A $2 million major alarm fire gutted the Berkeley Repertory Theater’s 1230 Fifth St. workshop Thursday night despite the best efforts of Berkeley and Albany firefighters. -more-
After Board President Nancy Riddle recused herself because of a potential financial conflict, the Berkeley Unified School District unanimously approved a scaled-down version of the West Campus development plan at the board’s Wednesday night meeting. -more-
BART’s two biggest unions responded angrily Thursday to management’s latest offer, which union officials said BART gave to the press before they submitted it to union negotiators. -more-
In a rare display of unanimity, Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Monday rejected both its own and the Planning Commission’s revisions to the city’s landmarks ordinance, calling instead for an outside expert to aid in drafting a new proposal. -more-
With Sen. Diane Feinstein’s bill to rescind the special legal status granted on Casino San Pablo and the abandonment of a second casino project in Oakland, the East Bay casino gamble is looking riskier by the day. -more-
Now into its fourth month, the tenant-landlord standoff at an illegal West Berkeley warehouse appears to be heading for court. -more-
Red light runners beware. Drivers now face a minimum $331 citation when caught on camera running a red light at the three intersections where Berkeley recently installed cameras. -more-
With Trustee Nicky Gonzalez Yuen providing the lone but spirited dissent, Peralta Trustees agreed Tuesday night to a modified Hewlett-Packard study and assessment of the community college district’s information technology operations. -more-
The City Council proclaimed Tuesday Tracy Vesely Day in Berkeley in honor of the city’s budget director. -more-
“If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution,” Emma Goldman famously said. Norine Smith danced her way through many of the revolutions of the last 50 years and had a fine time of it. She came from a quintessential San Francisco Irish background, born in 1938 as number four of six kids of Cornelius (Connie) and Nora Smith, both immigrants from Ireland, and raised in the outer Sunset District. She went to all-girl Mercy High School in the late ‘50s, then on to UC Berkeley where she majored in mathematics, which few women did in those days. She always said she chose math because she noticed that she was the only woman in her math classes, and she wanted to do things that women weren’t allowed to do. A tall, striking redhead, she worked a bit as a model while she was in school. After graduation in 1960 she entered the new field of computer programming, where she worked throughout her professional life. Norine was very proud of having run her own business as a computer contractor for major corporations in a period when few women ran their own businesses, even fewer of them in the high tech world. -more-
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Mary Berg, programmer and member of the KPFA Local Station Board, has informed the Daily Planet that she believes KPFA’s program council is a decision-making body. She told the Planet that she is strongly opposed to the idea that it should be advisory only. She said she agrees with the People’s Radio Group on that point. “Programming decisions should be made by the Program Council working with a program director, if there is one. They should not be left to the station manager,” Berg said, adding that she disagreed with a Program Council decision to move “Democracy Now!” to 7 a.m. “because in my opinion it was poorly thought out and poorly planned, not because the Program Council didn’t have the right to make it. That’s why people who were friends have ostracized me.” -more-
This past June 18, I participated in “Healing in the Heart of Richmond,” a day-long event held at the New Faith Cathedral, sponsored in part by Contra Costa Health Services, Survivors of Murder Victims, Inc. and Stand! Against Domestic Violence. We gathered in downtown Richmond to provide a forum for families who had lost members to violence and for individuals who had been violently abused. We listened as they shared their stories, ate healthy food together and then broke up into various healing workshops including poetry, drumming, massage, art and lamentations. At the end of the day, we all came together in the church sanctuary to light candles and say a prayer for peace in the city. The following day, two more young men were shot down and killed. Two more have died of gunshot wounds since then. As of this writing, 19 people have been murdered in Richmond this year. -more-
We began last week’s column discussing Berkeley resident Michael Larrick’s opposition to the petition to change the name of Berkeley’s Jefferson Elementary School, outlined in Mr. Larrick’s April 19 Berkeley Daily Planet commentary in which he wrote that “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.” (Advocates of the Jefferson name change—who were black, white, Native American, and other variations, by the way—said they didn’t want the school named after Thomas Jefferson because of Jefferson’s lifelong status as a man who personally kept Africans in slavery.) -more-
Wouldn’t it be great if the government could close the budget deficit while reducing crime rates? What could be the solution to making America safer? Believe it or not, the decriminalization of illegal drugs could do this and more. When drugs became outlawed, an illegal drug market was set up. There are many very dangerous drugs that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco, while other drugs are not. As a result of making drugs illegal, much money is spent annually on drug law enforcement. Drug-related crime is a pressing issue that needs to be looked at seriously and decriminalization of drugs should be considered a possible solution. -more-
On Monday night, June 27, at least for a brief and shining hour, Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission became an anarchist organization. -more-
“Monsieurs, pardon me; if I may have a word with an officer in charge? There’s been a mistake.” -more-
From the Elkhorn Slough Overlook I watch the sunlight reflecting off the estuary waters, the glistening mudflats and the steep, corrugated roof of the open barn. To the north is the North Marsh rookery, home to nesting egrets and herons. Surrounding me are tall, multicolored native grasses amid the colors of wildflowers. Most distinct are the sounds—a soft cacophony of birdcalls and songs, almost joyful. A vision of nature. -more-
On Friday, June 24, a group of Iranian-born Berkeley citizens gathered at the corner of Center and Shattuck in protest of the second round of “so-called elections” taking place that day in Iran. Protest organizer Ali Mirab said “I call them ‘so-called elections’ because it’s really a selection, not an election.” -more-
Six years ago hundreds of KPFA-FM listeners poured into the streets surrounding the downtown Berkeley studios minutes after drive-time programmer Dennis Bernstein cried for help on the air. The popular host was being arrested, hauled out of the listener-sponsored radio station on the orders of his bosses, the Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors. -more-
An 18-year-old Berkeley auto detailer was gunned down at 60th Street and San Pablo Avenue just across the Oakland border Saturday afternoon. -more-
Norine Smith, a champion of progressive causes and two-time former candidate for City Council, died Sunday after a long bout with cancer. She was 67. -more-
Berkeley activist Peter Mutnick has escalated the battle over the settlement of the city’s suit over UC Berkeley’s controversial Long Range Development Plan 2020 by filing papers asking the court to issue an order ruling that the lawsuit was dismissed by an act of extrinsic fraud. -more-
On Tuesday the City Council will have one last chance to “Save the Safety Net”. -more-
Berkeley will not turn back the clock on last week’s disputed City Council meeting, according to City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque. -more-
Berkeley’s economic engine is located West of Sacramento Street, according to a report released last week tracking sales tax revenue among City Council districts. -more-
The June 24 story, “Council Declines to Save Drayage Amid Late-Night Confusion,” incorrectly reported that library workers who spoke before the City Council were requesting that the council reject a 4.8 percent increase to the library tax unless the library halted its implementation of radio devices to track materials. Although community members in Berkleyans Organizing For Library Defense have taken that position, the library employees supported the tax increase.› -more-
The collective that brought Berkeley Liberation Radio to the airwaves signed off the air at one minute after 4 Monday afternoon, the casualty of a terminated lease and impending federal action. -more-
The family of a teenage girl who died in an apartment owned by Berkeley real estate magnate Lakireddy Bali Reddy has sued the attorneys who won them an $8.9 million settlement last year. -more-
The tree yanked out of a Berkeley traffic circle two months ago has been returned to its rightful owner and will soon be back in the middle of a Berkeley intersection, its owner said. -more-
The Board of Directors of the Berkeley Unified School District has voted to cut $25,000 from the Berkeley High School athletic program for fiscal year 2005-06 and, over the objections of its bus driver union, has agreed to allow non-staff members to drive some school teams to athletic events under limited circumstances. -more-
Describing relationships between charter and district schools as an “ongoing hostility” that “benefits no one,” Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan released a report last week calling for a “truce” to “resolve the conflict” between the two public school institutions. In addition, Jordan is calling for an ambitious legislative and lobbying campaign to implement task force recommendations. -more-
Officially acknowledging the growing controversy over the proposed West Campus renovation, the Berkeley Unified Facilities director is recommending that the BUSD board of directors reject the West Campus facilities plan developed by Design Community & Environment (DCE) planners and adopt in its place a scaled-down plan written by district staff. -more-
The Berkeley School Board got its first public look last Wednesday night at the district’s proposed 231-page, $51.5 million 2005-06 budget that anticipates spending some $4 million more than last year, runs a preliminary projected surplus of $1.4 million, sets aside the state-mandated $2.1 million 3 percent reserve fund, took long staff hours to prepare, and will almost certainly have to be significantly changed. -more-
The newest plans for a condo complex at 2701 Shattuck Ave. have risen to five floors and nearly twice the size allowed without a host of specialized use permits attached. -more-
With only member Carrie Sprague voting in dissent, ZAB members Thursday gave the go-ahead to the popup conversion of a single floor Victorian cottage at 2901 Otis St. into a three-story condo. -more-
Dozens of people with balloon tentacles jutting four feet behind them strutted, danced, and strolled their way down Market St. with the aptly named group Balloon Magic. Some were on foot, some on rollerskates, and they were altogether a sight to behold. -more-
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Richard Fariña’s first and only novel was the classic, Been Down So Long, It Looks Like Up To Me. If Fariña had not died tragically in a 1963 motorcycle accident, he would have appreciated the irony that the title of his book, which chronicled the meande rings of a free-spirited, 20-something now provides an apt caption for the reign of George W. Bush. -more-
I guess my 15-year-old friend Jernae is spending the summer at our house. I say “I guess” because there was never any formal agreement between her mother and me that Jernae would be hanging out here. But just after her eighth grade classes in San Francis co ended last week, she arrived at our front door hauling an alarmingly large suitcase that contained enough clothes for an army (an army consisting of skinny girls dressed in very tight pants and midriff-baring shirts). -more-
TEHRAN, Iran—The United States may still attack Iran, and for all the wrong reasons. -more-
New buildings are popping up like Pop Tarts in Berkeley, and if you live in the flatlands, there is a good chance one will be popping up near you. You had better hope it is not on a site currently occupied by a home, shop, church, or other building important to the historical or architectural character of your neighborhood. Because if it is, your ability to influence that development is soon to be severely curtailed. -more-
With onlookers clapping in approval, the City Council passed a budget Tuesday that slashed city jobs and services, but provided enough money for the library to reopen its doors on Sundays. -more-
A sharp critic of the controversial settlement agreement between the city and UC Berkeley was dismissed from the Housing Advisory Commission Friday, the same day a page-long commentary bashing the deal which she signed appeared in the Berkeley Daily Planet. -more-
On February 12, 2004, my wife Davina and I were married in San Francisco. It was one of the best moments of my life when we were declared “spouses for life” after publicly committing to care, honor and support each other through thick and thin in the City Hall rotunda. We had already carried this commitment in our hearts for nine years, we already owned a house together in Oakland, shared one bank account, and are as in love with each other today as the day we met. -more-
If liberals refuse to get over Watergate and Abu Ghraib, then no, we are not over Newsweek. -more-
Once in a while, the right—at least in the judiciary—gets it right. Many of my friends who follow the United States Supreme Court are used to rooting for the “progressives” (actually a coalition of moderates and mildly liberal judges—the ones who endeared themselves to us by not signing on to the Bush coup in 2000—Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer) against the conservatives—Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. The two swing votes, pretty conservative themselves, are Justices Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor. -more-
We applaud Dr. Jeff Ritterman’s thoughtful comments in his May 27 commentary on Campus Bay and look forward to working with people in Richmond as we strive to make Campus Bay a safe, vibrant part of the community. -more-
The subtitle of The Pawn, the latest entry in the Shotgun Theatre Lab collaborative series, now playing at the Ashby Stage, is “A Mimed Play About The Games Of Life, Love And Chess.” Mimed it is, but not silent. Eric Klein plays excellently in accompanim ent, mostly on accordion (what often sounds like carny music), sometimes on guitar. The bittersweet comic action plays out on the black and white of a big chessboard (smaller ones are placed here and there), and, except for an offstage belch and a well-pl aced slap, the story’s told without a human sound, though with much expression. -more-
Anthony Boucher (1911-1968) was a mystery writer and editor of immense prestige in his field. A long-time resident, he wrote two remarkable stories set here in Berkeley: The Seven of Calvary and The Compleat Werewolf. -more-
There are no great-tailed grackles in Berkeley yet, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time. They’ve made it at least as far as Hayward, where I saw a quartet—three males and a female—a couple of weeks ago in the marshes north of the San Mateo Bridge. The birds have been nesting at McNabney Marsh near Martinez for at least five years, and there’s been at least one successful breeding attempt in Alameda County. -more-
