About a dozen people marched Saturday from People’s Park toward the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists on Cedar Street in memory of Kevin Freeman, the longtime Berkeley transient who allegedly was murdered by his cell mate in Santa Rita Jail in May. -more-
“We are trying to build an organization to counter the ‘dumb growth’ positions of what the defeat of Measure P told us is a distinct minority of Berkeley residents. The subtle propaganda of the revived Daily Planet is clearly fanning the flames—and adding an ugly note of personal defamation that should remind us demagoguery is not reserved just to the Bush administration.” -more-
A gun shot victim hoisted from a rocky embankment at the Berkeley Marina early Monday morning was in critical condition at Oakland’s Highland Hospital Monday afternoon, authorities said. -more-
After 16 years of selling transit passes and helping locals navigate the Bay Area’s complicated web of trains and buses, the Berkeley Transit Rideshare and Parking shop, better known as Berkeley TRiP, closed its doors Friday. -more-
The furor in Washington over possible nuclear weapons development in Iran is fueled in part because Bush administration officials claim that Iran doesn’t need to generate nuclear power. They assert that Iran’s nuclear energy program is unnecessary given its oil reserves. Therefore, officials say, its nuclear plants must exist for weapons production. -more-
A grass fire Saturday consumed an acre and a half off Centennial Drive, near the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the Lawrence Hall of Science, before being extinguished by Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay Regional Parks firefighters. -more-
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean nearly captured the MoveOn.org PAC’s endorsement for the Democratic presidential nomination. With almost 44 per cent of the vote, Dean came closest to the required 50 per cent majority, the political advocacy group announced Friday. -more-
WASHINGTON — Measures taken by the U.S. against Arab and Muslim immigrants after 9/11 have not only failed to protect U.S. security, but may have made it more vulnerable, according to a major report released last week. -more-
Policymakers in some very conservative places are moderating their approach to crime and punishment, but in California, which imprisons more people than any other state, politicians still think more prisons are better. -more-
The following is a report by the Pesticide Action Network Updates Service. -more-
A More Friendly Route for Migrants: Into U.S. Via Canada -more-
The Aurora Theater Company in downtown Berkeley has, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, elected to end its 11th season with Emile Zola’s 19th-century warhorse, “Therese Raquin.” Possibly they’re presenting it because it gives their season subscribers a remarkably well-rounded set of plays for the year, running from farce to melodrama with several stops in between. Or maybe it’s just because it provides the actors with a particularly juicy set of scenes in which to show their chops. And these guys do, no question about that. -more-
“The Hulk” lumbered into theaters last week and you know the drill: Mild-mannered nerd wears purple pants, gets angry, turns green, has a temper tantrum and, in this case, is eventually talked out of his manic phase by an Oscar-winning fox playing a scientist. -more-
Even though gardening for wildlife is a popular trend, some Berkeleyans might be a bit disconcerted to learn that their gardens harbor venomous snakes. There’s no reason to panic, though. These snakes are only kind of venomous, and they’re basically on your side. No, really. -more-
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-
Stepped-up police patrolling in Southwest Berkeley following two recent shootings has led to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Ronald Easiley, a 19-year-old who was shot to death on Jan. 14 on Harmon Street in Berkeley. Desmen Lankford, 19, was arrested Tuesday evening after leading police on a foot chase to the 1400 block of Alcatraz Avenue in Oakland. -more-
Gray Davis is a pretty unattractive fellow, even to many Democrats. He has a history of cozy relationships with unsavory campaign contributors, like the prison guards’ union. He has enthusiastically promoted their agenda, building more and more prisons at the expense of social programs which might prevent incarceration. His detractors on the left have ugly anecdotes going back to the days when Jerry Brown was governor, when he served as enforcer for shadowy deals that Jerry didn’t want to have on his public record. He’s a jerk, but face it, he’s our jerk. -more-
Drivers will pay more for parking violations and homeowners and businessmen will pay more in property taxes under a final 2003-2004 budget passed by City Council Wednesday night. -more-
With Green Party leader Peter Camejo set to formally announce his candidacy for governor Monday, local party members are attacking him for taking advantage of an “undemocratic” Republican-led effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
I’m not the first to observe, with some trepidation, that the Bush administration is rapidly erasing the line that separates church from state. Never before so many prayer breakfasts in the White House, never before public money transferred to “faith-based” social programs offered by proselytizing churches. But I see a greater issue still, something that’s making rational political discourse impossible. Policies are becoming articles of faith. -more-
The face of Berkeley is changing. Vacant lots, former gas stations, parking lots and one-story commercial buildings are being replaced with infill, housing projects, often above ground floor retail. -more-
School District staff appear to be proposing a giant game of musical chairs whereby (a) the Adult School would be moved from the West Campus to the Franklin School site; (b) the district’s administrative offices and storage and maintenance functions would be relocated from Old City Hall, and from the district’s Russell Street building, to the West Campus, and (c) the Rusell site would be redeveloped for housing. -more-
Enrique Lessa’s advanced genetics class at UC Berkeley this summer teaches the same material a similar class would during the academic year. The only difference? Lessa’s students are not formally enrolled at UC Berkeley—they are between 12 and 17 years old. -more-
Ignacio Chapela has a teaching position at UC Berkeley for at least another year, but his concern about the “secretive” tenure review process he has undergone has led to a very public display of his dissatisfaction. -more-
An amendment proposed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee that would have ordered an investigation into recent revelations that the Bush administration may have distorted or withheld information regarding Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction fell 33 votes shy of passage Wednesday. -more-
This summer my friend, Gloria, is sending her son to space camp at Moffet Field and then hauling him off to Europe to visit distant relatives and musty cathedrals. Another friend’s child is going to music and dance camp, and a third is being coached in crew, lacrosse and golf. I know a kid who is attending an exclusive private camp in the mountains above Santa Cruz where he can rock climb, mountain bike, study Spanish and learn to program a computer. -more-
Oakland, bless our hearts, approaches the issue of the sideshows like a youngster spinning donuts at the corner of 90th and International ... round and round we chase ourselves, mugging for the reporters and television cameras, always ending up back where we started. -more-
Residents living near the Corporation Yard, a 4.5-acre site located on Bancroft Way near Acton Street, staged a small protest Wednesday to protest the city’s plan to partially demolish one of the buildings on the property and install three portable buildings. Neighbors said the plan will increase the traffic, noise and pollution that already stem from the site, which is used to store city vehicles, including diesel trucks, and includes a gas station. -more-
The third event in the city of Berkeley’s Summer Noon Concert series on Thursday featured a bit of jazz, a bit of funk and a whole lot of dancing and foot tapping despite the unseasonably warm weather. -more-
Sen. Gil Cedillo, a stalwart Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, knows an opportunity when he sees it. -more-
Berkeley, one of the most liberal cities in California, has not exactly been a hotbed of recall activity. But that didn’t stop the Berkeley College Republicans from setting up a table on the UC Berkeley campus this spring and collecting signatures to oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. -more-
For Berkeley ice cream lovers, life has been good lately. -more-
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-
The AC Transit Board of Directors appears poised to raise bus fares to avoid service reductions that would eliminate the 17 bus line in Berkeley and reduce service on nearly 50 other lines across Alameda and Contra Costa counties. -more-
In a primary that will shape the future of the 2004 presidential campaign, more than 300,000 MoveOn.org members voted on-line Tuesday and Wednesday to endorse a candidate for the Democratic nomination. -more-
