The Week

MAUDELLE SHIREK receives 92 roses from Berkeley children for her birthday. Below, she poses with another of her gifts, a money wreath.
MAUDELLE SHIREK receives 92 roses from Berkeley children for her birthday. Below, she poses with another of her gifts, a money wreath.
 

News

Congress to Honor Shirek By Post Office Designation

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday June 20, 2003

When people hear Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek deliver a public address in the City Council Chambers, they take a second look to make sure the prodigious voice is actually emanating from the elderly woman with the short gray afro and cherubic face. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday June 20, 2003

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday June 20, 2003

INDEPENDENT BOARD -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday June 20, 2003

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 -more-


Another New Principal for Berkeley High

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday June 20, 2003

Two weeks after newly appointed Berkeley High School principal Patty Christa abruptly resigned, the school district named the runner-up from this spring’s principal search to the high-profile post Thursday. -more-


Abuse of Use Permits, Strife Between Citizens and Staff Mar City Planning Process

By KEVIN POWELL
Friday June 20, 2003

The mayor has convened an advisory task force taking on the difficult task of trying to make our planning process better. I offer the following comments to spur public input into this process. To me, there are two “big picture” problems with Berkeley’s planning process: -more-


MoveOn.org Hopes to Pick A Candidate

By ALEXIS TONTI
Friday June 20, 2003

A recent straw poll taken by the political advocacy group MoveOn.org named Dennis Kucinich, John Kerry and Howard Dean as the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination among its members. -more-


Between Despair and Rage, Tibetans Choose Life, Peace

By TOPDEN TSERING
Friday June 20, 2003

China has yet again outdone itself in its legacy of terrorism against humanity—this time by forcefully deporting two weeks ago 18 Tibetans to Tibet from nearby Nepal, which otherwise was for these hopeful refugees their doorstep to the outside world, to freedom in exile. -more-


Homeland Security Separates Couple, Wife Waits in Berkeley

By ANGELA ROWEN
Friday June 20, 2003

The evening of Jan. 6, 2003, was supposed to be a homecoming for Jennifer Medina and Omar Khan. The couple, wed only 15 months before, was returning to the States after spending Christmas with Khan’s family in England. Khan is a 26-year-old British citizen who had just been in his homeland to finish up his college coursework. He was to return to his new home in Berkeley to begin building a life with Medina, a UC Berkeley graduate and local soccer celebrity. He had a public relations job lined up at a local startup animation company, and was considering a high school teaching career. -more-


Final Budget Vote Sparks Public Outcry

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday June 20, 2003

The City Council Chambers were overflowing on Tuesday with concerned parents, art-toting children and worried non-profit directors during the last public hearing on the city’s budget proposal. -more-


Two Daylight Shootings Disturb Neighborhood

By JOHN GELUARDI
Friday June 20, 2003

Two brazen daylight shootings in the past week have shaken Berkeley and prompted police to step up patrols in the area. -more-


Where Matrix Fails, Reality Still Hangs On

By OSHA NEUMANN Special to the Planet
Friday June 20, 2003

At the Grand Lake in Oakland there is still one large theater that has not been chopped down to postage stamp size. Painted on the ceiling above the huge screen is a medallion, tarnished with the breath of decades of expectant audiences. On it is depicted a seated woman wearing a toga. She was a woman with no arms. Or so it seemed to my daughter’s friend, who tells us that as a child she would stare up at the ceiling, searching in the gloom for the missing appendages. -more-


Final School Budget Passed, More Cuts Await Next Year

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday June 20, 2003

After a year of heavy cuts, the Board of Education passed a final, $85 million 2003-2004 budget Wednesday night, leaving $6 million to be chopped the following year to balance the books. -more-


Student School Board Member Aims to Improve Communication

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday June 20, 2003

The Board of Education’s newest member, student representative Bradley Johnson, has been a politician since his freshman year at Berkeley High School. -more-


A Metallica Concert with Mrs. Scott

From Susan Parker
Friday June 20, 2003

Once again the local, legendary rock band Metallica is in the news. Last year they made headlines in their lawsuit against Napster. This time they’re in the media because one of their members, James Hetfield, has returned to the band after a year off for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. -more-


Remembering Gregory Peck

By CHRISTIAN NEWTON Special to the Planet
Friday June 20, 2003

I met Gregory Peck once. And of course he did not remember it. That’s how it is for famous people— the moment you meet them is blazoned into your mind, and for them, they cannot remember your face the minute they let go of your hand. This must be doubly true for legends, and Gregory Peck was a legend. -more-


Berkeley Conductor Wins Wheeler Medal

Friday June 20, 2003

The Berkeley Community Fund has announced that Berkeley Symphony Orchestra conductor Kent Nagano has been selected as the recipient of this year's Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal. -more-


Report of Robberies

Friday June 20, 2003

A man in his late teens or early 20s robbed two homes on Wednesday morning, according to police. A resident of the 800 block of Mendicino Avenue reported stolen items valuing $20,000. It was unclear whether anything was missing from the second home, on the 1700 block of San Lorenzo Avenue. -more-


State Took Over Oakland Schools in Haste

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday June 20, 2003

Part One: The California Legislature, possibly to ensure the re-election of Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, fails that year to enact that combination of spending cuts and tax increases necessary to deal with the problems of the dot-com bust and the energy company rip-off. As a result of delaying what seemed obvious to the casual observer, the Legislature causes the budget deficit to explode the next year to almost $38 billion. But instead of passing a constitutionally mandated balanced budget by the constitutionally mandated deadline of June 15, the Legislature goes home. -more-


Berkeley Filmmaker Satirizes Lesbian Parenthood

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday June 20, 2003

Sometimes it takes more than a village to raise a child. Sometimes, it takes the Village People. -more-


Downtown Offers Urbane Dining Setting

By PATTI DACEY Special to the Planet
Friday June 20, 2003

The world has been way, way too much with me lately. I have been rather beset by Issues, the details of which I am not at liberty to discuss (but be sure to ask if you bump into me on the street); I do confess, however, to some tossed curls, stamped feet, slammed doors, perhaps even a tear or two—and that’s just how my therapist has been behaving. The whole situation has left me feeling rather wrought, and longing for an appropriate venue to which I can repair to repair. I want a stylish backdrop that lends itself to the channeling of my inner diva. And, not that I’m picky or anything, but really good food and drink should be offered, too. -more-


Cafe Row Heralds Change At South Berkeley Border

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Friday June 20, 2003

It may not be the next Paris. Or even the next Rockridge. -more-


Summer Noon Concerts in Downtown Berkeley

Friday June 20, 2003

BDP Website Info for Downtown Berkeley Association -more-


Berkeley High School Graduates Take a Bow and Look to Future

By MEGAN GREENWELL
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Most Berkeley High School seniors who graduated last week will begin their studies at a college or university this fall. Others will work or travel. One will study ballet in Russia, another plans to move to India and a third will try his luck auditioning for Broadway plays in New York. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday June 17, 2003

CRUCIAL COOPERATION -more-


Local Girls’ Team Drives, Shoots and Scores On Its Way to National Championship

By JARED GREEN
Tuesday June 17, 2003

A Bay Area basketball team, including four girls from St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, is on its way to the national basketball championship next month in Tennessee if the players can raise enough money to get there. -more-


Parents Pass Hat To Combat Deficit In School Funding

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Faced with heavy teacher layoffs and cuts in sports and music programs, a series of parent-led fund-raising groups are asking the city’s heavily taxed residents to pour more money into the schools. -more-


Medgar Evers Fought With Relentless Force In Civil Rights Struggle

By DENISHA DeLANE
Tuesday June 17, 2003

1963 became a watershed year in American History. -more-


Festival Honors Liberation of Country’s Last Slaves

By WANDA SABIR
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Berkeley celebrated its 17th annual Juneteenth festival on Sunday. Sponsored by the Adeline-Alcatraz Merchants Association, the day was one of both celebration and education. -more-


By Returning to Party Roots Democrats Can Effect Change

By ZELDA BRONSTEIN
Tuesday June 17, 2003

In the first week of June, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a conference on taking back America from the radical Right. I went in search of signs that progressives are capable of mounting a serious challenge to the Republican gang that’s ravaging our country. One such sign, I’d become convinced, would be evidence of a concerted effort to move the Democratic Party to the left. -more-


AC Transit Commuters Sound Off On Discount Passes, Fare Changes

By MEGAN GREENWELL
Tuesday June 17, 2003

If the AC Transit board of directors votes to eliminate discount monthly passes, Charles Menton said he will stop riding the bus. -more-


Blockbuster Leaves Behind Vacant Space, Broken Promises

By CAROL DENNEY
Tuesday June 17, 2003

One of former Mayor Shirley Dean’s clean-up events took place at the corner of San Pablo and University avenues, where brooms and trash bags were handed out to mostly non-area participants for a highly photographed moment. Blockbuster Video was just laying its controversial foundation. -more-


Council Holds Final Budget Hearing

By JOHN GELUARDI
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Tuesday is the last opportunity for the public to sound off on next year’s proposed budget, which seeks to counter a $4.7 million deficit by raising parking fines and continuing a city hiring freeze. -more-


State Cancels Exit Exam, At Least For This Year

By ANGELA ROWEN
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Students who have still not passed both sections of the high school exit exam may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Under intense pressure from teachers and civil rights advocates who say the high-stakes exam unfairly punishes students for the inequalities in the educational system, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that he was canceling the July administration of the test and recommending that the State Board of Education vote to postpone the requirement until 2006. -more-


Salvation Army Dissolves Board, Will Sell University Avenue Property

By JOHN GELUARDI
Tuesday June 17, 2003

The Salvation Army dissolved its Berkeley Board of Advisers last Tuesday, a few months after the board recommended the organization sell their University Avenue property to a nonprofit agency that would either develop a senior service center or affordable housing. -more-


Pacifica Radio Moves Back With Heavy Baggage in Tow

By DAVID SCHARFENBERG
Tuesday June 17, 2003

On Monday at noon, a big white moving truck stopped in front of the downtown offices of public radio station KPFA, 94.1 FM, and unloaded 11 nondescript boxes and a whole lot of symbolism. -more-


Zoning Board Postpones Blood House Decision

By ANGELA ROWEN
Tuesday June 17, 2003

The potential demolition of the historic Ellen Blood House on Durant Avenue was supposed to be addressed at last Thursday’s Zoning Appeals Board meeting, but the matter was misstated on the agenda and postponed until next week. -more-


Police Blotter

By JOHN GELUARDI
Tuesday June 17, 2003

Central Works’ ‘Wyrd Sisters’ Is Mutated Offspring of the Bard

By BETSY HUNTON Special to the Planet
Tuesday June 17, 2003

First, let’s make it clear that “The Wyrd Sisters,” which opened June 13 at the Berkeley City Club, couldn’t be any newer or more modern in its creation. This is important to remember since the play itself is so strongly reminiscent of an earlier period of playwriting. -more-


Ongoing Exhibitions

Tuesday June 17, 2003

EXHIBITIONS -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday June 17, 2003

TUESDAY, JUNE 17 -more-


Summer Noon Concerts in Downtown Berkeley

Tuesday June 17, 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

UC Berkeley Dig Reveals Old Conservatory, Relics

By MEGAN GREENWELL
Friday June 20, 2003

Laurie Wilkie’s UC Berkeley Summer Session class does not take place in a lecture hall. -more-


Residential Parking Fees May Increase

Tuesday June 17, 2003

Berkeley may soon have the most expensive neighborhood parking in the Bay Area. -more-