degrading for them. But they’ll come here and do it. You know what I mean? Nobody knows them here. But back there, I never saw an Israeli (Jew) in a gas station,” she said.

358.

Published news analysis, part 2 of 2, by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, August 1, 1994, East Bay Journal, “The wealth of immigration”. Photo by Chris Duffey runs alongside my story featuring Kirpal Khanna inside his store, Bazaar of India Imports, on Berkeley’s University Avenue.

This second part of the story focuses on selected areas of Berkeley and Oakland, statistics released from U.S. cities in 1994 regarding immigrant populations, and the good/bad stories of immigrants from Asia:

The India Post, a publication for Indian-Americans, recently called Berkeley’s Economic Development Department to ask permission to refer to University Avenue as “Little India.”

Dave Fogarty, an analyst with the department, told them he had no objection.

“A very high proportion of the businesses on University are owned by South Asians, primarily people from India, but also a few people from Pakistan,” said Fogarty.

Fogarty said the effect of immigrant commerce has been positive, though an occasional mainstream-American resident complains that many of the shops cater only to Indian tastes — Saris for women, exotic spices common to Indian food.

Bazaar of India Imports, a variety store and café, is one of the businesses catering to those with Indian roots.

“There have been new Indian businesses that have opened up, but just as fast as they open up, they fold,” said Kush Khanna.

Khanna’s father, Kirpal Khanna, opened the business in 1971.

When the Khannas set up shop on the avenue, there were few other Indians who had preceded him. Now, the well-known corridor is host to restaurants, grocery stores, jeweler shops, clothing stores and music shops with the cultural pith of the world’s largest democracy.

359.

Published news story by Lurene Kathleen Helzer, September 20, 1993, East Bay Journal, “Police chief comes home”. The story regards Oakland’s new police chief, Joseph Samuels. He was coming from the Fresno Police Department.

[Photo of Samuels runs alongside the front-page story, authored probably by photographer Chris Duffey. The clip is slightly damaged, so I can’t see the photo’s by-line.]

Samuels seemed like a pleasant, frank man. I remember the interview going comparatively well. [I only say this because I never adored covering crime.]

He was the first African-American to serve as police chief there. Oakland is not an easy city to police, though, no matter what your racial perspective or skill in law enforcement. According to reports by area newspapers, Samuels no longer holds the Oakland post. I am not very clear on why he moved away from Oakland policing, so I won’t speculate on affairs in that large city’s police department.

Oakland had 124 recorded homicides in 2008, and the issues with violence remain ugly as of this writing in June of 2009, according to police records I found on The San Francisco Chronicle’s website, sfgate.

I don’t know what kind of leader it would really take to improve the violent streets of Oakland, but some of the quotes by Samuels in late 1993 make sad sense in 2009:

Oakland’s new police chief, Joseph Samuels Jr., has the ability to tell the precise truth when asked a direct question. Flowery euphemisms are not his style. Take homicides, for instance:

“There’s very little that a police department can do about them,” Samuels said from his eighth-floor office in the Hall of Justice, “particularly when the motives are things like the inability to handle a personal disagreement or dispute, and the killing takes place in the home.

“It’s not like there’s a lot of random, stranger violence excessively occurring in the city of Oakland. I think the other part of that equation is we’re one of the few cities where the media actually keeps a scorecard, a running tally of all the homicides — number 99, number 100, number 101.”