Richard Brenneman:
               
              A memorial to Berkeley’s first murder victim of 2005 adorns the western wall of the Out of the Closet thrift store at the intersection of University Avenue and Sacramento Street.L
Richard Brenneman: A memorial to Berkeley’s first murder victim of 2005 adorns the western wall of the Out of the Closet thrift store at the intersection of University Avenue and Sacramento Street.L

Page One

Homeless Woman’s Death To be Charged as Murder By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday February 25, 2005

Prosecutors plan to file murder charges in a brutal attack that left a Berkeley homeless woman dead. -more-



City Sues UC Over Proposed Long-Range Growth Plan By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday February 25, 2005

Berkeley filed suit Wednesday against UC Berkeley, charging that the university’s Long Range Development Plan violated state law and would sanction a university building boom, leaving residents to pay for strained city services and clogged roads. -more-



El Cerrito Collected Ilegal Tax For 7 Years, Jurist Rules By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday February 25, 2005

A former El Cerrito mayor’s small claims court action has ended in a ruling that the city has been collecting an illegal tax for the last seven years. -more-



Feds Put Heat on Jubilee to Repay Funds By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday February 25, 2005

Federal housing officials have given Berkeley-based non-profit developer Jubilee Restoration a March 1 deadline to show how it will repay approximately $200,000 in misspent federal funds. -more-



San Pablo Casino Pits City v. City, Gambler v. Gambler By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday February 25, 2005

The battle over a tribe’s plan to build a Las Vegas-size casino in San Pablo heated up this week in City Council chambers and competing press conferences. -more-



Features

BUSD Waits for Council Decision on Derby Street Closure By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday February 25, 2005

Despite a plea by the Berkeley High men’s baseball coach for opening the discussion of a baseball field on Derby Street, Berkeley Unified School District officials continue to keep that issue off the table until the City Council weighs in. -more-


City Council Approves Ed Roberts Campus By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday February 25, 2005

The City Council gave the final go ahead for a first-of-its-kind disability services center, but not before a last-second scare. -more-


BART, Angry at Omission, Enters Fight To Redevelop Laney Community College By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday February 25, 2005

The Oakland-based developer seeking to develop portions of Laney College and Peralta Community College District properties has apparently neglected one of the most powerful stakeholders in the area: the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. -more-


Workers Fight Governor’s Proposed Lunch-Break Changes By DAVID BACON News Analysis

Pacific News Service
Friday February 25, 2005

Getting some time to eat in the middle of the workday sounds simple. In reality, many restaurant workers put in their entire shifts without stopping. -more-


UK’s Real-Life M Says War on Terror is Muddled By SANDIP ROY

Pacific News Service
Friday February 25, 2005

Dame Stella Rimington finds the whole idea of a “war on terror” a little puzzling, and when Stella Rimington is confused the intelligence community should pay attention. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday February 25, 2005

RADIO FREQUENCY -more-



Oakland Unified Bears Down on Disintegration By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR Column

Friday February 25, 2005

Like a train on a one-way track, the Oakland Unified School District is barreling down what seems to be a pre-determined course, with the faces of worried passengers appearing at every window, wondering where all of this is supposed to end up. -more-


New DNC Chief Dean Hits the Ground, Running By BOB BURNETT Special to the Planet

Friday February 25, 2005

Less than a week after being elected chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Howard Dean met with a group of activists in San Francisco. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday February 25, 2005

Hooker Sting -more-


Corrections

Friday February 25, 2005

The Feb. 22 article “City Wants to tax University, File Lawsuit on LRDP” incorrectly reported the reason why Jim Chanin requested that the City Council review memorandums of understanding between Berkeley police and other law enforcement agencies. He requested the review because they are required by law, not because he feared that the Berkeley department was sharing information about his clients. Chanin has had those concerns involving the Oakland Police Department. -more-


Berkeley, Albany Should Share More Than a Border By JESSE TOWNLEY Commentary

Friday February 25, 2005

Berkeley and Albany share a friendly border in our northern corner of Alameda County. The border zig zags through multiple residential, commercial, mixed use/light industrial, and industrial neighborhoods. Usually a “Welcome to ____” sign is the only obvious marker of a change in municipality. Many of North Berkeley’s residents are immediately adjacent to Albany to the north and west. We share friends, favorite restaurants, and cherished artists with Albany residents. -more-


The Library Defends its Principles:Privacy, Freedom, Access By LAURA ANDERSON Commentary

Friday February 25, 2005

Public libraries in the United States stand on three principles: The first is patron confidentiality, the idea that every one may use the library in privacy, that everything you read is personal and private. The second is intellectual freedom, the idea t hat you may read, view and listen broadly: that all ideas should be available to discuss and to learn from, even those which are repugnant to society as a whole. The third principle is equal access to information. In the U.S., this means that public libra ries are free, that all may use the library regardless of economic, social or other barriers. Librarians and library supporters have felt so strongly about these ideas that we have written them into state law. In California, libraries are forbidden from sharing information about a library user’s record unless presented with a subpoena; and libraries may not charge fees for basic services. -more-


Election Section

An Appreciation of Carter Woodson, Founder of Negro History By JONATHAN WAFER

Special to the Planet
Friday February 25, 2005

“The hope for success in promoting the whole truth about our race lies with open-minded school administrators.” -more-


Lecture Series Explores Landscape of Popular Song By KEN BULLOCK

Special to the Planet
Friday February 25, 2005

“At the foundation of every culture,” composer William Bolcom insists, “is how words and music marry. It’s our patrimony, it’s ours—it’s what makes us.” -more-


Impact Theatre Updates ‘Othello’ for Our Times By BETSY M. HUNTON

Friday February 25, 2005

The Impact Theatre company, housed in the tiny black basement of La Val’s Pizza and encouraging their audiences to bring “a slice and a pint” downstairs to munch on during their shows, bills itself as offering “Theatre that doesn’t suck.” -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday February 25, 2005

FRIDAY, FEB. 25 -more-


Historic Pumping Station Flows Again — This Time with Wine By MICHAEL KATZ

Special to the Planet
Friday February 25, 2005

Vintage Berkeley refills the wine-store niche that ran dry in the North Shattuck district a couple of years ago when North Berkeley Wine moved west to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. But this new arrival may be a bit different from any wine store the Bay Area has seen before. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday February 25, 2005

FRIDAY, FEB. 25 -more-


Editorial

Social Notes From All Over By BECKY O'MALLEY Editorial

Friday February 25, 2005

In the olden days, when women used to hang their laundry in the back yard on clotheslines, a lot of neighborhood news was spread over the back fence. The telephone increased the range of gossip transmission, and made it possible for eager consumers to find out what was going on in the next town as well. The contemporary substitute for the back fence is e-mail, a way of finding out what’s become of friends and acquaintances in distant places with little effort. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Social Notes From All Over By BECKY O'MALLEY Editorial 02-25-2005

Who Counts? Almost Everyone By BECKY O'MALLEY Editorial 02-22-2005

News

Homeless Woman’s Death To be Charged as Murder By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-25-2005

City Sues UC Over Proposed Long-Range Growth Plan By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-25-2005

El Cerrito Collected Ilegal Tax For 7 Years, Jurist Rules By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-25-2005

Feds Put Heat on Jubilee to Repay Funds By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-25-2005

San Pablo Casino Pits City v. City, Gambler v. Gambler By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-25-2005

BUSD Waits for Council Decision on Derby Street Closure By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-25-2005

City Council Approves Ed Roberts Campus By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-25-2005

BART, Angry at Omission, Enters Fight To Redevelop Laney Community College By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-25-2005

Workers Fight Governor’s Proposed Lunch-Break Changes By DAVID BACON News Analysis Pacific News Service 02-25-2005

UK’s Real-Life M Says War on Terror is Muddled By SANDIP ROY Pacific News Service 02-25-2005

Letters to the Editor 02-25-2005

Editorial Cartoons By JUSTIN DeFREITAS 02-25-2005

Oakland Unified Bears Down on Disintegration By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR Column 02-25-2005

New DNC Chief Dean Hits the Ground, Running By BOB BURNETT Special to the Planet 02-25-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-25-2005

Corrections 02-25-2005

Berkeley, Albany Should Share More Than a Border By JESSE TOWNLEY Commentary 02-25-2005

The Library Defends its Principles:Privacy, Freedom, Access By LAURA ANDERSON Commentary 02-25-2005

An Appreciation of Carter Woodson, Founder of Negro History By JONATHAN WAFER Special to the Planet 02-25-2005

Lecture Series Explores Landscape of Popular Song By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 02-25-2005

Impact Theatre Updates ‘Othello’ for Our Times By BETSY M. HUNTON 02-25-2005

Arts Calendar 02-25-2005

Historic Pumping Station Flows Again — This Time with Wine By MICHAEL KATZ Special to the Planet 02-25-2005

Berkeley This Week 02-25-2005

City Wants to Tax University, File Lawsuit on LRDP By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-22-2005

Teachers Begin Work Slowdown By Eliminating Some Homework By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-22-2005

Teachers Begin Work Slowdown By Eliminating Some Homework By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-22-2005

Sculpture Gallery Falls Prey to Development Pressures By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-22-2005

Oakland Looks to Reform Troubled Animal Shelter By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-22-2005

Running Between the Raindrops, Photo By JAKOB SCHILLER 02-22-2005

BART Station Plans May Have Direct Effect on Laney College By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-22-2005

BUSD Sees Gloomy Downturn in Revised Budget Numbers By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-22-2005

Berkeley Bowl Seeks Delay For Hearing on New Store By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-22-2005

Brower Memorial Sculpture Location Debated By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-22-2005

Experts Cast Wary Eyes on City’s ‘Soft Story’ Buildings By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-22-2005

Letters to the Editor 02-22-2005

Editorial Cartoons By JUSTIN DeFREITAS 02-22-2005

Exploring the Ethics of Quadriplegia in Cinema By SUSAN PARKER Column 02-22-2005

Weapons of Mass Disturbance — Be Prepared By BOB BURNETT News Analysis Special to the Planet 02-22-2005

Many Sides, Some Common Ground in Abortion Debate, Letters to the Editor 02-22-2005

Steady but Quiet: Green Party Rising By CHRIS KAVANAGH Commentary 02-22-2005

Central Works Opens Gripping ‘Enemy Combatant’ By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 02-22-2005

A Debut Novelist’s Tale of Success in the Writing Life By MICHAEL HOWERTON Book Review 02-22-2005

‘The Plague’ Revisited: Finding New Resonance in a Classic By DOROTHY BRYANT Special to the Planet 02-22-2005

Arts Calendar 02-22-2005

Pepper Trees, Graceful and Tough By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 02-22-2005

Berkeley This Week 02-22-2005