Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

Flash: Berkeley Campus Police Raid Long Haul, Seizing Computers, Disks, Drives

By Richard Brenneman

Wednesday August 27, 2008

UC Berkeley campus police, guns drawn, raided the Long Haul Infoshop Wednesday morning, seizing 13 computers and other gear, but the reason remains a mystery. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL: Hillary Rocks Pepsi Center, Disunity threats were just tempest in a teapot

By Christopher Krohn

Wednesday August 27, 2008

DENVER—Many wondered, often aloud, how Clinton delegates would react Tuesday night on the floor of the Pepsi Center at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Would the Clintonistas call for a role call vote? Might they go a bit farther and get into an old-fashioned floor fight started by those seeking to throw the nomination into contention and controversy, and risk losing the November election? I spoke earlier in the day with several delegates and elected officials, who were wary, not panicked, but concerned about this scenario. -more-

Flash: Judge Gives Stadium Win to Cal; Losers Say They’ll File an Appeal

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday August 26, 2008

The first round of the legal battle over the Memorial Stadium ended late Tuesday, and lawyers for the losing side are preparing their appeal. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL:Enviros Launch All-Out Campaign for Obama

By Randy Shaw, Special to The Planet from BeyondChron.org

Tuesday August 26, 2008

Next to the “Big Tent” housing bloggers and policy forums here in Denver is an unmarked suite where some of the nation’s leading environmental activists are at work. This is the office where Environmental America, Progressive Future, the Progressive Future Education Fund, Community Voters, and the Public Interest Network are plotting the biggest voter outreach and mobilization drive in environmental group history. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL: Police Outnumber Denver Protesters

By Christopher Krohn, Special to The Planet

Monday August 25, 2008

The police presence here in Denver is overwhelming. As the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is set to begin tonight, several thousand "alternative convention-goers" have already descended on the Mile High City, with issues as diverse as homelessness, abortion, universal healthcare, and stopping the war in Iraq. -more-

Budget Woes Might Cut UC Faculty, Says Birgeneau

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday August 25, 2008

At his annual back-to-school press briefing Monday, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau said the university, in response to ongoing budget woes, would cut back on hiring new faculty and not replace retiring faculty, which would gradually increase the current 18:1 student-to-teacher ratio on campus. -more-

Weekend Robberies Hit Four Oakland Businesses

By Kristin McFarland

Monday August 25, 2008

Four takeover robberies in Oakland this weekend reflect a continuing crime trend in the East Bay. -more-

Unions Score Victories Amidst Economic Woes

By Richard Brenneman

Monday August 25, 2008

Despite troubling economic news nationally, last week witnessed two major advances on the Berkeley labor front and a protest by city workers in a neighboring city: -more-

Arpeggio Brings Million-Dollar Condos to Downtown Berkeley

By Richard Brenneman

Monday August 25, 2008

Million-dollar condos? In Berkeley? Yes, says Don Peterson, president of SNK Development, the company now building the nine-story-plus Berkeley Arpeggio on Center Street. -more-

King Middle School Gets New Cafeteria, Berkeley Unified Gets New Kitchen

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday August 25, 2008

Until earlier this month, students at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley could pretty much eat lunch anywhere they wanted. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL: Predictions

By Randy Shaw, Special to the Planet from BeyondChron.org

Monday August 25, 2008

Today marks the start of BeyondChron,org's wall-to-wall convention coverage here in Denver. Having predicted in November 2006 that 2008 was Barack Obama’s time to win the presidency, and on Aug. 15 that Biden would be his running mate, I make my predictions for convention week on a roll. -more-

School Board OK’s Design for South of Bancroft Project

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Friday August 22, 2008

At a public meeting Wednesday the Berkeley Board of Education unanimously approved a schematic design for the $35 million South of Bancroft project, which would build about 55,000 square feet of new buildings and improve landscaping in the southern part of the Berkeley High School campus. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL: Democratic Party Platform—All things to All People?

by Christopher Krohn

Friday August 22, 2008

The Democratic Party’s recently released platform draft, titled “Renewing America’s Promise,” is to be ratified at the party’s Denver convention next week. It appears at first to be a long speech filled with platitudes. It is in fact a document filled with policy responses intended for the widest swath of possible voters, and in some places it offers a rather bold and progressive agenda at that. -more-

University Chainsaws Isolate Tree-Sitters

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

Chainsaws lopped off all lower branches of the last remaining bastion of the Memorial Stadium tree-sit Thursday as UC Berkeley prepared for their final moves against the protesters in the oak grove. -more-

News

Test Results Show Steady Gains for Berkeley, State

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday August 21, 2008

The results for California’s 2008 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program show a higher percentage of students in the Berkeley Unified School District scored proficient or above in reading, writing and mathematics compared with the state results. -more-

Vik’s Chaat Corner: On the Move

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday August 21, 2008

Vik’s Chaat House on Allston Way, which draws up to 700 visitors on weekdays alone, is all set to move to a new location at 2390 Fourth Street, two blocks south of its current location.

There’s good news and bad news for Berkeley’s chaat lovers. -more-

Missing Student Returns Home After DA Drops Theft Charges

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday August 21, 2008

Matthew Wilson, the missing Rice University student who was found by UC police on the UC Berkeley campus last week and charged with possession of stolen property, flew back home to Oklahoma Wednesday with his mother and two sisters after the Alameda County district attorney’s office dismissed all charges against him. -more-

CONVENTION SPECIAL: Delegate Waldman Goes to Denver

By Chris Krohn, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today the Berkeley Daily Planet launches a full week of online coverage of the Democratic Convention in Denver. It will include coverage by our regular Public Eye columnist, Democratic Party activist Bob Burnett; by special correspondent Chris Krohn, who previously covered the 2004 conventions for us; and by our BeyondChron colleagues Randy Shaw and Paul Hogarth; plus videos and photo essays. -more-

Activist Networking Opportunities Abound According to Organizers

By Chris Krohn, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

There’s going to be a party in the streets of Denver—an activist party, according to Recreate68 co-founders, Mark Cohen and Glenn Spagnuolo. The Planet spoke with both of them this week in separate telephone interviews. -more-

Plaintiffs Drop Bid for New Trial In Memorial Stadium Lawsuit

Bay City News

Thursday August 21, 2008

Three plaintiff groups who filed suit on Friday to try to stop the University of California, Berke-ley, from building a new sports training center next to its football stadium withdrew their bid to have a judge reverse her most recent ruling in the case. -more-

University Asks for Ruling to Speed Construction

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

The Ashby BART stations east lot will be closed during construction of the Ed Roberts campus.

Ashby BART East Lot Closed for 18 Months

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday August 21, 2008

Suspect Denied Bail in Berkeley Stabbing Case

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday August 21, 2008

Richmond Casino Pact Illegal, Declares Judge

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

Health Officials Say Campus Bay Safe for Current Use, Not Homes

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

Alta Bates, Nurses Union Agree on New Pact

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

Corrections

Thursday August 21, 2008

UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium stands at the mouth of Strawberry Canyon.

Strawberry Canyon: Nature Right Next Door

By Phila Rogers, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Pippie the mule at Anthony Chabot Equestrian Center.

Paradise in the Oakland Hills

By Annie Kassof, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Tot to Trot: A Few Places to Take the Little Ones

By Sonja Fitz, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

History: No Time Like the Present

By Steven Finacom, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Angel Estes offers advice to a patron at the Tool Lending Library in South Berkeley.

A Quirky and Well-Loved Berkeley Library

By Adam Broner, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

The Chabot Space and Science Center on Skyline Boulevard.

Exploring Space at Oakland’s Chabot Center

By Lydia Gans, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Doug Minkler Shows His Art on Telegraph

By Carol Denney, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Try La Loma Park for Baseball and More

By Jonathan Wafer Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Getting to Know the Berkeley Public Library’s South Branch

By Phila Rogers, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

From Trash to Art: The Albany Landfill

By Lydia Gans, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Exploring the Bay Trail in Richmond

Thursday August 21, 2008

The Tokyo Fish Market provides a wide array of seafood.

Sampling the Fare at Berkeley’s Tokyo Fish Market

By Anna Mindess, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Lake Chabot Offers a Beautiful Outdoor Escape

By Kristin McFarland

Thursday August 21, 2008

Henry and Caroline Peterson's home at 2222 Dwight Way in 1886.

Henry S. Peterson and the Berkeley Lawn Mower Invention

By Richard Schwartz, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

A young visitor (the writer's daughter) demanded to be photographed beside her favorite sculpture.

Napa Valley Winery Features Great Art

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday August 21, 2008

Roots Music Has a Home in Berkeley

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

The venerable Moe's Books on Telegraph Avenue boasts four floors of new and used books.

Berkeley Is Still a Great Bookstore Town

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet

Thursday August 21, 2008

Four young family members take a break for some cool refreshment on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue during a warm summer afternoon.

Cheap Places to Eat Along Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue

By Rio Bauce

Thursday August 21, 2008

By Richard Brenneman

Walter Armer, left, and Don Peterson of SNK Development watched crews at work on the Berkeley Arpeggio, their nine-story-plus loft project that will bring Berkeley at least nine $1 million condos.

Editorials

Discovering the East Bay’s Local Paper

By Becky O'Malley

Thursday August 21, 2008

The price of gasoline makes the Planet’s annual “Discovering the East Bay” issue even more relevant than it has been in previous years. Just about this time every summer a whole lot of new people come to Berkeley, most of them drawn by the University of California, either as students or as employees. All of them need places to live. After that, they need to buy things to set up housekeeping, and when that job’s done, they’re ready for a little pleasure. That’s where the Planet comes in. -more-