The Berkeley Bowl signed a two-year contract with its workers Sunday, ending a divisive labor standoff at the popular supermarket. -more-
One day after Berkeley police arrested a retired Oakland high school teacher for the 1970 murder of a Berkeley policeman, the Alameda County district attorney’s office refused to press charges. -more-
No criminal charges have yet been filed against a Berkeley man arrested three weeks ago after police and firefighters discovered a massive cache of firearms and an indoor marijuana-growing operation in his apartment above an Adeline Street liquor store. -more-
When the Albany City Council adjourned around midnight Monday, most councilmembers stayed around to chat, but Robert Lieber headed straight for the door. -more-
Berkeley Landmarks Preservation commissioners raised new questions about the fate of a vacant West Berkeley warehouse Monday night, which is potentially bad news for developers. -more-
The first stages of construction on what was once called the Seagate Building will begin Monday, said project developer Darrell de Tienne. -more-
Summertime provides school teachers with an opportunity that most professionals don’t have—three months to do whatever they want. -more-
Eight female KPFA employees filed sexual harassment complaints against station General Manager Roy Campanella II Thursday, alleging that Campanella asked them out on dates and retaliated against employees who refused his advances. -more-
Though the shaky accreditation status of the Alta Bates-Summit hospitals has been upgraded one level, the hospitals have a lot to do before they can win a clean bill of health. -more-
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has authorized complaints against Alta Bates hospitals charging that they illegally locked out workers following a one-day strike. -more-
A plan to eliminate two traffic lanes on Marin Avenue has been delayed until early October because Albany couldn’t find a single contractor to both re-stripe the street and make needed repairs to the asphalt. -more-
The Berkeley Public Library main branch is planning to open again on Sunday afternoons starting at the end of September, Library Director Jackie Griffin told the Daily Planet in a phone interview. -more-
Looking to reduce what the Alameda County Office of Education has called the “antipathy” between public charter schools and public school districts, two Berkeley-based educators have organized a cooperative public and charter school fair this weekend in Emeryville for representatives of both types of schools to present their programs to prospective students. -more-
Berkeley Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Glenston Thompson has voluntarily left his job with the district after one year to return to the private sector. His last day was Aug. 3. -more-
While rising student fees and allocations from the state budget get the bulk of attention at meetings of the University of California Board of Regents, some of the real work of UC financing will be going on next week when the UC Regents’ Committee on Investments and Investment Advisory Committee meet to discuss the management of the university’s portfolio. -more-
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work -more-
Since my last column concerning the tragic death of Meleia Willis-Starbuck, I have been feeling a heaviness in my heart as I make my way around Berkeley watching teenagers on street corners laughing, loud talking, play fighting—wondering who might be next. I worry about my teenage daughter walking around at night with her friends. “We’re just going to Anna’s house/to Mel’s/to the movies/up on Telegraph/to the “Y”/to the park/around the corner—Chill out, Mom! You worry too much. I can take care of myself. Besides, it’s my life, not yours.” -more-
They held two open-air, free music concerts at Arroyo Viejo Park near 77th and Bancroft in Oakland this month, and if your first thought was “Why didn’t I hear about any violence?” that tells more about the public perception of the East Oakland flatlands than it does about the reality. -more-
On Aug. 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, so this Aug. 14, we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Social Security, a program that has dramatically cut the poverty rate for seniors and today provides a guaranteed income for over 48 million retirees, families of workers who have died, and disabled people. -more-
With U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, as North Korea boast about nuclear weapons, it’s amazing our elected officials appoint Peace and Justice commissioners opposed to bringing the troops home and creating a federal peace department. -more-
Known around the world for alternative thinking, tolerance, magnificent beauty, a great university and birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, Berkeley residents have much to be proud of. -more-
Regarding the Aug. 5 commentary “Little Rock Redux” by Katherine Haynes Sanstad, this is an open letter to Beth El congregants and sons of Ms. Haynes Sanstad. -more-
The San Francisco Mime Troupe returns to the East Bay this weekend for a series of free shows, starting this weekend with a couple of performances in Willard Park/Ho Chi Minh. -more-
If you’re going to be a starving artist in Berkeley, then the place to starve is 800 Heinz Ave. -more-
A legal blunder will keep East Bay Drayage tenants in their homes for another two months and will cost the building’s owner nearly $200,000 in additional city fines and safety costs. -more-
Legislation by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) that would require “green” construction for new school buildings in the state may have minimal effect in Berkeley, despite the fact that several new school construction projects are pending in the city. -more-
The S.H. Kress building at 2036 Shattuck Ave. was built in a different time, but due in no small part to the foresight of founder Samuel Kress, the 73-year-old building is still standing today. -more-
A pair of Oakland bakers have stepped up with a bid to take over the cash-strapped Nabolom Bakery. -more-
The Alta Bates hospitals have risen a notch on the five-level accreditation scale of the private agency whose imprimatur is required for federal patient dollars, but they still fall short of full accreditation. -more-
Sudan Vice President John Garang’s recent death imperils the peace accord that stopped the country’s civil war and gave Garang’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) a role in the military government headed by General Omar Bashir. -more-
Saturday Aug. 6 marked the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Passed by Congress and signed by President Johnson, it provides voter protections against actions taken by states to limit participation in the electoral process, actions most often targeted toward Blacks, Latinos and low income citizens. -more-
At a dinner party in Wales, a British conservative asked if it was true that American activists opposed to the Bush administration hated George. Have our feelings about him grown so intense that we categorically reject everything he does? In truth, many of us cannot bear to watch Bush on television, and find it is easier to make fun of him than to consider how dreadfully effective he has been as a politician. In the remaining three and a half years of his administration, our challenge is to turn this antipathy into effective action. -more-
I’ve been obsessively thinking about my lack of a nickname ever since my teenage friend Jernae recently rechristened herself Suga’ Baby. I’ve been asking a lot of questions of my neighbors and housemates, quizzing Jernae on her friend’s nicknames, and just generally grousing about the unfairness of it all. Why do some people have three or four nicknames, and others have none? -more-
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work -more-
The pages of this paper have overflowed with typographical adamancy bemoaning the changes in a cherished Berkeley commission devoted to “peace and justice”—the mother and apple pie of Berkeley politics. Some have pointed to a Zionist cabal which, with Beth El, appear to comprise our local axis of evil. It is inspiring to mourn and honor those dead Jews who perished in the Holocaust, but apparently those live ones can sure cause problems. -more-
The Peace and Justice Commission has long been a beacon for believers in human rights and equality. It became a place where Berkeley citizens explored ways to creatively exercise humanitarian concerns. It was a place to share information and develop guidelines to become a more inclusive and democratic people. The Commission would gather information and then advise City Council how to implement. Thus, we, as citizens, could consider what makes Peace and what makes Justice in ways that City Council didn’t have time to do. It helped us to grow awareness of ourselves as part of the human family. It became the conscience of Berkeley. -more-
Reports from participants at a recent Leconte neighborhood meeting had Mayor Tom Bates making some astounding allegations. Mr. Bates reportedly told people that they were paranoid regarding the UC Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) lawsuit settlement agreement. He denied that it was kept secret from the public or that it gives the university veto power over the Downtown Area Plan (DAP), and asserted that the city was completely in charge of the plan which controls development standards including zoning. -more-
I play it cool -more-
The people of Villa El Salvador and Maria must have been surprised to see a large charter bus negotiating their steep, narrow, winding streets. The shantytowns of Lima are not on the typical tourist itinerary. -more-
Sausalito may have forgotten about the humming toadfish—the Toadfish Festival with its marching kazoo bands is history—but Andrew Bass hasn’t. The Cornell biologist, formerly at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, is still learning unexpected things about this curious creature and its perceptual world. -more-
The Greek slave Aesop told the story of a shepherd boy watching his flock in the hills above town who repeatedly called for help from fellow villagers, saying a wolf was about to attack the sheep. Each time he called, neighbors came, only to find that nothing was happening. Then one day a wolf did come, and the boy cried out for help again. But this time the villagers thought his cries of “wolf, wolf” were false, as before, so they didn’t come, and the wolf devoured the flock. -more-
The death of longtime ABC evening news anchor Peter Jennings reminds us of a time when network news created reality for millions of Americans. For about four decades those who cared about what was going on in the nation and the world—and it seemed that most adults did—could get a quick and trusted summary of world events by watching television for a half-hour in the evening. In his heyday, everyone believed Walter Cronkite, of course. After Cronkite’s era, there was no single news anchor who commanded the same unquestioning respect, but for a period of time Peter Jennings came close. -more-
