Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 3

v. jIm.j jwni 4 1 i 'jr. 4 0 4 7 I 1 Monday, August 1992 A4 OAKLAND TRIBUNE i ft. I i V. TJ.

'(4 ft gT- REE TALIT By Benny EvangeBeta Bonny BnngoUota mm wzzr Acting to preserve history before it was lost, Halligan began collecting memorabilia while he was the districts public information officer from until.be retired last year. "Ive been fooling around with this for about 20 years, said Halligan, who had a story to tell for each exhibit. Visitors Friday got to ring one of the numerous mission bells that a sculptor installed in 1906 to mark the old El Camino ReaL Caltrans took over mahv-tenance of the bells after World War although people have stolen some'df them as souveniers, Halligan said. Halligan also assembled a 'history of pavement markers, which drivers now know as the little dots that mark lanes. The first lane marker from the By Wmtf LaamOtkM Tritum See HIGHWAY, Page A-4 Curator Bob Halligaa shows some of the memorabilia he has helped collect.

If museums are a place to view artifacts found along the long, winding road of history, then'Bob Halligan is creating the ultimate museum. Halligan has gathered hundreds of terns, from a mission bell planted, alongside the E3 Camino Real in 1906 to the baseball pennants that Jlew atop the' Bay Bridge during the 1989 World Series. These exhibits provide a nostalgic look back at the life and times of the state's highways and byways. The state Department of Transportation museum will be housed in the new Caltrans District 4 headquarters on Grand Avenue in Oakland. Its important to see what Caltrans has done in the past and where wfre going in the future? Caltrans District 4 Director Preston Kelley said last week.

While the museum wah open Friday BARTS big 20th Actress Joan Chen is one of the celebrities youll see next month in local TV commercials wishing BART a happy 20th birthday. Chen, best known for her role as Josle Packard on that weird TV series "Twin Peaks, has joined comics Phyllis Diller and Ronnie "Just Take BART Schell in TV spots that will appear around Sept 11, BART'S official Cnens appearance was. a drgpm come true for BART marketing department staff writer Ron Rodrigues. Heres a guy whos watched every Twin Peaks episode and has a big poster-sized picture of Chen adorning his office wall. UE WANGLED HIS WAY along when il BART shot the commercial in July and discovered what separates the "stars from us normal folk when be snapped her picture.

In person, shes just a very pretty woman, Rodriguez said. But through a lens, whew! Thats what they call And where did BART shoot the commercial? Atop San Franciscos Twin Peaks, of course. TRANSIT TRIVIA What does the little hole in the top (arrow) end of your BART ticket signify? (Answer below.) MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO RIDE One finding of the survey released last week by RIDES for Bay Area Commuters bears repeating in light of the UR Senates approval of a new energy bill last Thursday. -The bill would rajsefrom $21 to $60 a month the tax-exempt amount com-. panies can provide workers for subway, train or bus tickets.

The Mil also provides up to $1,200 in tax deductions for people who buy cars that use fuels other than gasoline.1 The RIDES survey or 1,6 Q0 Bay Area commuters found that 40 percent of pSople who now drive solo Lb their cars might be swayed to try other means if their, employers offered $20 a month to ride in car pools or use transit The 54 percent who said no were then asked if $60 would make a difference, and 29 percent said yes. On the other hand, only 4.2 percent' of the solo drivers named "commuting costs as a factor in their choice of AT LEAST CALTRANS employees won't'be clogging up the; Bay Bridge as much. Many of Caltirans i are in the East Bay, so with the projects i ty Wmdy LamnAWt IWtaw Throe geaeratioMjof women showed ap. to sedition for The Joy Lack Club: from left, grandmother Mary K. Hamajl of Cerrito, mother Era Fran-sworth Oaklaadl and granddaughter Marbha Farnsworth, 11, of Oaklaad.

women By Katherine Corqoran IHtaMSMTeiNw SAN FRANCISCO It was a search for the real-life Lindas, the An-meis, Suyuans and Ying-yings. Women with numbness in their faces," in the words of author Amy Tan, who left (Aina more than a generation ago with their hopes and bitter secrets. The women who settled in San Francisco, and raised daughters whose' "skin and hair are Chinese, but inside all American-made. Nearly 300 women answered the call an open casting call at the Asian American Theater Company Saturday to find four mothers for the film version of Tan's best-selling novel "The Joy Luck Club. The movie, to be directed by Wayne Wang of Dim Sum and Chan is Missing famebegins filming this fall.

Davia Nelson of Nelson Folger casting company in San Francisco wax hired to help find the primarily among non-actors. Similar open casting calls for the film haye been held in New York and Los Angeles. "Its a commitment to the book and its "themes, said Margaret Cheap, Nelsons assistant. explaining why they are considering women are from China, theyve had hard lives the women are here in this town. The audition, which called for Asian or Pacific Islander women aged 40 to 60 who preferably speak Mandarin, was a success in that many of the women who showed up did see themselves in the.

Everything (Tan)alks about Hived said Marion Kwan, 50, whose friends encouraged her to try out I grew up in Chinatown." See MOMS, Page A-4 local he: local headquarters moving San Francisco r- its home for 60 years to Oakland, employees and others doing business with Caltrans wont have to cross the bridge as often. We dont have to live in that traffic backup that we are also trying to solve, said local Caltrans Director Preston Kelley. PLATFORMS OF DREAMS -Last week I wrote about Southern Pacific Lines building a new passenger train platform near the West Oakland BART Station, even though the railroad has no contracts with anyone to bring trains' there. Welir Port of planning manager Rick Wiederhorn reports that the Ports own plan; for a new Jack London Square Amtrak station are also "proceeding on track and on schedule and should not be adversely affected by that SP platform. The port promised Amtrak that a temporary platform will be ready by July 1993.

Thats the deadline Caltrans gave Amtrak to vacate the current sta- -tion at 16th and Wood Streets to make way for the new Cypress freeway replacement. The port hopes to hire an architect for. the permanent $16 million station in -the next two weeks. Unlike old train stations back east, "this is not going to be a grandiose, monster, 1920s era station, Wiederhorn said. But, with the right design, "It can be a landmark in this part of the city.

Jack London station is scheduled to open in.Angust 1994. The Port and Oakland hope' the passsengers will come. TRANSIT TRIVIA ANSWER -The hole lets vision-impaired riders know which side of the ticket goes into i the fare gate first. ROAD CLOSURES OF THE WEEK Riehmond-San Rafael Bridge, var- ious lanes, Morf-Thurs, 8 a.m. 3 p.m.i TT Beany Street Mi column ap-pearaemy Monday is the Metro section' Raves comment? Write to Benny at tie Oakland.

Tribune. PJO. Box 24301, Oakland CAM33, or faxbim a note at 5194454771 4i vj? i i-f success In another sport theyd be poster girls' big stars In synchronized swimming, they're contemplating retirement to enter medical school. Those people who follow basketball and football, they don't know anything aboutit, Karen said. The-otner athletes ajl think it's great.

Mike Stulcef he won tne gold medal in the shot hut wanted tq kTOW How guys hold your breath underwater so long? said Sarah, finishing the thought "Aerobic training, underwater laps I think as you are in the sport longer and longer, you develop that ability. To simplify they are known in their sport as the Js instead of Karen or Sarah. They will go their separate ways next year. Enough to enough. I just spent 28 years with her, Karen said.

See TWINS, Page A-4 i A BARCELONA, Spain Perhaps Guve seen the skit on "Saturday Night ve ridiculing synchronised swimming. Sarahi and Karen Josephson have. Their reaction? Its hilarious make fuiTo? everybody, don't they? Sarah Or was that Karen? "Were not offended, said Karen. Or was that Sarah? "gome people thought they were making-fun of our sport they were, said I think its gotten our sport more attention, said Sarah. Maybe it was Sarah.

Sarah and Karen Josephson, year-old identical twins from are the worlds best at what they do, but only few knew it Twey are synchronized swimmers a IhiwMftw Synchronised swimmers Karen and Sarah Josephson begin competition today. 1 i sport that to a symbol of athletic obscu- They havent been beaten since onf Olympics competitions. coming theyve concoitrated on during The Josephsons begin competition the past four years.1' V-. i A.