Candidates Debate Center’s Future: By MATTHEW ARTZ
For three straight weeks in June a group of mental health patients pleaded with the City Council to save the beleaguered center where they spend their days. -more-
For three straight weeks in June a group of mental health patients pleaded with the City Council to save the beleaguered center where they spend their days. -more-
One of the most closely-contested local election races next month is expected to be in the Berkeley Unified School District, where three challengers are opposing incumbent board members Joaquín Rivera and John Selawsky. -more-
Berkeley residents who don’t want to wait for a flu shot will have to leave city limits to find an available vaccine. -more-
The City Council voted Tuesday to shrink the size of new buildings along University Avenue, ending an eight-year fight for clearer zoning guidelines on the city’s major east-west traffic corridor. -more-
Berkeley Planning Commissioners got their first look Wednesday at new state legislation that increases density bonuses on affordable units in apartment and condominium projects from 20 to 35 percent starting Jan. 1. -more-
University of California service workers from all nine campuses plan to converge at UC Berkeley today (Friday) to protest stalled union contract negotiations with the university. -more-
A page 10 article in the Oct. 12 issue mistakenly reported where Neal Blumenfeld earned his M.D. It was from UCSF, not San Francisco State. -more-
Colombia makes few headlines in the United States these days. But Washington’s involvement in the Western Hemisphere’s longest, bloodiest war is rapidly escalating, as the world’s attention is elsewhere. The latest signal of increased U.S. embroilment comes just as a vocal civil movement is emerging in Colombia to demand an end to the war. -more-
A veteran candidate for city council made a rookie mistake last month that has been brought to the attention of the city’s election monitors. -more-
Editor’s Note: A portion of this article ran in the Oct. 8 issue. It is rerun here in its entirety: -more-
Last week, U.S. representatives parted company with Canada and Mexico and announced plans to allow continued use of the pesticide lindane that persists in air and water and has been found at high levels in the Arctic. -more-
24. To Release Political Prisoners; To Stop Capital Punishment -more-
It was Albert Einstein who advanced the thought that all comparisons—among other things—are meaningless unless taken in context. Standing on the earth, you look up at the moon across a vast tract of space. Standing on the moon, you look up at the earth, along that same vast tract. Which one is up, which one is down...earth or moon? Depends on your point of view. -more-
When you take the time to interview Republican voters, as I did over the past two weeks, you quickly come to the realization that there is more than an ideological divide between the two parties; there are two wildly divergent views of reality. -more-
It is obviously long past time to think constructively about what the City should be doing to restore creeks and remove crumbling culverts. But it is obviously wrong to stampede into quick changes to the 15 year old creek ordinance under the cover of the most important national election in our lifetimes. -more-
In my years as Berkeley’s City Manager, it was my job to carefully manage the City’s budget. I am proud that our city was able to continue in its history of innovation and excellent service while maintaining a sterling bond rating on Wall Street. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
On Nov. 2nd, Californians will have an opportunity to dramatically change the communities in which they live, for better or for worse, by casting a vote on Prop 63. Voting No on Prop 63 will increase the likelihood that some of the most vulnerable and troubled members of our communities continue to flounder in local jails, overcrowded shelters, and in doorways and on park benches, while much of the resources and wealth in our communities remain in the hands of the privileged few. Voting Yes on 63, on the other hand, will help ensure that those who have plenty reach out to those in the greatest need, so that they might be able to access the support and resources they need to get back on their feet. To be specific, Prop 63, also known as the Mental Health Initiative, will guarantee that care is available to the hundreds of thousands of people in California who are disabled by mental illness by initiating a 1 percent tax increase on incomes over $1 million (the first million dollars is not subject to the increase), thereby addressing the problem of economic inequality in our communities while lending a helping hand to those whose most basic needs have been severely neglected by our federal and state governments during the past several decades. -more-
Measure H on this November’s ballot provides for publicly funded elections for mayor and other city offices. Everyone seems to favor it in principle, but opponents say that they fear it is just too expensive in these days of fiscal stringency. -more-
John Gordon is downtown Berkeley’s biggest booster. -more-
“I would’ve thought a pack of British boys would’ve put on a better show than this—you are all British boys, aren’t you?” -more-
ReOrient, in its sixth year of “exploring Middle Eastern culture and identity as represented throughout the globe,” is a festival of short plays staged by Golden Thread Productions that’s opening this weekend at the Ashby Stage after a run at SF’s Noh Space. -more-
It’s amazing what you can talk yourself into doing based on an email. It was as if MoveOn knew just what sort of a Springsteen fanatic they were dealing with. A concert benefiting America Coming Together (ACT), a 527 that sends volunteers to swing states to get out the vote? Sure! (Well, they had me from “MoveOn members get first crack at Springsteen tickets.”) -more-
In politically disturbed times such as ours, museums can provide welcome distraction. Berkeley Art Museum is located on Bancroft Way across the street from the university campus, a short walk from the city center, making it easy for town as well as gown to refresh themselves therein. -more-
For an all-too-brief and shining moment Friday noon, Sproul Plaza reverberated with the rhetorical fireworks that made Berkeley synonymous with radical ideas during the 1960's. -more-
One long-standing bone of contention that the City Council might be able to resolve Tuesday is new zoning rules for University Avenue. After five months of debate, the Planning Commission reached a compromise last July that aims to decrease the scale of new buildings on the avenue. -more-
Why would the Berkeley City Council ask voters to disregard long-standing city tradition and move mayoral elections to coincide with the vote for president? -more-
Thanks to the city of Berkeley’s loose interpretation of one of its laws, along with support from the community and Elmwood commercial district, the Nabolom cooperative bakery says it will likely stay open after initially announcing that it was on track to go out of business by January. -more-
Berkeley Unified School District has received a Golden Carrot—a top national award for food service—from the Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). -more-
Facing the loss of a truck company if they don’t accept a reduction in salary, Berkeley firefighters have agreed to come to the negotiating table. -more-
Voters in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will be asked to consider a wide array of ballot measures in the Nov. 2 election. Two of these (AA and BB) are regional measures to be voted on by residents across both counties. One measure (CC) is a regional measure to be voted on only by residents in the East Bay Regional Park District Zone 1 (generally the western areas of Alameda and Contra Costa counties). One measure (J) will be voted on by residents of Contra Costa County. Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Oakland, and Richmond residents will all be voting on individual measures for their cities. The Berkeley ballot measures were detailed in the last issue of the Daily Planet. -more-
South Berkeley needs and wants a strong, active, thoughtful and experienced voice advocating for us to get affordable housing, transportation, public safety, and economic development improvements. I will continue to be an activist, focused on practical effective work. My City Council office will take leadership in advocating for the needs of individuals and groups in our district and our city. -more-
South Berkeley needs care and attention. We don’t need grand ideological schemes; we need real problem solving, community building and a responsive City Council. These are the reasons why I have the support of District 3 neighborhood leaders, school advocates, local businesses, and civic arts directors. I have lived in the heart of South Berkeley for 23 years, meeting my husband here, raising two sons, and buying a fixer-upper. -more-
Voters throughout the Bay Area received their ballot pamphlets last week—many finding that they seemed heavier than usual. It wasn’t just their imagination. -more-
I am writing to ask for your vote in support for Measure B, “Protecting Quality Education in Berkeley’s Public Schools.” Measure B would bring $8.3 million of critically needed funds into the schools for each of the next two years, reversing the most dev astating impacts of recent budget cuts. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
When young psychiatrist Neal Blumenfeld read that students had staged a protest at Sproul Plaza, he drove his Triumph TR-3 sports car as close as he could get to the campus, then walked over for a first-hand look. -more-
Down at the end of Berkeley’s new Arts District on Addison Street, the East Bay Media Center has compiled a wide-ranging lineup of new talent for this weekend’s 11th Annual Berkeley Video and Film Festival. -more-
We don’t hear much about the Anti-Trust Acts these days, and not too much about labor unions and their political action committees. -more-
When I told friends I was flying back East with my two and a half year old nephew, Bryce, they looked at me like I was crazy. -more-
We have a few civic olive trees in Berkeley—the ones in concrete planters on lower Sproul Plaza and a few on the borders of the parks strip along Hearst between MLK and Sacramento come to mind. Those are all fairly young. There are older ones around, mostly privately owned. -more-
The email this week brought a letter from a 17-year-old young man in Alabama listing all the reasons he’s supporting Kerry, and unselfconsciously confessing that he sent the letter via a form on the Kerry website. We’ve gotten a bunch of these letters lately, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Zack Exley, formerly a strategist with MoveOn.org, is now the Kerry campaign's director of online communications and organizing, and he’s clearly transferred what he learned in the slick MoveOn operation to his new job. As a result, Kerry supporters seem to be easily able to write, at one fell swoop, to hundreds of media outlets around the country to support their man. Some letters, like the one from our Alabama correspondent, are personal and heartfelt, while others have more of a canned flavor. In the interest of saving our printed pages for controversial local issues that don’t get aired anywhere else, we’ve relegated most of these letters to the web version of the paper, but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate them. Any undecided Planet readers (there must be a few of you out there) should check the website for some excellent arguments. We haven’t gotten many for Bush, though. -more-
We have been deluged with calls and letters from proponents of various measures which will confront voters on the November ballot, at a time when most voters, including us, are preoccupied with the job of getting rid of George Bush. As I am writing this, I’ve been interrupted, at home, by a call from an old acquaintance who wants me to endorse Measure B. -more-