Mustang Daily 05-18-09

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CA L I F O R N I A P O LY T E C H N I C S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

3D art exhibit takes over SLO Art Center.

Obama speaks at Notre Dame, starts dialogue about abortion.

IN ARTS, 6

IN NEWS, 3

Find out what happened over the weekend in Cal Poly Athletics.

IN SPORTS, 12

monday, may 18, 2009

Volume LXXIII, Number 147

www.mustangdaily.net

propositions address state budget deficit Matt Fountain mustang daily

special election

Voter gUide

propositions

With the state facing a $42 billion budget deficit this year,this Tuesday Californians have the opportunity to decide how their tax dollars should be used to balance the state budget.

The six propositions of Tuesday’s statewide special election aim to reduce the deficit, cap spending limits, provide relief to services facing drastic cuts in funding and increase the size of a “rainy day” fund for use during years of economic downturn.

However, a growing list of opponents to these measures argue that they will have little impact on services already facing severe cuts, grant the governor too much power in implementing more cuts and will nearly double the amount of taxes already imposed on taxpayers this year — making Californians the highest taxed people in the country for the next two years.

Last week, Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger made one last pitch to a frustrated electorate following polls showing waning support for the five budget-related propositions.

“To fix the system, I need the people’s help,” the Republican governor said in a press conference Thursday.

“I know that the people are sick and tired of hearing about Sacramento’s dysfunction. ... People are angry. People are frustrated.”

He added, “But people need to know how this election will affect you.”

According to the Office of the Secretary of State, Proposition 1A promises to limit state spending and increase the amount of revenues diverted into the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF), which was approved by voters with passage of Prop. 58 in 2004. Prop. 1A will increase the size of total “rainy day” funds from 5 to 12.5 percent of the General Fund, dedicating these funds to saving for future periods of economic downturn.

Julie Soderland, communications

director for Budget Reform Now, the main pro-Prop. 1A-1F coalition led by the governor, said these measures are necessary for balancing the state budget by 2013.

“These measures are crucial for California both in the short and long term,” Soderland said. “Propositions 1A though 1F will provide an immediate $6 billion in much-needed revenue to the state to prevent even deeper cuts to education, health-care, public safety and transportation. In addition, Prop. 1A will put into place long-term reform so that we don’t find ourselves in this type of crisis again.”

Not everyone agrees. Opponents of 1A, including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the California Faculty Association and the California Federation of Teachers argue it will lead to approximately $16 billion in higher sales, vehicle and income taxes throughout the next two years, as well as a reduction in tax credits for dependents, costing families an addi-

Prop 1A- Rainy Day Budget

PRO

Supporters say it will increase budget stability and accountability through state spending limits.

CON Opponents say it will increase pork barrel spending and give too much power to the governor.

Prop 1C- Lottery Modernization Act

PRO

Could provide an immediate $5 billion for the general fund without raising taxes, by borrowing against the state lottery.

CON

Opponents say it simply shuffles money from one fund to the next and that lottery rules should be left as voters originally intended.

Prop 1E- Mental Health Services Funding

PRO

Supporters say it also prioritizes spending and redirects money into the general fund.

CON

Opponents say the positive fiscal impact on the general fund doesn’t justify the huge negative impact on mental health services.

tional $200 per child annually. Opponents also point out that 1A will grant the governor unilateral power in determining which “excessive” spending to cut and/or divert to the “rainy day” fund.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Soderland said. “The opponents of these measures are trying to confuse voters with inaccurate information. Proposition 1A gives the governor a practical and very limited amount of power to reduce or stop increases in state spending when we know we’re going to be running a deficit, which is just common sense.

In addition, those reductions on increases in spending would have to be approved by the legislature, so it’s not unilateral authority. But it is important authority so we don’t dig ourselves deeper into a hole that we can’t afford to be in when we face a downturn.”

Proposition 1B seeks to address cuts to local school districts and comsee Election, page 2

Prop 1B- Education Funding. Payment Plan.

PRO

Education advocates support the fact that it would give $9.3 billion to public K-12 education and community colleges.

CON Opponents believe 1B forces unnecessary spending the state already can’t afford.

Prop 1D- Protects Children’s Services Fund

PRO

Supporters say it prioritizes spending and would protect vulnerable children as it helps to close the budget gap.

CON

Opponents say it would take away money from local health and education programs and has no real fiscal impact.

Prop 1F- Elected officials salaries

PRO

Would prohibit state politicians from receiving pay raises during years that end with budget deficits.

CON

Opponents say it won’t change lawmakers’ behavior significantly and that the actual impact on the budget would be minimal.

soUrce: caLiForNia speciaL eLectioN oFFiciaL Voter iNForMatioN GUide

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News editor: Rachel Glas; News designer: Omar Sanchez www.mustangdaily.net

Election continued from page 1

munity colleges by requiring supplemental payments be made from the BSF beginning in 2011. Payments would be allocated in proportion to average attendance and used for instruction, supplies and local educational programs. Availability of such funds is dependent upon passage of 1A. Communications director for the Yes on 1B campaign, Lindsey Shoemaker, said California schools are in dire need for such funding, and that without passage of 1A, hopes for reducing class sizes and providing adequate levels of faculty and materials are “dead in the water.”

“The budgets for local schools are down to dangerous levels of funding,” Shoemaker said. “If this doesn’t pass we’re essentially back to the drawing boards.”

She added, “Prop.1B begins to repay what has been cut from our schools. It provides a constitutional amendment of (1988’s) Prop.98 to repay $9.3 billion and ensure that schools and community colleges are paid back for overcrowding and decreases in teachers’ salaries.”

No organization has officially made a statement in opposition to 1B. Proposition 1C proposes the “modernization” of the state lottery, borrowing $5 billion from projected lottery profits through the sale of bonds to address the budget deficit and increase the proportion of such profits allocated to education funding approved by voters with 1984’s Proposition 37. In the 2007-08 fiscal year, lottery profits accounted for $1.1 billion, or just over one percent of educational funding, and such payments have only grown at an average rate of 2.8 percent per year—less than the rate of inflation. Under current law, the state has no ability to use lottery funds to balance the

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News

General Fund.

Opponents of this measure point out that there is no guarantee that the state lottery will see enough profits to pay off these bonds. Furthermore, they argue 1C would allow additional borrowing from lottery for unspecified purposes.

“The estimate that (1C) could bring $5 billion immediately to the state is a very conservative one,” Soderland said. “Analysts believe it could be even double that amount. The reason for this is that many states across the country have taken this type of modernization to their lotteries and have seen significant results. For example in the state of New York, where the population is roughly half that of California they have seen an increase in the performance of their lottery and it has performed three times the level of California’s. Our lottery currently operates in the dark ages and 1C is about bringing it to the light.”

Proposition 1D seeks to supplement funding for children’s services originating from 1998’s Prop. 10, which created the California Children and Families Program (now known as the First 5 Program) for promoting, supporting and improving health and early development of children during their first five years of age. The program is currently funded by revenues from state excise taxes on cigarettes, roughly 50 cents a pack. With projected decreases in tobacco sales, about 3 percent annually, according to the Office of the Secretary of State, 1D reportedly will provide $600 million to fund children’s programs such as school readiness, family functioning, and child development, as allocated by local county commissions.

“Every year when we face a deficit, one of the first areas cut in addition to education is health and human services and this budget crisis is no different,” Soderland said.

“By allowing for the use of surplus funding that is sitting in an account not being

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used this year, we’ll be able to minimize the impact that some of those cuts, not only to health services but also to education and other parts of the budget, and the same would apply to 1E.” Sheri Novic, communications director for the First 5 Association, a non-staterelated organization with unofficial ties to the California First 5 Program, said the language used in the proposition is misleading.

According to Novic, 1D will redirect $268 million annually from First 5 commissions, roughly 50 percent of their current annual revenue, and gives the legislature complete control over how to spend the redirected funds. In addition, she said if the proposition passes, combined with the decline in tobacco revenues, by 2013 the commissions could be left with as little as 35 percent of their current funding, with little stopping the legislature from proposing another ini-

Monday, May 18, 2009

tiative to take the rest. Even further, Novic asserted that while the commissions are currently running a surplus, the programs should not be penalized for investing funds wisely.

Proposition 1E essentially proposes the same for mental health services as 1D does for children’s services. 1E amends the Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63) of 2004, allowing for funds to be redirected over the next two years to achieve state General Fund savings and balance the budget. Proponents of the measure claim it is a onetime redirection of funds that will save the General Fund up to $234 million a year by 2011. Opponents, however, argue that the proportion of revenues this will provide the state budget is but a small fraction compared to the major role Prop. 63 funds play in disee Election, page 4

Dorm resident arrested on campus on suspicion of possession and intent to sell mustang daily staff report

A Cal Poly student was arrested May 13 on drug-related charges on campus.

Philosophy freshman James Fitzpatrick was arrested on suspicion of possessing, with the intent to sell, the hallucinatory drug dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT. He also allegedly possessed an unspecified amount of marijuana for sale in his dorm room at

Yosemite Hall.

Fitzpatrick was charged with four counts relating to possession of drugs, including possession with intent to distribute for sale.

University police said the amount of drugs were not substantial and the operation did not appear to be sophisticated. The department is investigating the case to determine if any other people may be involved.

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Monday, May 18, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

News

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

3

Michelle Obama urges graduates to give back

charles rex arbogast associated press rich pedroncelli associated press

First lady Michelle Obama waves to students before the start of graduation ceremonies at the University of California, Merced on Saturday.

Garance Burke associated press

MERCED, Calif. (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama praised graduating students at California’s smallest, youngest public university for their determination to succeed, urging them to give back to their communities with the same fervor they showed to bring her to campus.

In her debut as a commencement speaker on Saturday, Mrs. Obama evoked the struggles of California’s founders — settlers and former slaves, trailblazers and immigrants — to encourage the 493 members of the school’s senior class to use their newfound skills to lift up those around them.

“Many of you may be considering leaving town with your diploma in hand, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable,” Mrs. Obama said before a crowd of 12,000 wilting in the blazing afternoon sun. “By using what you’ve learned here you can shorten the path perhaps for kids who may not see a path at all. I was once one of those kids.”

Clothed in a long black robe and academic regalia, Mrs. Obama spoke of her own drive to get ahead despite the odds, recounting the challenges her working-class family faced on Chicago’s South Side.

“You will face tough times. You will certainly have doubts, and let me tell you because I know I did when I was your age,” she said. “Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back. You must reach back and pull

someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future.”

When students arrived at UC Merced four years ago, there were more cows in the surrounding pasture grass than there were academic buildings in the outer reaches of Merced, about 140 miles southeast of San Francisco.

Today the university boasts the highest percentage of first-generation college students and financially needy students, and one of the most ethnically diverse student bodies in the 10-campus public system.

Located miles from anything urban, officials scrambled to refashion unfinished facilities to accommodate their high-profile visitor. Still, with no structures to shade spectators from the sun, eight audience members were hospitalized Saturday for heat-related illness.

The first lady spoke to graduates for nearly 25 minutes, suggesting they should cement their legacy by starting after-school programs to help students stay engaged, working to reduce pollution or linking needy families to social services.

Many seniors were most touched by her recognition of their dogged efforts to bring her to the fledgling campus.

“There are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true. And you did just that,” she said.

“Your perseverance and creativity were on full display in your efforts to bring me here to Merced.”

President Barack Obama extends his right hand during a closing blessing over the graduates during commencement ceremonies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., campus Sunday.

Obama calls for understanding in Univ. of Notre Dame speech Julie Pace associated press

President Barack Obama strode head-on Sunday into the stormy abortion debate and told graduates at America’s leading Roman Catholic university that both sides must stop demonizing one another.

Obama acknowledged that “no matter how much we want to fudge it ... the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” But he still implored the University of Notre Dame’s graduating class and all in the U.S. to stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It’s a way of life that always has been the Notre Dame tradition.”

One of the noisiest controversies of his young presidency flared after Obama, who supports abortion rights but says the procedure should be rare, was invited to speak at the school and receive an honorary degree. “I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” the president said.

The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, introduced Obama and praised the president for not being “someone who stops talking to those who disagree with him.” Jenkins said too little attention has been paid to Obama’s decision to speak at an institution that opposes his abor-

tion policy.

Ahead of Obama’s address, at least 27 people were arrested on trespassing charges. They included Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as “Roe” in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. She now opposes abortion and joined more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators at the school’s front gate.

More than half held signs, some declaring “Shame on Notre Dame” and “Stop Abortion Now” to express their anger over Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama.

Obama entered the arena to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from many in the crowd of 12,000. But as the president began his commencement address, at least three protesters interrupted it. One yelled, “Stop killing our children.”

The graduates responded by chanting “Yes we can,” the slogan that became synonymous with Obama’s presidential campaign, as well as “We are ND.” Obama seem unfazed, saying Americans must be able to deal with things that make them “uncomfortable.”

The president ceded no ground.

But he said those on each side of the debate “can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.

“So let’s work together to reduce

the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term.”

He said he favored “a sensible conscience clause” that would give anti-abortion health care providers the right to refuse to perform the procedure.

Before taking on the abortion issue, Obama told graduates they were part of a “generation that must find a path back to prosperity and decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before this crisis hit an economy where greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness, and diligence, and an honest day’s work.”

Obama’s appearance appeared additionally complicated by fresh polls that show Americans’ attitudes on the issue have shifted toward the anti-abortion position.

A Gallup survey released Friday found that 51 percent of those questioned call themselves “pro-life” on see Notre Dame, page 5

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Briefs

Word on the Street

“Is the outcry around Obama’s speech at Notre Dame warranted?”

“It’s interesting because it’s blown way out of proportion. It’s not a big deal that he’s speaking his beliefs. Just because it’s a Catholic school it doesn’t mean everybody there is against abortion.”

-Alex Gronbach general engineering freshman

“I just think that his opinions are totally valid. I think he’s saying what he believes. He’s very honest and I’m OK with it.”

-Andy Yu architecture senior

State

National

International

CARPINTERIA, Calif.

(AP) — The Venoco oil company wants to halt barge operations at its coastal Ellwood Marine Terminal and transport crude oil through a new 8.5-mile pipeline.

Carpinteria-based Venoco this week submitted plans to Santa Barbara County and Goleta to eliminate its offshore barge and Ellwood terminal operations next year. The terminal, near the Devereux Slough, stores oil from subsea wells and Platform Holly.

The new pipeline would begin at Venoco’s Ellwood facility and travel under Highway 101 and west along the north side of the freeway to an existing Plains AllAmerican Pipeline near Las Flores Canyon. The pipeline would feed refineries in Los Angeles or San Francisco.

NEW YORK (AP) — A hospital official says a school assistant principal has become the first New York City death linked to the swine flu virus. Flushing Hospital Medical Center spokesman Andrew Rubin says Mitchell Wiener of Intermediate School 238 died Sunday evening. Wiener had been hospitalized and on a ventilator.

The city’s first outbreak of swine flu occurred three weeks ago, when about 700 students and 300 other people associated with a Catholic high school in Queens began falling ill following the return of several students from vacations in Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani official says a recent military offensive against the Taliban has killed more than 1,000 suspected militants.

It was not possible to independently verify Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statement Sunday.

The areas covered by the operation, including the northwest’s Swat Valley, are too dangerous for journalists to freely roam.The military also does not specify how it differentiates civilian from militant killings.

The operation dates back to last month but began in full force in Swat in early May.

•••

“I think it’s blown out of proportion. The media always blows things out of proportion.”

-Evan Nickel industrial engineering freshman

“I think his abortion stance is known and even Catholics have to deal with it, even though abortion is a big topic for Catholics.”

-Megan Marsh architecture sophomore compiled and photographed by matt fountain

www.mustangdaily.net

Monday, May 18, 2009

News

AUBURN, Calif. (AP) — City leaders are up in arms after a series of Internet ads named a remote beach on the American River traditionally used by nudists as a hot spot for illicit sex.

The Craigslist ads prompted city officials to approve a resolution last week asking state park rangers to clamp down on the nudity and sexual activity at the river.

Auburn officials say the offensive behavior discourages families from using the area, opened last summer to boaters, for recreation.

Election continued from page 2

-rectly providing mental health services to Californians.

Perhaps the only initiative on the special election ballot enjoying wide support is 1F, which was introduced by State Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Calif.) and included on the ballot by the legislature in exchange for his endorsement of 1A-1E. The proposition is an attempt to encourage a balanced state budget by prohibiting the California Citizens Compensation Commission, the body responsible for adjusting salaries and benefits for members of the legislature and certain other state officials, from adopting any resolution for the increase of these officials’ salaries if

•••

BOSTON (AP) — Lawyers in the upcoming kidnapping trial of a German national accused of kidnapping his daughter in Boston are filing their list of witnesses and questions they want to ask potential jurors.

Monday is the deadline for defense lawyers and prosecutors to file pretrial motions and other documents before jury selection begins May 26 in the trial of a man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller.

Rockefeller, whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, is accused of kidnapping his 7-yearold daughter during a supervised visit last July. Their disappearance touched off an international manhunt. the Director of Finance determines there will a deficit in the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year.

Opponents of this measure argue that this is an unnecessary addition to the ballot that feeds off the emotions of an electorate frustrated by the inabilities of the legislature to balance the budget on its own. Opponents contend the measure only provides the illusion of making a difference and that potential state savings are minimal at best.

For a complete listing of organizations in support of the propositions on the ballot, visit the Budget Reform Now Web site at http:// www.cabudgetrefor mnow.com.

While there is no list of all opponents of the entire ballot, information on organizations in opposition to particular propositions are

•••

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Congress party was in talks Sunday to finalize a coalition government, a day after its resounding victory in monthlong national elections.

Congress officials were meeting with leaders of smaller parties, officials said, to nudge its coalition over the halfway mark in Parliament.

The Congress-led coalition won 260 seats in India’s 543-seat Parliament, requiring just 12 more spots. The Congress, which on its own took 201 seats in Parliament, won one of the most crushing electoral victories by an individual party in nearly two decades in India’s fractious political arena. available at http://ballotpedia.org/ wiki/index.php/California_2009_ ballot_propositions.

Regardless of whether the propositions pass, the state will continue to experience a deficit in 2010, at $15.4 billion if they pass and $22 billion if they fail, according to the governor’s revised budget released last Thursday. San Luis Obispo County is already bracing itself for further cuts of $8 to $10 million to school districts and health services.

The special election is the result of a week-long special legislative session in Sacramento during the week of Feb. 16, a negotiated effort between the governor’s office, the California Democratic legislative majority and a small group of Republican legislators.

Locally, polls will open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Monday, May 18, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

News

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

5

Universities generate sweat electricity in the gym Jeff Barnard associated press

jeff barnard associated press

Fitness instructor Alicia Swift demonstrates how working out on a specially equipped elliptical machine generates electricity powering the lights in front of her, at the University of Oregon student recreation center in Eugene, Ore.

Notre Dame continued from page 3

Julie Pace associated press

President Barack Obama strode head-on Sunday into the stormy abortion debate and told graduates at America’s leading Roman Catholic university that both sides must stop demonizing one another.

Obama acknowledged that “no matter how much we want to fudge it ... the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” But he still implored the University of Notre Dame’s graduating class and all in the U.S. to stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds.

Fair-minded words. It’s a way of life that always has been the Notre Dame tradition.”

One of the noisiest controversies of his young presidency flared after Obama, who supports abortion rights but says the procedure should be rare, was invited to speak at the school and

As she pedaled an elliptical exercise machine at the University of Oregon, Wen Lee’s face lit up like the light bulbs she was powering.

“I could run my television with this,” the environmental studies graduate student said between breaths, making the three bulbs on the stand in front of her glow brighter as part of a demonstration of renewable people power.

The University of Oregon — one of its school colors is, after all, green — is the latest in a growing number of college campuses and exercise clubs across the country where workouts produce watts.

Splitting the $14,000 cost with the local utility, Eugene Water and Electric Board, the school has retrofitted 20 Precor elliptical machines to generate electricity using technology from ReRev.com of St. Petersburg, Fla. The power from each machine in the Student Recreation Center goes through a converter that turns DC into AC, and a meter to keep track before it flows into the grid.

The amount of electricity produced is small.

The university estimates that 3,000 people a day on 20 machines would generate 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, enough to power one small energy-efficient house in the Northwest.

But it fits in with other sustainability projects, such as solar panels on the rec center roof, and

receive an honorary degree. “I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” the president said.

The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, introduced Obama and praised the president for not being “someone who stops talking to those who disagree with him.” Jenkins said too little attention has been paid to Obama’s decision to speak at an institution that opposes his abortion policy.

Ahead of Obama’s address, at least 27 people were arrested on trespassing charges. They included Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as “Roe” in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

She now opposes abortion and joined more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators at the school’s front gate.

More than half held signs, some declaring “Shame on Notre Dame” and “Stop Abortion Now” to express their anger over Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama.

Obama entered the arena to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from many in the crowd of

a high sense of being green among the student body.

“Oh, wow! It’s awesome! That’s cool!” said sophomore Eileen Donnerberg when told the machine she chose for her workout was producing electricity. “I never thought of that. It’s a good thing.”

The machines are even making their way into the run-up to one of the school’s biggest events: the annual Civil War football game with Oregon State University.

OSU connected 22 exercise machines to the grid last February and will compete with Oregon to see who can generate the most electricity.

The power is a drop in the bucket compared to the University of Oregon’s overall electricity consumption, which is equivalent to 2,280 houses, said sustainability director Steve Mital.

And Northwest electricity rates are so low it would take 28 years to recoup the investment, but Mital said that isn’t really the point.

“We’re not going to get off Middle Eastern oil by connecting up all the ellipticals all over the country,” said Mital. “We bought it and installed it mostly because it’s an educational opportunity. People will be on those things sweating away and it gets them thinking.”

Oregon decided to take the plunge at the suggestion of students, who were inspired by a demonstration of exercise bikes charging batteries at last year’s Olympic track and field trials held here.

12,000. But as the president began his commencement address, at least three protesters interrupted it. One yelled, “Stop killing our children.”

The graduates responded by chanting “Yes we can,” the slogan that became synonymous with Obama’s presidential campaign, as well as “We are ND.” Obama seem unfazed, saying Americans must be able to deal with things that make them “uncomfortable.”

The president ceded no ground.

But he said those on each side of the debate “can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.

“So let’s work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term.”

He said he favored “a sensible conscience clause” that would give antiabortion health care providers the right to refuse to perform the procedure.

“So much of this talk about renewables is fairly abstract,” said Mital. “You jump on one of these machines and 30 minutes later you have a deep visceral understanding of what that means. That’s what I’m after, primarily.”

ReRev.com stands for Renewable Revolution, and was started by Hudson Harr, 23, soon after he graduated from the University of Florida, which was an early adopter.

After pulling the guts out of a variety of exercise machines, from bikes to stair steppers, Harr found that the Precor elliptical already had a small generator that powered the control panel and produced resistance.

Most other brands and devices use alternators, which are better suited to charging batteries, as they do in cars.

Harr’s outfit figured out a way to replace the resistors that eat up the excess power generated, and instead send it to the power grid.

He has a patent pending.

ReRev.com estimates a typical 30-minute workout on one machine generates enough electricity to run a laptop computer for an hour, or a compact fluorescent light bulb for 21⁄2 hours.

Ten facilities are using the technology, and Harr said he hopes it spreads as other manufacturers switch to generators instead of alternators.

“There are over 30,000 health clubs in the U.S.,” said Harr. “If you could figure each one producing electricity will take one house off the grid, that is 30,000 houses off the grid.”

6

monday, may 18, 2009

Arts and Entertainment Editor: Emilie Egger Arts and Entertainment Designer: Milena Krayzbukh

Local artists display weaving Local artists display weaving Local artistsdisplay displayweaving weaving Local artists and sculptural artwork and sculptural artwork and sculptural artwork Jennifer Titcomb MUSTANG DAILY

Clay and fiber may not be similar in appearance but it’s the craftsmanship and spirit that goes into each work that brings the two materials together in an exhibit at the San Luis Obispo Art Center.

Central Coast Craftsmakers, an organization formed to raise awareness for craft disciplines and as a venue to meet other craftoriented artists, is presenting Surface and Form: Explorations in Fiber and Clay. The artwork will be showcased for the entire month of May. Four local artists were chosen by the organization to showcase their creations in the McMeen Gallery room.

Featured fiber artist Myla Collier said the weaving business isn’t as profitable as it once was and has become much harder to find material.

“Back when I started doing this in the ‘70s weaving was very pop-

ular and people were using them as wall hangings and I had a little business and an employee,” she said. “I’ve sold some small things but people are just not that familiar with weaving. In the ‘70s when everybody’s brother was weaving people knew what weaving was about.”

The artists chosen are known in their respective areas and bring different backgrounds and interests to the creative process of each piece.

Another featured fiber artist, Marny Cardin, said she dabbled with fiber work at an early age.

“I didn’t have television when I grew up in Singapore so we read and we drew; we made puzzles and things and I always was knitting for my teddy bears,” Cardin said. “I’ve been sewing since I was very young and I always wanted to spend more time doing it.”

The exhibit features five of her hand-hooked rugs and a collection of three smaller needlework

miniatures. Each rug tells a story by featuring people, animals and scenery.

Her design ideas and quotes come from the journals she has been writing in for years. One rug in particular has ‘Listen to many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe’ stitched along with an image of a woman canoeing through rapids.

“Katherine Hepburn used to say ‘paddle your own canoe’ and I wrote it down in my journal only 12 years ago and thought ‘one day I am going to make a rug of that.’

And I made it for this show,” Cardin said.

She is proud of her rugs but thinks her true talent is making miniature needle-sewn landscapes.

The exhibit features a series of three that are roughly 4 inches by 3 inches.

“I am in collections and people collect my work,” she said. “So I know that they know what they see Artists, page 8

Matt foUntain mustang daily

Surface and Form: Explorations in Fiber and Clay is currently on display at the San Luis Obispo Art Center. The exhibit, put on by the Central Coast Craftmakers, will be on display through the month of May. Most of the works are sculptures (left, above) or are woven from various fibers.

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Arts & eNtertAiNMeNt

monday, may 18, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

beer column

Trappist monks carry on brewing tradition Most of us couldn’t find a sentence that puts the words ‘monk’ and ‘beer’ in the same sentence aside from: “Monks don’t drink beer.”

But that would be wrong.

An order of monks known as Trappists have been making some of the world’s best beers for hundreds of years. While most people associated monks with Buddhism — and let’s face it, Buddha has quite the beer belly in his statues — the Trappists are actually a Roman Catholic order originating in Western Europe in 1664.

Trappists live by the rule of St. Benedict which says “for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands.” So all Trappist monasteries survive not by asking for donations, but producing goods that they sell.

Of the nearly 170 Trappist monasteries worldwide, only seven produce beer. The best-known Trap-

pist beer in America is probably Chimay.

Chimay is produced at Scourmont Abbey in Belgium. It is sold at many of the local stores here in town in the large 750 mL colored bottles. Each distinct style of Chimay comes in a different color label, and Grande Réserve, which happens to be my favorite, comes with a blue label.

Chimay and most Trappist brews are unique in that they are purported to get better with age. It is said that most of the Chimay brews can be aged in a cellar for up to five years and that Grande Réserve can be aged for up to 15 years.

But if you’re like me, it’ll age for about 15 minutes until you can get back to your house and enjoy it.

This is truly a quality beer. It pours fairly dark and has a thick texture, but trust me, it’s not like any crappy porter you may have tried lately despite the appearance.

I find it has a sweet taste for such a dark beer.

Trappist brews are usually known for their strong, fruity taste that are bottle fermented. Chimay’s 9 percent alcohol content fits that criteria and makes it a beer not for the faint of heart.

Other popular Trappist breweries include Westmalle and Rochefort. Rochefort brewery has an 11.3 percent beer called “Rochefort 10” that is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding, beers I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming.

While there are several popular Trappist breweries, rules must be followed in order to be considered a “trappist beer” due to a rash of breweries taking the Trappist label years ago.

The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist abbey or be brewed under control of Trappist monks and the profits from the beer must be directed towards as-

sistance and not financial profit in order to be considered legitimate.

Chimay’s profits go simply to improving the conditions of their monastery and the surrounding area. With Chimay being so tasty and popular, there’s obviously a limit to the amount of money necessary to improve their living situation, and so the rest of their profits

go straight to charity.

So if you ever want to buy a beer and support a good cause at the same time, pick up a bottle of Chimay. It’s like the reward for your charity.

Scott Silvey is a journalism senior and the Mustang Daily sports editor and beer critic.

How old are the Trappist Monk Breweries?

Brouwerij Westvleteren - 1838 Brouwerij Westmalle - 1836 Bieres de Chimay - 1863

Brouwerij de Koningshoeven - 1884 Brasserie d’Orval - 1931 Brouwerij de Achelse Kluis - 1998 Brasserie de Rochefort - 1595

Artists continued from page 6

Jennifer Titcomb MUSTANG DAILY

Clay and fiber may not be similar in appearance but it’s the craftsmanship and spirit that goes into each work that brings the two materials together in an exhibit at the San Luis Obispo Art Center.

Central Coast Craftsmakers, an organization formed to raise awareness for craft disciplines and as a venue to meet other craft-oriented artists, is presenting Surface and Form: Explorations in Fiber and Clay.

The artwork will be showcased for the entire month of May. Four local artists were chosen by the organization to showcase their creations in the McMeen Gallery room.

Featured fiber artist Myla Collier said the weaving business isn’t as profitable as it once was and has become much harder to find material.

“Back when I started doing this in the ‘70s weaving was very popular and people were using them as wall hangings and I had a little business and an employee,” she said. “I’ve sold some small things but people are just not that familiar with weaving. In the ‘70s when everybody’s brother was weaving people knew what weaving was about.”

The artists chosen are known in their respective areas and bring dif-

ferent backgrounds and interests to the creative process of each piece.

Another featured fiber artist, Marny Cardin, said she dabbled with fiber work at an early age.

“I didn’t have television when I grew up in Singapore so we read and we drew; we made puzzles and things and I always was knitting for my teddy bears,” Cardin said. “I’ve been sewing since I was very young and

Matt foUntain mustang daily

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May 18, 2009 Volume LXXII, No. 147 ©2009 Mustang Daily “Oh, you got to be in the boobs instead of having someone in your boobs.”

Opinion/EDitorial mustang daily

monday, may 18, 2009

Editor in chief: Marlize van Romburgh Managing Editor: Giana Magnoli

mustangdaily@gmail.com

www.mustangdaily.net

9

Say ‘hasta la vista’ to ill-conceived special election propositions California’s story is once again turning into a disaster movie, and this time we’ve got the Governator at the helm. Yes, just six years after California voters pushed governor Gray Davis out of office for driving the state into record deficits, we’ve got a sequel; financial catastrophe once again looms large, and now Governor Schwarzenegger and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle again look to temporary solutions. Tomorrow’s special election and its six ballot measures have been put forth as a bi-partisan effort at fiscal responsibility – but fall completely flat.Yes, we need fiscal reform, but Propositions 1A-1E aren’t the way to do it.

The Los Angeles Times reported a few weeks ago that California, which currently holds a $20.5 billion deficit, could be completely broke by as early as July. It’s such a shame; the Golden State has everything going for it. The tenth largest economy in the world, larger even than developed nations like Spain, Canada and Australia, the state has some of the most educated, talent people in the world. From the fertile agriculture lands of the Central Valley to the high-tech industries of Silicon Valley, California should be leading the rest of the United States out of this recession. Instead, it’s struggling just to stay afloat.

And now, rather than signal drastically needed fiscal reform, the May 19 special election is just a list of hastily-drafted and ill-conceived budget propositions put forth by spend-happy lawmakers who hope to buy themselves a few more years in office.The six propositions on the ballot have been touted as ‘budget reform’ sure to set California in the right direction again, but instead, most of these measures would simply pave the way for continued government growth and irresponsible spending on the back of the private sector.

Proposition 1A is a proposed constitutional amendment that would mandate that the state transfer money to its “rainy day fund” during good fiscal years. The measure would allow the fund to collect up to 12.5 percent of state revenues and would place limits on what that money could be spent on. Yet although the spending limit begins to move in the right direction, the overall proposition falls short of true fiscal reform.

Why it shouldn’t pass: First of all, the amendment would extend the recently passed increase on retail, vehicle and income taxes by up to two years, costing taxpayers an additional $16 billion. In a struggling economy, additional tax burdens are the least thing we need. State lawmakers need to get their own spending under control before asking taxpayers to keep funding those spending habits. Prop. 1A would also give Schwarzenegger and his administra-

tion tremendous new powers over the budget, allowing the governor to make spending decisions without approval from the state legislature.

Proposition 1B hits a little closer to home for college students. It rests on the passage of 1A, and if both pass, the second proposition would force the state to pay $9.3 billion to state K-12 schools and community colleges, money education advocates believe are owed to schools from previous years. If approved, the payments would be made over the next five or six years, starting in 2011-12, and would settle a dispute which would otherwise likely end up in court.

Why it shouldn’t pass: The measure would force billions of dollars of new liabilities on the state when it already doesn’t have money to spend. Uncontrolled government spending is what landed California in this financial mess in the first place; let’s not keep compounding the problem by forcing more deficit spending onto the budget.

Proposition 1C seems to almost intentionally confuse by shuffling state money around from one fund to the next. Prop 1C asks voters to decide whether or not the state can borrow from projected future lottery profits to close its current deficit. Governor Schwarzenegger and other proponents say Prop 1C is a good thing because it would help to ease the deficit with something other than taxpayer money.

Why it shouldn’t pass: Proposition 1C would be laughable, expect for the fact that it actually exists on the ballot and is up for serious consideration. It’s your classic robbing-Peterto-pay-Paul scenario, borrowing against future state lottery funds to place money in the general fund, where it’s ripe to be spent. Even worse, the proposition is based on shaky projections; proponents believe the changes they would make to the lottery would enable it to rake in more revenues, but with the way the economy looks right now, that doesn’t seem so likely.

Much like the above ballot measure, Proposition 1D simply shuffles money around from

one fund to another, under the guise of fiscal responsibility. The measure asks voters to decide whether to move money from voterapproved early childhood funding to pay for other state health and human services programs. It’s projected that the measure would “save” the general fund $608 million in fiscal year 2009-10 plus an additional $268 million a year in the four fiscal years thereafter.

Why it shouldn’t pass: Like the propositions directly above and below it on the ballot, 1D is a short-term accounting gimmick. It doesn’t do anything to actually save the state money; instead it simply moves it around and in doing so goes against the original will of the voters who passed Proposition 10 back in 1998.

Proposition 1E would shift $226.7 million this year and $234 million next year from the Prop. 63 Mental Health Services initiative to pay for the Medi-Cal health care program.

Why it shouldn’t pass: Prop 1E is another short-term gimmick. I’m starting to sound redundant, but yes, like 1D, Prop. 1E simply redirects funds from one state program to another and does nothing to reduce overall government spending.

Finally, Proposition 1F — the one measure that I actually hope does pass. Prop. 1F asks voters to decide whether to eliminate salary increases for the governor, legislators and other elected state officials whenever California’s general fund is expected to end the year in a deficit. The measure made its way onto the ballot largely thanks to our local state senator, Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) who felt it was unacceptable for lawmakers to get pay increases in years when they can’t even balance the books.

Why it should definitely pass: If nothing else, Prop 1F is taxpayer retribution. While the actual fiscal impact of the proposition would be minor, it might serve as a wake-up call for spend-happy state lawmakers — and that alone makes it worth passing.

Voter turnout is expected to be low at tomorrow’s special election, which means your vote really counts. If you believe that shortterm accounting gimmicks, higher taxes and more deficit spending are not what California needs, say “hasta la vista” to propositions 1A – 1E and send the Governator a strong message with your yes vote on Prop. 1F. It’s time lawmakers go back to the drawing board and come up with real solutions for cutting government spending and boosting California’s real heroes: its private-sector businesses.

Marlize van Romburgh is a journalism senior with an economics minor and the Mustang Daily editor in chief.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Possibility of satire should be considered

This letter is in response to the goings back and forth between the “bigoted” Ryan Moriarty and those Crusaders of Justice that have stood up to oppose his views. First off, I was shocked and appalled by Ryan’s original letter like the rest of you. His views were disgusting, completely lacking empathy and generally hate-filled. I was

also struck by the sheer lack of a grasp of the English language. I think the poor grammar and use of everything the English language has to offer was a sorry thing. The Mustang Daily should have never printed it, simply to save their own reputation. Not reputation from his ideas, just from his miserable grammar.

Enough complaining about Moriarty. I also have to address the in-

ability of the English majors on this campus to recognize Ryan Moriarty as what he is and for what he is doing. As a fellow physics major, I am saddened by your inability to see other possibilities. My first thought is that perhaps Ryan Moriarty’s opinions are just too far out there. Who is actually that sick?

Such a thing reminds me of other historical figures who have suggested disgusting things, such as

Jonathan Swift. He wrote a horrible “letter to the editor” of his day, which makes one sick to read. But it was known as satire. You know, sarcastically presenting the opposite of what you believe in order to get others to understand the absurdity of it? But no, you English majors never would have heard of that.

Tim Wolf physics junior

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Borel continued from page 12

continued from page 12

It was 51-31 at halftime.

“Obviously, the Lakers are more experienced than us, but I thought we were the better team,” Artest said.

“I thought it was a good learning experience for these guys. They’ve been through a Game 7. Most young teams get swept. That will really help the Rockets in the future.”

mustangdaily.net y always something new.

poll s

video

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break s gs ow blo desh sli

They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly before halftime.

After the game, Bryant patted Gasol on the shoulder and offered words of congratulations.

“I was just proud of the way he played,” Bryant said. “He answered the challenge and he played like one of the best players in the world. I was just excited for him.”

Gasol kept Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks from penetrating, as he did often in this series. The Spaniard had 12 defensive rebounds and swatted away three shots.

“We all know what he can do offensively. I just felt like defensively, he had a superb game,” Bryant said.

Gasol made 10 of 19 shots. He left to a nice ovation with 3:34 remaining in the game.

Trevor Ariza scored 15 points while Bryant and Andrew Bynum had 14 apiece. Bryant added five assists and seven rebounds.

Brooks was held to 13 points and Luis Scola to 11 for Houston. Ron Artest (seven points) and Shane Battier (three) were non-factors.

“I think we learned that if we play hard every night and we’re ready to compete, starting on the defensive end, we’re going to give ourselves a chance,” Gasol said. “Hopefully we’re going to carry that into the next round and to a championship. That’s something we need to do consistently, no matter what, no matter where we play.”

This one was practically over before the fans settled into their seats.

With Houston missing its first 12 shots, Los Angeles used two Houston turnovers and a blocked shot in racing to an 8-0 lead. Gasol blocked a shot by Scola and fed Bryant for a layup. Scola’s turnover led to Ariza’s tip-in of Gasol’s miss. A turnover

by Brooks set up Ariza’s 3-pointer, forcing Houston to call timeout with 9:32 to go in the quarter.

Houston missed seven shots during the next 2 1/2 minutes, and didn’t get on the scoreboard until Brooks made two free throws just more than five minutes in.

“Coming in here for Game 7, we knew they were going to give us their best shot, especially in the first quarter,” Battier said. “To be honest with you, we just didn’t have energy to match it. Unfortunately, after we got past the first quarter we played them pretty straight up, but the damage had been done at that point.”

During one sequence, Odom blocked a shot by Brooks, Bryant ended up with the ball and whipped a crosscourt pass to Ariza for a 3-pointer and a 13-2 lead.

It wasn’t until then that the Rockets made their first basket, a layup by Chuck Hayes.

Houston made only 5 of 20 shots in the first quarter, while the Lakers had 17 rebounds, including 12 on defense.

The Lakers were up 22-12 at the end of the first quarter and steadily pulled away.

Leading by 19, the Lakers scored six straight late in the quarter. Bryant stole a pass and fed Ariza for a slam dunk, bringing Jack Nicholson out of his courtside seat.

o di au

when he won his first Derby riding Street Sense.The only complaint about Borel’s work ethic, in fact, came from his older brother, Cecil, a trainer who complained it was getting harder and harder to get Calvin to do his usual chores — mucking stalls, and helping out around the barn.

Small wonder. Borel spent Tuesday flying to Los Angeles to do a guest turn on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” It was a long way from his birthplace in Catahoula, La., a speck of a town where Borel left school after the eighth grade. What he didn’t leave behind was a work ethic that drove him to ride three horses on the undercard ahead of the Preakness, and an instinct for what each of his mounts want to do.

“Usually, I just let the reins back and she just cruises,” he said about Rachel Alexandra. “I had to reach and pick ‘em up about the quarter pole just to support her a little bit, but I think we could have went another round with her. She got so much determination.

“When you look in the filly’s eyes, it’s unbelievable,” he added. “You win.”

Borel’s ability to read his horses is considerable enough that he agreed to give his toughest enemy some pre-race advice. After deciding to switch horses, Borel honored a request from Chip Woolley Jr., trainer of Mine That Bird, to counsel the gelding’s new rider. Borel talked with fellow jockey Mike Smith be-

fore Saturday’s race, but could only transfer a little of the magic.

“I’ll tell him what I think and it’s up to Mike. He knows his horses,” Borel said. “It’s kind of hard for me to tell him how to ride a horse.”

It’s harder still for Borel to tell his owners where to run their horses.

He was the regular rider for Rachel Alexandra, but even after she won the Oaks and Borel called the filly the best horse he’d ever been on, he didn’t urge her original owners to take a step up in class.

“No, sir,” Borel said. “I don’t ever do that. I don’t tell the owner what to do with the horses. They pay the bills and raise them and everything.

If they might ask me, then I might, you know, give them my opinion. ... I thought all along she could run with the boys, but I was never approached.”

When owners Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick bought the filly five days after the Oaks, they had no doubts she could hold her own. They had even fewer doubts about who they wanted steering her through traffic.

“Calvin was the natural rider for this horse,” Jackson said.

The Belmont is still three weeks off, and both the owners and trainer Steve Asmussen were cagey about whether she would run.A win there would complete a personal Triple Crown for Borel. And if her connections ask him whether Rachel Alexandra will have trouble covering the torturous mile-and-a-half distance, they’ll get the same polite answer Borel gave a questioner moments after climbing off his horse.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “No, sir.”

sports Lakers

11

Sports designer: Kate Nickerson

mustangdaily.net Monday, May 18, 2009

SPORTS

sports editor:

Scott Silvey mustangdailysports@gmail.com

MUSTANG DAILY

WEEKEND women: second men: third

softball

palo alto regional champtionship game: no. 8 stanford 4, cal poly 0 The Cal Poly softball team entered this season’s NCAA Tournament having never won a regional game. After romping over Portland State (5-0) and Nevada (6-1) on Saturday, the Mustangs found themselves just two wins away from advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in program history.

Cal Poly ran into a brick wall in Cardinal starting pitcher Missy Penna (34-6). Penna held the Mustangs hitless for the first three innings and scattered just three hits in a complete-game shutout.

Stanford would put the game out of reach in the final innings scoring two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh for the final margin.

The Mustangs end the 2009 season with a 41-12 record and a litany of new program records. In capturing a second Big West title in three seasons, Cal Poly established program records for overall winning percentage (.774), conference winning percentage (.857), conference victories (18), fewest conference defeats (three) and fewest overall defeats. Additionally, the Mustangs earned their first national ranking in 12 seasons and rose to as high as No. 21 in the April 28 edition of the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll and their 41 wins is best since the school moved to Division I in 1995.

Cal Poly also had several players collect accolades. Sophomore left-

nick camacho mustang daily file photo

Cal Poly sophomore left-hander Anna Cahn, shown above, finished the 2009 season with a school-record 28 victories. hander Anna Cahn was named Big West Pitcher of the Year. She also set school records in wins (28) and innings pitched (252.2).

Cahn and junior first baseman Krysten Cary were named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA AllWest Region Team marking the first time in program history that Cal Poly enjoyed dual honorees.

“We had a great season and it’s been something we’ve been building toward,” Cal Poly head coach Jenny Condon said in a statement.

“We’ve set a foundation for things to come. We’ll be patient and get better each year. Overall, it’s hard to ask for a better year and no one should hang their head.”

baseball

no. 18 cal poly 9, long beach state 3 The Mustangs took Sunday’s rubber game in Long Beach after the team’s split on Friday and Sat-

urday.

Freshman right-hander Mason Radeke (6-1) gave his secondconsecutive solid start for Cal Poly, scattering nine hits and allowing just two earned runs over eight innings.

Senior outfielder Ryan Lee and junior outfielder Luke Yoder each collected three hits in helping the Mustangs improve to 35-17 and 13-8 in the Big West Conference.

In winning the series, Cal Poly has claimed 11 of 13 series’ this season and maintains sole possession of third place in the conference. It was the first series victory for the Mustangs in Long Beach since 1997.

Cal Poly concludes the regular season with four home games, the first at 6 p.m. Monday, hosting non-conference foe Santa Clara in Baggett Stadium.

track and field

big west championships

The Cal Poly track and field team won six individual event winners at last weekend’s Big West Conference Championship in Irvine.

Senior Julieanne Dufresne was the only two-event winner for Cal Poly as she triumphed with a 161-3 mark in the discus on Friday and a personal-best effort of 52-8 3/4 feet in the shot put on Saturday.

The Mustangs also swept the men’s and women’s pole vault as sophomore Connor Landry and junior Jenna Homes won for Cal Poly.

Freshman Derek Thomas won the 1,500 for Cal Poly in a time of 3:46.19 while senior Katie Robbins rounded out the Cal Poly winners taking the javelin with a throw of 146-2.

Cal State Northridge dominated the competition, winning both the men’s and women’s team competitions. The Cal Poly women finished a distant second while the men finished in third.

The men’s team made a final push to overtake UC Davis for second place with a strong effort in the 5,000, but came up just short.

Cal Poly put four in the top eight Troy Swier (fourth, 14:31.60), Carl Dargitz (fifth, 14:32.86), Jeff Lease (sixth, 14:34.00) and Daniel Gonia (eighth, 14:38.40).

Senior James Nunno, who won the decathlon at the multi-event championships two weekends ago, is awaiting word on whether he will be invited to the NCAA national championships. Nunno currently has the 20th best score in the nation.

Bernie Wilson

associated press

Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant drives in for a layup during the Lakers 89-70 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday in the Staples Center.

LOS ANGELES — All is well again in La-La Land. The real Los Angeles Lakers showed up, and in a Game 7, no less.

With Pau Gasol dominating on both ends of the court, the Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning the decisive final game of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 on Sunday.

Playing with emotion, Gasol scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. The Lakers looked like the conference’s top-seeded team, not the maddeningly inconsistent one that was pushed to the limit by the undermanned, smaller Rockets.

Trying to reach the NBA finals for the second straight year, the Lakers host the opener of the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

The Lakers have been so up and down in this series that coach Phil Jackson said before Game 5 that

associated press

Calvin Borel jumped off Derby winner Mine That Bird and onto Preakness champion Rachel Alexandra.

Jim Litke associated press

they had a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde in them. That was the night the Lakers raced to a 40-point win at home, only to follow it up two nights later with a 15-point loss, the second straight game they were blind-sided in Houston.

There are any number of theories as to why the Lakers have had a split personality.

Asked what the Lakers learned from this series, Kobe Bryant cracked: “That we’re bipolar.”

Added Lamar Odom: “To make it interesting. It’s Hollywood, you know.”

It turns out that home-court advantage and a smothering defense were all it took to jump-start the Lakers, who made sure they didn’t choke this one away against the No. 5 seed.

The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots. The owned the backboards, taking a 5533 advantage, and blocked 10 shots.

BALTIMORE — The man is a maestro in traffic.

The hardest part of Calvin Borel’s trip was already behind him, back on the racetrack, when a crowd of wellwishers and hangers-on blocked his filly’s final few steps into the winner’s circle at the Preakness. As security guards waded into the throng on either side shouting instructions, the jockey sat tall in the saddle atop Rachel Alexandra, a bemused smile creasing his lips.

“I don’t need much room,” Borel told the crowd politely, his Cajun accent unmistakable. “Just give me a whisker.”

Two weeks after guiding Mine That Bird along the rail to an improbable come-from-way-back win in the Kentucky Derby, he switched mounts and steered Rachel Alexandra to the front early at Pimlico and dared somebody to catch him. All the secondguessing that followed Borel’s decision — no jockey had ever climbed off the Derby winner to ride another horse in the Preakness — evaporated in less than two minutes.

“I mean, I’m paid to win races,” he said, “and I knew she was going to win.All along I knew she was the best horse to ride.”

The remarkable thing about Borel is that he will ride just about any horse. From where he sits, they’re all good, and they only get better under his tutelage.

As Rachel Alexandra was getting the star treatment and lolling around the stables Thursday at Pimlico, Borel was still at Churchill Downs, hard at work. He rode eight horses that day, winning three and racking up his 900th victory at the Louisville track.

But he also was beaten badly aboard a 7-year-old mare purchased last summer for $5,000.

If Borel was going to get a big head, it would have happened long before now, and no later than 2007, when

see Lakers, page 11

see Borel, page 11

Real Lakers show up, rout Rockets 89-70 in Game 7 associated press

Worst part of Borel’s trip: winner’s circle jam