The Week

PATRICIA CHRISTA, Berkeley High’s new principal, with students.
PATRICIA CHRISTA, Berkeley High’s new principal, with students.
 

News

Principal Starts School With a Bang

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Tuesday May 20, 2003

Don’t be surprised if Berkeley High School’s newly appointed principal, Patricia Christa, shows up at work next fall in a helicopter. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday May 20, 2003

TUESDAY, MAY 20 -more-


A Capital Crime?

Becky O’Malley, executive editor
Tuesday May 20, 2003

The death of Berkeley resident Kevin Freeman in Santa Rita Jail raises a number of questions which public agencies who had him in custody before his death must answer. -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday May 20, 2003

TUESDAY, MAY 20 -more-


Jailhouse Murder Suspect Attacked Other Cellmates

By JOHN GELUARDI
Tuesday May 20, 2003

The accused murderer of a jailed Berkeley man had attacked two of his previous cellmates in recent weeks, according to a newly released Alameda County Sheriff’s report. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday May 20, 2003

URBAN INTRUDER -more-


School Unions Halt Contract Negotiations

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Tuesday May 20, 2003

Negotiations between a second school union and the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) collapsed Thursday in a dispute over health care coverage. Talks with another union had stalled the week before. -more-


Howard Dean, a Meaningful Alternative for President

By LYNN DAVIDSON
Tuesday May 20, 2003

You don’t hear much about Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in the newspapers or on television, which is not surprising given the way the corporate media has been towing the government’s pro-war line. However, the Dean campaign is definitely picking up support in the East Bay and particularly in Berkeley. At a “meet-up” of 85 Dean supporters at an Oakland rally in early April, over one-third of the participants were from Berkeley. -more-


Doyle House Demolished For Kennedy Project

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Tuesday May 20, 2003

Developer Patrick Kennedy demolished the Doyle House on University Avenue Monday, bringing an end to a 17-month fight over the 19th-century home of Berkeley pioneer John M. Doyle. -more-


Blair Witch-Hunt Project Heats Up New York Times

By RICHARD D. HYLTON
Tuesday May 20, 2003

One week ago The New York Times published an astonishing article. It was the story of Jayson Blair, a rogue reporter who repeatedly lied, plagiarized and conned his way onto the front page of the country’s leading newspaper. The paper claimed that a breakdown in communication among its top editors caused them to miss a hailstorm of signals that Blair, a troubled young black reporter with a long trail of bad work, was not the right person to cover some of the year’s most important stories. The Times placed the story of Blair’s “Long Trail of Deception” on the front page above the fold and continued it inside for four full pages. That kind of space is usually reserved for superpower summits or tectonic shifts in national policies. -more-


Contest Awards Residents for Recycling

David Scharfenberg
Tuesday May 20, 2003

The nonprofit Ecology Center doled out $2,500 to three unsuspecting Berkeley residents Friday for their recycling prowess. -more-


Fireman’s September 11 Grief Inspires Play

By BETSY M. HUNTON Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 20, 2003

Not thinking highly of the Berkeley Repertory’s new production “The Guys” is rather like not being impressed with your best friend’s new baby. It’s a touch hard to figure out exactly what you should say. -more-


Summer Noon Concerts in Downtown Berkeley

Tuesday May 20, 2003

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-


Killing of Berkeley Man Raises Questions About County’s Prison Policies

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday May 16, 2003

For the last 25 years, Kevin Lee Freeman, who was murdered allegedly by his cell mate at Santa Rita Jail last Friday, was a fixture on Telegraph Avenue where he panhandled, kept to himself and collected dozens of citations for alcohol-related misdemeanors. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday May 16, 2003

COMMUNITY MEETINGS -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday May 16, 2003

A USEFUL TOOL -more-


Exhibitions

Friday May 16, 2003

ACCI Gallery -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday May 16, 2003

FRIDAY, MAY 16 -more-


Morning Bomb Scare Clears Civic Center

By JOHN GELUARDI and AL WINSLOW
Friday May 16, 2003

The Berkeley Police Department’s Bomb Squad detonated a suspicious cardboard package on the steps of the Civic Center Thursday after evacuating the first two floors and closing down traffic in front of the building. -more-


Avert Budget Crisis For Public Library; Adjust Parcel Tax

By JOSEPHINE ARASTEH
Friday May 16, 2003

We all take the Berkeley Public Library for granted. The Central Library and branches are open Monday through Thursday until 9 p.m., with shorter hours Friday and Saturday, and open on Sunday at Central. It’s all there for us — the ever helpful reference section, the book information desk, great book collections, both technical and casual, magazines, newspapers, an extensive collection of videos, CDs and musical scores; not to mention easy access to computers. And there are special events to please everyone — storytelling for children, live musical events, timely lectures and meetings. Library access is free to everyone, including the unemployed who are trying to get their lives back together. -more-


Where Italian Buffalo Tread

By DAVID D. DOWNIE Featurewell
Friday May 16, 2003

"Bambola! Rossa! Tragedia! Veloce! Come on, gals, it's time to be milked..." The water buffalo milkman coaxed and wheedled his charges in a rich Neapolitan accent. It sounded like surreal poetry. "If you don't call them by name they won't come," he said. "They're gentle, lovable creatures." Soon, big-lashed Bambola and her sister water buffaloes sauntered from their wading pool to be relieved of their afternoon's milk, the makings of what might just be the world's best mozzarella. -more-


Davis Holds Line at UC Cuts — For Now

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday May 16, 2003

Four months after proposing a $300 million cut for the University of California, Gov. Gray Davis spared UC from further reductions this week in the May revision of his annual budget. -more-


Californians Must Engage In Battle for Fair Tax Plan

By WILMA CHAN
Friday May 16, 2003

With the war winding down, focus is shifting to the home front, to a sagging national economy and state deficits that threaten basic human services, and the need for an effective plan to restore our economy in a way that is fair to all taxpayers. -more-


UC Regents Oppose Connerly Race Initiative

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday May 16, 2003

The University of California Board of Regents dealt a symbolic blow to one of its own Thursday, coming out in formal opposition to Regent Ward Connerly’s controversial Racial Privacy Initiative. -more-


Lab Officials Use ‘Science Fair’ to Avoid Foundry Issue

By JANICE THOMAS
Friday May 16, 2003

The stage was set for chaos and confusion to be followed by anger and grief. Concerned citizens had been told by Mayor Tom Bates that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory would hold a public meeting to discuss the proposed molecular foundry. Citizens were skeptical because they had received invitations for a broadly conceived “Conversation about Lab Activities” to discuss the proverbial kitchen sink including not only “Nanoscience and the Molecular Foundry” but “Energy Efficiency and the Berkeley Lamp, other Scientific Initiatives, Fire Protection and Vegetation Management, and Science Education Programs.” -more-


City Expedites Permit Process But Cannot Save Doyle House

By ANGELA ROWEN
Friday May 16, 2003

A plan brokered between Mayor Tom Bates, developer Patrick Kennedy and preservationists to move the 19th-century home of Berkeley pioneer John M. Doyle to another location appeared to be dead this week when organizers discovered that moving the structure would require a 20-day waiting period. -more-


Fifty Teachers Rehired, Two Top Posts Left Open

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday May 16, 2003

Fifty pink-slipped teachers got their jobs back Wednesday and 18 to 20 more may have their layoff notices rescinded by June, schools Superintendent Michele Lawrence announced this week. -more-


Commission Roundup

Friday May 16, 2003

PEACE AND JUSITCE (5/5) -more-


Berkeley Residents Will Walk for Cancer Fundraiser this Weekend

— David Scharfenberg
Friday May 16, 2003

They will walk all night in a fight against cancer. -more-


Police Blotter

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday May 16, 2003

Daylight Beating -more-


UnderCurrents

From J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 16, 2003

President Uses Al Qaeda As Scapegoat for Violence

By WILLIAM O. BEEMAN Pacific News Service
Friday May 16, 2003

President Bush characterized the May 12 suicide bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as being carried out by “killers whose only faith is hate.” In fact, the devastating attack was a calculated, political act that was probably not orchestrated by al Qaeda and not directed primarily against the United States. -more-


After Years Waiting, Our First Walk in the Park

From Zac Unger
Friday May 16, 2003

The balcony of my apartment overlooks a Berkeley park with swings, a grassy field and a jungle-gym. Every day it’s packed with happy parents, and the laughter of kids filters up through the windows into our living room. For three years my wife and I have been looking down on that park, wishing we could be there with the rest of the normal families. -more-


Five-Story Complex Set for Edge of Downtown

By JOHN KENYON Special to the Planet
Friday May 16, 2003

Longtime Berkeley-area residents surely are familiar with the old 1950’s strip mall at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and University Avenue, popularly known as Grand Auto (for its former tenant) — that long facade of glass and aluminum set back behind parking which signals, driving south, the transition from residential tree-lined Old Grove to the busy commercial arterial. Few, however, are aware of a project in the pipeline that will replace that innocuous one-story frontage with a five-floor cliff of stores and apartments sited right up against the Martin Luther King, Jr. Way sidewalk. -more-


City Manager Will Hold Public Meetings to Answer Citizens’ Budget Questions

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday May 16, 2003

The City Manager presented his proposed biennial budget to the City Council on Tuesday complete with plans to deal with an expected $4.7 million deficit next year and a possible $7.6 million next year. -more-


Migrants Risk Death Daily Seeking Jobs in United States

By MARY JO McCONAHAY Pacific News Service
Friday May 16, 2003

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — In this crowded, bustling town, migrants gather to collect their strength and make connections that will take them across the watery border and safely by road — they hope — to work or join family and friends in the United States. The horrific discovery of a trailer truck filled with dead and dying undocumented migrants near Victoria, Texas, about four hours north, is a vivid picture of the risks they face. Yet, even images of blue-gloved officers picking about for evidence as bodies of the suffocated lay still on the ground — photos running in newspapers throughout Latin America — are unlikely to deter the kind of expectant travelers who reach this town. Future Victorias loom. -more-


Students Charge Coca-Cola with Persecution

By ANGELA ROWEN
Friday May 16, 2003

A group of UC Berkeley staff and students, concerned about the persecution of Latin American trade unionists, confronted a Coca-Cola Company representative this week at a campus meeting about the abuses. -more-


Summer Noon Concerts in Downtown Berkeley

Friday May 16, 2003

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Public to Sound Off On City Budget Deficit

By JOHN GELUARDI
Tuesday May 20, 2003

It’s public hearing night and the City Council will be hearing testimony on a number of different issues including the proposed budget and city fees. -more-


With In-Law Units Easier To Build, Some Complain Of Crowded Neighborhoods

By ANGELA ROWEN
Friday May 16, 2003

The Planning Commission, prompted by concerns aired by community members and government officials during a public hearing on Wednesday, asked department staff to examine the possibility of reducing the minimum size allowed for accessory dwelling units, also known as in-law or secondary units, to encourage the development of more such units. -more-