Tag it Berkeley, dogs being dogs and public art
Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross | Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dogs do what dogs do - and in Berkeley, "dog do" is now part of some very public art.
Decorative medallions depicting dogs sniffing, dumping and humping each other have recently been added to the base of one of a pair of sculptures commissioned by the city on either end of the pedestrian and bike bridge over Interstate 80.

At first glance, one might think the scatological series of bronzes - at the base of the west side sculpture celebrating the waterfront park - is a joke.

It's not.
"I am showing dogs doing what dogs do at the dog park," said Scott Donahue, the Emeryville artist who was paid $196,000 from Berkeley's public arts program to create the sculptures.
Donahue says the west end sculpture simply depicts the natural and recreational activities at Berkeley's waterfront, which includes a dog park.
"I am a realist," Donahue said. "You can celebrate a place in both a serious and lighthearted way."
So while the sculpture primarily focuses on kite flying, bird watching and other human activities, dogs get their day as well.
Berkeley civic arts coordinator Mary Ann Merker says the sculptures were vetted through a public process, although she admits that some of the smaller details may have been overlooked.
"You have to keep in perspective that there are ... 11 figures on a sculpture that's 28 feet high, so it's really strange to pick out 5 inches," Merker said. "I don't believe it was meant to be that offensive, and you have to really look to find it."

And for anyone who still might be offended?
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion," she says.

Incidentally, you can find one of the dog images on our blog here- but even our editors blushed at the idea of publishing the other two.
Hold that thought: Sacramento insiders thought they could come up with a budget deal by Monday - that is, until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stood up in the middle of Sunday's meeting and announced that his chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, was taking over.

Arnold said he was flying off to attend a Special Olympics event in Sun Valley, Idaho.
"That's no way to close a deal. You need the big guy in the room," said one Democratic source close to the negotiations.
Schwarzenegger was back Tuesday - and promptly announced that unless a deal was struck by Friday, 10,000 state workers would be laid off.

The Terminatress: Interesting to note the cheering section behind former eBay exec Meg Whitman's announced run for governor.
The list reads like a reunion of the crew that brought us Arnold Schwarzenegger.
From former Gov. Pete Wilson, to communications strategist Rob Stutzman, to financial adviser Joanne Davis, to media strategist Todd Harris, to fundraiser Wendy Warfield - they all worked to put or keep Arnold in the governor's seat.
In short, Whitman is the Republican establishment pick.

It is also interesting to note that while most of the campaign strategists who will spend the money are men, all of Whitman's big regional fundraisers - Stacy Davis, Karolyn Dorsee, Charissa Abbay Gonzales, Kristin Hueter, Jennifer Cowen-Fitzgerald, Karen Hammond and the aforementioned Warfield - are women.

And while Whitman was working the boardrooms and gearing up for her big media rollout next week, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner - also a 2010 candidate for governor - has been hitting every Republican pancake breakfast in the state.
Like Arnold, Whitman and Poizner are both mega-millionaires and can finance their runs.
From the looks of things, Whitman will do it from the top down, and Poizner from the bottom up.
Year of the bull: More than 300,000 firecrackers were set off during Saturday's Chinese New Year parade - but as usual, the biggest bang came out of the mouth of Rose Pak.

Pak, head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, spent most of the night using the reviewing stand microphone to blast away at the various "mayoral wannabes" and other politicians in attendance.
None of the jabs, however, matched the tirade Pak unleashed over the $1,000 permit that the parade was required to buy in order to set off the mega-string firecrackers that preceded the entrance of the dragon.

"It's f-ing bull-!" Pak cursed as parents in grandstands covered their children's ears and politicos grinned in shock.
"We used to just set them off with cigarettes," Pak railed. "Now we have to pay thousands of dollars for permits and inspectors and who knows what else. I say bull-!"

Off limits: San Francisco mayoral press secretary Nathan Ballard arrived at work Tuesday in his eco-friendly Toyota Prius, only to discover that he and a couple of other staffers had been evicted from their parking spaces in front of City Hall.
Mayor Gavin "The Green" Newsom is converting the spots to charging stations for electric cars.