Jakob Schiller:
              
              Casino San Pablo would become the largest casino west of the Mississippi under terms unveiled by Gov. Schwarzenegger Thursday.?
Jakob Schiller: Casino San Pablo would become the largest casino west of the Mississippi under terms unveiled by Gov. Schwarzenegger Thursday.?

Page One

Governor’s San Pablo Casino Deal Fulfills Hopes of GOP Operatives By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
Friday August 20, 2004

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s award of exclusive Bay Area casino gaming rights to Casino San Pablo gives a multi-million-dollar plum to a project launched by a three-time GOP contender for the Philadelphia mayoralty and backed by the GOP operative who stage-managed the “Brooks Brothers Riot” during the 2000 Florida presidential recount. -more-



Special Edition

Friday August 20, 2004


Low Algebra Marks Add Up To Low State Test Scores By MATTHEW ARTZ

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday August 20, 2004

For too many Berkeley public school children X+Y=? -more-



Minority Students Sue BUSD Over Expulsions By MATTHEW ARTZ

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday August 20, 2004

Three Berkeley High students have joined a class action lawsuit alleging that school district officials violated their civil rights when they expelled them without a state-mandated hearing. -more-



Federal Cuts Threaten Key Fresh Food Programs By ANGELA ROWEN

By ANGELA ROWEN
Friday August 20, 2004

The United States Department of Agriculture is proposing to cut funding for school gardens, farmers’ markets, and other programs that seek to expand low-income communities’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables and promote holistic nutrition as a way to prevent chronic disease. -more-



Features

Alta Bates Puddles PoseThreat of West Nile Virus By MATTHEW ARTZ

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday August 20, 2004

Since the West Nile virus arrived in town, Berkeley residents haven’t stepped lightly over freestanding puddles, favored breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry the disease. So it’s odd that some of the most persistent puddles in town are being pr oduced by the Alta Bates Medical Center. -more-


Berkeley’s Impact Fund Sues Big Box Retailer By JAKOB SCHILLER

Staff
Friday August 20, 2004

Brad Seligman and the Berkeley-based Impact Fund are at it again. Only two months after winning a decision that created the largest class action lawsuit of all time in a case against Wal-Mart, Seligman helped file a lawsuit in a Federal District court Tuesday against the warehouse giant Costco Wholesale Corp., alleging sexual discrimination against female employees. -more-


Police Blotter Richard Brenneman

Police Blotter
Friday August 20, 2004

Looked for Strange, Found Badges -more-


City Makes Requested West Berkeley Traffic Changes

Friday August 20, 2004

Responding to appeals by local merchants and the West Berkeley Association of Industrial Companies, as reported in the Daily Planet in early July, the city’s Public Works Department and its Office of Transportation have implemented changes in striping, signage and signalization at Ninth Street and Ashby Avenue and at Seventh and Murray streets. City staff have reinstated the “Keep Clear” sign that was formerly painted on Seventh just west of Murray. At Ashby and Ninth they’ve restriped the westbound lanes and removed the left turn prohibition sign. According to traffic engineer Hamid Mostowfi, the signal at Ashby and Ninth will be turned on by Sept. 3. This will all come as a surprise to the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported on Thursday that the work had not yet begun. -more-


Finances, Jobs, Safety Top Issues in Richmond Race By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday August 20, 2004

A large majority of the candidates running in a crowded field for the Richmond City Council agree that fiscal accountability and responsible financial management will be important issues in the upcoming Nov. 2 election. That was the result of a survey of candidate websites and campaign statements, as well as unofficial polling done this week by the Berkeley Daily Planet. -more-


Berkeley Hears Venezuela Story Big Media By JAKOB SCHILLER Ignore

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Friday August 20, 2004

In a page three article in the New York Times last Saturday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is said to have “rankled Washington with his leftist agenda and authoritarian impulse,” and “provoked controversy through his coziness with dictators like Mr. Castro, Saddam Hussein, and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.” -more-


UnderCurrents: Let Kerry be Vague Until the Election is Over J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday August 20, 2004

As the presidential campaign settles down into that crucial back-stretch period, progressive commentators continue to argue that Sen. John Kerry needs to explicitly articulate an Iraq exit strategy. -more-


Commentary: A Modest Proposal For a Berkeley Roadside Attraction By ALBERT SUKOFF

By ALBERT SUKOFF
Friday August 20, 2004

After decades of living in Berkeley, I have come to the conclusion that the dominant political forces in this town are sufficiently entrenched that significant change in the short term is unlikely. Their view of the world, somewhere between left-of-center and way-left-of-center, does not consume everyone in Berkeley, but it is sufficiently widespread that the current flavor of local governance will probably endure for the foreseeable future. As the rest of the country has gone decidedly, if fitfully, to the right, Berkeley has stayed with its basic 1960s mentality. Almost certainly Berkeley has attracted those who find it conducive to their own political proclivities and repelled those who feel otherwise, thereby reinforcing itself as a the nation’s citadel of collectivist wisdom. -more-


Commentary: Coming Upon August 26 By HELEN RIPPIER WHEELER

By HELEN RIPPIER WHEELER
Friday August 20, 2004

Coming up on Aug. 26, I am reminded of 30 years ago. In 1974 the Wisconsin Commission on the Status of Women inaugurated a series of regional conferences to examine the status of the homemaker, and Oakland resident Tish Sommers coined the term “displaced homemaker” to describe the “middle-aged woman forcibly exiled” from her role as wife and mother, struggling to find a place in the job market. The Mexican American Women’s Association was founded. A study by Cherokee/Choctaw physician Constance Uri exposed widespread use of sterilization of Native American women and led to the 1977 revision of DHEW’s guidelines on sterilization. Congresswoman Bella Abzug’s bill to designate Aug. 26 Women’s Equality Day in honor of the adoption of the Suffrage Amendment became law. The Civil Rights Act was amended to prohibit sex discrimination in housing financing, sale or rental or in provision of brokerage services. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act became law after Abzug, Margaret Heckler and Lenor Sullivan fought for it in the House; later, “Battling Bella” led a delegation of women members of Congress to protest unsatisfactory implementation regulations, and they were revised. The first woman state governor to be elected in her own right—Ella Grasso—was elected governor of Connecticut. I remember well all of these events and more that year, as well as defeats and losses of women’s lives and careers. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday August 20, 2004

TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT -more-


Watch the Top Hits on the Berkeley Birder’s List By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

By JOE EATON Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

If you’re not from around here, you may be encountering an unusual number of Unidentified Flying Objects: birds that look different from the ones you’re accustomed to seeing at home, and behave differently. Here are a few you’re likely to notice on campus or around town. -more-


A Few Options for Out-of-Town Jaunts By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

By JOE EATON Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

When urban life begins to get to you, the Bay Area offers a wealth of refuges. Thanks to enlightened planning, our cities are surrounded by a greenbelt of regional, state, and national parkland: wonderful places for photography, hiking, birding, botanizing, whale-watching, and general communing with nature. -more-


Ringers Animals

Friday August 20, 2004

Ten ubiquitous animals you may have thought were native Northern Californians: -more-


Election Section

Glorious Gardens Close to Home Provide Respite By SHIRLEY BARKER Special to the Planet

By SHIRLEY BARKER Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

Let’s face it, going to a four-year university is stressful. Most of the time the adrenaline rush seems to keep one on one’s toes, enabling one to nail a good grade and giving one a sense of making a start at something important. Perhaps working for a degree will lead to a cure for cancer or a Nobel prize. At the very least, it’s an opportunity to make life-long friendships. -more-


Ringers Plants

Friday August 20, 2004

Ten plants you may have thought were native Northern Californians: -more-


Delicacies All in the Family at Country Cheese By LYDIA GANS Special to the Planet

By LYDIA GANS Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

This is a story about cheeses and a 35-year-old store that sells them. It’s about a burgeoning alternative gourmet ghetto in a less than affluent part of west Berkeley. And it’s about an immigrant family that has established a niche for itself and become, if not totally Americanized, decidedly Berkeleyized. -more-


Playing the Role By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet of Sunday Tour Guide

By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

One of the chief pleasures of living here is playing tour guide. Over the years I’ve lined up a few: The Food Tour (North Berkeley, the Farmer’s Markets when possible, Market Hall in Rockridge, whatever sort of restaurant they don’t have at home) and the Book Tour (Cody’s, Moe’s, Shakespeare, University Press, Pegasus, Black Oak, whatever specialty stores tickle their fancy) and the Architecture Tour (assorted Maybecks, Eugene Tsui’s “Fish House” (more aptly, “Tardigrade House,” officially “Ojo del Sol”) on Matthews Street). There’s even the Sex Tour: take them to Good Vibrations and then send them to North Beach or Castro, depending on their tastes. Sometimes I’ll stoop to the Tourist Tour, including Fisherman’s Wharf and the Alcatraz boat. -more-


Sampling the Berkeley Bran Muffin Diet By MARTY SCHIFFENBAUER Special to the Planet

By MARTY SCHIFFENBAUER Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

So I was sitting at the café engaged in my daily matudinal session of pseudointellectual combat when, as it often will, the question arose: “Is there a God”? -more-


Cheese Board Bran Muffins

Friday August 20, 2004

Reprinted with permission from The Cheese Board Collective Works: Bread, Pastry, Cheese, Pizza by the Cheese Board Collective. Copyright 2003, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley. -more-


Shopping for Special Stuff in Greater Berkeley By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

By JOE EATON Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

This town is full of establishments that sell things you never knew you needed. Here’s a personal selection. -more-


International Jazz Pioneer Revisits California By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet

By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

Saxophonist John Tchicai’s life might be viewed as an example of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny. Jazz was born in the United States when the descendants of African natives were confronted by the instruments and harmonies of European music. By brushing that music against the grain they found the blue notes between the well-tempered notes, the rhythmic swing that hovered uncertainly, mysteriously, doubtfully around the strict metrical structures. The Middle Passage was both disruptive and quickening so that “nothing of him that doth fade, but doth suffer a sea-change into something rich and strange.” -more-


Picturing Berkeley in Photographs and Words By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet

By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

Unlike iconic destinations such as San Francisco, New York or London where the shelves of bookstores and gift shops sag under the weight of tourist fare, Berkeley has been the subject of relatively few pictorial books. -more-


Worshipping at City’s Literary Shrines By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

By JOE EATON Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

San Francisco has Mark Twain; Oakland has Jack London. Berkeley has had its share of literary lights as well. Some—George R. Stewart, who memorably destroyed the town in Earth Abides; Robert Hass, Maxine Hong Kingston, Josephine Miles, Ishmael Reed—had, or have, university connections. The town has also been hospitable to Beat poets, speculative-fiction writers, and other non-Establishment types. Heyday Books has an entire anthology (Berkeley! A Literary Tribute) of fiction, poetry and memoir set in Berkeley, with contributors running the gamut from John Kenneth Galbraith to Thomas Pynchon. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: A Gentrified Left? In Berkeley? By Becky O'Malley

Becky O'Malley
Friday August 20, 2004

A letter writer this week took umbrage at a flippant remark which we quoted in a story on the failure of a councilmember’s aide to collect the signatures his boss needed to file for re-election. The speaker suggested that the incident might be a “gentrified left-wing conspiracy,” parodying Hillary Clinton’s often ridiculed suggestion that accusations against her Bill were part of a right-wing conspiracy. -more-


Columns

Five Easy Houseplants By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet

By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

Something living in that soulless dorm room, the weird-shaped nook the landlord calls a bedroom, or that gorgeous Craftsman that was such a find you can hardly believe it—that’s what makes it something better than a box to sleep in. Plants are easier than puppies. You have a brown thumb? No worries. The dirty little secret of having a green thumb is that most of us had to murder a lot of plants along the way. -more-


Tilden: Nature’s Jewel Outside Our Back Door By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet

By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet
Friday August 20, 2004

The dog days of summer leading into fall and the return to school don’t spell the end of outdoor activities. In Berkeley’s Mediterranean climate, you’ll find the warmth of the air, the stir of the breeze and the angle of the light calling you to come out and play. -more-


Getting There

Friday August 20, 2004

Tilden Regional Park, entrances off Wildcat Canyon Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard. 562-PARK. -more-


Berkeley This Week Calendar

Friday August 20, 2004

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday August 20, 2004

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 -more-


John Tchicai Performance

Friday August 20, 2004

Saxophonist John Tchicai, will perform with guitarist Mark Oi and drummer Matt Marucci, appears at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 at Palms, 13 Main St., downtown Winters. Opening act: Nebula Quartet and the Ross Hammond Unit. $10. (530) 795-1825. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: A Gentrified Left? In Berkeley? By Becky O'Malley 08-20-2004

When the FBI Comes Calling: By BECKY O'MALLEY 08-17-2004

News

Governor’s San Pablo Casino Deal Fulfills Hopes of GOP Operatives By RICHARD BRENNEMAN By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-20-2004

Special Edition 08-20-2004

Low Algebra Marks Add Up To Low State Test Scores By MATTHEW ARTZ By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-20-2004

Minority Students Sue BUSD Over Expulsions By MATTHEW ARTZ By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-20-2004

Federal Cuts Threaten Key Fresh Food Programs By ANGELA ROWEN By ANGELA ROWEN 08-20-2004

Alta Bates Puddles PoseThreat of West Nile Virus By MATTHEW ARTZ By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-20-2004

Berkeley’s Impact Fund Sues Big Box Retailer By JAKOB SCHILLER Staff 08-20-2004

Police Blotter Richard Brenneman Police Blotter 08-20-2004

City Makes Requested West Berkeley Traffic Changes 08-20-2004

Finances, Jobs, Safety Top Issues in Richmond Race By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-20-2004

Berkeley Hears Venezuela Story Big Media By JAKOB SCHILLER Ignore By JAKOB SCHILLER 08-20-2004

UnderCurrents: Let Kerry be Vague Until the Election is Over J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-20-2004

Commentary: A Modest Proposal For a Berkeley Roadside Attraction By ALBERT SUKOFF By ALBERT SUKOFF 08-20-2004

Commentary: Coming Upon August 26 By HELEN RIPPIER WHEELER By HELEN RIPPIER WHEELER 08-20-2004

Letters to the Editor 08-20-2004

Watch the Top Hits on the Berkeley Birder’s List By JOE EATON Special to the Planet By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

A Few Options for Out-of-Town Jaunts By JOE EATON Special to the Planet By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Ringers Animals 08-20-2004

Glorious Gardens Close to Home Provide Respite By SHIRLEY BARKER Special to the Planet By SHIRLEY BARKER Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Ringers Plants 08-20-2004

Delicacies All in the Family at Country Cheese By LYDIA GANS Special to the Planet By LYDIA GANS Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Playing the Role By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet of Sunday Tour Guide By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Sampling the Berkeley Bran Muffin Diet By MARTY SCHIFFENBAUER Special to the Planet By MARTY SCHIFFENBAUER Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Cheese Board Bran Muffins 08-20-2004

Shopping for Special Stuff in Greater Berkeley By JOE EATON Special to the Planet By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

International Jazz Pioneer Revisits California By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Picturing Berkeley in Photographs and Words By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Worshipping at City’s Literary Shrines By JOE EATON Special to the Planet By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Local Youth’s Death Is City’s Third Murder in 4 Weeks: By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-17-2004

Casinos, Malls and Politics Mix at East Bay Meetings: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-17-2004

Green Council Candidate Courts Left-Out Voters: By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-17-2004

Green Presidential Candidate Makes Pitch for Local Votes: By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-17-2004

Pro-Tenant Candidates Dominate Rent Board Field: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-17-2004

Poet, Teacher Czeslaw Milosz Dies in Poland: By PEGGY SIMPSON Special to the Planet 08-17-2004

Friends, Family Remember The Dashing Dr. Lipscomb: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-17-2004

How to Garner an Invitation With the Scrabblettes: From Susan Parker 08-17-2004

Letters to the Editor 08-17-2004

Quiet Censorship: By Gray Brechin Commentary 08-17-2004

You Can’t Have it Both Ways: Community Policing is a Two-Way Street (By SAM HERBERT) Commentary 08-17-2004

Not A Good Idea: By John Delmos Commentary 08-17-2004

Death of a Redwood: By PETER SCHORER Commentary 08-17-2004

Moderne Masterpiece Evokes Art Deco Glamour: By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet 08-17-2004

UC Swimmer Triumphs in Athens 08-17-2004

Arts Calendar 08-17-2004

Honey Locusts Cast Golden Glow on City Streets: By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 08-17-2004

Berkeley This Week 08-17-2004

Columns

Five Easy Houseplants By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Tilden: Nature’s Jewel Outside Our Back Door By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet 08-20-2004

Getting There 08-20-2004

Berkeley This Week Calendar 08-20-2004

Arts Calendar 08-20-2004

John Tchicai Performance 08-20-2004