The Week

Richard Brenneman:
          Berkeley Police Field Training Officer S.J. Wilson carries one of two machine guns found as part of a massive cache in the apartment over Black & White Liquor Store after an early morning fire Wednesday.
Richard Brenneman: Berkeley Police Field Training Officer S.J. Wilson carries one of two machine guns found as part of a massive cache in the apartment over Black & White Liquor Store after an early morning fire Wednesday.
 

News

Arsenal Found in Adeline St. Apartment By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

Federal agents seized a major arms cache that included explosives, machine guns, assault rifles, and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition discovered as Berkeley firefighters battled a blaze in a 3027 Adeline St. liquor store early Wednesday. -more-


Source: Murder Victim Summoned Suspects to Scene By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday July 22, 2005

Today (Friday) when loved ones attend a memorial for 19-year-old Berkeley High graduate Meleia Willis-Starbuck, one of her best friends will be facing arraignment in connection to her murder. -more-


Commissioners Decry ‘Hostile Takeover’ By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday July 22, 2005

Berkeley peace activists are fuming over a hostile takeover, but not by Republicans in Washington, D.C. or corporations abroad. -more-


Newspaper Must Pay To See Wal-Mart Files, Judge Says By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday July 22, 2005

A Superior Court Judge in Oakland has tentatively ruled that while the Berkeley Daily Planet is entitled to see some 17,000 Wal-Mart documents related to an employee lawsuit, the newspaper or its attorneys must pay $76,000 for the privilege of doing so. -more-


Gilman Ball Fields Move Closer to Realization By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

Thanks to the combined efforts of sports fans and of East Bay cities from Emeryville to Richmond, a new ball field complex in Berkeley is nearing reality. -more-


Council Debates Land Use, Affordable Housing By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday July 22, 2005

Calling some Berkeley staff recommendations “chicken poop,” Councilmember Dona Spring escalated the war of words over city land use and affordable housing at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. -more-


Beth-El Parking Dispute May Be Nearing Resolution By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday July 22, 2005

A parking dispute between Congregation Beth-El, Berkeley’s largest Jewish congregation, and its soon-to-be neighbors will now be decided by city staff. -more-


Senior Housing Development Will Honor Margaret Breland BY MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday July 22, 2005

A West Berkeley senior housing development slated to open next year will bear the name Margaret Breland Homes, in honor of the former city councilmember and longtime West Berkeley resident who died earlier this year. -more-


LBNL ResearchersWork Toward Cures By CASSIE NORTON

Friday July 22, 2005

High on a hilltop above the city, the researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab are working every day to contribute to both the scientific and world communities. -more-


UC Regents OK Hikes in Professional School Fees By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday July 22, 2005

Responding to a plea by UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School Dean Chris Edley Jr. that “if we don’t get these fees, we will be out of money,” University of California Regents this week approved increases up to 7 percent in professional school fees beginning in the second half of the 2005-06 school year. -more-


Brower Sculpture Decision Could Come Monday By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

Community members are invited to join Berkeley Civic Arts Commission (CAC) Chair David Snippen for a Sunday afternoon tour and discussion of the proposed location for Spaceship Earth. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

Botched robbery -more-


Filings Reveal Details of Point Molate Casino Plan By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

Berkeley developer James D. Levine’s plan to build a posh gambling resort on the Richmond shoreline has inched closer to reality with the release of key environmental review documents. -more-


Toxics, Traffic Top Officials’ Concerns By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

The strongest immediate concerns to the siting of a massive casino complex at Point Molate were raised by two state agencies with oversight over cleanups at chemically contaminated sites. -more-


Rev. Jim Wallis Mobilizes the Religious Left By BOB BURNETT Special to the Planet

Friday July 22, 2005

When asked why the religious right is so much more powerful in American politics than the religious left, a political observer quipped that it is because the religious right consists of cows, docile and easily led, while those on the left are cats, difficult to herd under any circumstances. While that may prove be the case, on Wednesday more than 1,200 of those cats gathered on the UC campus to attend a four-day conference on spiritual activism. -more-


Column: Did L.A. Times Story Spark Brown’s Sideshow Law? BY J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

UNDERCURRENTS OF THE EAST BAY AND BEYOND
Friday July 22, 2005

Late last winter, a story on Oakland’s sideshows appeared in the Los Angeles Times. “Virtually every night, from midnight to dawn,” the story reported, “hundreds of young people gather at intersections throughout this city to watch cars spin and swerve wildly, the drivers and passengers often dangling halfway out of open doors as the vehicles burn rubber. Some drivers like to spew sparks by wearing their tires down to the steel belts. The people of Oakland have survived epidemic drug use, soaring murder rates and police corruption scandals, but now they face an increasingly violent homegrown movement that has police chasing one spontaneous driving exhibition after another at a cost of $500,000 a year.” -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday July 22, 2005

RESPONSIBILITY -more-


Untamed Albany Bulb Enriches Our Culture By PETER JOSHEFF

Friday July 22, 2005

As a great admirer of the work of Dorothy Bryant I was disappointed to read her July 19 letter to the editor, in which she spoke so casually and dismissively of the artwork at the Albany Bulb. On the basis of a single “afternoon hike” in this most complex and nuanced environment, she has seen fit to judge the artwork there as if it were no more than a museum exhibit. She describes “nightmarish and sado-masochistic fantasies” in some of the artwork, seemingly unaware of the influence of her voice in our community and the effect of her words in shaping public opinion about what is to happen to this fragile, untamed space. -more-


Union Best for Honda Employees By MICHAEL COOK

Friday July 22, 2005

My name is Michael Cook and I am a business representative and a member of the Machinists Union that represents the bargaining unit employees at Berkeley Honda, formally Jim Doten Honda. I appreciate Mr. Lubeck’s exercise of freedom of speech with his editorial published in the July 15-18 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet. He did, however take some liberty with the truth on several issues. Mr. Lubeck knew when he was hired that he was replacing a service writer that had been working for Jim Doten Honda for many years. Mr. Lubeck started work on June 1. He only worked alongside some of the mechanics that are walking the street. He never worked alongside any of the mechanics that were not hired; therefore he has absolutely no idea of what their abilities, training, or certifications were then or are today. However, he did watch as four Honda Top Tech or Master Tech award banners were taken down from display in the service drive because they were no longer working at Berkeley Honda. Not one of the Wyotech students that were hired to replace mechanics with as much as 31 years of experience has qualifications that exceeds even the least qualified mechanic in the old Doten crew. Mr. Lubeck watched several Wyotech students get fired because of mistakes that resulted in destroyed transmissions and loose wheels. Our members talked to the customers that had those problems and no amount of denial on his part will make that truth go away. -more-


Commentary: Peace and Justice Commission: What You Need to Know By MICHAEL SHERMAN

Friday July 22, 2005

As one of the original appointees to the Peace and Justice Commission when it was established in 1986, I welcome the opportunity to explain and define the purpose, goals and most importantly of all, the mandate of the commission. This is in response to a recent commentary in the July 12 issue of the Daily Planet titled “Opposed to the Department of Peace” by Johnathan Wornick, Councilmember Gordon Wozniak’s appointee to the commission. -more-


Commentary: Let’s Build a Parking-Free Brower Center By STEVE GELLER

Friday July 22, 2005

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the “parking lobby” (DBA, YMCA, various business owners) was calling for an additional level of underground parking at the Oxford lot. Nobody offered to raise funds to pay for this additional construction; the lobby evidently wants the city to compel the developer to cover that cost as a public duty. -more-


Mending Shards, Mending Life: Susan Duhan Felix Exhibit Opens at Badé Museum By DOROTHY BRYANT Special to the Planet

Friday July 22, 2005

“The gallery floor is off limits, and there are no showcases, so they asked me to create 30 ceramic pieces that will hang on the walls!” -more-


Midsummer Mozart’s Final Program This Weekend By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet

Friday July 22, 2005

Maestro George Cleve’s Midsummer Mozart Festival orchestra performed four of Mozart’s early works on July 17 at Berkeley’s St. John’s Presbyterian Church. Cleve’s disciplined concentration on Mozart has allowed him to discover and reveal qualities and nuances in both acknowledged masterpieces and obscure gems that might otherwise go undiscovered. -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday July 22, 2005

FRIDAY, JULY 22 -more-


El Cerrito Cafe in Danger of Falling Under Starbucks’ Wheel By JOHN GELUARDI Special to the Planet

Friday July 22, 2005

Early on a recent morning at J.R. Muggs cafe in El Cerrito, Lorene Francois stepped up to the counter to order her daily cup of coffee. But before being served, she had to answer a few questions. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday July 22, 2005

FRIDAY, JULY 22 -more-


Corrections

Friday July 22, 2005

A story on the Pinebrook estate, at 1106 Keith Ave., on the front page of this issue’s Real Estate section, mistakenly reported the era in which a cottage on the estate was built. The cottage was built in the 1930s. -more-


Friends Mourn Slain Berkeley Teenager By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Meleia Willis-Starbuck always stood up for herself and loved ones, her friends said. -more-


Council to Review Landmarks Law, Fire Protection By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday July 19, 2005

The City Council is poised Tuesday to restore fire service after an uproar earlier this month over the closure of the Berkeley hills fire station. -more-


KPFA Staffers Say ‘No Confidence’ By JUDITH SCHERR Special to the Planet

Tuesday July 19, 2005

The only way for listener-sponsored KPFA radio to move forward is to show General Manager Roy Campanella the door, according to the 70 members of the station’s paid and unpaid staff who have signed a letter of no confidence in Campanella. -more-


Controversy Surrounds Laney Africa Trip By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Even though she is not a professional tour guide or travel agent, West Oakland resident Rehema Gueye was not surprised when a Laney College student approached her earlier this year about arranging a student educational trip to West Africa. -more-


UC Regents Consider Fee Hike This Week By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday July 19, 2005

With University of California Regents preparing to vote on proposed increases in professional degree fees at this week’s meeting, four UC professional degree students have filed a class action lawsuit in San Francisco against the regents to prevent those increases. -more-


Scoping Session for Bowl Project Slated for July 27 By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

The proposed new Berkeley Bowl planned for 9th Street and Heinz Avenue in West Berkeley is nearing the initial phase of the environmental review process. -more-


State Compromise Leaves BUSD Budget Uncertain By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday July 19, 2005

The recent 2005-06 California State budget passed by a legislative conference committee and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated the governor’s shift of teacher retirement costs to local school districts, but what effect it will have on Berkeley Unified School District’s finances is yet to be determined. -more-


ZAB Ponders City’s Approach to Density Bonus By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Members of the Zoning Adjustments Board’s subcommittee on the city’s controversial application of the density bonus are beginning to see the light, they told fellow ZAB members Thursday. -more-


Heinz Avenue Landmark Building Owner Abandons Her Fight to Halt Demolition By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

After calling a temporary halt to plans to demolish the landmarked building she owns, Kathleen Garr said she’s about to give up—forced to surrender by the heavy costs she’d incur should she break her contract with developers. -more-


Four Die in Freeway Crashes By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Four people were killed in two fiery weekend collisions on I-80. -more-


Design Panel to Consider Senior Housing Project By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

If all goes well in a Thursday night hearing at the Design Review Commission (DRC), construction of an 80-unit low-income senior housing project at 1535 University Ave. can start soon. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday July 19, 2005

MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY -more-



Column: The Public Eye: "Planners' Alchemy" By ZELDA BRONSTEIN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

It’s not often that I discover a rich new metaphor in a bureaucratic memo. So it was a pleasant surprise to come across the image of the planner as alchemist in the California Senate Local Government Committee’s analysis of Assemblymember Loni Hancock’s Assembly Bill 691. -more-


Column: The Wild, Blue Eggs of Idaho By SUSAN PARKER

Staff
Tuesday July 19, 2005

I’m sitting in the middle seat of an Alaska Airline flight from Seattle to Oakland. An hour ago I arrived at SeaTac on a much smaller prop plane that had taken off from Spokane. Before that I was in the backseat of a Ford Explorer “taxi” owned by the Moose Express. I’ve been in Sandpoint, Idaho, for a week visiting friends. Now I’m heading home. -more-


Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Range fire -more-


Commentary: God Bless a Free Press By BARBARA GILBERT

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Our lively and well-read local Berkeley newspaper, the Berkeley Daily Planet, and its eminences grises, the O’Malleys, are apparently under sustained assault by some city politicians and officials who do not like their attitude and who neither understand nor respect the role of a free press. Newsracks and newspaper copies have mysteriously disappeared, city public noticing has been pulled, certain insider local businesses have pulled advertising (or decline to advertise in the first place), and there is extensive and inappropriate badmouthing of the paper and its management. -more-


Commentary: Wasting Money, Increasing Taxes Riles Citizens By YOLANDA HUANG

Tuesday July 19, 2005

Unfortunately, the only thing that can be said for the school district in how it goes about wasting our tax monies in doing construction is that it does not learn from past mistakes. -more-


Commentary: Center for Independent Living Employees Deserve Fair Treatment By IRIS CRIDER

Tuesday July 19, 2005

A proud history of evoking an entire disability movement for equal rights is coming to shame at the Center for Independent Living. Its executive director, Jan Garrett, seems bent on abandoning doctrines of fair treatment for employees and absolute fairness, efficiency and dedication to providing excellent service above all—in favor of wielding personnel policies, overlooking inefficiencies and making the bottom line the primary consideration in decision making. -more-


Commentary: A Case for War By TOM LORD

Tuesday July 19, 2005

While some of the specific intelligence regarding Iraq has proven false, and some of it controversial, it may be helpful to look at just the intelligence that nobody seems to disagree with. The controversies make the front page more often but the non-controversial material is heavy stuff. -more-


Commentary: Enforce Compliance Before Occupancy By MARY CIDDIO

Tuesday July 19, 2005

I live on Spruce Street between Cedar and Vine. As a result of construction for the Beth El Temple, many, many construction vehicles, trucks and heavy equipment trailers are going up and down our residential street at very early hours of the morning—before 8 a.m. I am further concerned that there will be more through traffic on Spruce as a result of the exit planned onto Spruce from Beth El. -more-


Central Works Stages Imaginative ‘Grand Inquisitor’ By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet

Tuesday July 19, 2005

At one end of the room by the patio in the Berkeley City Club that serves as theater for Central Works Ensemble, a rough-hewn cross studded with spikes adorns the wall above a gothic chair, a wooden ecclesiastic throne. A lamp hangs by a chain, guttering. To Gregorian chanting, a wry, acerbic figure in plain habit and shaved head looks upward, fixedly, as if staring at the light from a mullioned glass window we see reflected on the walls. -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday July 19, 2005

TUESDAY, JULY 19 -more-


Celebrating the Red, Red Summer Glow of Coral Trees By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet

Tuesday July 19, 2005

As far as I know, there’s only one Erythrina crista-galli living as a street tree in Berkeley, though I’m sure there are others in people’s gardens. There used to be another in front of a house just over the Oakland line on MLK—just south of the infamous “Here/There” sculptures—but it got taken out for construction. A pity; most of the year that one looked like an accident in a stick factory, but when it bloomed, wow. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday July 19, 2005

TUESDAY, JULY 19 -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Guns Make Murder Too Easy By BECKY O'MALLEY

Tuesday July 19, 2005

An old reprobate, a heavy-drinking veteran of many barroom brawls, once told me why he favored knives over guns when he needed to get out of a tight spot. Anyone who knows how to use knives, he said, knows that you can always put your thumb half-way up the blade, so you can just stick the guy, not kill him by accident. -more-