Berkeley students heading back to class Wednesday can expect cleaner, greener campuses, but when they step inside some school buildings rust and dirt will still prevail. -more-
Charisma. That’s a word you don’t hear much lately, especially in connection with political candidates. Merriam-Webster offers two definitions: -more-
Mel Gibson’s upcoming movie “The Passion” is already stirring up passions more than half a year before its scheduled release—which is not surprising, since it deals with the emotionally charged subject of the crucifixion of Jesus. The intensity of the debate recalls the firestorm sparked by Martin Scorcese’s 1988 movie “The Last Temptation of Christ.” -more-
AC Transit Bus drivers facing certain job cuts over the pending December elimination of 34 bus lines—nearly one in four—voted Saturday to stage a one-day weekday walkout, the date yet to be determined. -more-
For Henry Jenkins, a professor of media studies at MIT, the video game Grand Theft Auto III is a bit like “Birth of a Nation,” the 1915 film that cineastes praise for helping create the basic grammar of the movies and simultaneously damn for celebrating the Ku Klux Klan. -more-
For two young Berkeley documentarians, one of modern history’s most dramatic moments took on a new and unexpected reality when they set about collecting first-hand accounts of that day, four decades past, when Martin Luther King Jr. told the world he had a dream. -more-
The Berkeley Public Schools NEVER received a “Report Card” from a State Agency but a report on how we can continue to improve our schools. Either the reporter or headline writer for the Berkeley Daily Planet did not attend the meeting where this report was presented to the School Board, or they purposely are trying to inflame our community against our public schools. -more-
After four months of trying to organize a union, Berkeley Bowl employees and community supporters will take their campaign to the streets Sunday with a rally in front of the store to demand that management agree to begin negotiations. -more-
Dear Mayor Bates and Council, -more-
1990s Immigration Battles Resurface in California Recall -more-
The moment California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante said he was tossing his hat in as a replacement candidate in the recall race, the buzz among blacks was that he was the guy who used the “N” word. -more-
Berkeley police say they are closing in on the man they believe severely injured fellow officer Ben Cardoza in a hit and run accident last week. -more-
“College Students Pay More and Get Less,” the newspaper headlines scream. I have discovered just how true this statement is. -more-
California Gov. Gray Davis, in a surprise move, recently promised to approve greater legal rights for same-sex couples. While it is too soon to tell how this bold action will affect Davis’ chances in the recall election, governments and politicians around the world are finding it to their advantage to champion lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. -more-
The headline of the Rio de Janeiro daily Jornal do Brasil put it most starkly: “Brazilian Peace Hero Dies in Iraq Attack.” -more-
The deadly bombing of the U.N. compound in Baghdad last week has spurred Arab commentators to gauge Iraq’s future with a combination of fear and cynicism. Many note bitterly that a war ostensibly against terrorism has in fact transformed Iraq into fertile ground for terror groups. -more-
Berserkeley. I hate that word, the easy epithet with which benighted out-of-towners reduce our rich and varied local life—above all, our intense, grass-roots activism—to the antics of our most outlandish residents. If only there was somebody whose job it was to defend us against such slurs. -more-
Over one hundred perfectly normal folks came out for the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society’s Annual Plant Show and sale Sunday, Aug. 24 at the UC Botanical Garden. -more-
Berkeley lost a legend this week. Frank “Buddy” Spenger Jr. died of natural causes Sunday in the apartment in which he was raised, one flight above the seafood restaurant he helped make a Berkeley institution. He was 87. -more-
This issue of the Daily Planet is being to distributed to about 20,000 additional readers, including incoming students and their parents who will be attending the University of California’s “Caltopia” event. We’d like to welcome you to our city, and to say a few words about Berkeley present and past. -more-
Welcome to Berkeley! -more-
Despite vehement opposition from neighborhood activists and City Hall, the Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to move its Adult School from a dilapidated building on University Avenue to an old elementary school site just a few blocks away. -more-
Berkeley’s nonprofit Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) may be reaching out to the homeless, but workers say they are shortchanging their own employees. -more-
“Let us be honest and ask, at the outset, what it is that we wish to achieve? We have all been impotent in changing the past behaviour and human rights record in Iraq. Let us therefore redouble our efforts to make sure that we are not powerless now. Let us seek results. Let us make a difference a real difference for the people of Iraq. I cannot think of a more noble and worthy cause.” -more-
The City of Berkeley and the Downtown Berkeley Association will mark the grand opening of the Downtown Arts District with a celebration Sunday Aug. 24 on the 2000 block of Addison Street, between Milvia Street and Shattuck Avenue. -more-
People who adopt do so for a variety of reasons, but the bottom line is that nearly all adoptive parents love their adopted children like their own offspring. -more-
A former Berkeley schools employee who allegedly doubled as a hooker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. -more-
Berkeley Police are asking the public’s help in locating the hit-and-run driver who fled after striking a motorcycle officer Wednesday on Ashby Avenue. -more-
Every college campus ‘cross the country is infested with street-side greasy spoons and fast food-product storefronts. Fortunately for Cal students, North Berkeley is also home to the California cuisine revolution, which features fine locally produced foods at reasonable prices. -more-
I still remember the taste of my first scone. It was in 1969 at a bed and breakfast in the south of England. Like my first kiss, the scone was a bit dry but, nonetheless, a thrill. -more-
Starting college is adventure enough without the added complications that come from mastering the ins and outs of a strange new community. We just don’t know the spots: where to get the best slice of pizza, who’s got the best vinyl selection, or where to find the best three-dollar breakfast. -more-
Once, when I was in my early 20’s, I borrowed a friend’s Camaro, drove it out to a country road and took it up to 100 miles per hour, not for any special reason other than to find out what it felt like to go 100 miles per hour. It was not an experience I have ever felt the need to repeat. I don’t do roller coasters or bungee jumps, either. Speed, I have discovered, is not one of my addictions. -more-
In a joint operation with U.S. Customs officers and Postal Inspectors, Berkeley Police raided an apartment at 1710 Ward St. Thursday afternoon, seizing five and a half pounds of hashish and nearly $8,000 in cash, according to Berkeley Police Narcotics Detective Jack Friedman. -more-
TUCSON, Ariz.—As the number of undocumented, would-be migrant workers found dead in the deserts of the Southwest since last October climbs into the 100s, why does a multi-million dollar European clothing company want me to dress like a Spanish-speaking laborer? -more-
If you’re looking for sports, Berkeley and the surrounding East Bay offer a host of opportunities. And while definitions of what constitutes a work-out vary—from just “a walk in the park” to a full blown adventure—there’s no end to the activities available near campus. -more-
Although best known for his mid-to-late 19th century landscape design work on the East Coast, Frederick Law Olmsted created his first residential subdivision in Berkeley, centered on Piedmont Avenue—the first of his signature curvilinear parkways with divided roadbed and landscaped median. -more-
While Berkeley merchants offer an incomparable range of recorded music from Electronica & House to Dvorak and Vivaldi, serious students can find instruments, sheet music and some of the most obscure ethnic titles. -more-
Most of the 220 Berkeley teachers—about a third of the total faculty—handed pink slips in March will be back in their classrooms when school opens Wednesday, administration officials said. -more-
If your parents are springing for tuition and room and board during your first semester at Cal but not for a Honda Element, don’t be bummed—Berkeley’s many public transportation options combined with the city’s bicycle friendly atmosphere make driving seem so 20th century you might even consider joining the Green party. -more-
