For Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman, University Avenue represents more than an unfulfilled vision. -more-
Mortgaging the Earth is the name of John Halle’s new work for two sopranos and chamber ensemble, being presented tonight [Tuesday Dec. 2] in a program by Composers Inc. The text is a doozy, an internal memo from Lawrence Summers (then chief economic advisor to the World Bank, now president of Harvard). “Just between you and me,” Summers wrote,” shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging more migration of the dirty industries to the Less Developed Countries? I can think of three reasons.” Those reasons, and the music they inspired, comprise the piece. -more-
Berkeley voters will get to weigh in on a proposed tax hike this March after all. On the same evening Council withdrew a proposed parcel tax hike, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to place a half-penny tax increase on the March ballot to bail out cash-strapped public medical facilities. -more-
The recent downing of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq is yet another example of how the aid supplied by the CIA to Islamist terrorists in the 1980s has contributed to the escalation and spread of terrorism everywhere in the world. -more-
The Chairperson of Berkeley’s Commission On Disabilities joyfully hailed Berkeley City Council’s recent decision to authorize five wheelchair-accessible taxis in the city, even though the number was halved from the originally requested 10. -more-
Berkeley City Council crafted a possible solution to the lingering Public Safety Building antennae tower controversy Tuesday night, holding off threatened legal action by downtown area residents. -more-
Now that my first semester of graduate school at San Francisco State is winding down, it’s time to reflect on what I’ve accomplished and learned. Until Sept. 1, I hadn’t been back on a college campus in 32 years. It turns out that I had a lot of catching up to do. -more-
In the article “Amy Goodman Praises Berkeley 3 at Savio Awards,” (Daily Planet, Nov. 25-27), featured lecturer Goodman was incorrectly reported to be the recipient of the Mario Savio Free Speech Award. -more-
It’s that time of year again—Fall, when there’s visible evidence on the streets of a major divide in viewpoints between Berkeley residents. I’m talking about the possibly irreconcilable differences between Berkeley’s Greens and Reds. -more-
“Let your hair down, roll your sleeves up and let’s praise the Lord,” Rev. Allen L. Williams told his congregation at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. Williams had a special reason to rejoice. Last Sunday, he and churchgoers celebrated St. Paul’s 70th anniversary in Berkeley. -more-
Berkeley is home to many unique small businesses started by people from all over the world who came to California, liked what they found, and stayed. We’re an international city, and many of our retail stores mirror the countries their owners came from. -more-
It’s happened more than once, but I’m still not used to it: looking down from my dining room window as a Cooper’s hawk flies up the driveway. The driveway seems to be a transit corridor, part of the bird’s (or birds’) hunting territory. The effect—a feathered projectile hurtling past the kitchen window—would be even more startling from ground level. -more-
UC Berkeley’s planned downtown hotel and convention center is part of a growing trend for UC campuses that lure cities with the promise of big tax revenues. But in at least one case, university ownership delivered exactly the opposite. -more-
“The first time you sleep on the streets you become obnoxiously ill within two weeks. It happens to everyone,” said Marz, one of the many young transients who consistently line Telegraph Avenue. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series on the University Avenue strategic plan. -more-
When Henry Poole met Dennis Kucinich last May, politics fused with passion and technological savvy. What emerged from the meeting was an electronic presidential campaign, run in part from a room in a house that was once Berkeley’s best-known radical commune. -more-
UC Berkeley student instructors plan to strike the week of Dec. 1, just before final exams—potentially leaving students without last-minute instruction or final grades. -more-
Berkeley City Council quietly put the lid on the coffin of the parcel tax Tuesday night, voting 5-2 to keep it off the March 2004 ballot. -more-
An aide to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates says that a proposal to funnel all city commission reports through the City Council Agenda Committee is not as far-reaching as rumor appears to have it, and probably won’t be put into place “if it’s going to be controversial.” -more-
So we’ve had another drunk-driving-police-chase-“sideshow” automobile injury accident out in East Oakland. How many, now? One loses count. -more-
The officer slipped out of his black-and-white police cruiser and strode up to a South Berkeley home. In his mouth, a caramel, sour apple lollipop, in his hands a 10-pound oven-stuffer turkey. -more-
The gardeners of the Greater Berkeley area are doubly fortunate. They enjoy the blessings of nature—a climate that is exceptionally congenial to horticultural pursuits—and the blessings of commerce—an uncommon number of first-rate, one-of-a-kind, locally owned gardening supply stores. -more-
Getting gifts makes me miserable. -more-
Last week I had a chance to take a look at a little exhibit in the basement of International House, the residence hall near the UC campus where students from all countries live together in order to, as their web page says, “foster intercultural respect and understanding, lifelong friendships and leadership skills for the promotion of a more tolerant and peaceful world.” -more-
There’s a best-selling book with a title something like Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. As far as I’m concerned, I learned most of what I need to know in my ninth grade English class. One semester of ninth grade English in my school was devoted to what we called “Mythology,” that is, the stories that the ancient Greeks and Romans used to explain the universe. It never fails to amaze me how often contemporary human behavior can be described in terms of what I can remember from the old stories I learned fifty years ago. People haven’t changed much since ancient times. -more-
