Jakob Schiller:
              
              Billy Conti of the Xeno fire dance troupe performs in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at 
              Oakland’s The Crucible. See story, Page Eleven.
Jakob Schiller: Billy Conti of the Xeno fire dance troupe performs in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at Oakland’s The Crucible. See story, Page Eleven.

Page One

Surprise Plan to Cut City Commissions

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday January 16, 2004

A proposed reorganization of the City of Berkeley’s 49 commissions, advisory boards, and task forces surfaced at this week’s Council Agenda Committee meeting, sparking immediate statements of alarm and concern from commissioners and councilmembers. -more-



Berkeley This Week

Friday January 16, 2004

FRIDAY, JAN. 16 -more-



Letters to the Editor

Friday January 16, 2004

QUALITY OF LIFE -more-



Young Musician Takes Fundraising to the Streets

By Jakob Schiller
Friday January 16, 2004

Christmas shoppers on Fourth Street this past month who caught the mellifluous strains of Miles Davis wafting through the air were surprised to find that they did not come from a store playing a CD a little too loud but instead from the golden horn of 13-year-old Nate Schneider, performing his renditions of the late, great trumpeter’s tunes. -more-



Arts Calendar

Friday January 16, 2004

FRIDAY, JAN. 16 -more-



Modest Windfall For Berkeley Schools

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 16, 2004

Berkeley schools will take home a $700,000 windfall from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education budget, district officials said Wednesday. -more-



Supporting the Arts

Michele Rabkin
Friday January 16, 2004

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-



Fiery ‘Dido and Aeneas’ Lights Up The Crucible

By C. Suprynowicz
Friday January 16, 2004

“Virgil struck the chord of modern passions, and it vibrated more powerfully then the minstrel himself expected.” -more-



City Council Sets Higher Prices For Low-Income Housing Units

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday January 16, 2004

Hoping to revive condominium construction in Berkeley, City Council approved amendments to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance at Tuesday night’s Council meeting. The fractious and often-confusing debate on the housing laws included two last-minute amendments by Mayor Tom Bates that, if they had been adopted, might have taken condominiums out of the reach of moderate income Berkeley residents altogether. -more-



Iowa-Bound Supporters Board Deaniac Express

By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Special to the Planet
Friday January 16, 2004

With cheers and chants, 21 Californian “Deaniacs” boarded the eastbound 9:35 a.m. Amtrak train in Emeryville last Tuesday. They were headed for Iowa, where they will be doing volunteer work for Howard Dean through Monday evening, when Iowa Democrats will gather at 1,993 precinct caucuses around the state to choose their candidate for president. -more-



Business School Rejects Claremont Hotel Boycott

By Jakob Schiller
Friday January 16, 2004

Despite requests from a host of elected officials and one community religious leader, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Dean Tom Campbell refused to honor the long standing boycott of the Claremont Resort and Spa, positioning the school as the last large business to patronize the resort. -more-



Features

BUSD Asks for Lawsuit Dismissal

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 16, 2004

Attorneys for the Berkeley Unified School District last week asked a judge to toss out a lawsuit that threatens to end racial balance in its elementary schools. -more-


State Supreme Court Allows Fake Police Reports

By PAUL GLUSMAN Special to the Planet
Friday January 16, 2004

Let’s say you are a Hispanic female. You have an account at a local bank. You walk into the bank to deposit a check made out to you by your stockbroker. The bank teller suspects that the check is phony. It is a large check and the fact that you are Hispanic makes the teller suspicious. Also there is a smudge on the check. The teller calls the broker and is told that the check is phony. The manager then calls the broker back and is told the check is valid. Still, nobody calls the police and tells them not to come. The police come and detain you. -more-


Bush Immigration Rules Paralyze Visa System

By PILAR MARRERO Pacific News Service
Friday January 16, 2004

Beyond the political posturing on all sides about President Bush’s proposed immigration reform, the long lines and anguished waiting of would-be immigrants in the system shows that the process of granting documentation to newcomers has ground to a virtual halt. -more-


Police Blotter

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 16, 2004

Cyclist Shot -more-


White House Seeks to Co-opt Union Tactics

By ALEXANDER BOLTON Featurewell
Friday January 16, 2004

The Bush-Cheney political operation is working with business groups to help President Bush overcome the impact of pro-labor coalitions that have sprung up since the enactment of campaign finance reform legislation. -more-


Local Sex Workers Launch Petition

Friday January 16, 2004

Come November Berkeley voters could be asked to start the ball rolling on the legalization of prostitution in California. -more-


UnderCurrents: Oakland School Chief Makes Dubious Promise

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday January 16, 2004

State-appointed Oakland School Administrator Randolph Ward says that when he first got to California some years ago, he intended to register to vote as an independent. Instead, he says that by mistake, he ended up checking the box on the California Voter Registration Form for the American Independent Party, the party originally formed in 1968 to advance the presidential candidacy of the anti-black segregationist George Wallace. “Who the hell knows what that means?” Mr. Ward told the Oakland Tribune this week, the “that” referring, presumably, to the American Independent Party. Well, actually, a lot of us who were around in the ‘60s know what that means. Let’s hope that during Mr. Ward’s several years as a schoolteacher he was not called upon to instruct in modern American history. -more-


Police Dog Foes Speak Out

Friday January 16, 2004

Residents spoke out Wednesday against a police proposal to return German Shepherds to the force more than a quarter century after they were banned. -more-


Real Estate: Home Buyers Should Look for ‘Good’ Ugly

By HEATHER SITTIG Special to the Planet
Friday January 16, 2004

Many buyers want to buy a house that needs some work so they can quickly gain “sweat equity.” About half of the buyers I work with say this during our initial consultation, but many soon find that painting the interior walls is what they really meant. -more-


Homeland Security Foils a Fifty-ish Blonde

By David Sundelson Special to the Planet
Friday January 16, 2004

It all started when my wife Lisa tried to renew her California driver’s license. Easy, you think? Read on. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Berkeley’s Ugly Edifice Complex

Becky O'Malley
Friday January 16, 2004

“The business part of Berkeley lies west of the campus, the center of the shopping section being enormously wide Shattuck Avenue, which is desolately ugly as it takes its way southward towards Oakland. The few shopping blocks in the center of town have some very good-looking buildings, a few in the modern streamline type that are as successful as any to be found anywhere, but no effort has been made to achieve a harmony. One lone skyscraper sticks up like a sore thumb, increasing the similarity at night, when what is an untidy-looking scaffolding by day transforms itself into a flaming red sign. The decent and considerate skyline of the street is made to suffer, as well as the view from every house on the hills behind. An achievement not only in bad taste but in poor psychology, for many a Berkeley citizen rages against the insult to the city’s beauty.” -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Berkeley’s Ugly Edifice Complex 01-16-2004

Editorial: What's Fair and Why? 01-13-2004

News

Surprise Plan to Cut City Commissions By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-16-2004

Berkeley This Week 01-16-2004

Letters to the Editor 01-16-2004

Young Musician Takes Fundraising to the Streets By Jakob Schiller 01-16-2004

Arts Calendar 01-16-2004

Modest Windfall For Berkeley Schools By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-16-2004

Supporting the Arts Michele Rabkin 01-16-2004

Fiery ‘Dido and Aeneas’ Lights Up The Crucible By C. Suprynowicz 01-16-2004

City Council Sets Higher Prices For Low-Income Housing Units By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-16-2004

Iowa-Bound Supporters Board Deaniac Express By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Special to the Planet 01-16-2004

Business School Rejects Claremont Hotel Boycott By Jakob Schiller 01-16-2004

BUSD Asks for Lawsuit Dismissal By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-16-2004

State Supreme Court Allows Fake Police Reports By PAUL GLUSMAN Special to the Planet 01-16-2004

Bush Immigration Rules Paralyze Visa System By PILAR MARRERO Pacific News Service 01-16-2004

Police Blotter By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-16-2004

White House Seeks to Co-opt Union Tactics By ALEXANDER BOLTON Featurewell 01-16-2004

Local Sex Workers Launch Petition 01-16-2004

UnderCurrents: Oakland School Chief Makes Dubious Promise J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-16-2004

Police Dog Foes Speak Out 01-16-2004

Real Estate: Home Buyers Should Look for ‘Good’ Ugly By HEATHER SITTIG Special to the Planet 01-16-2004

Homeland Security Foils a Fifty-ish Blonde By David Sundelson Special to the Planet 01-16-2004

Nervous Berkeley Officials Await State Budget Cuts Staff 01-13-2004

Berkeley This Week 01-13-2004

Letters to the Editor 01-13-2004

BHS Students Display Stunning Dance Skills By ROBYN GEE Special to the Planet 01-13-2004

Arts Calendar 01-13-2004

City Kills Nonprofit Center Move, Cites Cannabis Clinic Concerns By Matthew Artz 01-13-2004

Israel Should Pay Rent for Palestinian Occupation By FRED FOLDVARY 01-13-2004

Berkeley Writer Recounts Foster Care Horrors By SUSAN PARKER Special to the Planet 01-13-2004

Library Gardens Parking Deal Near, Says Developer By Matthew Artz 01-13-2004

Eddie Bauer Closure Marks Sad Saga’s End By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-13-2004

City Council Faces Light Agenda By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-13-2004

In My Apartment Building, Who Needs Soaps? From Zac Unger 01-13-2004

Jerusalem Artichokes Yield Colorful Blooms, Tasty Treats By SHIRLEY BARKER Special to the Planet 01-13-2004