News

NEW PLANET APPEARS ON HORIZON

Staff
Monday February 24, 2003
As the owners and publishers of the new Berkeley Daily Planet, Mike O’Malley and I would like to report to you, our readers and advertisers, on our progress toward re-launching the paper. We didn’t exactly get a functioning paper, more like a do-it-yourself kit for putting a paper together -- without an instruction manual. Nevertheless, we’re getting there. We’ve located the computer archives, and, as you can see, we’ve figured out how to do the Web page. Several staffers from the old Planet are back, and Diane DeRoo, a dynamic advertising sales manager with long experience in the newspaper business, has joined our team. She’s even a graduate of Berkeley High. -more-

Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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A Call for Creative Thinking in Education

Rick Ayers
Monday February 24, 2003
Last June I was sitting in a rather barren classroom in the Amsterdam School in Hanoi, Vietnam, speaking to English teacher Nguyen Hong Hanh about her students. I was so amazed by the respect and discipline the students showed when they walked into class and when they spoke with us, the foreign visitors. The Vietnamese teenagers were effusive, excited and quick to engage our students. But they were always deferential to the teacher, giving her the first place, responding to her slightest suggestion. -more-

Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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PLANET WEIGHS SPORTS

Staff
Monday February 24, 2003
The old Planet included coverage of local high school sports and Cal athletics. We are trying to decide whether to keep providing sports coverage, given that we will only publish twice per week and will be unable to provide day-to-day coverage of every game. We are also thinking about what twice-per-week sports coverage would look like. Let us know what you think. -more-

PLANET WEIGHS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Staff
Monday February 24, 2003
We plan to continue our comprehensive coverage of local arts and entertainment with a section devoted to the topic on Fridays. Let us know what you'd like to see. -more-

PLANET EYES EXPANDED CALENDAR

Staff
Monday February 24, 2003
A comprehensive community calendar is a vital part of any local paper. We hope to provide a larger calendar than the old Planet, including local lectures, concerts, dance recitals and more. -more-

Discovering Berkeley's hidden creeks

Susan D. Cerny
Monday February 24, 2003
Berkeley has several water drainage systems, called watersheds, that carry water from the hills to the bay. These systems begin as small tributaries or springs that merge to form larger streambeds as they make their way to the bay. Some systems are fed by year-round springs, while others are seasonal and only run during the rainy season. The pre-settlement, natural drainage systems were originally above ground but are now mostly hidden from view in underground pipes and culverts. -more-

WHEN WILL THE PLANET BE IN PRINT?

Monday February 24, 2003
Whew! We’ve done an enormous amount this month, but there’s still a bit to be done before re-launch. Current plans: We’ll begin in April with two editions a week, down from the previous six. We suspect that a semi-weekly schedule is actually better for advertisers -- papers will stay in homes longer, saved so readers can refer to the calendar, previews of weekend activities and other important advances. We want to hear what readers and advertisers think. -more-

Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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Restoring Berkeley's soothing, shaded refuge

Susan D. Cerny
Monday February 24, 2003
There is something ultimately romantic about a small stream of water meandering under a bowering canopy of trees and edged with a lush undergrowth of ferns and bushes. The soothing sound of water as it tumbles down a hillside over mossy rocks calms the senses. The "babbling brook" is a cool shaded refuge on a hot sunny day or a wonderfully dark and mysterious place when the mist and fog come in. -more-

In-Law Units Are Coming to Your Neighborhood

Barbara Gilbert
Monday February 24, 2003
The state of California, in response to the housing crisis, recently adopted AB 1866, a measure that aims to eliminate local discretionary review, the public discussion process and most existing development standards relating to the creation of in-law units in R-1 single-family neighborhoods. -more-

LOCAL NEWS

Monday February 24, 2003
The old Daily Planet reporters were respected for the unbiased and straightforward stories they did about Berkeley, particularly about local government. That’s what Berkeley readers simply can’t get from the regional or national press. That’s what we most want to keep and strengthen, which is why we’ve re-hired reporter David Scharfenberg and have made offers to other previous staffers. The local hard news will continue to be the backbone of the Planet. -more-

Monday February 24, 2003
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Monday February 24, 2003
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A New Year. A New Planet! A New Berkeley?

Harry D. Weininger
Monday February 24, 2003
Berkeley, in spite of its allure, has an eccentric reputation. Berkeleyans delight in their quirkiness and would never aspire to be conventional. -more-

Monday February 24, 2003
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ED AND OP-ED

Monday February 24, 2003
An overwhelming majority of readers of the old Planet that I’ve talked to say they turned to the Opinion pages first. They loved the letters column and the long “Perspectives” in the original Planet, and were disappointed when Perspectives shrank and eventually almost disappeared. For the new Planet we want many more Op-Ed (Opposite Editorial) pieces and many more letters. -more-

Berkeley Daily Planet Cartoon

Dan Oneal
Monday February 24, 2003
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THE WORLD OUTSIDE BERKELEY

Monday February 24, 2003
In the old Planet, most of these stories came from conventional news services, principally Associated Press and Bay City News. We’ve been informally surveying readers about their likes and dislikes, and the role of news service copy is controversial. -more-

COLUMNS

Monday February 24, 2003

CALENDAR

Monday February 24, 2003

WHAT ELSE?

Monday February 24, 2003

THE PLANET ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Monday February 24, 2003

THE NEW PUBLISHERS

Staff
Monday February 24, 2003

The new Daily Planet office. (photo by Erik Olson)
The new Daily Planet office. (photo by Erik Olson)

Editorials

BERKELEY STARS WILL SHINE

Monday February 24, 2003
Berkeley’s a mecca for excellent writers. A recent public library benefit dinner featured 29 famous local authors. We also have fine writers who aren’t yet famous, but should be. We hope to showcase local talent as much as possible. We want to build an inventory of excellent feature material by local writers which can be used when we have enough advertising to pay for extra space. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Columnists

Arts & Entertainment

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