Richard Brenneman: UC Berkeley Assistant Professor Ignacio Chapela, left, and his attorney Dan Siegel held a press conference on the steps of Hilgard Hall to announce the filing of a lawsuit by Chapela challenging the university’s denial of tenure to the outspoken critic of genetically modified crops and UC’s ever-tighter embrace of corporate funding..
Richard Brenneman: UC Berkeley Assistant Professor Ignacio Chapela, left, and his attorney Dan Siegel held a press conference on the steps of Hilgard Hall to announce the filing of a lawsuit by Chapela challenging the university’s denial of tenure to the outspoken critic of genetically modified crops and UC’s ever-tighter embrace of corporate funding..

Page One

Chapela Files Tenure Suit Against UC Berkeley By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Ignacio Chapela, the UC Berkeley professor denied tenure after his outspoken criticisms of genetically modified crops and corporate/academic ties, filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court Monday against the UC Board of Regents. -more-



Drayage Tenants Refuse to Vacate City Issues Citation, Owner Appeals By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Berkeley Fire Marshal David Orth said four citations representing $10,000 in fines would be mailed this morning (Tuesday) to Dr. Lawrence White, owner of the Drayage. -more-



City Mandates EIR to Cover Proposed West Berkeley Bowl By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Berkeley City Planner Dan Marks has ordered Berkeley Bowl owner Glen Yasuda to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) on his plans to construct a new Berkeley Bowl at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue. -more-



With Five Principal Vacancies, BUSD Looks to Revise Selection Process By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Faced with replacing nearly one-third of its 16 school principals next year, the Berkeley Unified School District is looking to reform its hiring process, including adding more staff and community input. -more-



Closed Meeting Held on West Lake Merritt Plans By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Representatives of eight Oakland-based public agencies met privately with business leaders and developers last week to discuss development plans in the politically sensitive area between the western shore of Lake Merritt and the estuary. -more-



Features

City Council to Address Budget Deficit, Consider Commission, Event Funding Cuts By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday April 19, 2005

The City Council Tuesday will be devoted to tackling the city’s projected $8.9 million budget deficit, which the council must close by the end of June. On the agenda is a proposal to scale back citizen commission meetings to save staff time and a report on priority projects from the Planning, Housing, Transportation and Economic Development departments. -more-


Peralta to Hold Briefing on Vista Construction By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Staff
Tuesday April 19, 2005

The Peralta Community College Board of Trustees has scheduled a special public meeting Thursday to receive a briefing on the new Vista College building project. The 5 p.m. meeting will be held at Vista College, 2020 MIlvia St., room 210. -more-


BB Gun Shooting Investigated as UC Fraternity Hazing Incident By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday April 19, 2005

An incident reported last week in the Daily Planet Police Blotter as an emergency room report of a male patient shot with a BB gun has since been identified by University of California representatives as a potential fraternity hazing incident. -more-


Berkeley Author Tells Of Lincoln Brigade Veterans

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Berkeley author Richard Bermack will read Thursday from his just-published volume on American Marxists who volunteered to fight with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. -more-


By-Right Additions, Setbacks Dominate ZAB Meeting By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

The thorny issue of “by-right” additions—those up-to-500-square-foot expansions granted homeowners by right of law—was back before the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday. -more-


West Berkeley Meeting Addresses Pacific Steel Odor By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Preliminary air quality tests at West Berkeley’s Pacific Steel Castings indicate that the plant that regulators blame for emitting a pervasive smell of burnt rubber meets state toxic emission standards. -more-


Downtown Parking Workshop Thursday By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Berkeley’s Transportation Commission will take up the thorny issue of downtown parking during a two-hour public workshop Thursday evening. -more-



Letters to the Editor

Tuesday April 19, 2005

JEFFERSON SCHOOL -more-


Confronting America’s Addiction to Oil By Bob Burnett

Column: The Public Eye
Tuesday April 19, 2005

America is teetering on the edge of recession. We’ve run up a huge debt and, as a result, have developed startling vulnerabilities. While there are many explanations for our precarious situation—ill-advised tax cuts and wrong-headed administration priorities, for example—the root problem is our dependency on oil. Although we are barely 5 percent of the world’s population, we consume 25 percent of the annual oil production. We produce 6 million barrels of oil per day yet devour 20 million. -more-


Dealing With the Bullies Who Threaten Us By Susan Parker

Column
Tuesday April 19, 2005

I’d been obsessing about bullies and how to deal with them for days when I asked my friend Gary if he remembered being bullied as a child. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Armed Backpack Robbery -more-


Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday April 19, 2005

Smoker Ignites Blaze -more-


Election Section

Berkeley’s Insidious Incinerator By LA WOOD

Commentary
Tuesday April 19, 2005

Gilman Street and I-80 mark the entrance to Berkeley’s Oceanview District. The highway exit is also delineated by the puffing white smokestacks of Pacific Steel Castings, one of Berkeley’s last remaining foundries. All who drive through northwest Berkele y knows it’s time to roll up the car windows because of the burnt smells that permeate the area. -more-


Oakland Special Election: A Better Way By AIMEE ALLISON

Commentary
Tuesday April 19, 2005

Elections should ensure majority rule and give citizens confidence that every vote counts. In Oakland, we could be using the best that democracy has to offer. -more-


Jefferson Elementary School, and Other Excuses for the Achievement Gap By MICHAEL LARRICK

Commentary
Tuesday April 19, 2005

Black Americans and their leaders would be far better served if they would address the real problems in black education instead of the superficial and misleading issue of the name of a school. The name of a school has absolutely nothing to do with academic achievement. The real reasons for the “achievement gap” are uncomfortable for many to discuss so the portrayal of blacks as perennial victims is used to absolve them from having to accept responsibility for their own actions and bad choices. Racism is not dead, but as racism recedes as a serious obstacle to black advancement, most black American leaders continue the self destructive ideology of victimhood. They treat victim hood not as a problem to be solved but as an identity to be nurtured. Victimhoo d is seductive because there is an ironic and addictive contentment in being the underdog. However it inherently gives failure, lack of effort and even criminality a tacit stamp of approval. Many young blacks, born decades after the heyday of the civil ri ghts movement, and who have few if any obstacles to success, see victim hood as the defining element of their existence. -more-


The Art That Saved the Irish From Starvation By ZELDA BRONSTEIN

Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 19, 2005

Anyone who doubts that art can change the world should visit the Irish crochet lace show that just opened at the new Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles in Berkeley. The first thing you’ll notice is the intricate, often fanciful, beauty of the hundred-plus pieces on display; the second is their amazing history. -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday April 19, 2005

TUESDAY, APRIL 19 -more-


Following the Flight of the Painted Lady Butterflies By JOE EATON

Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 19, 2005

We were somewhere in the foothills east of Bakersfield when the first of the painted ladies showed up. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday April 19, 2005

TUESDAY, APRIL 19 -more-


Editorial

Protecting Berkeley From Mothers With Babies By BECKY O'MALLEY

Editorial
Tuesday April 19, 2005

All good Berkeleyans know that police harass innocent minority people in places like Orange County or Texas, right? It doesn’t happen here in Northern California—well, maybe in Oakland or even San Francisco, but certainly not in Berkeley, right? We have a Police Review Commission. Our cops all went to college. They know better. Uh-huh. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Protecting Berkeley From Mothers With Babies By BECKY O'MALLEY 04-19-2005

Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish By BECKY O'MALLEY 04-15-2005

News

Chapela Files Tenure Suit Against UC Berkeley By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

Drayage Tenants Refuse to Vacate City Issues Citation, Owner Appeals By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

City Mandates EIR to Cover Proposed West Berkeley Bowl By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

With Five Principal Vacancies, BUSD Looks to Revise Selection Process By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 04-19-2005

Closed Meeting Held on West Lake Merritt Plans By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 04-19-2005

City Council to Address Budget Deficit, Consider Commission, Event Funding Cuts By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-19-2005

Peralta to Hold Briefing on Vista Construction By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR Staff 04-19-2005

BB Gun Shooting Investigated as UC Fraternity Hazing Incident By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 04-19-2005

Berkeley Author Tells Of Lincoln Brigade Veterans 04-19-2005

By-Right Additions, Setbacks Dominate ZAB Meeting By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

West Berkeley Meeting Addresses Pacific Steel Odor By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-19-2005

Downtown Parking Workshop Thursday By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 04-19-2005

Letters to the Editor 04-19-2005

Confronting America’s Addiction to Oil By Bob Burnett Column: The Public Eye 04-19-2005

Dealing With the Bullies Who Threaten Us By Susan Parker Column 04-19-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-19-2005

Berkeley’s Insidious Incinerator By LA WOOD Commentary 04-19-2005

Oakland Special Election: A Better Way By AIMEE ALLISON Commentary 04-19-2005

Jefferson Elementary School, and Other Excuses for the Achievement Gap By MICHAEL LARRICK Commentary 04-19-2005

The Art That Saved the Irish From Starvation By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Special to the Planet 04-19-2005

Arts Calendar 04-19-2005

Following the Flight of the Painted Lady Butterflies By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 04-19-2005

Berkeley This Week 04-19-2005

UC Strikers Demand Good-Faith Bargaining By JAKOB SCHILLER 04-15-2005

No Layoffs At Library By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-15-2005

Council Can’t Help Evicted Artists By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-15-2005

Peralta Chancellor Reopens Dones Negotiations, Temporarily Pulls Back on Art Annex Contract By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 04-15-2005

BUSD Launches Long-Range School Planning Initiative By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 04-15-2005

Planning Panel Sets Landmarks Law Hearing, Approves Creeks Proposal By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-15-2005

UC, Developer Extend Downtown Hotel Talks By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-15-2005

Property Auction Augments City’s General Fund By MATTHEW ARTZ Staff 04-15-2005

Hancock Waste Site Bill Set for Assembly Hearing By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 04-15-2005

Slasher Companion Resigns By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-15-2005

Tax Activists: Big Buisness Must Pay its Fair Share By LUCY KOMISAR Pacific News Service 04-15-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 04-15-2005

Letters to the Editor 04-15-2005

Looking for Love From Oakland’s Next Mayor J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR UnderCurrents 04-15-2005

The Meaning of Manliness: A Cosby Kid in the ‘Hood By P.M. Price The View From Here 04-15-2005

Police Blotter By MATTHEW ARTZ 04-15-2005

Community Supports Work-To-Rule, Teacher Says By GEN KOGURE Commentary 04-15-2005

Arrested for Attempted Murder: Don’t You Hate it When That Happens? By CAROL DENNEY Commentary 04-15-2005

Berkeley’s Best: Jump’n Java By BECKY O'MALLEY 04-15-2005

East Bay’s Little-Known Russian Community Celebrates Diversity By FRED DODSWORTH Special to the Planet 04-15-2005

Point Richmond’s Masquers Mark 50 Years with ‘Proof’ By BETSY M. HUNTON Special to the Planet 04-15-2005

Wilde Irish’s ‘Ariel’ Explores the Battleground of Family By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 04-15-2005

Arts Calendar 04-15-2005

Garden Tour Focuses on East Bay’s Native Plants By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 04-15-2005

Berkeley This Week 04-15-2005