Mario Flores can’t imagine Labor Day falling on a worse date. It’s the first of the month this year—the day rent is due. Mario worries this could be the month his check bounces. -more-
I am not a member of a satanic cult and I did not kill Laci Peterson. -more-
Berkeley Police suspect that a South Berkeley daylight shootout Tuesday and North Oakland murder the night before may be connected to a North Oakland—South Berkeley turf battle officers blame for a flurry of daylight shootings earlier this summer. -more-
As the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington approached, much was made about Martin King’s dream. The dream, which is but four minutes of a 16-minute address, neatly and conveniently overshadows not only the 12 minutes proceeding, but also the reasons for the event. -more-
As in many things, California goes its own way in terms of labor union membership, according to a new study released jointly by UC’s Labor Center and Institute for Labor and Employment. While the rest of the country has seen a further decline in union membership and the higher salaries and health care benefits that go with it since 1997, California’s union work force has actually grown slightly in the same time period. Labor union membership peaked in the U.S. in the 50s at about 35 percent of all workers nationwide. -more-
The upcoming California gubernatorial recall election (the first ever) has been described as a “circus,” a “farce,” “wacky” and “show business.” More reflective observations have described it as a recall qualified by Republican multimillionaires to set up other Republican multimillionaires as candidates to replace the incumbent, Gray Davis. -more-
Though Clarence Arceneaux grew up in Texas and lived much of his adult life in El Cerrito, it was Berkeley, the city where he fed the homeless every month for nearly twenty years, that grieved for him Thursday. -more-
For many school age kids doing math homework—especially without the help of a tutor or parent who knows the material—can be so frustrating that they just give up. Thanks to a new Web site that may be starting to change for Berkeley’s young math-phobes. -more-
BART trains will be running on a normal Sunday schedule on Labor Day. The Richmond/Fremont, Pittsburg/Bay Point-Millbrae and Dublin/Pleasanton-SFO lines will run at 20-minute intervals beginning at 8 a.m. The BART Administrative offices will be closed. -more-
Oakland kicks off the Labor Day weekend with its third annual Art and Soul Festival, headlined this year by music giants Ziggy Marley and Rachelle Ferrell. -more-
For a handful of Berkeley High School freshmen, the first day of school was the worst of all worlds. These were the students who, for one reason or another, had no class schedule in hand and, therefore, had no idea where they were supposed to be. There’s nothing that makes a freshman stand out so much as being lost. -more-
“I’m part of the hot water bottle generation,” announces my friend and student, Pansie. She is sitting at the table in the third seat on the right, where she always sits, every Tuesday morning during our Creative Writing class at the North Oakland Senior Center. -more-
After more than two years of internal debate and intense pressure from industry, the Bush administration is announcing a new rule that will allow thousands of older power plants, oil refineries, and industrial units to make extensive upgrades without having to install new anti-pollution devices. -more-
My East Coast and out-of-country friends have taken to e-mailing me these days with messages like, “Is there a cloud of odd smelling smoke hovering over your home state?” As they cover the gubernatorial recall, the national news seems to think that “crazy” is our state’s title and “circus” its last name. -more-
Talk about recall circuses. The Big Tent went up Tuesday night at UCLA and Governor Gray Davis rolled out his anti-recall campaign by reminding us at least 10 times that he’s coming out fighting—fighting for me! For you! The people! For all of California! Our future! Against the right-wing! -more-
With the recording industry waging a war on downloaders who snag music and films for free off the Internet, UC Berkeley administrators warned students this week that illegal downloading could carry severe consequences. -more-
The Argentine ants that infested my kitchen for the last couple of weeks are gone—for now. But when you’re dealing with Linepithema humile, all victories are temporary. -more-
Call John Muir School in Berkeley sometime and if you’re lucky the woman answering the phone may serenade you with your own personal scat song. No, you haven’t reached the reincarnation of Ella Fiztgerald—just the principal taking a phone call when the school secretary’s too busy. -more-
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-
Sometimes controversial U.C. anthropology professor John Ozu Ogbu suffered a fatal heart attack after undergoing back surgery last week. He was 64. -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-
