Opinion

The most arresting fact so far uncovered in Richard Brenneman’s ongoing series on rental vacancies in Berkeley was this quote from Ted Burton, the city’s Economic Development Project Coordinator: “The last update I had was a year ago, and we were running about 10 percent [commercial] vacancies downtown then.” This is the reason that Berkeley observers of the hectic pace of building projects to which Berkeley has been subjected in the past four years are tempted to call the city’s planning department “The Department of Data-Free Development.” We have no current data showing that we need more commercial space, and in fact our old data shows that we don’t, but let’s just build some anyhow. -more-

No other article in the Daily Planet has produced as much response from readers as our recent article on a child who experiences bullying in a Berkeley public school. Many of the letters were heartfelt reminiscences about the writer’s own childhood struggles with bullies, or were from parents whose children have been bullied. Our piece was written primarily from the perspective of the victim and her anguished parents. Today’s commentary page includes a letter from a Berkeley Unified School District teacher and administrator who is trying to work on ways to solve on-going problems. -more-