The Week

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.
 

News

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-


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-


Vacancies Testify to Stalled Plan

By ANDREW BECKER Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 02, 2003

For Planning Commissioner Gene Poschman, University Avenue represents more than an unfulfilled vision. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday December 02, 2003

TUESDAY, DEC. 2 -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday December 02, 2003

PLAYING PERCENTAGES -more-


Winter Brings Array of Eclectic Musical Theater

By C. Suprynowicz Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday December 02, 2003

TUESDAY, DEC. 2 -more-


Healthcare Sales Tax Heads for Ballot Box

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


CIA Training of Islamists Haunts GIs in Iraq

By PETER DALE SCOTT Pacific News Service
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Council Gives Okay To Wheelchair Cabs

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


In Defense of Same Sex Marriage

Mary Ager
Tuesday December 02, 2003

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-


Tower Compromise Near?

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Academic Culture Shock

From Susan Parker
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Police Blotter

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Tuesday December 02, 2003

Cyclist Foils Would-be Bandits -more-


Berkeley Briefs

Tuesday December 02, 2003

Planners Ponder UC Hotel -more-


Corrections

Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Reds, Greens Wage the Berkeley Foliage Battle

By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-


Opinion

Editorials

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-


Editorial: Resisting Insularity

Becky O'Malley
Tuesday December 02, 2003

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-