Erik Olson:
              
              For Zhirong Li, a visit to her family in China turned into a protracted visa ordeal.
Erik Olson: For Zhirong Li, a visit to her family in China turned into a protracted visa ordeal.

Page One

Council Race Underway As Hawley Drops Out

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday December 05, 2003

Berkeley’s political establishment—scarcely having drawn a breath since the abortive battle over the parcel tax measure—has jumped into the next round of City Council elections fully eleven months before voters head to the polls. -more-



Berkeley This Week

Friday December 05, 2003

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 -more-



Letters to the Editor

Friday December 05, 2003

WHAT A DIFFERENCE -more-



Oakland Showcases Nelson’s Captivating Art

By PETER SELZ Special to the Planet
Friday December 05, 2003

The visitor to Keiko Nelson’s exhibition, called “Wave,” at the City of Oakland’s Craft and Cultural Arts Center, will encounter examples of her forceful sculptures before entering the gallery space. -more-



Arts Calendar

Friday December 05, 2003

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 -more-



Students Face Visa Hassles

By Xiaoli Zhou Special to the Planet
Friday December 05, 2003

When Zhirong Li, a second-year Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, flew back to China last December to visit her family and boyfriend, she bought a return flight booked for Jan. 23. -more-



As City’s Budget Ax Falls, Question is Where?

By Ann-Marie Hogan
Friday December 05, 2003

When the Berkeley City Council voted not to ask for voter approval for a parcel tax increase in next March’s election, the critical factor may have been a failure to communicate. City officials failed to successfully communicate a message that no one—not the voters, not the employees, neither unions nor management—wanted to hear: that, without a tax increase, significant reductions in police, fire, and youth services are in the immediate future. -more-



Performers Bring Beckett Play to Life at City Club

By BETSY M. HUNTON Special to the Planet
Friday December 05, 2003

So what if it isn’t Christmasy—some people might even see that as a plus. -more-



Police Commission Marks 30 Years of Controversy

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

Today’s Berkeley Police Department bears little resemblance to the force that fired on People’s Park protesters in 1969 and prompted voters to approve one of the nation’s first citizen review commissions four years later. -more-



City Staff Serves Developers As Kennedy’s Projects Prove

By GALE GARCIA
Friday December 05, 2003

For several years I’ve watched in shock as the “development community” took over this town. When the escaped tax issue came to light, I thought this outrageous loss of revenue in the face of a deficit might remind city staff that their salaries are actually paid by the taxpayers of Berkeley. -more-



No So Fast, ZAB Tells Blood House Developers

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

The Blood House battle—pitting a Berkeley historical landmark against a prominent developer in the arena of California’s complex environment law—entered a new phase this week when the city ordered developers back to the drawing board. -more-



UC Official, City Discuss Plans for Hotel Complex

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

Berkeley’s city planning commissioners got their first chance to question the man behind UC Berkeley’s proposed downtown hotel and convention center Tuesday afternoon, and—among other things—they learned that the complex will likely be shorter than the twelve-story tower sketched in the university’s conceptual drawings. -more-



Features

Pact Settles Threatened UC Strike

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

The University of California reached a tentative labor contract with its student instructors Tuesday, two days before a scheduled system-wide strike threatened to leave some students without last-minute instruction or final grades. -more-


E-book Project Duo Offers Talk, Texts at Library

Friday December 05, 2003

The founder and CEO of Project Gutenberg—the nonprofit venture which makes thousands of books available free through their website, www.gutenberg.net—will appear at the Berkeley Public Library Dec. 11, and all who attend the session will walk away with either a CD containing about 3,500 e-books or a DVD containing nearly 9,400. -more-


‘Crowds,’ ‘Sideshows’: The ‘Usual Suspects’ Renamed

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday December 05, 2003

Was it Machiavelli who said “the prudent prince needs an enemy at the gate, always, to draw the attention of the populace from scandal within the court”? Or it could have been Sun Tzu, maybe. Age advances, memory fades, and I get my 60s icons confused. The optimum enemy in this situation, in any event, ought to be one who is both anonymous and seemingly dangerous, but not so dangerous that he can actually cause harm. -more-


Controversy Colored Clark Kerr’s Berkeley Reign

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

Friends and colleagues remembered Clark Kerr—the first chancellor of UC Berkeley and the father of the modern public university system—as a man blessed with a spirit as strong as his intellect. -more-


Police Blotter

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday December 05, 2003

Indecent Exposure -more-


Prof, Editors Capture MLA Awards

—Jakob Schiller
Friday December 05, 2003

Three UC Berkeley luminaries have landed in the literary limelight after receiving two awards from the prestigious Modern Language Association of America (MLA). -more-


Musician’s City Hall Feud Carries a Hefty Price

Jakob Schiller
Friday December 05, 2003

For Michael Masley, Wednesday was the day the music died—at least for a day. That’s when Berkeley Police hit Masley, a well-known local street performer, with two citations totaling $800. -more-


Samarra Killings Spark Questions, Outrage

By William O. Beeman Pacific News Service
Friday December 05, 2003

U.S. commanders say their troops killed at least 54 Iraqis in the northern city of Samarra on Nov. 30. Townspeople say far fewer died, but that they were mostly civilians. Either way, it was a massacre, and the shocking surprise for Americans is that the organized Iraqi troops who provoked the attack are being hailed as heroes. -more-


Schwarzenegger Deploys Surprising Political Skills

By PILAR MARRERO Pacific News Service
Friday December 05, 2003

Arnold Schwarzenegger is proving to be a more skillful politician than many expected. -more-


Women for Peace Going Strong After 40 Years

By Becky O’Malley
Friday December 05, 2003

As Madeline Duckles tells the story, she and a loosely organized group of Berkeley women were hosting an informational house party for neighbors, with the idea of spreading the word about the risks of American presence in Vietnam, when the television news came on. The Cuban missile crisis had started. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Anatomy of a Failed Tax Vote

Becky O'Malley
Friday December 05, 2003

An old lefty labor organizer, someone I’ve known slightly for a while, came up to me at a party in The City this week. “How come no one asked me if I’d support a parcel tax increase?” he said. “I live in Dona Spring’s district…I get mail from Linda Maio all the time…but no one asked me!” He has a point. As the former head of a big public service union, his opinion is predictable—he favors a tax increase. But we discussed the bigger question of What Went Wrong at some length. He wondered where all the opposition came from. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Anatomy of a Failed Tax Vote 12-05-2003

Editorial: Resisting Insularity 12-02-2003

News

Council Race Underway As Hawley Drops Out By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 12-05-2003

Berkeley This Week 12-05-2003

Letters to the Editor 12-05-2003

Oakland Showcases Nelson’s Captivating Art By PETER SELZ Special to the Planet 12-05-2003

Arts Calendar 12-05-2003

Students Face Visa Hassles By Xiaoli Zhou Special to the Planet 12-05-2003

As City’s Budget Ax Falls, Question is Where? By Ann-Marie Hogan 12-05-2003

Performers Bring Beckett Play to Life at City Club By BETSY M. HUNTON Special to the Planet 12-05-2003

Police Commission Marks 30 Years of Controversy By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

City Staff Serves Developers As Kennedy’s Projects Prove By GALE GARCIA 12-05-2003

No So Fast, ZAB Tells Blood House Developers By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

UC Official, City Discuss Plans for Hotel Complex By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

Pact Settles Threatened UC Strike By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

E-book Project Duo Offers Talk, Texts at Library 12-05-2003

‘Crowds,’ ‘Sideshows’: The ‘Usual Suspects’ Renamed J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 12-05-2003

Controversy Colored Clark Kerr’s Berkeley Reign By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

Police Blotter By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-05-2003

Prof, Editors Capture MLA Awards —Jakob Schiller 12-05-2003

Musician’s City Hall Feud Carries a Hefty Price Jakob Schiller 12-05-2003

Samarra Killings Spark Questions, Outrage By William O. Beeman Pacific News Service 12-05-2003

Schwarzenegger Deploys Surprising Political Skills By PILAR MARRERO Pacific News Service 12-05-2003

Women for Peace Going Strong After 40 Years By Becky O’Malley 12-05-2003

Vacancies Testify to Stalled Plan By ANDREW BECKER Special to the Planet 12-02-2003

Berkeley This Week 12-02-2003

Letters to the Editor 12-02-2003

Winter Brings Array of Eclectic Musical Theater By C. Suprynowicz Special to the Planet 12-02-2003

Arts Calendar 12-02-2003

Healthcare Sales Tax Heads for Ballot Box By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-02-2003

CIA Training of Islamists Haunts GIs in Iraq By PETER DALE SCOTT Pacific News Service 12-02-2003

Council Gives Okay To Wheelchair Cabs By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 12-02-2003

In Defense of Same Sex Marriage Mary Ager 12-02-2003

Tower Compromise Near? By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 12-02-2003

Academic Culture Shock From Susan Parker 12-02-2003

Police Blotter By MATTHEW ARTZ 12-02-2003

Berkeley Briefs 12-02-2003

Corrections 12-02-2003

Reds, Greens Wage the Berkeley Foliage Battle By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet 12-02-2003