Baily Hopkins is no senior-year slacker. The Berkeley High student plays violin in the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, will perform in the upcoming student performance of Anything Goes, just finished field hockey season, and next month will lead her Boy Scout crew to Nicaragua. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of an ongoing series of articles by UC Berkeley journalism students on the paths of Berkeley. -more-
By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR -more-
The call for help came to Berkeley fire stations on Sunday afternoon three weeks ago, and by nighttime a strike team was heading due south. -more-
Protesters facing three misdemeanor charges after their arrests at the Oakland Port anti-war demonstration last April were cleared of disturbing the peace charges Friday after an Alameda County Superior Court judge told the District Attorney’s office there wasn’t sufficient evidence to sustain the charge. -more-
“You’re a risk taker,” said my therapist, staring at me, the eraser end of her pencil pressed to her cheek. -more-
A UC Berkeley lecturer jailed in Iran for nearly four months was released Sunday, but will remain in Iran for the time being while the investigation against him continues, a friend said. -more-
A big box Target is coming to Eastshore frontage road near Gilman Street just north of the Berkeley line. At the same time, a proposal is being floated to rezone west Gilman from manufacturing to commercial, to catch the regional retail traffic. Development of this kind will profoundly affect the whole city. -more-
Right now, the projected all-fund city deficit moves from about $9.4 million in 2004-2005 to $19.6 million in 2008-2009. If the recently-triggered Vehicle License Fee (VLF) increase is somehow repealed, as threatened, the city will lose an additional $6 million annually, bringing the all-fund deficit to about $15.4 million next year and $25 million in just five years. Between now and fiscal year 2008-2009, the cumulative city deficit (excluding the VLF and other potential state impacts) is projected to be $71 million. These figures do not account for other likely losses due to additional cuts in outside fund infusions (foundations and federal and state grants) and additional losses resulting directly or indirectly from the effects of economic recession on our taxpaying residents. -more-
Michael Baker’s got more in common with Mel Blanc than just initials. For one, they’re both entertainers—although the late Blanc is arguably the more famous, a genuine Hollywood celebrity who created the voices of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, and a host of other animated characters. -more-
A three-way deal between the City of Berkeley, Comcast Cable Communications and a Christian broadcaster at the end of October has resulted in a channel shuffle, with Berkeley’s public access station moving from channel 25 to channel 28 and the local government station from channel 78 to channel 33. -more-
“See! I am dancing. On the edge of -more-
By Clark Suprynowicz -more-
High enough and deep enough into the Santa Cruz Mountains to help visitors forget its location between Silicon Valley’s concrete boxes and the touristy tackiness of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Felton is a perfect diversion and Excursion. -more-
Amidst a growing uneasy restlessness throughout the city over Berkeley City Council’s proposed March money-raising ballot measure, an almost eerie quiet settled over the issue at this week’s Council meeting. Only a handful of citizens showed up to take advantage of what Mayor Tom Bates defined as “Your chance to weigh in on the issue.” -more-
Elia Arce was leading a rehearsal with five artists at San Francisco’s Galeria de la Raza on a recent Thursday evening when a trio of street musicians walked by, playing Mexican Norteño music. -more-
With civil rights in retreat in the wake of the Patriot Act and the prosecutorial zeal of Attorney General John Ashcroft, venerable Berkeley activist/attorney Ann Fagan Ginger has launched a counterattack, starting with a contest to identify the most egregious examples of trampled rights in the Bush era. -more-
Berkeley failed to bill more than $250,000 for what city staff calls “escaped” property tax assessments over the past four years on seven city developments, according to a report given City Council this week by Acting City Manager Phil Kamlarz. -more-
A current job recruitment ad for a Berkeley city planner states that in Berkeley, “planners set the pace.” As one who once thought that the citizens and their elected representatives “set the pace” in Berkeley, I ask: Is this marketing hype, wishful thinking, or remarkable honesty from our enthusiastic planners? Is our planning department really a self-directed agency intent on implementing its own vision, an extreme version of “smart growth,” instead of Berkeley’s plans and laws? Let’s see… -more-
Score one for the neighbors. After a dogged two-year battle, the American Baptist Seminary of the West has pulled its application to demolish two turn-of-the-century cottages and replace them with a five-story building. -more-
The following letter was read during public comment at City Coucil’s Nov. 4 meeting. -more-
There are fewer homeless people in Berkeley than previously believed, according to initial findings released Thursday from an Alameda County homeless survey. -more-
The aftershocks surrounding former City Manager Weldon Rucker’s September retirement announcement continue to rumble at Berkeley City Hall. -more-
In a city well-known for opposing wars, Tuesday’s upcoming Veteran’s Day ceremony has been designed to maintain the city’s traditional stance while ensuring that veterans are honored for their service to the community. -more-
Proponents of the proposed Berkeley Hills firehouse scored a victory Wednesday when an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled against two homeowners suing to stop construction. -more-
Proponents of the proposed Berkeley Hills firehouse scored a victory Wednesday when an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled against two homeowners suing to stop construction. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District Board unanimously approved changes to the site plan of the Franklin Adult School at their Wednesday meeting. -more-
A small sandy-haired boy was throwing stones at the master’s recently invented (and highly successful) plow. Benignly Jefferson watched the boy…who was now periously climbing a tree. -more-
150 years ago, when the first American settlers were arriving in what would become Berkeley, the area now south of the university campus was a grassy slope with views in all directions and perhaps a few of the Peralta family’s cattle wandering through. -more-
The November issue of BDA Update, the monthly newsletter of Berkeley Design Advocates, a group of architects and others who work in the local building industry, has an interesting article on its front page, entitled “From Impalas to Incense”. It reports on a proposal by the Buddhist Church of America to add yet another nonprofit institution to the Southside area. The article reports that the church has bought the old Howard Automobile showroom on the corner of Fulton and Durant, and plans to turn it into a Buddhist Studies Institute, complete with a bookstore, offices, classrooms and dormitory spaces. -more-
So you’re writing a novel. Or you wish you were writing a novel. Right away, you come up against Virginia Woolf’s famous Hard Saying: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Men as well as women have read that sentence, looked around at their living space, and abandoned worthwhile writing projects. -more-
