REIGN OF TERROR

CODY'S bookstore owner Andy Ross used to call the section of Telegraph
Avenue where his store is ``the Rodeo Drive of intellectuals.'' This
year, Ross started to describe his 'hood as a place of ``social
collapse'' and of a ``reign of terror.''

Cody's has weathered its share of interesting times. In 1968, the
bookstore became a first-aid station for tear-gassed anti-war
protesters. When other bookstores, cowed by terrorists' threats,
removed copies of Salman Rushdie's ``Satanic Verses,'' Ross continued
to sell the book. Cody's was firebombed. Ross still sold the book.

This year, times got too tough and Ross started thinking about moving
from Telegraph. Gangs of so-called street youth -- they're
``grown-ups,'' Ross counters, mostly aged 18-25 -- have terrorized
Telegraph.

Gangs clog the sidewalk. Store owners complain that they see as many
as 20 or 30 people camped on the sidewalk when they arrive at work.
Packs of dogs mess the sidewalks. Recently, a pit bull attacked a
64-year-old woman who was walking her dog.

Drug deals are as routine here as litter. Ross said he sees dealers
selling to minors daily. The occasional public sex act occurs as well.

And there is violence. Cody's windows have been smashed some nine
times this year. Vandals have effaced the area with swastikas -- Ross
is Nazi-like because he doesn't support street people -- as well as
anti-Semitic graffiti. Last month street folk attacked a TV crew.
Telegraph scruffs have turned intimidation of Telegraph workers into
an art form.

For years, Ross and others have called for more police action. Until
recently, the city council has preferred to take mostly the
social-services route. This year, a crisis management team was put
together to help street people. Since July 6, there have been two
physical assaults on team members. Six of nine staffers have been
struck with fists, hit with leather straps or spit at. One team member
has already resigned because of an assault.

Drug dealers don't want social services, Ross concluded. The street
youth cry ``victim,'' then demand amenities.

Ross is a good liberal. He too supports the social-services approach,
but he has come to believe that Telegraph can't be saved without
aggressively enforcing the law on drug crimes. Twenty years ago, Ross
would have been shocked to learn that in 1998 he'd be calling for
tough drug-law enforcement. Call it one of life's surprises. The
lawlessness on Telegraph, however, and the ``social collapse'' have
driven him to this position. Cody's has a 10- point plan for Telegraph
that includes zero tolerance for drug dealers and a ``quota on head
shops.''

As street revenues decline, so do sales tax receipts. The Berkeley
City Council has seen the light. Last month, it voted for an emergency
measure to beef up law enforcement on Telegraph, after Half Price
books announced it intended to close shop and Ross and other street
merchants threaten to pull out of Telegraph.

As Berkeley Deputy City Manager Weldon Rucker noted, ``Some people are
just service-resistant.''

According to Rucker, Berkeley police have made 37 drug arrests on
Telegraph in the last couple of weeks. The result: 31 felony drug charges.

Ross used to think it would take a month of aggressive law enforcement
to clean up Telegraph. By early last week, he marveled, ``They turned
it around in 72 hours.'' He called it ``the miracle of Telegraph Avenue.''

Two days later, Ross wasn't so sure. Some street people were back.
``We haven't gotten the miracle yet,'' he said, but things are improving.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady