Berkeley Man Dead in CYA Prison: By JAKOB SCHILLER
Family members of a Berkeley man who mysteriously died in a California Youth Authority prison last weekend said Wednesday that they suspect foul-play and a cover up. -more-
Family members of a Berkeley man who mysteriously died in a California Youth Authority prison last weekend said Wednesday that they suspect foul-play and a cover up. -more-
Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board members authorized a key document last week paving the way for the tallest structure to rise in downtown Berkeley in decades, the nine-story Seagate Building slated to replace four 1920’s era low-rise structures on Center Street. -more-
Berkeley school officials believe that recently-reported “plummeting” state test scores at highly-rated John Muir Elementary School are incorrect and are seeking to have them revised by the state Department of Education. -more-
When Almateen Tweedie heard someone pounding on her front door the morning of Oct. 30, she assumed the guests were friends of her young sons. -more-
Without Sylvia McLaughlin and her fellow “tea ladies,” San Francisco Bay might’ve become just another example of urban sprawl—filled in, paved over and transformed into a flat urban plain. -more-
Commercial parking, landmarks and creeks consumed the lion’s share of the Berkeley Planning Commission’s Wednesday night session, producing lots of talk and no decisive action save for one member’s abrupt walkout. -more-
Berkeley’s fourth murder victim of the year—all in the past two months—has been identified as John Hunt, 40, of Oakland. -more-
Is West Berkeley’s Nexus Gallery headed for the wrecking ball? Bob Brockl, a leading figure in the gallery and collective housed in a pair of buildings at 2701-2721 Eighth St., hopes it isn’t. -more-
Scientists from the Berkeley-based California Department of Toxic Substances Control have discovered the world’s highest recorded levels of a recently banned class of fire retardants in the eggs of seabirds that nest along the shores of San Francisco Bay. -more-
Mekayla Blanck, 11 (right) and Celina Borucki-Gibson, 10, participate in an impromptu candle light vigil at the corner of Ashby Avenue and Adeline streets Thursday night where participants marked the death toll of more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The vigil at Ashby and Adeline, where a few dozen people gathered at 8 p.m., was one of several in the Bay Area, five of which were in Berkeley. The vigils were organized in part by MoveOn.org. -more-
Seeking to undercut a ChevronTexaco legal action to block the sale of Point Molate, Richmond city councilmembers Tuesday reconfirmed in public their closed-door extension of exclusive negotiating rights with a would-be casino developer. -more-
“I think we might have lost her.” -more-
For the next few weeks, the Berkeley Planet will publish lists of alleged violations of human rights by the Bush administration for readers to think about, and perhaps use, in their work on the November election. -more-
Once back South, some years ago, I passed a half-hour or so that could have been used for good fishing time trying to convince an old segregationist about an instance of racial injustice. Afterwards, T.C. Brown, who used to keep me in line, led me out of the meeting by the arm with a quiet lecture on the theory of time-waste. “Boy,” she said, “don’t you know you can’t wake up somebody what ain’t ‘sleep?” -more-
Muslim extremists often cite the Quran, out-of-context and contrary to the Holy Book’s spirit of mercy and compassion, to justify their crimes. Thus, for instance, in the four-page document that investigators found in Muhammad Atta’s luggage in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist ringleader invoked no fewer than 18 verses from the Quran to exhort his band of brothers to commit violence that took nearly 3,000 lives. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
An article recently appeared in the Daily Planet regarding police rights to challenge Police Review Commission findings (“Court Ruling Hamstrings Police Review Commission,” Aug. 31-Sept. 2). The article was somewhat indignant at the idea that the burden of proof should be on the accuser (Police Review Commissions) and not the accused, (even though this is a fundamental principle of American justice). It is implied that the Berkeley Police Department is insensitive to the public because it challenged 32 of 52 “sustained” complaints filed against it at the PRC. It compares this to numbers from Riverside and San Diego. A closer look at the numbers reveals that the Berkeley Police are not insensitive but rather portions of the public are hypersensitive and distinctly anti-police. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
You don’t need to be a newly arrived UC Berkeley freshman to be unclear on the concept of Economy Culture: in many years of regular attendance, I’ve been constantly surprised by those interested in opera, for example, but not bothering because “it’s so expensive.” -more-
Two of the area’s orchestras, the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Berkeley Symphony, will go into high gear unusually early this season. Regional orchestras, as a rule, start up a few weeks after the beginning of the season in San Francisco and nationally, but it’s different this time. -more-
There’s a lot to be said for hard-to-reach places. If Muir Woods had been more accessible to loggers, it wouldn’t be here today. There’s also a lot to be said for vision. If William Kent and his wife Elizabeth Thacher Kent hadn’t seen something worth preserving, Muir Woods National Monument wouldn’t be here today. -more-
From the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge take Hwy 1 south and exit at Hwy 1/Stinson Beach. Follow signs to Muir Woods/Mount Tamalpais. Approx. 25 miles, 45 min.-1hour. Parking limited. -more-
This Sunday, Sept. 12, Solano Avenue in Berkeley and Albany hosts the Annual Solano Stroll, a day-long fun and food festival. -more-
It’s hard to believe that it’s been only three years since Saudi Muslim extremists commandeered commercial aircraft and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. What was before September 11, 2001, a small fire fanned by a few fanatics has become a firestorm which threatens to engulf the world. The historic willingness of human beings to kill and be killed for a religious ideology has been demonstrated again and again since 9/11, most recently in the appalling occurrences in North Ossetia, now part of Russia, where men and (most tragically) women were willing to kill defenseless children who had done nothing to harm them, in support of an abstraction which is essentially meaningless to non-believers. -more-
Pushing Back Against Evil: By BECKY O'MALLEY 09-10-2004
Hostility and Ineffectiveness: By BECKY O'MALLEY 09-07-2004
Berkeley Man Dead in CYA Prison: By JAKOB SCHILLER 09-10-2004
ZAB Authorizes Key Document For Seagate Building: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
Scores Wrong On State Tests, Says John Muir Principal: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 09-10-2004
Police Special Unit Accused of Improper Search and Detention: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-10-2004
Bay Advocate McLaughlin Takes on Casino Developers: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
Commission Takes on Landmarks, Parking, Creeks: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
Oakland Man is Berkeley’s Latest Murder Victim: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-10-2004
Humane Society, Nexus Battle for Fate of Building: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
World’s Highest Levels of Outlawed Fire Retardants Found in Bay Birds: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
Candle Light Vigil Marks One Thousand Dead In Iraq: By JAKOB SCHILLER 09-10-2004
Richmond City Council Move Undercuts Chevron Lawsuit: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-10-2004
Remembering An Angel Named Betty Ong: By STEVEN KNIPP Pacific News Service 09-10-2004
The Real Score with the U.S. War on Terrorism: By ANN FAGAN GINGER Challenging Rights Violations 09-10-2004
You Can’t Wake Up People Who Ain’t Asleep: J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR UnderCurrents of the East Bay and Beyond 09-10-2004
Letters to the Editor 09-10-2004
Police Blotter: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-10-2004
To Muslim Extremists: Not in the Name of Islam: By HASSAN ZILLUR RAHIM Commentary, Pacific News Service 09-10-2004
Us Against Them!: By MICHAEL D. MILLER Commentary 09-10-2004
Defending Berkeley Police Officers From Daily Planet Reporter, Editor: By JOHN KOENIGSHOFER Commentary 09-10-2004
Readers Respond to Author’s Appearance at UC Commentary 09-10-2004
Bargains By the Bay: High Culture at Low (Or No) Price: By JANOS GEREBEN Special to the Planet 09-10-2004
Two East Bay Symphony Concerts 09-10-2004
Arts Calendar 09-10-2004
A Day with Muir, From the Redwoods Down to the Beach: By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet 09-10-2004
Getting There 09-10-2004
Paging All Pearls For the Solano Stroll 09-10-2004
Berkeley This Week 09-10-2004
Library Mourns Assistant’s Death: By SUSAN PARKER Special to the Planet 09-07-2004
Academic Choice Causes Rift at BHS: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-07-2004
Bulgarian Tile Projects Have Roots in Berkeley: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-07-2004
Homeless Tracking Program Set to Debut in Berkeley: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-07-2004
Untold Stories from the Republican Convention: By CHRISTOPHER KROHN Special to the Planet 09-07-2004
Scenes From a Protest: A Day in New York City: By OSHA NEUMANN Special to the Planet 09-07-2004
Poll Hints at Golden Gate Fields Tribal Casino: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-07-2004
County School Board Certifies BUSD’s Budget: By MATTHEW ARTZ 09-07-2004
Landmark Ordinance, Seagate Project On Land Use Meeting Agendas: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-07-2004
Debating Cool vs. Geeky At the SFSU Student Store: From SUSAN PARKER Column 09-07-2004
Letters to the Editor 09-07-2004
Campaign 2004: Bush’s ‘Plan’ For America: By BOB BURNETT Commentary 09-07-2004
P is for Penthouse: By DAVID BLAKE Commentary 09-07-2004
Got a Sick Plant? Bring it to the Doctor: By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 09-07-2004
Ozzie’s Threatened by Economic Pressures: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-07-2004
Arts Calendar 09-07-2004
Lucky ‘Angel Hawk’ Makes a Remarkable Recovery: By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 09-07-2004
Berkeley This Week 09-07-2004