The Week

Richard Brenneman:
          Former Las Vegas mayor and current Harrah’s executive Jan Laverty Jones listens as her boss, CEO Gary W. Loveman, outlines plans for the proposed Point Molate casino.
Richard Brenneman: Former Las Vegas mayor and current Harrah’s executive Jan Laverty Jones listens as her boss, CEO Gary W. Loveman, outlines plans for the proposed Point Molate casino.
 

News

Richmond Council Endorses Casino Plan For Point Molate Site: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday September 03, 2004

Faced with a court order blocking them from approving a lucrative Point Molate casino pact with a Berkeley developer, the Richmond City Council did the second-best thing Tuesday night: They voted unanimously to show their intent to sign the deal once legal clouds clear. -more-


Test Scores Show Student Improvement, But Not Enough: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday September 03, 2004

Willard Middle School appears headed towards a distinction it could do without: the fourth school in Berkeley to run afoul of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Law. -more-


Swimmers Fight For Public Access in Winter: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday September 03, 2004

Last October Berkeley swimmers—fresh from a six-month campaign of chlorine-infested fundraising—presented the City Council with a gift they couldn’t refuse: cold hard cash. -more-


Police Chief Meisner Announces Retirement: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday September 03, 2004

One of the longest serving police officers in recent Berkeley history will go out as with one of the briefest reigns as police chief. -more-


Toxics Agency Calls Halt to Campus Bay Cleanup: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday September 03, 2004

State environmental officials threw a major stumbling path on the road to a controversial massive high-rise residential complex near the Richmond shoreline this week, halting a crucial excavation and raising the specter that work might not recommence till spring. -more-


AC Transit Candidates Promise Improved Bus Service: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday September 03, 2004

Rapid buses along regular streets versus dedicated high-speed bus lanes, finances, safety, driver accountability, air quality, and dwindling bus routes are expected to be some of the issues that will shape two contested AC Transit Board races this November. -more-


Families of Victims Shot By Cops Forge Activist Bonds: By RAY JAY ADEV

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Friday September 03, 2004

It felt perfectly appropriate when Raul Cardenas bent down and kissed the stairs of San Jose’s Superior Court. Twice. State Drug Agent Michael Walker, the killer of his brother Rudy Cardenas, had just been indicted for voluntary manslaughter after a week-long open grand jury session. -more-


Radical Cleric is Key to Iran’s Game Plan in Iraq: By JALAL GHAZI

Pacific News Service
Friday September 03, 2004

Iran is the main motivational force behind the political ambitions of fiery Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, whose militants recently engaged U.S. and interim government forces in bloody battles in Najaf. Al Sadr, who lacks political stature, rebelled to ensure a place for himself in the new Iraq before the January elections. Indeed, through the fighting he escalated, his prestige rose, and the interim Iraqi government had to negotiate with him to end the fighting. Not bad for Iran’s main ally in Iraq. -more-


UC Names First Building for African American Woman: By STEVEN FINACOM

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

Scores of University of California officials, alumni, and friends and admirers of Berkeley alumnus and pioneering African-American educator Ida Louise Jackson packed the sun-filled courtyard of a recently built university apartment building mid-day on Monday, Aug. 30, to celebrate its naming in honor of Jackson. -more-


A-31 Coalition Takes to the Streets to Protest RNC: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

NEW YORK—The streets on day two of the Republican National Convention belonged to the A-31 coalition of affinity groups. A-31, or Aug. 31, was organized to create “a day of nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action,” according to their website. -more-


Filmmaker Says ‘Shut up’ To Fox News Network: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

Outfoxed, a recent documentary by filmmaker Robert Greenwald, is a scathing critique of how Fox News conducts its business. It includes many interviews with former Fox employees as well as a few prominent media analysts like Walter Cronkite. Greenwald paid a visit to what was billed as a “Bill O’Reilly Shut Up-athon” this past Tuesday outside of Fox News headquarters in New York City. The Daily Planet stuck a tape recorder in his Greenwald’s face and started asking questions. -more-


UFPJ’s Cagan Plans Next Step After Protest Success: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

Leslie Cagan is the National Coordinator for United For Peace and Justice, the group that organized Sunday’s massive anti-Bush rally in New York City. Cagan had been involved in negotiating with city officials to hold a rally in Central Park. She lost that battle, but was feeling exceedingly pleased at the outcome of Sunday’s large showing of protesters. The Daily Planet met Cagan at her cramped ninth floor office at UFPJ’s rabbit warren-like headquarters a few blocks from Madison Square Garden where the Republican National Convention is being held. Cagan was visibly exhausted, yet appeared almost giddy at the success the coalition’s organizing efforts have reaped. On the third day of the convention, activity was everywhere. Phones rang, banners were being made for other rallies, and protest paraphernalia of all kinds was being unpacked and repacked in boxes to be sent out to the next site. Cagan is a busy person and much in demand, even before Sunday. Her phone rang five times during our 20-minute interview. -more-


The Vietnam Engima Resurfaces—Still Unresolved: J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

UnderCurrents
Friday September 03, 2004

Vietnam has risen again—not as a country but as a metaphor, a code word to symbolize, a bucket, overturned, its water running out into the various crevices of our national life. War. Courage and cowardice. Death and life. Service. The nature of our obligations—to our country, to our friends and family, to our beliefs, to ourselves. Its essence remains, but its original form has long-since been irretrievably lost, spilled along with the innocence of our youth. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday September 03, 2004

SO-CALLED DESTRUCTION -more-


Police Blotter: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday September 03, 2004

Berkeley Man Charged with Date Rape -more-


Who Controls Our Schools?: By YOLAND HUANG

Commentary
Friday September 03, 2004

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-


The Elephant in the Room: By MICHAEL MARCHANT

Commentary
Friday September 03, 2004

In an effort to “put people first”, Gov. Schwarzenegger recently convened the California Performance Review (CPR). The CPR undertook a “total review” of state government and issued a voluminous report recommending hundreds of cost cutting measures. While Schwarzenegger supports the CPR’s recommendations on the grounds that they will rid the state government of fraud and inefficiency, he does not mention that when it comes to defrauding ordinary Californians, the real harm often takes place beyond the corridors of state government and in the boardrooms of the private sector. And there is no better example of this defrauding, and of Schwarzenegger’s unwillingness to address it, than the $9 billion rip-off of Californians executed by Enron et al during California’s energy crisis. -more-


Is the GOP Abandoning the Bay Area? : By PHIL REIFF and JASON ALDERMAN

Commentary
Friday September 03, 2004

Republicans are converging for their quadrennial convention in New York this week, but the closest most Bay Area voters will ever get to a prominent Republican is on their living room television set. -more-


Fluffy Bunnies Titillate in La Val’s Basement: By BETSY M. HUNTON

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

After chewing its title over for a while I’ve decided that Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies is about as good as you could get for Impact Theatre’s new production. The only question that remains for me is, now that I think that I’ve figured out what it has to do with the play, should I blow the secret? -more-


Oakland Museum’s Vietnam Exhibit Evokes a Time Gone, And Yet Still Here: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday September 03, 2004

For those who lived through those times, there is a point in the meandering hallways of the Oakland Museum’s “California And The Vietnam Era” exhibit that observation and objectivity give way to experience, and the roped and plyboard partitions morph into corridors of your own mind. -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday September 03, 2004

FRIDAY, SEPT. 3 -more-


Celery Planting Time is Here Again: By SHIRLEY BARKER

Special to the Planet
Friday September 03, 2004

Celery seedlings can be difficult to find locally because it is considered hard to grow here. In fact, especially where the water table is high (and where in Berkeley is it not?), this marsh-loving member of the Umbelliferae family is one of the many vegetables that reward the home gardener. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday September 03, 2004

FRIDAY, SEPT. 3 -more-


Judge Orders Halt To Pt. Molate Pact: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday August 31, 2004

A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge dealt a setback to the Richmond City Council’s plans to sign a lucrative deal for a casino resort at Point Molate, handing ChevronTexaco a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the sale prior to another hearing on Sept. 20. -more-


Day-Long Walkout Strikes Med Center: By J.DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Workers staged a spirited one-day walkout from the four facilities of the troubled Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) on Monday, in protest against recently-proposed staff cutbacks. -more-


ZAB Reviews Controversial Plans In Late-Night Marathon Session: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments board took its first look at three controversial projects Thursday night, and gave tentative blessings to one in a grueling seven-hour marathon session. -more-


Seagate Project Changes Lead to Sparks at ZAB: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday August 31, 2004

The clock had ticked into the early morning minutes Friday when what may become one of the most controversial buildings in downtown Berkeley made it into the limelight at the Zoning Adjustments Board. -more-


New Student Rep Aims to Make Her Presence Felt: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Anyone who has seen Berkeley’s Board of Education in action has to feel a little bit sorry for this year’s student representative Lily Dorman-Colby. -more-


Well Qualified Trio Vies For BART Seat: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Three veterans of widely-different areas of public life are competing in the Nov. 2 election to represent a BART district that stretches from Kensington in the north to San Lorenzo in the south and encompasses the eastern portions of both Berkeley and Oakland. -more-


Fund-Starved BUSD Urges Students to Start on Day 1: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday August 31, 2004

After racking up nearly $30,000 in lost attendance revenue the first week of school last year, Berkeley Unified is hoping students will be in class when school starts on Wednesday and not hiking in the Sierra, visiting family back east or touring Europe. -more-


Court Ruling Hamstrings Police Review Commission: By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Everett Bobbitt says his San Diego law office is adorned with 11 medals, 10 he won in Vietnam and the eleventh—the one he cherishes the most—bestowed upon him by the Berkeley Police Association (BPA). -more-


Iranians Face Increased Harassment in U.S. : By DONAL BROWN

Pacific News Service
Tuesday August 31, 2004

WASHINGTON D.C.—Iranians in the U.S. are seeing a surge in firings and FBI interrogations and security clearance denials as anti-terrorist efforts mount and Washington’s criticism of the Iranian government sharpens. -more-


Claremont Hotel Picketed Through the Night: By JAKOB SCHILLER

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Marcos Escobar, an organizer with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) local 2850 marches outside the Claremont late Friday night as part of a 27-hour picket to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the union and worker’s boycott of the hotel. According to Claire Darby, another HERE organizer, around 150 workers participated in the picket and over 300 people marched in total. At the end of the picket, Oakland mayor Jerry Brown showed up to speak at a pro-union rally, which was the first time Brown had come out to publicly support the workers at the picket.. -more-


Making a Big Impression At a Catskills Resort: From SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday August 31, 2004

My friend Taffy was getting married for the third time and planning a three-day wedding extravaganza. It was taking place in a tiny village located in the middle of New York state’s Catskills Mountains. Besides being near a popular ski resort, Fleischmanns is the summer destination of choice for many of New York City’s Hassidic Jews. Walking around Fleischmanns is a lot like walking around Jerusalem, only it’s greener and safer. Bearded, black-shrouded, forelocked Hassidics share the narrow country roads with skinny lycra-clad outdoor enthusiasts. -more-


Police Blotter: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday August 31, 2004

Gunman Opens Fire on Car -more-


Fire Department Log: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday August 31, 2004

The Federal Emergency Management Agency gave Berkeley a $413,000 grant last week—to be supplemented by $177,000 in matching city funds—for a four-pronged program to reduce fire danger in the hills. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday August 31, 2004

WILLARD GARDEN -more-


Campaign 2004: The Battle Over Character: By BOB BURNETT

Commentary
Tuesday August 31, 2004

The month of August has seen an escalation in the battle over the character of the presidential nominees. First, Bush and Kerry sparred over the October 2002 vote giving the president power to go to war in Iraq, each questioning the other’s judgment. Next, Republicans unleashed the scurrilous Swift Boat ads that questioned Kerry’s integrity. While these two skirmishes will soon be forgotten, the issue of character will remain paramount until Nov. 2. -more-


Republicans Need A Clear, Simple Message To Appeal to Undecided Voters: By MICHAEL LARRICK

Commentary
Tuesday August 31, 2004

The presidential election is to be decided by those voters who have yet to make up their minds. Who are they, and how do you get them to vote for George Bush? -more-


Najaf Needs Gatekeeper for Keys to the Holy City: By MU’AN FAYYAD

Commentary, Pacific News Service
Tuesday August 31, 2004

(Translator’s comment: Grand Ayatollah Sistani has brokered a peace in the embattled Iraqi city of Najaf where the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr have been fighting American and Iraqi forces. This column written by a close advisor to the Ayatollah appeared in the influential London-based Arab daily Asharq-al-Awsat and was probably approved by Ayatollah Sistani himself to go out no later than August 22. The reason was that in Iraq the main contending parties had already reached the accord that was announced after August 22. -more-


A Half-Million Protesters Cry Out ‘Bush Must Go!’: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 31, 2004

NEW YORK—They came from across New York and across the country with a protest focus and ferocity that left little to the political imagination. “Bush must go!” was the chant of choice, and water the beverage of all on this hot August day. -more-


Ten Thousand Words for ‘No’: By OSHA NEUMANN

Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 31, 2004

NEW YORK—We couldn’t have a rally in the Great Meadow of Central Park because 250,000 people would ruin the grass, and because we didn’t come to court early enough to say “pretty please can we have our rights”—that’s what the judge ruled when United for Peace and Justice, the organizer of today’s mammoth demonstration, asked him to rule that the city must give us a permit. -more-


Thousands Won’t Keep Off the Grass: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN

Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 31, 2004

NEW YORK—Two self-described Republican women “from the South” had wandered over to Central Park’s Great Lawn on Sunday. On the lawn already were several thousand people sharing stories from an exuberant day after a huge sweat-soaked march. Refusing to offer their names to a reporter, the two southerners pronounced the Great Lawn event “another Woodstock.” -more-


Sunday’s Marchers Deserve Olympic Gold in Niceness, Freedom of Speech: By JANE STILLWATER

Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 31, 2004

The Internet cafe on 96th and Broadway—around the corner from our flea-bag hotel in New York—closes in just six minutes so here is my very-improvised report on the Republican National Convention:. -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday August 31, 2004

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 -more-


Zealous Chainsaw Use Proves Lethal to Trees: By RON SULLIVAN

Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 31, 2004

It’s an unfortunate fact of life in 21st century America: Anyone can buy a chainsaw over the counter, without a prescription, without a license, without a background check or a waiting period or any input at all from the Department of Homeland Security. Most unfortunately, also without any proof of competence. Apparently, fools are buying and using them. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday August 31, 2004

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Republicans Rant, Kerry Conciliates: By BECKY O'MALLEY

Editorial
Friday September 03, 2004

Watching the Republican Convention on television is like picking at a scab. You know it’s a mistake, you know it will only make things worse, but it’s hard not to do it, albeit obsessively and secretly. It’s a metaphor-generating experience, because it’s almost impossible to describe the horror and disgust provoked in the person of ordinary sensibility using straightforward descriptive language. -more-


The Undecided Decide: By BECKY O'MALLEY

Editorial
Tuesday August 31, 2004

Louis Menand has a critical essay in the latest New Yorker which vamps off a thesis in a 1964 book by Philip Converse, The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics: Only about 10 percent of the public has what might be called a political belief system. Menand reports Converse’s interpretation of surveys of the 1956 electorate as showing that voters are perfectly capable of holding conflicting opinions simultaneously, for example wanting both lower taxes and more government programs. Such studies of voter behavior are increasingly rehashed as contemporary polls seem to show the country poised on a knife edge between presidential candidates. Very few voters are still undecided, so how this few will make up their minds is consuming a lot of ink these days. One of our correspondents has suggested that people who haven’t made up their minds yet should be disqualified, presumably as too dumb to vote, and that’s an appealing idea, but it won’t happen. Pundits continue to speculate on what will change the hearts and minds of the remaining voters. -more-