The Week

Jakob Schiller:
            
          Joanna Modacure, a trainee with the Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency Urban Gardening Institute, at work at BOSS’s McKinley transitional housing on Oregon Street Wednesday morning. The project was planned, designed and completed by participants in a four-month training program for homeless community members.
Jakob Schiller: Joanna Modacure, a trainee with the Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency Urban Gardening Institute, at work at BOSS’s McKinley transitional housing on Oregon Street Wednesday morning. The project was planned, designed and completed by participants in a four-month training program for homeless community members.
 

News

Council Mulls Budget Cuts, Votes Schwarzenegger Suit

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday December 19, 2003

In rapid-fire, back-to-back actions Thursday afternoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was restoring the lost Vehicle License Fund (VLF) fees to California’s cities and counties, and Berkeley City Council immediately authorized joining a lawsuit in order to make sure the governor keeps his promise. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday December 19, 2003

FRIDAY, DEC. 19 -more-


‘Sorry’: The Starting Point For Politics in the Mideast?

By MARK WINOKUR
Friday December 19, 2003

Elton John wrote a song called Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, He, of course, was referring to human relationships. The quagmire in the Middle-East, though certainly not romantic in nature, surely could benefit from the application of such a maxim. There is plenty of “sorry” to go around there, and it cannot be confined to the Israelis, despite George Bishrat’s implications to the contrary, in his recent commentary for the Berkeley Daily Planet. -more-


Try Farmers’ Markets For Flavorful Presents

By Becky O’Malley
Friday December 19, 2003

Do you hate wasting the few sunlit hours at this time of year on indoor shopping trips? Berkeley offers great outdoor shopping, and it’s even environmentally friendly. -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday December 19, 2003

FRIDAY, DEC. 19 -more-


BUSD Studies Development On Former Tennis Court Site

By Matthew Artz
Friday December 19, 2003

The Berkeley Unified School District will consider tearing up its former high school tennis courts to put up a better parking lot—and maybe more. -more-


City Report Fails to Cite Pro-Developer Staff

By SHARON HUDSON
Friday December 19, 2003

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two articles on the Mayor’s Task Force on Permitting and Development. This article addresses the final Task Force report. -more-


Holiday Greens

By Linda Maio Special to the Planet
Friday December 19, 2003

Our family is big on greens—chard, kale, rapini, greens of all kinds, fresh organic greens that are simmered slowly in a big cast iron skillet with lots of garlic. The basic recipe I learned from my mother, who learned from hers. Neither ever cooked from a book. Over time several cooks in our family have come up with a few special touches for birthdays and holidays. -more-


Legal Champion Enrolls In School Board Lawsuit

By Matthew Artz
Friday December 19, 2003

The Berkeley Unified School District has found the legal champion they hope can beat back a lawsuit that threatens to end racial balance in its elementary schools. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday December 19, 2003

CURB CUTS -more-


Boalt Dean Choice Hailed

By Jakob Schiller
Friday December 19, 2003

When Christopher Edley Jr. won the post of dean of Boalt Hall law school last week, those in the know hailed the appointment as a major coup for UC Berkeley. -more-


‘Floating Cottage’ Owner Dealt Setback by Council

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday December 19, 2003

The neighbors of Berkeley’s “floating cottage” won a significant victory Tuesday night when City Council voted 7-0 to deny owner Christina Sun’s appeal, sending the 3045 Shattuck Ave. project back into the hands of the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB), and into an uncertain future. -more-


China Poses NAFTA Challenge

By LOUIS E.V. NEVAER Pacific News Service
Friday December 19, 2003

NEW YORK—As the North American Free Trade Agreement commemorates its 10th anniversary this month, the United States, Canada and Mexico are confronting an unexpected challenge: China. -more-


Measure J Foes

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday December 19, 2003

Councilmember Kriss Worthington and former Councilmember Diane Wooley have added their names to the arguments opposing Measure J. The March 2004 referendum, put on the ballot by Berkeley City Council, would add new requirements to running for office in Berkeley if it is passed by Berkeley voters. -more-


A Shunned Kucinich Blasts Corporate Media

By PUENG VONGS Pacific News Service
Friday December 19, 2003

The campaign of presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, has not garnered the same high media profile enjoyed by some of his Democratic opponents such as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and retired U.S. general Wesley Clark. ABC News has announced it will stop having producers travel full time with the candidate’s campaign. Kucinich says it is this kind of corporate control of media, industries and government that he will fight against as president. It is stifling free speech, he says. -more-


Mr. Mopps Assault Suspect to Plead

Friday December 19, 2003

The woman police say assaulted three shoppers at Mr. Mopps Children’s Books last week and was then yanked from her car by officers and detained face-down on the pavement for approximately 20 minutes will face a judge today (Friday, Dec. 19). -more-


Exemplary Actions From Thurmond’s Children

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday December 19, 2003

Class acts in American public life are so rare these days, even the term itself has fallen into disuse. It’s noteworthy, therefore, to witness two examples occurring in the same issue, and coming from the same family. -more-


Absentees Proved Crucial in Newsom’s Victory

By ROB WRENN Special to the Planet
Friday December 19, 2003

EDITOR’S NOTE: Rob Wrenn spent some time as a Gonzalez campaign volunteer in the final week of the campaign. He makes no claims to being an impartial observer. -more-


Great Eats, Good Shops Await on Grand Avenue

By KATHLEEN HILL Special to the Planet
Friday December 19, 2003

At the north end of Lake Merritt, the fabulous urban lake in the center of Oakland, is the “downtown” of a whole neighborhood. Grand Avenue has morphed from an old-fashioned shopping street, highlighted by the Grand Lake Theater with its colorful neon signs, to a few blocks where nail salons outnumber bookstores by eight-to-one and ethnic restaurants abound, along with a chain supermarket and several savings and loans. -more-


Last Flu Shot Offer Draws Big Turnout

By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Alarmed by news that American manufacturers have run out of flu vaccine, people showed up starting at 5 a.m. Saturday for the flu shot clinic at Longs Drug Store at 5100 Broadway in Oakland. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday December 16, 2003

TUESDAY, DEC. 16 -more-


Shotgun Players Go All Out for ‘Meyerhold’

By BETSY M. HUNTON Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 16, 2003

First off, you could start a pretty good argument about the title of the Shotgun Players’ new production—and brand new it is—The Death of Meyerhold. -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday December 16, 2003

TUESDAY, DEC. 16 -more-


Ancient Cemetery Proved a Plus for Realty Speculators

By ZACHARY JOHNSON Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 16, 2003

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a continuing series by UC Berkeley students on the paths of Berkeley. -more-


Bush Put Lab Future in Doubt

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Tuesday December 16, 2003

One of the University of California’s best-heeled rivals for the contract to manage Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has dropped out of the competition before it even began. -more-


Saddam’s Capture Could Backfire on Bush

By WILLIAM O. BEEMAN Pacific News Service
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Saddam Hussein’s capture and eventual trial, if properly conducted, could begin a new and more positive phase in the saga of the United States and Iraq. Or it could devolve into a continuation of the pattern of exploitation of Saddam’s monster image that the Bush administration has adopted throughout the conflict to justify its actions. -more-


Budget Woes TopCouncil’s Agenda

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Berkeley citizens tired of hearing about the city’s ongoing budget problems will certainly want to skip tonight’s (Tuesday, Dec. 16) City Council meeting, which features two sessions on the subject. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday December 16, 2003

DISAPPOINTED -more-


Thousands Mourn, Celebrate Beloved Father Bill

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Nearly 3,000 people packed the Berkeley Community Theater Sunday evening to remember and celebrate the life of Father Bill O’Donnell, Berkeley’s well-known and beloved priest who passed away early last week. -more-


When It Comes to Health, Listen to Your Heart

From Susan Parker
Tuesday December 16, 2003

I took time off from my San Francisco State MFA studies to take my husband, Ralph, to the doctor. It was a routine appointment with his urologist but we had some concerns. Due to his paralysis, Ralph cannot feel pain below his shoulders. But I can tell when he’s sick in a variety of ways: fever, slurred speech, lethargy, sediment in his urine, unpleasant smells. -more-


Immigrants Call One-Day Strike

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Some Berkeley restaurant and café goers found closed doors at their favorite spots Friday after employees took the day off to join a statewide strike in support of immigrant rights. -more-


Services for Disabled Face Cuts

By DONA SPRING
Tuesday December 16, 2003

The community should be alerted to the fact that with almost no warning, City Council is currently considering cutting funding for people with disabilities and seniors. On the chopping block at the next Council meeting is $149,000 that is appropriated for the warm water pool and almost $346,000 for new curb cuts. These cuts would be in addition to approximately $212,500 (one third of the overall allocation) that was already cut from this year’s budget for compliance with the federally mandated American Disabilities Act (ADA). No other community group is being targeted with cuts of this magnitude. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Solutions, Not Outrage, Needed for Holy Land

Becky O'Malley
Friday December 19, 2003

We reprinted Professor George Bisharat’s essay (Daily Planet, Dec. 9-11) on Palestinians’ desire to return to the homes they left after 1948 at the request of a Jewish friend, who believed that it was a moving and temperate piece of personal history and opinion. She feared, however, that it would provoke some angry letters from her fellow Jews, and she was right—it did. We’ve reprinted many of them, leaving out a few which were scatological or ungrammatical, and we’ll probably print more. Painful though it is, we believe that letting everyone express their point of view in an open venue is a crucial first step to resolving conflicts. -more-


AC Transit Announces Driver Layoffs, Route Cuts

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Tuesday December 16, 2003

Cash-strapped AC Transit is set to implement its second major service cut of the year Monday, slashing service on six Berkeley routes and laying off over 100 drivers and mechanics just four days before Christmas. -more-