Healing Pole Leaves for New York The One Voice Arts and Leadership Program, which employs disadvantaged local youths every summer in public mural-painting projects, has outdone itself this year. Not only have 150 kids created large outdoor murals and sculptures in 11 different cities (particularly lovely are the murals in the MPC Student Center and at the National Steinbeck Center), but they''ve carved a 23-foot totem pole bound for New York City''s Bronx Zoo to commemorate the lives lost on Sept. 11. The One Voice Healing Totem Pole sets out Friday, Aug. 23 from Seaside for its cross-country journey. Once formally installed in the Bronx Zoo on Sept. 5, it will become the first gift accepted by the city of New York to honor 9/11.

The totem pole was carved from a 6,000-pound Alaskan yellow cedar log that is more than 1,000 years old. It was salvaged from massive explosions at the Port Chicago naval weapons depot during World War II. When the log was dragged out of the Suisun Bay a decade ago, it was gifted to the One Voice program by an environmental group that wanted to see it used as a totem to promote healing.

One Voice Executive Director Joseph Werner says that the young Monterey artists who worked on the project now have a better understanding of the power art wields. "We are touched by this reaching out to us here in New York," says Dr. Steven Sanderson, president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the Bronx Zoo.

Yet Another Public Mural

And while we''re on the subject, kudos to Juanita Anderson for completing her mural on the side of the Grove Market in Pacific Grove. Her creation, "The Victorian Picnic," is the third public mural sponsored by the Pacific Grove Arts Commission as part of its Historic Mural Project. Donations are needed to keep the project going. More information is available at 372-5255.

East of Eden Writers Conference

The California Writers Club is sponsoring a weekend conference at the National Steinbeck Center to help struggling writers find their voices-and a publisher. Agents and publishers, as well as already-publisher authors and screenwriters, will be on hand to offer tips. Call (650) 691-9802 to register ($225 all events, $150 Saturday only), or visit www.southbaywriters.com.

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