Astounding Tomato on Parker Street. Photo by Carole Glasser. Havy Hoag hugs her giant Sun Gold tomato plant in her yard on Parker Street. The photo above was taken on Sunday and since then the plant has shot up another two feet, she said.
              	“I’ve been growing tomatoes all my life, but I’ve never seen anything so vigorous,” Hoag said.
Astounding Tomato on Parker Street. Photo by Carole Glasser. Havy Hoag hugs her giant Sun Gold tomato plant in her yard on Parker Street. The photo above was taken on Sunday and since then the plant has shot up another two feet, she said. “I’ve been growing tomatoes all my life, but I’ve never seen anything so vigorous,” Hoag said.

Page One

Developer, ZoningBoard Debate City’s Density Bonus Law By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 05, 2005

A panel discussing Berkeley’s application of the always controversial density bonus had a surprise visitor Wednesday—developer Patrick Kennedy, perhaps the city’s foremost beneficiary of the law. -more-



Oakland City Councilmember Denies Chronicle Column Charges By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday August 05, 2005

An Oakland City Councilmember says that a San Francisco Chronicle column about a confrontation between her and an Oakland police officer is factually untrue in key points, and that she never looked in the officer’s personnel file or evaded a traffic citation. -more-



City, Pacific Steel Will Study Noxious West Berkeley Odor By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 05, 2005

Berkeley and Pacific Steel Casting have agreed to study the source of the burning rubber smell wafting from the company’s West Berkeley plant. -more-



Elephant Pharmacy Expands With New CEO By CASSIE NORTON

Friday August 05, 2005

In another example of a local business making it big, Elephant Pharmacy has announced its intention to open three new stores in the next year and has hired a new CEO to facilitate the company’s growth. -more-



Green Day Bolts From Berkeley’s Lookout! Records By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 05, 2005

Lookout! Records, the venerable Berkeley-based punk recording label, gave layoff notices to two-thirds of its staff last week. -more-



Features

Library Workers, Patrons Denounce RFID System By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 05, 2005

More than 100 people filled the South Berkeley Senior Center Monday to debate the Berkeley Public Library’s practice of placing radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) in books. -more-


City Approves Beth El Parking Plan By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 05, 2005

Over the objections of some neighbors, Berkeley opened the door Tuesday for its largest Jewish congregation to move into its newly built multi-million dollar synagogue. -more-


Bollard Bowling Infuriates Traffic Circle Neighbors By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 05, 2005

North Berkeley residents say a truck driver has been taking aim at the Arlington Traffic Circle. -more-


Correction

Friday August 05, 2005

An Oakland Unified School District Board member says that she was misquoted in a July 29 story on the Oakland School for the Arts (“OSA Will Now Include Middle School”). -more-


Commentary: Remembering Freelance Reporter Steven Vincent By SANDY CLOSEPacific News Service

Friday August 05, 2005

Steven Vincent, a U.S. freelancer kidnapped and executed in Basra on Aug. 2, was one of a kind. For Americans trying to make sense of the war in Iraq, that’s precisely the problem. -more-


Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Friday August 05, 2005

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work0 -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday August 05, 2005

ADVERTISING POLICY -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Traveling at the Mayor’s Speed on the Information Highway By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday August 05, 2005

Some years ago, shortly after I got my first Internet account, I signed up to an online discussion group on African-American affairs. It was the opening up of a whole new world. Every morning, first thing, I’d log on and read through the 25 or so e-mails that had already been posted from back east and the midwest. If one or two of them seemed particularly provocative and ripe for reply, I’d think it over while eating breakfast. By the time I got back to the computer a half hour later or so, the west coast had joined in, and another 25 or so messages had been posted to the discussion list, many of them in response to the one or two that had caught my own attention. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 05, 2005

Shoplifter’s blade -more-


Commentary: Second Amendment is the People’s Life Insurance By ALEC DAWSON

Friday August 05, 2005

People who bear firearms have a legal, moral, and financial responsibility for the terminal resting place of every projectile that is fired. Our rights come with real responsibilities. As a firearms instructor, I am well aware of the flagrant and common ignorance regarding firearm ownership. Often people who keep firearms for self defense do not bother undergoing the training and practice sessions required for proficiency. Firearms education is on a dangerous decline in large part due to the disinformation published by the media and Hollywood. The problem is compounded by the elimination of firearms education in the schools. With today’s “no tolerance” policies you cannot so much as wear a T-shirt depicting a firearm, let alone teach firearm safety in our schools. It may be difficult for many to believe but marksmanship was a sport for which you could earn a letter in high school. It would be irresponsible to abandon our means of self defense because of accidents. Automobile accidents cause far more death and injury than firearm accidents, yet no one is rallying for “car control.” -more-


Commentary: Closing Pools Will Be an Expensive Mistake By BILL HAMILTON

Friday August 05, 2005

Summer in Berkeley is wonderful. No need for reservations at restaurants, parking galore, and best of all we have our neighborhood pools for the whole family. When I see the Willard Pool full of kids and families I want to look around for the oak tree with the rope swing. Even though there are no rope swings around these swimming holes, Willard, King and West Campus pools are the destination (usually within walking distance) for kids and families looking to share the magic of aquatic recreation. In the shallow pool a wide-eyed tiny tot grips her mom’s neck while being lowered for the first time into the water. In the deep pool two teenaged boys are trying to catch the eye of a sunbathing girl by doing outrageous cannon balls into the water. In the long pool several adults are doing laps while a lifeguard makes suggestions about swim technique. -more-


Commentary: RACHEL CORRIE RESOLUTION By LINDA MAIO

Friday August 05, 2005

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-


Commentary: The Oldest Hatred Comes to Berkeley By Lawrence W. White

Friday August 05, 2005

I am surprised that the Berkeley Daily Planet, whose editor recently called for “communication” as the solution to the world’s ills, would publish two pieces in a recent issue (Aug. 2) that pull out all the old anti-Semitic shibboleths in order to beat up both selected individuals and Jews in general. -more-


Election Section

Commentary: Little Rock Redux By KATHERINE HAYNES SANSTAD

Friday August 05, 2005

As I envision my young, African-American, Jewish sons walking past the anti-Beth El signs on Oxford Street to enter their new synagogue, I cannot help but think about the Civil Rights Movement and all the children and young adults who had to be taught to hold their heads high and bravely go where they were so clearly unwanted. Our Beth El children will have to do the same. -more-


Commentary: Chemical Therapy Endangers Psychiatric Patients By SETH FARBER

Friday August 05, 2005

On May 15, I attended Maria King’s funeral at St. Joseph the Worker Church. Maria’s funeral was beautiful, though wrenchingly sad. Saddest of all, I thought, was that the church was only half-full. Since the San Francisco Chronicle had run a front-page story that day “A Death in Berkeley”—I expected the service to be packed. It wasn’t. Some of Maria’s homeless friends were there, and locals who knew her. The priests at St. Joseph’s, especially pastor George Crespin were there, having grown to think of Maria as a friend. Her shocked family was there en masse having flown in long distance from scattered locations. -more-


ARTS: Shotgun Players Bring ‘Cyrano’ to John Hinkle Park By BETSY HUNTON Special to the Planet

Friday August 05, 2005

It’s summer in Berkeley again, and that means that the Shotgun Players are back with their 9th annual production in John Hinkle Park. It’s a double gift—almost any excuse to spend the afternoon in that lovely outdoor theater would do—but Shotgun’s plays have been consistent delights in themselves. -more-


ARTS: Pauline Kael: Berkeley’s Great Movie Critic By PHIL McCARDLE Special to the Planet

Friday August 05, 2005

Pauline Kael (1919-2001) was the nation’s preeminent critic of motion pictures for almost 40 years. The London Times Literary Supplement described her writings as “a body of criticism which can be compared with George Bernard Shaw’s criticism of music and theater.” -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday August 05, 2005

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 -more-


The Challenge Continues at Briones Regional Park By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet

Friday August 05, 2005

The 2005 Trails Challenge sponsored by the East Bay Regional Park District has reached the halfway point. It’s time to crunch some numbers. Assuming you’re with me, we’ve taken three hikes for a total of 9.1 miles. A total of five hikes need to be completed to qualify for the 2005 pin and four months remain for this task. To qualify for marathon mileage, we need 26 miles. Already signed up for the program are 1,700 enthusiasts; are you one of them? If not you can still call (636-1684) and get with the program. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday August 05, 2005

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 -more-


Editorial

Martial Artist Restores Telegraph Landmark By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 05, 2005

He’s a soft-spoken man with a relaxed manner, an open smile and a gentle handshake—the perfect temperament for a developer tackling a landmarked Berkeley building. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Martial Artist Restores Telegraph Landmark By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-05-2005

Editorial: Why Support the Arts? By BECKY O'MALLEY 08-02-2005

News

Developer, ZoningBoard Debate City’s Density Bonus Law By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-05-2005

Oakland City Councilmember Denies Chronicle Column Charges By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-05-2005

City, Pacific Steel Will Study Noxious West Berkeley Odor By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-05-2005

Elephant Pharmacy Expands With New CEO By CASSIE NORTON 08-05-2005

Green Day Bolts From Berkeley’s Lookout! Records By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-05-2005

Library Workers, Patrons Denounce RFID System By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-05-2005

City Approves Beth El Parking Plan By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-05-2005

Bollard Bowling Infuriates Traffic Circle Neighbors By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-05-2005

Correction 08-05-2005

Commentary: Remembering Freelance Reporter Steven Vincent By SANDY CLOSEPacific News Service 08-05-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 08-05-2005

Letters to the Editor 08-05-2005

Column: Undercurrents: Traveling at the Mayor’s Speed on the Information Highway By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-05-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-05-2005

Commentary: Second Amendment is the People’s Life Insurance By ALEC DAWSON 08-05-2005

Commentary: Closing Pools Will Be an Expensive Mistake By BILL HAMILTON 08-05-2005

Commentary: RACHEL CORRIE RESOLUTION By LINDA MAIO 08-05-2005

Commentary: The Oldest Hatred Comes to Berkeley By Lawrence W. White 08-05-2005

Commentary: Little Rock Redux By KATHERINE HAYNES SANSTAD 08-05-2005

Commentary: Chemical Therapy Endangers Psychiatric Patients By SETH FARBER 08-05-2005

ARTS: Shotgun Players Bring ‘Cyrano’ to John Hinkle Park By BETSY HUNTON Special to the Planet 08-05-2005

ARTS: Pauline Kael: Berkeley’s Great Movie Critic By PHIL McCARDLE Special to the Planet 08-05-2005

Arts Calendar 08-05-2005

The Challenge Continues at Briones Regional Park By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet 08-05-2005

Berkeley This Week 08-05-2005

Iceland Again On the Brink By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-02-2005

Southside Projects Require Historic Houses to Move By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

Peralta Changes Could Eliminate Benefits for Temporary Workers By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-02-2005

500 Gambling Machines Debut at Casino San Pablo By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

Expansion of Casino San Pablo Could Pose Major Problems, Study Charges By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

UCB Vice Chancellor Leaves for Merced By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-02-2005

Berkeley’s Borneo Project Aims to Restore Lands by Teaching Mapping By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-02-2005

Hiroshima, 60 Years Later By ROBERT RISTELHUEBER Special to the Planet 08-02-2005

Police Raid Fails to Nab Hollis By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-02-2005

ZAB, Planning Commission To Discuss Density Bonus Laws By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

Correction 08-02-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 08-02-2005

Letters to the Editor 08-02-2005

Column: The Public Eye: Summer School for Councilmembers, Commissioners By ZELDA BRONSTEIN 08-02-2005

Column: The Black, White and Gray World of Buddy Nickerson By SUSAN PARKER 08-02-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-02-2005

Commentary: Make 2006 the Year of Talking About Israel/Palestine By JOANNA GRAHAM 08-02-2005

Commentary: Commission Will Soon Reach Consensus on Peace And Justice By JANE LITMAN 08-02-2005

Arts Calendar 08-02-2005

In Praise of Loquats, at the Close of the Season By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 08-02-2005

Berkeley This Week 08-02-2005