The next sound a Berkeley Liberation Radio (BLR) broadcaster may hear just might be the dreaded knock on the door from a federal SWAT team. -more-
Albany residents reject a proposed shopping mall at Golden Gates Fields by a convincing margin, according to a poll City Councilmember Robert Lieber submitted to his colleagues Monday night. -more-
Two years after a group of Jefferson Elementary School parents and teachers began circulating a petition to change the school’s name because of Thomas Jefferson’s connection to slavery, the general Berkeley public will get its first—and only—opportunity to officially enter the process when the BUSD Board of Education holds a public hearing on the issue prior to Wednesday night’s regular board meeting. -more-
After months of deliberation, AC Transit’s Board of Directors has settled on a fare hike in an attempt to offset a projected $40 million budget deficit. -more-
After two decades of escorting Berkeley school children across some of Berkeley’s busiest intersections, George Harris—one of the city’s oldest crossing guards—turned in his stop sign Friday. -more-
A proposal at Tuesday’s Berkeley City Council meeting could constrain Berkeley’s recent practice of settling city land use lawsuits behind closed doors. -more-
Concerns over a pair of contaminated sites in Richmond will be addressed at two meetings this week and another on June 30. All are being convened by state agencies. -more-
Berkeley’s Transportation Commissioners refused Thursday to endorse the Waterfront Commission’s June 8 recommendation to choose the dock at the Doubletree Hotel as the future terminal for ferry service. -more-
Plans for the new David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza affordable housing complex will be presented at both the City of Berkeley Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) this week. -more-
A June 3 story, “Health Officer Charges Department With Misuse of Public Funds,” reported the following: “Berkeley has a track record of misappropriating public health money. In 2000, the city had to backfill the public health reserve fund $2.4 million after the state determined that since 1993 Berkeley had illegally used the money to pay for other city expenses.” In fact, there was never an allegation from the state Department of Health and Human Services of either misappropriation or illegal use of funds. The state agency asked the city to redeposit state funds from its General Fund to a special health fund for accounting purposes. -more-
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work? -more-
Still reeling from the news of the City Council majority’s secret sell-out to the university, I opened the June 20 Nation and read that Berkeley is part of an “urban archipelago” of “progressive cities in a conservative sea.” According to John Nichols’ cover story, progressive agendas, blocked at the federal and state levels, are being advanced in municipal venues around the country. -more-
Prolific local writer Meredith Maran has added another tome to her long list of writing accomplishments, this time in the form of anthology: 50 Ways To Support Lesbian & Gay Equality (Inner Ocean Publishing, 165 pages, $14.95). Subtitled “The Complete Guide to Supporting Family, Friends-or Yourself,” its short and snappy personal essays are accompanied by tip sheets listing commonsense advice and a myriad of LGBT resources. -more-
I recently attended a meeting of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), on the topic of mixed-use infill development in Berkeley, hosted by Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks and Planning Manager Mark Rhoades—a truly enlightening experience. -more-
Matthew Artz makes it appear as though “a truce has been achieved in the war between labor and management” (“Library Budget Spares Jobs, Sunday Hours,” Daily Planet, June 10). As a member of Super Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense (SuperBOLD), I can report that the fight has only just begun. -more-
I was recently at a meeting in the City of Berkeley where a conversation started regarding the Berkeley City Council’s 8-1 decision to review the background of vendors to see if they had any connection to slavery in the United States. Some people thought this was ridiculous… “You see, slavery was so long ago.” Some said, “The council should spend its time on more important issues.” I thought about, “Why my name is Burton.” -more-
In November 2004 the residents of Berkeley sent the City Council a loud message: -more-
Going up the steps from Van Ness into the lobby of San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House for the opening of Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, past the big floral displays and into the cavernous auditorium, looking up beyond the boxes, the grand tier (beautifully garlanded with white flowers and foliage) and the balcony, I thought of a comment by Bizet’s older contemporary, poet Charles Baudelaire: “The real hero in any theater is the chandelier”—an immense sunburst of glass and light. -more-
Some ash trees are among the last to leaf out in Berkeley every spring—along with certain sycamores—and I’ve caught myself giving up on a few of the oldest specimens every year, supposing them dead at last. So many of our senior trees have been so grotesquely pruned for powerline clearance that I’ve become a bit of a pessimist about them. -more-
(No charges were filed and the City of Berkeley paid some claimed damages -- See The Berkeley Daily Planet, November 11, 2005.) -more-
Two weeks after signing a landmark deal with UC, the City Council returned Tuesday to a Bronx cheer. Two or three dozen neighborhood activists, along with a few politicians, filled out the council chambers to slam the deal they see as a sell-out to UC Be rkeley. -more-
Although they live at what city officials believe to be one of Berkeley’s most harrowing intersections—at least for pedestrians and cyclists—residents around Hillegass and Ashby avenues are fighting a proposed traffic light at the spot. -more-
As a phalanx of registered nurses paraded outside the Watergate Office Tower in Emeryville Tuesday, inside a delegation of officials from the California Nurses Association confronted one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s major fundraisers. -more-
For 27 years, Nat Courtney and Frank Alvarez, former classmates at St. Mary’s High School, fixed cars at Jim Doten Honda. Wednesday they were among 24 current and former technicians picketing outside the dealership accusing the new ownership of union busting. -more-
Four decades after it was abandoned and nearly a century after it was built, a landmarked former grocery store is back in business—this time as housing. -more-
Congress dealt medical marijuana users their second blow in as many weeks Wednesday, defeating a proposal that would have barred the Justice Department from prosecuting medical pot growers and users in states with medical pot laws. -more-
Two East Bay street fairs celebrating local and national history and showcasing regional artists, musicians, and businesses are taking place this weekend. -more-
Almost a quarter century ago, HIV attacked John Iversen—but it didn’t knock him out. Already a seasoned activist for social justice, Iversen kicked back with a vengeance. -more-
The issue of fiscal oversight continued to provide the major heat at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Peralta Community Colleges Board of Trustees, this time with one of the more veteran board members lighting the fire. -more-
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work -more-
Jefferson, Washington, Longfellow, Emerson, Malcolm X—how much do our school children really know about any of these famous figures? Have they memorized any of Emerson’s poems? Can they quote Longfellow? Everyone is familiar with the “I Have A Dream” spe ech, but are our kids learning about Martin Luther King’s stance against the Vietnam war or the common ground he shared with Malcolm X? And speaking of Malcolm, have our students ever actually listened to his powerful oratory in their classes? Have they d iscussed the reasons for his rage or how his perspective shifted after his pilgrimage to Mecca? How meaningful are any of these school names? -more-
In an Internet discussion that followed one of my columns on Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s recent proposed “arrest the sideshow spectators” ordinance, one observer called my views on the subject “shameless nonsense” and “callous, illogical and overly fixated on Jerry Brown. …The inability to see the trauma inflicted on neighborhoods by this kind of criminal activity [the sideshows] tells me that Jesse must be so anti-Jerry Brown that he can’t think straight. If the mayor were to suddenly become in favor of legalizing sideshows, Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor would probably be his biggest critic.” -more-
Flames seared several acres of the Albany Bulb Tuesday evening before crews from the East Bay Regional Parks District were able to bring them under control. -more-
An article on the settlement of the Berkeley High expulsion discrimination lawsuit in the June 7-9 issue misidentified Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action. S -more-
On May 9, over 200 residents filled the North Oakland Senior Center for a meeting called by the city’s Redevelopment Agency on expanding the existing MacArthur/ Broadway/San Pablo Redevelopment Area north to the Berkeley border so as to abate the “blight”. -more-
The City of Berkeley recently entered into a settlement with the University of California regarding the 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). In the aftermath of this agreement, there have been many opinions expressed on this issue. As someone actively involved in the LRDP process, I wanted to offer my perspective on the settlement and the impact that it will have on the future of Berkeley. -more-
I live in North Berkeley near Hopkins street. I observed Berkeley Unified School District personages cleaning up and repairing a school yard at Hopkins and Josephine street over the Memorial Day weekend. I commend them on their efforts to work both Saturday and Sunday of this weekend, but question some of their actions. -more-
In a lowdown cellar bar, a bartender, bleary-eyed and mumbling in German, slams on the lights and opens the heavy iron door for a piano player, who’s just come down the stairs and rapped. Not a word’s spoken as the pianist sits on the piano bench and looks long at the bartender, hunched over in a chair, then wielding a pushbroom, finally opening the door as two younger men pile downstairs. -more-
Being a condemned prisoner, I’m viewed among the least able to qualify as a promoter of redemption and of peace. But the most wretched among society can be redeemed, and find peace, and reach out to others to lift them up. Real redemption cannot be faked or intellectualized. It must be subjective: experienced, then shared. -more-
Early morning on Ocean View Boulevard is peaceful but not solitary. It’s a wonderful time to be out. The salt tinged air is fresh and the turquoise waves crash along the rock-crusted shore of Monterey Bay. Distinctive tapping draws my attention to an already busy sea otter, using the rock on his chest to open a breakfast mollusk. Nearby two more otters swim in tandem, like friends chatting and planning their day. Walkers and their dogs greet me with smiles and “Good morning.” A group of surfers, both young and old, listen to rock music from a truck radio, gearing up to ride the waves. We’re all savoring this beautiful coastal path as we begin our day in Pacific Grove. -more-
The office of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) announced this week that Berkeley High School student Naomi Drexler is the ninth congressional district winner of the annual Congressional Art Competition, the third time a BHS student has won the award in recent years. -more-
Today my 3-year-old granddaughter will enjoy what she calls “gradulation.” This is the little party at her home day care center for which the teacher bakes cupcakes to mark the departure of the four oldest children for “real” pre-schools. Even though it’s a small group, only about 10 kids, most of whom are too young to talk much, she’s taking it very seriously, insisting on wearing the elaborate tulle ballerina dress which a cousin gave her to the party. She’s been ready to move on for a long time now. Ever since she was 2 and a half, she’s told people that she was 3, stamping her little foot and furrowing her tiny brow if anyone dared to contradict her. -more-
