Council Changes, Measure B Wins, Others Lose: By MATTHEW ARTZ
When the freshly elected Berkeley City Council convenes next month it will have three new members and one unenviable challenge. -more-
When the freshly elected Berkeley City Council convenes next month it will have three new members and one unenviable challenge. -more-
Race, which formed a quiet subtext to the Berkeley School Board elections, bubbled over the surface this week as a representative of presumed defeated candidate Karen Hemphill charged that “that Berkeley showed its true colors” on election day. -more-
Several thousand votes likely remain uncounted in Berkeley after an unprecedented surge in last minute voter registrations left nearly 5,000 residents off of the voter rolls. -more-
Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commissioners Monday approved plans for a pair of duplexes in the city’s newest landmarked historic neighborhood, ending a long and grueling battle. -more-
A new citizen seeking to cast her first vote and her husband screamed, yelled and threatened to call the police before they were allowed to cast their ballots at the YWCA polling station Tuesday. -more-
On an election day when Republicans painted most of the country red, Berkeley called it an early night. -more-
In the aftermath of the victory of Oakland’s safety Measure Y, supporters were calling it the result of a “measured, reasonable compromise” while progressive opponents said they lost because of defections from organizations and politicians “we would have expected to be fighting on our side.” -more-
Measure K, one of the most heated issues this year in El Cerrito, went the way most thought it would, passing with 6,427 votes, or 65.3 percent. -more-
The heated battle over the cleanup and development of the heavily polluted South Richmond site of a chemical manufacturing complex heads to a higher venue Saturday. -more-
On Tuesday the Berkeley Daily Planet had its first hearing in Alameda Superior Court concerning the unsealing of records filed in a class action lawsuit brought against California Wal-Mart stores. -more-
An Alameda County Coroner’s office toxicology report has revealed that UC Berkeley senior Patrick McCann had illegal drugs in his system when he died under mysterious circumstances two weeks ago, but there is no evidence yet as to what may have caused his death. -more-
As a social anthropologist I observed the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the rise of powerful, close-knit circles that filled the leadership vacuum and seized large chunks of state-owned wealth. These exclusive groups resemble the neoconserv ative or “neocon” core of 10 or so players who helped push the United States into Iraq. The rise of this neocon power circle—and its continued prominence within and without the second-term Bush administration—signals troubling changes in American governin g and policymaking. -more-
After two shootings, one serious, and a series of four vehicle arsons in seven days along a three-block stretch of Harmon Street in South Berkeley, police are declining to say if the crimes are related. -more-
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/?path=/00__Latest%20Work¯ -more-
On Tuesday evening, as actual vote tallies in the presidential race began coming in, television commentators immediately noted that there was a marked difference between the actual vote tallies and the projected vote tallies as worked out in the exit pol ls. The exit polls were being conducted outside of voting booths across the country by Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International in a national election pool jointly sponsored by the Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, and the three broadcast television ne tworks. -more-
Some people do it for civic duty. The pay certainly doesn’t attract any but the most desperate or the most dedicated. Retired seniors accept the $80 for a 14-hour day (minus a one-hour break) as pin money for being useful. -more-
It is traditional for the losing candidate in a presidential race to give a concession speech thanking his or her supporters, and calling on them to join together with those who did not vote the same way. John Kerry followed that tradition in his concess ion speech, but as one of his supporters, here is some of what I would have liked to hear him say: -more-
Berkeley, what are we seeing about ourselves this morning? Many of us woke up this morning feeling a deep depression about the state of our country, especially as we absorbed the vast numbers of people who supported the arrogant, self-serving, mean spiri ted leadership of our president. I, like many others in Berkeley, felt marginalized in my perspectives about everything from international policy and national priorities to individual and social concerns. But when I look at my own community, I see some of the same trends that I see in the national results. I am heart sick at the defeat of Measures J, K, L and M—which would have paid for youth programs, libraries, police, fire and other front-line services. In the decision to save those of us who might hav e had to spend a few hundred dollars a year, from having to spend those dollars, I see a community that is trying to “protect” individuals at the cost of our commonwealth. Sound familiar? -more-
On Election Day, Berkeley voters trounced five ballot measures put forth by our political establishment (mayor, City Council, city manager, city labor unions, and various vested and invested friends of). Four of these (Measures J, K, L, and M) would have resulted in direct tax increases upon an already overtaxed population. The fifth (Measure H) was an indirect tax increase, since it would have committed the city to creating a $1,800,000 fund for political candidates. -more-
On a narrow, winding country lane in the lower Berkeley hills stands an empty house, described affectionately by its neighbors as the Jensen Cottage. It is one of the most famous homes designed by the distinguished mid-century architect William W. Wurster. And Wurster Hall, the building that houses the College of Environmental Design on the UC Berkeley campus, is named after this famous architect. -more-
Long ago in England, in a bizarre BBC interview, an ancient Irish countryman with a voice from a J.M. Synge play was expressing his low opinion of architecture. Asked about St. Paul’s Cathedral, he opined that, “All buildings are ugly, but some are uglier than others.” Fifty years later I feel somewhat the same about the “built environment” of Berkeley, particularly the new crop of downtown apartments squeezed into landlocked “opportunity sites.” -more-
A friend has a post-election analysis: “I’m disgusted and fed up with the working class in this country. They sold out their own self interest for the right to yell ‘faggot’ out of their pick-ups.” She’s got a point. About half of the American electorate has once again distinguished itself by preferring snake oil to vitamins—not the first time this has happened historically, not even the first time in my lifetime, but it’s always disheartening to see this self-destructive behavior in action. -more-
Second Guessing the Voters Again: By BECKY O'MALLEY 11-05-2004
The Post-Election Struggle: By BECKY O'MALLEY 11-02-2004
Council Changes, Measure B Wins, Others Lose: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-05-2004
Rivera, Selawsky Appear to Hold On to School Board Seats: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-05-2004
Thousands of Ballots Still to Be Counted: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-05-2004
Controversial Plans Pack Landmarks Panel Meeting: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-05-2004
Election Day ‘Debacle’ at YWCA Polling Station: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-05-2004
Local Election Night Parties Fizzle With National Results: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-05-2004
Oakland Says Yes to Y To Help Curb Violence: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-05-2004
El Cerrito Keeps Utility Tax Court Had Sent to Voters: By JAKOB SCHILLER 11-05-2004
Saturday Assembly Hearing Targets Campus Bay Cleanup: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-05-2004
Daily Planet Faces Off With Wal-Mart Over Sealed Worker Records: By JAKOB SCHILLER 11-05-2004
Report: UC Student Found Dead at Oregon Street House Had Taken Drugs: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-05-2004
Neocon ‘Flex Players’ Await President Bush’s Second Term: By JANINE R. WEDEL Pacific News Service 11-05-2004
2 Shootings, 4 Arsons on Harmon Street: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-05-2004
Editorial Cartoons: By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 11-05-2004
Letters to the Editor 11-05-2004
A Preliminary Question About The Election Results: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR UNDERCURRENTS OF THE EAST BAY AND BEYOND 11-05-2004
Police Blotter: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-05-2004
Shipping Out the Vote: A Tribute to Poll Workers: By EDITH HALLBERG COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
The Speech Kerry Should Have Made: By BART SELDEN COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
Defeat of Tax Measures Favors Individuals, Not Common Good: By NANCY FEINSTEIN COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
City’s Failed Tax Measures: Mourning Vs. Morning After: By BARBARA GILBERT COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
Divided We Stand: By REBECCA PARIS COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
Wurster’s Jensen Cottage Endangered: By RUTH ROSEN and CHRISTOPHER ADAMS COMMENTARY 11-05-2004
Viewless Apartments Mar Buildings of Distinction: By JOHN KENYON Special to the Planet 11-05-2004
Arts Calendar 11-05-2004
Berkeley This Week 11-05-2004
Kerry Landslide at Longfellow 11-02-2004
University Avenue Project Clears ZAB: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-02-2004
Area Residents Call In From Swing States: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-02-2004
Chevron Faces Setback at Point Molate: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-02-2004
Flu Vaccine Shortage Raises Access Questions: By ANNA OBERTHUR Special to the Planet 11-02-2004
Rubicon to Take Over for Jobs Consortium for Homeless: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-02-2004
Election Night Parties Around Town To Watch the Winners and Losers: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-02-2004
Albany City Council Race Ends With Allegations: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-02-2004
Emeryville Printer Wins Big In Election Sign Business: By MATTHEW ARTZ 11-02-2004
Art Panel Okays ‘Spaceship Earth’: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-02-2004
Lawrence Breaks Ankle At Measure B Party: By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-02-2004
When Did ‘Hobbit’ Humans Die Out? Not So Long Ago, Say Indonesian Villagers: By CATY HUSBANDS Pacific News Service 11-02-2004
Editorial Cartoons By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 11-02-2004
Letters to the Editor 11-02-2004
Nannies, Purple Mohawks And the Meaning of Life: By SUSAN PARKER 11-02-2004
Police Blotter: By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 11-02-2004
Self-Government: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?: By SHARON HUDSON COMMENTARY 11-02-2004
El Cerrito Utility Tax Steamrolls Voters: By PETER S. LOUBAL 11-02-2004
Samba Ngo Invites All To Dance at Ashkenaz: By JAKOB SCHILLER 11-02-2004
Arts Calendar 11-02-2004
Ginko Trees: Exotic Old Souls Flourish on Berkeley Streets: By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 11-02-2004
Berkeley This Week 11-02-2004