Berkeley could become the first city in the nation with public financing of local elections if voters approve the proposal supported by Mayor Tom Bates and at least two city councilmembers for the November ballot. -more-
We’ve all read “Dear Abby” and “Miss Manners,” but now I think it is time for Berkeley to have its own “Ask Mayor Tom” column. -more-
Most of us celebrate an important anniversary by remembering the best of the years we are marking. Not so for the ever-adventurous Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kent Nagano. For their Wednesday evening concert (Jan. 21) at Zellerbach Hall on the UC campus, Nagano and the BSO will continue to celebrate the conductor’s 25th season with the orchestra by exploring new musical directions. -more-
On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Berkeley, in all her splendor, turned out en masse Sunday evening to hear four Bush-bashing media icons. -more-
The University of California recently released its Notice of Preparation (NOP) for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the next Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), which will “present a framework for campus land use and physical development to meet the academic goals and objectives of UC Berkeley through the year 2020.” -more-
Paradise is only a few miles or so north of Berkeley, but the parking lot may be full so give yourself a little extra time. -more-
Berkeley schools have come a long way in the past six months, according to a progress report issued by state auditors. -more-
It’s not every day a high-ranking Bush Administration official pays Berkeley a visit. So when President Bush’s homelessness czar Philip Mangano shuffled into a shelter Friday wearing a sharper suit than the TV reporters following his every move, people took notice. -more-
A 20-year-old UC Berkeley women’s basketball player died Monday at Kaiser Medical Center, and university officials say the probable cause is bacterial meningitis. -more-
In hopes of creating a new approach to community involved development in Berkeley, developers, neighbors and city staff will meet Thursday to discuss plans for a proposed mixed-use redevelopment of a University Avenue auto lubricant shop. -more-
“I am somebody! We can be the dream!” chanted the students led by third grade teacher Kim Burton at the Washington Communication and Technology Magnet School Jan. 12 as they celebrated the 75th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday. -more-
“You forgot the worm,” said Irit. -more-
It’s still hard to believe birding has become so mainstream. We used to be considered eccentrics—caricatured at best as bores (remember John McGiver in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation?), at worst as wimps. -more-
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-
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-
Berkeley schools will take home a $700,000 windfall from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education budget, district officials said Wednesday. -more-
“Virgil struck the chord of modern passions, and it vibrated more powerfully then the minstrel himself expected.” -more-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
Come November Berkeley voters could be asked to start the ball rolling on the legalization of prostitution in California. -more-
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-
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-
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-
It all started when my wife Lisa tried to renew her California driver’s license. Easy, you think? Read on. -more-
The new three-antenna Sprint Wireless Communication facility proposed for the corner of Cedar Street and Shattuck Avenue—one of those Freddie Kruger-like city issues that never seem to die or quietly go away—is back on City Council’s agenda for another go-round at tonight’s regular meeting (Tuesday, Jan. 20). -more-
“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-
