The Week

 

News

Board Vetoes Jefferson School Name Change By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday June 24, 2005

Following dramatic remarks by a clearly conflicted Board President Nancy Riddle, the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Directors voted 3-2 Wednesday night to deny a petition to change the name of Jefferson Elementary School to Sequoia. -more-


BART Employees Authorize Strike By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

On Thursday BART employees gave their unions the green light to strike as early as July 1 if they can’t come to terms on a new agreement with the transit agency. -more-


Emery Unified: From Takeover to Makeover By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday June 24, 2005

Emery Unified School District wants to set itself up as a hub of public school excellence in the East Bay. -more-


Council Declines to Save Drayage Amid Late-Night Confusion By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

The clock appeared to run out on the City Council last night. But the weary lawmakers, none of whom will ever be confused with night owls, refused to adjourn until most of their business was settled. -more-


Berkeley Welcomes Back Bearden Mural By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

It’s the dream behind every public art project. -more-


City Attorney Wins Distinction By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque has been named 2005 Public Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of California. -more-


Downtown Plan Changed to Allow Brower Center, Housing By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday June 24, 2005

Planning Commissioners Thursday voted unanimously to ask the City Council to amend the Berkeley’s Downtown Plan to allow construction of the David Brower Center complex. -more-


‘Project BUILD’ Keeps Kids Reading During Summer By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

Nearly 1,000 Berkeley kids kicked off the city’s summer program Wednesday, but instead of throwing balls and eating sloppy joes, they all had a book under their arm and celery on their plate. -more-


Gilman Ballfields Hit Fast Track By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday June 24, 2005

Two city commissions mulled matters as diverse as artificial turf and burrowing owls Thursday during a joint evening meeting called to discuss the Gilman Street Playing Fields. -more-


RFID Detractors Gather for Protest By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

To the backdrop of songs that harkened back to the Cold War, about 60 Berkeley lefties and library workers, most of them old enough to remember the ‘60s, protested Tuesday against what they see as a 21st century menace. -more-


City Receives High Marks in Mayor’s Poll By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

The Fire Department is Berkeley’s top budget priority according to an unscientific survey of residents released Tuesday by Mayor Tom Bates. -more-


Gay Pride Festival This Weekend By CASSIE NORTON

Friday June 24, 2005

This weekend might be a good time to reload your BART pass and avoid driving in San Francisco—the city will be full of revelers for the 35th annual Pride Celebration. -more-


Health Officials Urge Changes at Field Station, Campus Bay By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday June 24, 2005

Anxious workers at the Richmond Field Station (RFS) gathered in a conference room at the UC Berkeley facility Thursday to hear reports from state and local officials on potential health risks posed by hazardous pollutants at RFS and the Campus Bay site next door. -more-


Helen Lima, Presente! By MARGY WILKINSON Special to the Planet

Friday June 24, 2005

Helen Corbin Lima died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of May 5. She had recently celebrated her 88th birthday. On the day she died she had lunch with friends at the North Oakland Senior Center and after a rest helped make a large pot of applesauce. -more-


Editorial Cartoon BY JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Staff
Friday June 24, 2005

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work? -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday June 24, 2005

UC SETTLEMENT -more-


Column: UnderCurrents: Downing the Stray Pigeons of the Slavery Discussion By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday June 24, 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.” So begins the April 19, 2005 Berkeley Daily Planet commentary by Berkeley resident Michael Larrick, writing on his opposition to the petition to change the name of Berkeley’s Jefferson Elementary School. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday June 24, 2005

Marina Brawl Busts -more-


Commentary: Critiquing Visual Arts on Public Display By ALEX NICOLOFF

Friday June 24, 2005

Thanks to Bonnie Hughes for an excellent, historic review of Berkeley’s duplicit culture. It was a rare opinion piece with which I am in total sympathy. Such an uncommonly, insightful perspective as she brings to bear, needs to be supplemented by a critical examination of such visual arts as are on prominent public display. -more-


Commentary: CIL Peer Counseling Provides an Essential Service By RUTHANNE SHPINER

Friday June 24, 2005

I am a person with a disability (spinal cord injury status post—20 years) who has been living in the Berkeley area since 1993. -more-


Commentary: Mayor Bates Drops the Ball: Secret Agreement Aids UC, Not Berkeley Residents By ANNE WAGLEY

Friday June 24, 2005

When Tom Bates was running for mayor in 2002, he spoke to many residents concerned about the impact of UC expansion on the city’s quality of life. He assured us that, with the connections he developed in Sacramento during his years in the Assembly, he would be able to deal effectively with UC Berkeley. He could bring pressure to bear on UC and could create a better town-gown relationship under which the city’s concerns would be addressed. -more-


Tamalpais Road Fire Hazard By PAUL M. SCHWARTZ

Friday June 24, 2005

I am writing to place the City of Berkeley on notice about a hazardous condition that currently exists on Tamalpais Road in the North Berkeley hills. There is often no access for emergency vehicles, in particular fire trucks. -more-


Public Art Flowers in New Spots on Campus By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet

Friday June 24, 2005

Here? There? While a new streetside civic sculpture in south Berkeley has received considerable attention in recent months, major public art installations have been more quietly blossoming on the UC Berkeley campus. -more-


Swindle and Gifford Hold Forth at Moe’s on Monday By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet

Friday June 24, 2005

“It’s total serendipity—the way my whole life goes.” Michael Swindle sums up the chain of circumstances that have led up to his forthcoming reading from his new book, Slouching Towards Birmingham (Frog Press/North Atlantic, Berkeley), a collection of pieces on “off-beat sports, like alligator wrestling, cockfighting, wild boar hunting—told with great savoir-faire,” as described by his “running buddy,” local (and international) favorite Barry Gifford, who will introduce Swindle and read from his own work “a little something compatible” at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 27, at Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue. -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday June 24, 2005

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 -more-


Celebrating 93 Years of Life, 58 Years of Selling Antiques By PATRICK KEILCH Special to the Planet

Staff
Friday June 24, 2005

At a crossroads of the East Bay, legendary antique dealer Bill Cross has operated the renowned Antique Center on Telegraph Avenue near the Berkeley-Oakland border for nearly 50 years. His business has drawn customers from throughout the region because of the high quality and uniqueness of its antique stock. Bill is also a well-known collector of classic British cars such as Roll Royce, Jaguar, Bentley, and Daimler, and of related memorabilia (vintage signage, toys, pictures, and novelties). -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday June 24, 2005

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 -more-


FCC Threatens Berkeley Liberation Radio By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Pollster Finds Little Support for Magna’s Proposed Albany Mall By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


School Board Plans Hearing, Vote on Jefferson Name Change By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


AC Transit Hikes Fares By CASSIE NORTON

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


City Employee Retires at 84 After 50 Years of Service By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Council Considers Secrecy Ban, Budget, Drayage By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Meetings Target Concerns at Toxic Richmond Sites By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Transportation Commission Declines to Choose Ferry Site By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Brower Center on ZAB, Planning Agendas By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Correction

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Tuesday June 21, 2005

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work? -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday June 21, 2005

DRAYAGE -more-


Column: The Public Eye: What’s the Matter with Berkeley? By ZELDA BRONSTEIN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Column: Love Us Because We’re Fabulous: 50 Ways to Support LGBT By SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Commentary: Why Do City Staff Plug Coporate Development? By GALE GARCIA

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Commentary: SuperBOLD: Library Should Cut Losses By JANE WELFORD

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Commentary: Why My Name Is Burton By WINSTON BURTON

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Commentary: City Budget: Wasted Windfalls, Overlooked Opportunities By MARIE BOWMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005

In November 2004 the residents of Berkeley sent the City Council a loud message: -more-


Sumptuous ‘Pearl Fishers’ is a Bargain for Opera Novices By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday June 21, 2005

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 -more-


Ash Trees Both Strong, Beautiful By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday June 21, 2005

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: What Constitutes the Public Forum? By BECKY O'MALLEY

Friday June 24, 2005

Last Sunday Sylvia Paull organized one of her often-stimulating Cybersalon programs at the Hillside Club. She e-mails invitations to a long list of people, offers a buffet supper, and invites panelists to spark a general discussion among her guests. I was asked to be part of a panel called “Got News? Citizen Journalism.” The other guests were Dan Gillmor, who gave up his tech column at the San Jose Mercury News to start his own interactive-journalism venture, www.Bayosphere.com and Peter Merholz, who founded the Beast Blog, a group blog described by Sylvia as covering “everything of note in the East Bay.” Her invitation alluded to the idea that technology was now making grassroots journalism possible. “With organic publications like these, who needs the artificially flavored New York Times?” she said. -more-


BHS Student Artist Wins Congressional Art Award By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday June 21, 2005

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-