The Week
News
Tonight neighbors come together
Marcella Williams wants her neighborhood to be “more like a family.” Ron Casimere wants to scare off criminals and beautify his stretch of Alcatraz Avenue. Tracy Washburn hopes her neighbors in the Berkeley hills will be prepared to help each other if a natural disaster strikes. -more-
Cal’s “Cleopatra” never gets off the ground
A revival of John Fisher’s campy and sexual 1992 vaudeville drag revue “Cleopatra: the Musical” opened Friday at Zellerbach Playhouse on the Cal campus, presented by Cal’s Department of Dramatic Art/Center for Theater Arts. -more-
County kids win big
Voter approval of Proposition 10 means smokers have to cough up quarters to pay society for their unhealthy habit. -more-
Movie-in newest tool for Underhill protest group
A sober look at the big one
RICHMOND – This is earthquake country and there are few who do not worry about the lives that will be lost and the homes destroyed when the big one hits. -more-
Music of the heart
If music were the food of love, John Phillips would provide a banquet. -more-
No ruling yet on 2700 San Pablo Ave. project
Pastor Gordon Choyce says that his non-profit Jubilee Restoration and his partners at Panoramic Interests have done everything the city has asked to get the Jubilee Courtyard Apartments built at 2700 San Pablo Avenue – but two issues, he says, keep coming back. -more-
New firefighters win jobs in department
They passed the tests and beat the odds, and now Keith May and Samantha Eggers are enjoying their first weeks as two of the newest members of the Berkeley Fire Department. -more-
School, rent board hopefuls step to plate
No hordes of citizens – in fact none at all – have jumped into the District 5 council race in response to Councilmember Diane Woolley’s surprise announcement that she’s not going to run again. -more-
They’re talking trash up on College Ave.
Road construction usually creates some confusion and a few inconveniences, but hardly ever does it bring the problems that College Avenue residents and merchants are facing right now. -more-
Skateboard camp teaches kids skills, manners
On top of a parking structure on the UC Berkeley campus, 24 skaters are hopping ramps, grinding rails and cruising two halfpipes under the watchful eyes of several experts. There isn’t a tattoo or piercing in sight as the skaters shred the park while a nearby radio plays some mellow tunes. -more-
Neighbors: Goldman expansion will hurt historic site, bring traffic
UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy wants to grow. Its expansion plans – construction of a second building next to present historic site – does not sit well with neighbors who filled a conference room at the school for a Wednesday evening public hearing on the expansion. -more-
Council calls for temporary halt to new telecom pedestals
Joel Jacobs and his neighbors on Peralta Street know that if they want to make it to the superhighway, they need the big green, often graffiti-covered pedestals that house telecommunication lines. -more-
Bad corner: one more accident
Sam Adkins was crossing the street at Berkeley’s most dangerous intersection Thursday afternoon, when he was struck by a car. -more-
Synagogue EIR released
The Environmental Impact Report on the Congregation Beth El Synagogue and School has been released by the city. The report concludes that there are significant impacts in terms of noise and traffic, but that the impacts can be mitigated. -more-
Council places eviction controls on Nov. ballot
Complexities in the proposed rent control ballot measure kept the City Council and staff in their seats into the wee Wednesday morning hours tweaking the measure until a passing 5-1-2 vote could be taken. The measure will go before the voters Nov. 7. -more-
Lawyer in Stephans’ case wants to talk to witness, view photos
A pretrial hearing in the case of a Berkeley teenager charged with battery on a peace officer and resisting arrest was rescheduled yesterday after lawyers for the defendant asked Berkeley Superior Court Judge Carol Brosnahan for additional time to gather evidence in the case. -more-
Housing authority won’t be changed before September
The questions were too complex and too numerous to begin to answer at Tuesday evening’s Berkeley Housing Authority meeting, scheduled from 7 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. -more-
Local group protesting tower; worried about views, values
When a 170-foot communication tower was erected beside the new Public Safety Building at McKinley Avenue and Addison Street in April, the neighbors were not too pleased. -more-
Marina workers rally at city hall for a living wage
judith scherr/Daily Planet Staff -more-
Brunetti heads to greener pastures
It’s a time of flux in the Berkeley schools, with the high school principal and one vice principal reassigned and another vice principal on leave from the district. -more-
Pacifica director wants to meet with listener-sponsors
This is the second part of a two-part interview between the Daily Planet and Bessie Wash, interim executive director of the Pacifica foundation. In February, Wash was named to the post, taking the reins from Lynn Chadwick, the target of much of the wrath of KPFA supporters. Unavailable for interviews since her appointment, Wash is now reaching out to the public. -more-
Protester sues city, police for violating his rights Attorney John Burris asks city for $1 million
Attorney John Burris asks city for $1 million. -more-
Ducan to seek reelection
Peralta Community College District Trustee, Susan Ducan, announced her intention to seek reelection in November. Ducan has served since 1985, representing north and east Berkeley, and the Rockridge and Montclair sections of Oakland. -more-
Opinion
Editorials
Berkeley pastor Finegan dies
Dr. Jack Finegan, 92, died July 15. A highly respected scholar and professor of the New Testament and archaeology, he was a summer session dean, director of the Bade Institute of Biblical Archeology at the Pacific School of Religion, and served for twenty-five years as pastor for the University Christian Church, in Berkeley. -more-