A certain quiet seemed to gather over Berkeley on Thursday morning. As President Bush was inaugurated for his second term, it seemed many in Berkeley could only sit and watch in displeasure. -more-
The City Council gave the go ahead Tuesday to the Seagate Building, which when completed will rise nine stories—the third tallest building in Berkeley. -more-
Berkeley’s town-gown dispute moved one step closer to the courtroom Thursday when the UC Board of Regents certified UC Berkeley’s 15-year-expansion plan. -more-
A throng of anxious residents and two city councilmembers turned out Wednesday to meet the new owners, operators and remodellers of Berkeley’s long-troubled Harriet Tubman Terrace Apartments. -more-
With no dissent and much praise, the Berkeley Unified School District’s Board of Directors approved Berkeley High School’s third small school this week. -more-
God of Compassion, -more-
Two days before a four-hour community meeting on the proposed 2,500-slot addition to the Casino San Pablo card room, Sen. Diane Feinstein’s office announced she would introduce a bill to remove the site’s eligibility for tribal gaming. -more-
Mired in an eight-figure debt and hemorrhaging red ink just seven months ago, Richmond has finally emerged from debt, announced City Councilmember Tom Butt -more-
In a demonstration of Ward Connerly’s ability to influence California events even on his way out the door, the University of California Board of Regents this week debated diversity issues in American law schools and passed a policy affirming intervention in the K-12 achievement gap battles in Connerly’s last meeting as a regent. -more-
Lily Hearst (nee: Lily Elisabeth Roger), the oldest citizen in Berkeley, died Wednesday at her home in her sleep. -more-
Two actions by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in recent days show that the bare threads are beginning to show on his coat of many colors (note: “coat of many colors” is a Biblical reference for my Christian friends who think I don’t love them). -more-
I celebrated Dr. King’s dream by accompanying my family to a church in West Oakland where my granddaughter and her choir had been invited to sing. This was the seventh annual Dr. King celebration for the Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church at Adeline and 12th Street. With almost 500 people packing the benches and the aisles, from nearly every community in the East Bay, I felt an excitement and enthusiasm that took me back to my college days organizing in the South during the late ‘60s. Like then, children came with their parents, music bounced up into the upper balcony, and we all merged our identities to celebrate Dr. King’s dream. -more-
Next Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing run like a workshop on the proposed West Berkeley Bowl. The stipulation that the hearing is to be run like a workshop may seem trifling. It’s not, given the efforts of city staff and certain Planning Commissioners to railroad this controversial project through the legal channels required for approval. -more-
A quarter-sheet flier can cause a lot of fuss. -more-
The Rockridge Soccer Club Running Rhinos of the Jack London Youth Soccer League were crowned state champions Sunday in the under-12 boys division of the California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA) Tide American Cup. -more-
Berkeley Symphony’s inaugural Young Artist Award recipient Nigel Armstrong, a 14-year-old violin prodigy from Sonoma with invisible braces on his teeth, will perform his first professional concert with the Berkeley Symphony on Wednesday at Zellerbach Hall. -more-
Following a complex move from Golden Gate Park and a hiatus in public exhibit programs, the California Academy of Sciences has been back in action for some months in abbreviated quarters in downtown San Francisco. -more-
A bombed-out Israeli bus brought to Berkeley as part of a rally to address “global terrorism” drew hundreds of spectators to Martin Luther King Jr. Park Sunday. It also drew protesters who called the display propagandistic, one-sided and anathema to peace. -more-
Plans for the $120 million Memorial Stadium renovation moved a small step closer to realization Friday with the deadline for UC Berkeley’s call for submittal of qualifications from architectural firms. -more-
The dispute between Berkeley High School and Berkeley Alternative High School escalated last week, with principals of the respective schools differing sharply over which administration was responsible for the problem. -more-
Local city councilmembers and state Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) gathered in Cotati Friday to discuss the impact of casinos on their communities and consider a proposed statewide initiative that would impose a moratorium on new gambling pal aces. -more-
Wired Magazine founder Louis Rossetto got his wish Thursday when Zoning Adjustments Board members gave him final approval for an addition to his mother’s recently landmarked cottage. -more-
The City Council Tuesday is scheduled to vote on a plan to reduce auto lanes on a major North Berkeley traffic corridor, but not before residents get their chance to sound off on the proposal. -more-
New state laws mandate that California public schools must be “clean, safe, and functional,” and that all students be supplied with textbooks and other instructional materials and taught by qualified teachers. -more-
Berkeley’s Design Review Committee will get their first look at plans for the David Brower Center Thursday night. -more-
At the moment that President George Bush takes the oath of office Thursday, at 9 a.m. Pacific time, Artists and Writers for Peace are calling on people to gather at BART Plaza in downtown Berkeley, and in 14 cities around the country, to read the Langston Hughes poem “Let America Be America Again.” -more-
Last November’s election remade one-third of the nine-member City Council, but it is only starting to impact Berkeley’s 45 council-appointed citizen boards and commissions. -more-
Second-year Berkeley High School Principal Jim Slemp presented an ambitious eight-goal program to the school PTSA Thursday night, telling parents and teachers in a “State of the School” address that he is dedicated to raising academic scores for all BHS students and eliminating the achievement gap between social and racial groups. -more-
Berkeley High School will take a step towards building its small schools program Wednesday night when the Board of Education considers a proposal for the new BHS School of Social Justice and Ecology. -more-
Berkeley could be in for a red hot debate over the future of the fireplace. -more-
Unionized grocery workers from around northern California gathered Friday at the Oakland Hilton to announce plans to escalate their fight against three major grocery chains if the stores do not agree to protect health care and other union benefits. -more-
My friend Taffy invited me to visit her in New York. She and her friends sent me a round trip ticket to the East Coast including a jaunt to Jamaica, to a resort where you walk around without clothes and pay for drinks with beads. I’m not much of a nudist but I’m big on accepting gifts with no strings attached. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
The recent dust-up about reconfiguring Marin Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians has all the elements of a classic Berkeley political tempest in a teapot. A couple of op-ed articles in this paper asserted that the Marin Avenue reconfiguration is a scheme by bicyclists to disrupt motor traffic. -more-
The City of Berkeley is being asked to extend and ratify a plan for Marin Avenue reconfiguration that will have a very large impact on Berkeley traffic patterns and safety. This plan was cooked up by the City of Albany with some input from Berkeley’s traffic and planning staff and support from Berkeley’s bike lobby. As I outlined in a communication of October, 2004, there is no public record of the Berkeley City Council ever really endorsing this plan or authorizing Berkeley city staff to participate in its formation. Only on Oct. 21, 2004 was this plan, already a done deal in Albany, submitted to Berkeley’s Transportation Commission (fondly known in some quarters as the Bike Commission) where it was, unsurprisingly, ratified. Now we are to finally have a full public airing of this matter in Berkeley, at a Jan. 18 public hearing. -more-
Among the myriad qualities that distinguish Mozart from all other composers is his dramatic sense. Others may be inventive, ingenious, clever at writing melodies, but few have his intrinsic understanding of drama. -more-
The taxonomists have been at it again, but this time they’ve done something that makes intuitive sense. Every couple of years the American Ornithological Union comes out with a supplement to its checklist of North American birds, with name and status changes. -more-
Although I’ve lived in California for more than half my life, I’ve never gotten used to the way the seasons crowd each other here. In the Midwest, where I spent my childhood and 12 years as a young adult, winter meant a decent respite from the seductions of the natural world. There was no stigma attached to sitting at home next to the fire with a good book, no feeling when you looked out the window that life was moving on and if you sat still you’d get behind. Here in idyllic northern California the narcissii, the first garden flowers in more normal climates, are part of the Christmas decorations. Our Christmas tree is still green, and we’re slow to want to take it down, but outside the salvia wagneriana and the primroses are in the midst of their spring show. The tree next door that I see from my desk is in full bloom. The rainy intervals are welcome, because it’s hard to reconcile yourself to indoor work when there’s so much going on outdoors. -more-
UC Berkeley’s latest long range development plan has been much criticized, and rightly so, by Berkeley’s civic responsibles. City officials have prepared a cogent criticism of the university’s plans, both disclosed and undisclosed, which is about to be taken up this week by UC’s Board of Regents. If past performance is any indication of future behavior, the Regents are unlikely to give the city much consideration. In the past, they have arrogantly asserted their right under the state constitution to do as they please, and there’s no reason to think they’ll change now. Chains are being rattled, lawsuits are being threatened, and it might all make some difference, but since the city has a history of backing down in confrontations with the mighty U, the Regents are probably not very worried. -more-
