Larnice Holliman, an 87-year-old Berkeley woman, died Thursday afternoon in a fire that swept through her one-story wood-frame house in the 1500 block of Allston Way. -more-
The former head of a local African American landlords association has charged that the Berkeley Housing Authority’s new Section 8 rules will result in a severe reduction in available Section 8 housing and a drop in minority renters using the program. -more-
Oakland Police are continuing to seek the gunman who murdered Nyima Sorenson, a young Berkeley man, outside a tavern in Rockridge shortly minutes before 2 a.m. on June 25, said Homicide Lt. Jim Emery said Thursday. -more-
Dana Rassas has done her fair share of traveling, but when the 24-year-old Jordanian decided her latest adventure would take her to Israel for a masters program in environmental studies, she was hesitant to spread the news. -more-
Sometimes all it takes is a phone call. -more-
The Alameda County Medical Center—the only option in specialized medicine for Berkeley’s roughly 10,000 uninsured residents—has been driven to the brink of financial collapse by poor management and lax county oversight, according to a report released Tuesday by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury. -more-
The roughly 12 employees of the Berkeley Jobs Consortium—who have devoted their time to helping some of the area’s most at-risk residents find work—might now find themselves in the unemployment line. -more-
I am weary of the strong sea -more-
SOLEDAD, Calif.—Farm worker unions and the Bush administration are heading rapidly towards confrontation over immigration. -more-
Something happened in Oakland this week that will have significant impact on the direction of the city, but it’s probably going to take some time to understand how much impact, and in what direction. -more-
As a Berkeley landlord for some 37 years I offer some hopefully relevant observations. -more-
Two weeks ago I had a bone scan. I was injected with radioactive barium. It migrated to my bones (“Don’t worry,” said the nurse, “it’s gone in a few hours, less radiation than an x-ray.”) I lay on a platform while a camera positioned a few inches above my nose slowly moved along a beam from my head to my feet, recording the emanations from my bones on a film. “The doctor is in the next room interpreting the film,” said the nurse as she helped me up and I threaded my belt through the loops of my pants and returned the keys to my pocket, relieved to be in charge of my life again. -more-
What if your neighbors could organize, with the city’s blessing, to force you to pay an additional $2,000 a year in property taxes to improve their views of the bay and increase property values? -more-
One of the things long separating California from other states has been the quality of its higher-education system. Forty years ago, Californians embraced the Higher Education Master Plan, which set aside spaces for California’s high-school graduates in the University of California, California State University and community-college systems. -more-
THEORY AND PRACTICE -more-
Parachuting out of an airplane isn’t usually considered a political statement. Not unless you’re Berkeley resident Ken Norwood and you try to make it one. -more-
The venerable San Francisco Mime Troupe brings its newest offering to Berkeley this weekend, with two free performances of its (George W.) Bush League Spaghetti Western, Showdown at Crawford Gulch. -more-
“All I wanted was a quiet place in the country to write and loaf in and get out of nature that something we all need, only most of us don’t know it.” -more-
The University of California announced Friday a $69 million settlement with the Bank of America in the ongoing Enron class action lawsuit. -more-
In a community marked by strongly conflicting visions of the city’s future, a young but powerfully connected organization named Livable Berkeley is striving to make its own stamp on the city of tomorrow. -more-
One of the City Council’s loudest and most prolific critics is seeking a seat on the legislative body she has relentlessly hounded for the past two years. -more-
Members of three city unions have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a deal that defers roughly half of their cost of living pay raises to help the city close a $10.3 million budget shortfall. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is not conventional for newspapers to turn over their editorial space to “politicians.” Papers are expected to maintain a detached approach to the issues of the day, and to assume that those who represent us are guilty until proven innocent. But the owners and publishers of this paper (which has never been accused of being conventional) have had a “Barbara Lee Speaks for Me” bumper sticker on their old red van since Barbara was the sole vote against the invasion of Afghanistan. Our senior editor, who was living in Napa at the time, remembers thinking that he wished she was his representative. Of course, we reserve the right to tell our Congresswoman if she makes any mistakes in the future, but today we’re very pleased that she’s written this guest editorial for us. Today, Barbara Lee speaks for the Berkeley Daily Planet. -more-
Say good-bye to Hearst Avenue as you’ve known it—at least until 2007. -more-
What this country needs is truth and reconciliation. South Africa did it. So should we. -more-
If you’re yearning for a kinder, gentler, theme park, something that works for both children and adults but doesn’t cost a fortune, a week’s vacation time, or leave you too exhausted, this may be the summer to visit Bonfante Gardens. -more-
There’s a piece of furniture in the Art Deco exhibit that just closed at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco that seems to be deliberately designed for maximum use of precious materials. Come to think of it, there are several of those, the silver-plated canopy bed of some maharajah being a standout, if only because someone has to polish that big, complicated thing. But what I’m talking about was a writing desk, gesso’d and gilded with white gold, ornamented with ivory and rock crystal. It was built by one Sir Edward Maufe, out of ebony, mahogany, and camphorwood. -more-
No phrase is more firmly enshrined in democratic iconography than “the rule of law.” The concept is frequently invoked both to criticize and to justify government actions. In the United States, respect for the rule of law has deep roots. In the Anglo-American legal tradition, it goes all the way back to 1215, to the Magna Carta. The Declaration of Independence, whose birthday we just finished celebrating, is all about law and the lack of respect signers thought the English crown was showing for it in 1776. -more-
Last week, while everyone in Berkeley stood in line to see Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, my husband and I went to the Albany Twin theater to see The Mother. We often go to this movie house because it regularly features films that aren’t shown in other locations. I’d read a review in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle about The Mother. The little bald man was jumping out of his chair, clapping. Although this action does not necessarily guarantee that the movie will be worth seeing, I decided to take a chance. The subject matter intrigued me. -more-
