Jakob Schiller:
              
              Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, president of the UC Berkeley CUE local, joins Mr. Peanut for a protest march along Telegraph Avenue Wednesday.
Jakob Schiller: Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, president of the UC Berkeley CUE local, joins Mr. Peanut for a protest march along Telegraph Avenue Wednesday.

Page One

UC Hotel Panel Moves Ahead After Mayor Seeks a Timeout

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday January 23, 2004

The Berkeley Planning Commission’s examination of the proposed UC Hotel-Conference Center-Museum Complex project was thrown into temporary confusion early this week when Mayor Tom Bates formally asked the panel to delay creating the project task force Bates himself had sought less than two months ago. -more-



Berkeley This Week

Friday January 23, 2004

FRIDAY, JAN. 23 -more-



A Parable for Councilmembers

John Gertz
Friday January 23, 2004

An open letter to Berkeley City Councilmembers Linda Maio, Kriss Worthington, Margaret Brelund, Maudele Shirek, and Dona Spring: -more-



A Unique Blend of Baroque and Contemporary

C. SUPRYNOWICZ
Friday January 23, 2004

Are we standing at the pinnacle of civilization, or tumbling from the broken guardrail? While there is a lot to endure in these burdensome times (traffic, mad cows, Republicans), it is an easy and available pleasure to graze through the treasure trove of history that has accumulated in the five centuries or so while we’ve been otherwise occupied. -more-



Arts Calendar

Friday January 23, 2004

FRIDAY, JAN. 23 -more-



UC, Union Discuss Stalled Pact Terms

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Friday January 23, 2004

After an initial, incomplete agreement last year between the University of California and the Coalition of University Employee’s Union (CUE) ended a two-year labor battle, both parties are back at the table, sitting down to the negotiate at CUE’s Berkeley offices Wednesday to hash out unresolved issues on the current contract before it expires in September. -more-



ZAB Ruled Wrong Way in Approving Sprint Tower

Leonard Schwartzburd, Ph.D.
Friday January 23, 2004

Open Letter to the Berkeley City Council: -more-



New School Assignment Plan Debuts

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 23, 2004

Berkeley Unified School District unveiled a new plan Wednesday for assigning students to elementary schools that supporters hailed for expanding diversity beyond race and critics blasted as a sitting duck for a legal challenge already mounted against the district. -more-



Letters to the Editor

Friday January 23, 2004

TUNE-UP MASTERS -more-



After Lively Hearing, Council Sets Sprint Vote

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday January 23, 2004

Tuesday’s long-delayed public hearing on Sprint Communications’ North Shattuck cellular antennae application dragged into the early morning hours of this week’s city council meeting, their decision on the controversial installation at least a week away. -more-



Governor’s Plan Poses Problems for Vista College

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 23, 2004

Local community college officials fear a proposal to push 10 percent of incoming University of California and California State University freshman into community colleges will end up pushing some Berkeley students straight out of higher education. -more-



Features

Immigrants Need Translators For Health; Bush Won’t Fund

By HILARY ABRAMSON Pacific News Service
Friday January 23, 2004

Tell the doctor, “It hurts, here.” Then listen to the diagnosis and instructions. Sounds simple. -more-


Police Blotter

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday January 23, 2004

Two Robbers Nabbed -more-


Under Currents: Oakland in Tatters, Jerry Brown Raises His Aim

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday January 23, 2004

I can’t remember who told me this story. Could have been my father—it sounds like something he would have said. Could have been something I read someplace. Anyhow, in the version I remember, a guy works for years in a warehouse, along with a lot of his buddies. All day long he tells jokes, and he has all the guys cracking up. Jokes about the boss. Jokes about their small paychecks. Jokes about how fat one of his buddies is getting. Jokes about himself. When they knock off at five o’clock every evening, they all stop at a bar a block down from the warehouse, and they drink a couple of beers apiece, and this guy is always in the center of the crowd, all his buddies surrounding him, and he’s telling jokes, and everybody’s laughing. He’s one of those natural comics. Everybody loves him. He ought to be on Comedy Central. -more-


Free Speech Movement Activist Finds Tarnish On Clark Kerr’s Legacy

By MICHAEL ROSSMAN Special to the Planet
Friday January 23, 2004

Public events are mirrors through which we may read ourselves. I’d like to say brazenly that the wave of eulogies following the death of the noted liberal educator Clark Kerr reminds me of what happened to the Democratic Party during his lifetime—the long slide from reaching for popular spirit to abject “centrism,” shamelessly greasing the gears of late-stage global capitalism. -more-


Burrowing Owl Pops Up at Berkeley Marina

By JOE EATONSpecial to the Planet
Friday January 23, 2004

If you’ve spent any time at Cesar Chavez Park on the Berkeley waterfront this winter, you may have had an odd encounter: a meeting with a small brown owl, perched on a coyote bush or popping out of the riprap at the water’s edge. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: AnybodyButBushers Unite!

Becky O'Malley
Friday January 23, 2004

People from around here who went off to Iowa to stump for their candidates of choice could be feeling pretty discouraged right about now. I’m on e-mail lists for Dean, Kucinich and the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, so I’ve been reading about how bad some are feeling. It’s safe to say that not many Berkeleyans were trying to persuade Iowa Democrats to support caucus winners Kerry or Edwards. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: AnybodyButBushers Unite! 01-23-2004

Sprint Tower Tops Council Agenda 01-20-2004

News

UC Hotel Panel Moves Ahead After Mayor Seeks a Timeout By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-23-2004

Berkeley This Week 01-23-2004

A Parable for Councilmembers John Gertz 01-23-2004

A Unique Blend of Baroque and Contemporary C. SUPRYNOWICZ 01-23-2004

Arts Calendar 01-23-2004

UC, Union Discuss Stalled Pact Terms By JAKOB SCHILLER 01-23-2004

ZAB Ruled Wrong Way in Approving Sprint Tower Leonard Schwartzburd, Ph.D. 01-23-2004

New School Assignment Plan Debuts By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-23-2004

Letters to the Editor 01-23-2004

After Lively Hearing, Council Sets Sprint Vote By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-23-2004

Governor’s Plan Poses Problems for Vista College By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-23-2004

Immigrants Need Translators For Health; Bush Won’t Fund By HILARY ABRAMSON Pacific News Service 01-23-2004

Police Blotter By MATTHEW ARTZ 01-23-2004

Under Currents: Oakland in Tatters, Jerry Brown Raises His Aim J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-23-2004

Free Speech Movement Activist Finds Tarnish On Clark Kerr’s Legacy By MICHAEL ROSSMAN Special to the Planet 01-23-2004

Burrowing Owl Pops Up at Berkeley Marina By JOE EATONSpecial to the Planet 01-23-2004

Publicly Financed Elections Proposed By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-20-2004

Berkeley This Week 01-20-2004

Introducing Ask Mayor Tom By MAYOR TOM BATES 01-20-2004

Berkeley Symphony Features Guitar Compositions By BEN FRANDZELSpecial to the Planet 01-20-2004

Arts Calendar 01-20-2004

City Flocks to Hear Bush-Bashers By JAKOB SCHILLER 01-20-2004

Planning Schizophrenia and UC Expansion By DANIELLA THOMPSON 01-20-2004

At Pacific East 99 Ranch Mall, Every Day’s a Holiday By PETER SOLOMON 01-20-2004

City Schools Earn FCMAT’s Praises By Matthew Artz 01-20-2004

Letters to the Editor 01-20-2004

Bush Homeless Czar Pays a Visit By Matthew Artz 01-20-2004

UC Athlete Dead of Meningitis 01-20-2004

City Tries New Tactic With Tune-Up Masters Site By ANDREW BECKER Special to the Planet 01-20-2004

Student Essayists Reflect on Dr. King’s Legacy Staff 01-20-2004

From Susan Parker: A Worm, a Horseradish and a Bespectacled Monkey Susan Parker 01-20-2004

Festival Offers Rare Treat for Birdwatchers By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 01-20-2004