Richard Brenneman: Tina Estes, Left, Jamie Elmer, and Val Hammell greeted passing motorists with signs and candles along with hundreds of others who gathered outside the French Hotel Wednesday night in a vigil to support anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan’s ongoing vigil outside the Crawford, Texas, ranch of President George W. Bush..
Richard Brenneman: Tina Estes, Left, Jamie Elmer, and Val Hammell greeted passing motorists with signs and candles along with hundreds of others who gathered outside the French Hotel Wednesday night in a vigil to support anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan’s ongoing vigil outside the Crawford, Texas, ranch of President George W. Bush..

Page One

East Bay Turns Out for Cindy Sheehan Nationwide Vigil Draws 100,000 By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 19, 2005

Hundreds of East Bay folk gathered Wednesday in candlelight vigils, organized by Berkeley’s MoveOn.org, to oppose the Iraq war and offer support to the Vacaville woman who has managed to give a sympathetic face to the war’s opposition . -more-



UC Berkeley Eliminates Free Parking From Family Housing By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 19, 2005

Devin Pope, an economics graduate student at UC Berkeley, says he’s going to have a problem the next time his parents visit to help care for his toddler. -more-



BUSD Sees Mixed Results in State Test Scores By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday August 19, 2005

Results of the newly released public school test reports show that Berkeley Unified School District students continue to rank far above state testing scores in the California Standardized Test (STAR) in elementary school, but that advantage tends to evaporate as students enter the higher grades. -more-



Alameda Council Approves Theater Plan Despite Opposition By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday August 19, 2005

After four hours of sometimes emotional public testimony from a packed City Council chambers, a divided Alameda City Council voted in the early hours Wednesday morning to move forward with the Historic Alameda Theater Rehabilitation Project. -more-



Bayer Corp. Janitors Hold on To Their Jobs By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 19, 2005

Bayer Corp.’s 54 janitors no longer have to fear for their jobs. -more-



Features

Shootings Bring Police, Command Van to Russell Street By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 19, 2005

A bullet fired by a cyclist near the corner of Julia and California streets blasted through the windows of a city Seniors Van, missing the driver and two passengers Tuesday morning. -more-


LBNL Staff Facing Cuts After Budget Reduction By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday August 19, 2005

Facing federal funding cuts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is bracing for layoffs and asking administrative workers to consider early retirement. -more-


Suicide Bomber Shocks China — Was Health Care the Catalyst? By GABRIELLE ORLEANS Pacific News Service

Friday August 19, 2005

On Aug. 9, a suicide bomber killed two people and critically injured 30 in a gruesome bus explosion in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province in southern China. According to the police, the suicide bomber, who died on the scene, was a 42-year-old peasant with end-stage lung cancer. In a society that emphasizes stability and harmony, the suicide bombing has shocked many and moved China’s health care—or lack thereof—to the center of public debate. -more-


News Analysis: Being Liberal Now Means Being African American By Phil Reiff and Jason Alderman Special to the Planet

Friday August 19, 2005

If American liberals had four legs and fur, they would have been put on the Endangered Species List following last year’s presidential election. Defining who is liberal has become a national sport among politicians, as Democrats frantically run from the moniker, while Republicans hurl the invective blindly at everyone on the other side of the aisle. -more-


Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Friday August 19, 2005

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


Letters to the Editor

Friday August 19, 2005

CINDY SHEEHAN -more-


Column: The Public Eye: Bush Administration’s Position on Iraq: No Exit By Bob Burnett

Friday August 19, 2005

In Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist play No Exit, three damned souls find themselves locked in a room in hell, where they are psychologically tortured forever. The Iraqis’ failure to meet the Aug. 15 deadline for a draft constitution, is more evidence that America is trapped in its’ own no exit hell. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Examining the Racism of Jack London J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday August 19, 2005

What should progressives do when confronted with the fact that they live in a city that honors a figure who has advocated beliefs or committed acts that progressives would normally condemn? -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday August 19, 2005

Witnesses sought -more-


Commentary: Beth El’s New Parking Plan Provides Everything LOCCNA Wanted By Amy Oppenheimer

Friday August 19, 2005

As a Beth El representative on the parking committee for our new building, I have spent many hours working with LOCCNA about parking concerns and worked hard to come up with a plan that addressed those concerns. Over the years I have grown fond of many LOCCNA members. Many of us on each side of the table have listened respectfully to each other’s perspective. -more-


Commentary: Coup Crystallizes Inside KPFA — Again? By Marc Sapir

Friday August 19, 2005

A powerful minority of the KPFA staff is intent upon ousting General Manager Roy Campanella II, on the job less than a year. The last manager, Gus Newport, resigned after nine months in the position due to difficulties in working with the factionalized staff. -more-


Commentary: Cynicism and Contempt for Community Standards By Stephen Wollmer

Friday August 19, 2005

I was touched by Mr. Kennedy’s concern for affordable housing when, in addressing the Zoning Adjustments Board’s density bonus implementation subcommittee, he stated: “If the committee is interested in providing affordable housing,” he said, the committe e’s work “shouldn’t be done in the way of what is clearly the agenda of some people here who are interested in decreasing density” in the city (Berkeley Daily Planet, Aug. 5). -more-


Commentary: Medication Risks Ignored by Media By Kathie Zatkin

Friday August 19, 2005

Thank you for having the courage to publish the “Chemical Therapy Endangers Psychiatric Patients,” commentary in your Aug. 5 edition. It is a sad commentary on the state of so-called investigative journalism that articles affecting so many individuals are not reported, let alone investigated, by mainstream media. -more-


Election Section

Commentary: City Cedes Powers to UC In Settlement Deal By Dennis Walton

Friday August 19, 2005

In her column of Aug. 2, Zelda Bronstein aptly referred to violations of the municipal code in the agreement between the city and UC but failed to suggest that there might be any other legal problems involved. Although I make no claim of expertise in this area, here are some thoughts on the matter. -more-


Commentary: First Person: Finding Faith in a Multi-Religious Upbringing By ISAAC GOLDSTEIN Special to the Planet

Friday August 19, 2005

I am a living, breathing interfaith experiment. I had a briss and a baptism; a confirmation and a bar-mitzvah. My family attended synagogue on Friday nights and went to church on Sunday. Raised by parents of separate faiths, my mother is a minister for the United Church of Christ and my father is a lay Jew. Starting with me, they decided to raise their children both religions, not just half and half. I don’t call myself a “halfie” or “half and half.” I would never want to get only half of two religions. My parents have insisted that I get the whole of both religions. -more-


Arts: Jazz Festival Livens Up Downtown Berkeley By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet

Friday August 19, 2005

The first Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival, “A Celebration of Latin Jazz,” presented by The Jazz School (on Allston Way) is in full swing and gearing up for the weekend. With 15 stages throughout downtown for 40 events (the festival ends Sunday), including music, dance, poetry and culinary arts, festivity’s abounding. -more-


Arts: Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival Schedule

Friday August 19, 2005

“A Celebration of Latin Jazz” begins runs through the weekend. This year’s festival features jazz and film, poetry, dance and food celebrating Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian music and culture. -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday August 19, 2005

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 -more-


Library Dispenses Tools and Home-Repair Advice By PHILA ROGERS Special to the Planet

Friday August 19, 2005

On a recent Wednesday morning at 11:45, two pickup trucks and a station wagon had already pulled into the drive in front of the Berkeley Tool Lending Library at the corner of Russell and Martin Luther King Way. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday August 19, 2005

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 -more-


Editorial

Editorial: After the First Death By BECKY O'MALLEY

Friday August 19, 2005

As I blew out my candle and walked away from the vigil in front of the French Hotel last night, I told the friends who were with me that this is as close as many of us in Berkeley ever get to church. Demonstrations like this are the most inclusive of our indigenous religious institutions, with all the elements which contribute to a soul-satisfying religious experience. Congregants from my generation spontaneously sang our oldest hymns--“We shall overcome…we shall not be moved….ain’t gonna study war no more”—memorabilia of our successful struggles to end segregation and stop the war in Vietnam. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: After the First Death By BECKY O'MALLEY 08-19-2005

Editorial: The Media Discovers Cindy Sheehan By BECKY O'MALLEY 08-16-2005

News

East Bay Turns Out for Cindy Sheehan Nationwide Vigil Draws 100,000 By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-19-2005

UC Berkeley Eliminates Free Parking From Family Housing By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-19-2005

BUSD Sees Mixed Results in State Test Scores By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-19-2005

Alameda Council Approves Theater Plan Despite Opposition By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-19-2005

Bayer Corp. Janitors Hold on To Their Jobs By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-19-2005

Shootings Bring Police, Command Van to Russell Street By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-19-2005

LBNL Staff Facing Cuts After Budget Reduction By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-19-2005

Suicide Bomber Shocks China — Was Health Care the Catalyst? By GABRIELLE ORLEANS Pacific News Service 08-19-2005

News Analysis: Being Liberal Now Means Being African American By Phil Reiff and Jason Alderman Special to the Planet 08-19-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 08-19-2005

Letters to the Editor 08-19-2005

Column: The Public Eye: Bush Administration’s Position on Iraq: No Exit By Bob Burnett 08-19-2005

Column: Undercurrents: Examining the Racism of Jack London J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-19-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-19-2005

Commentary: Beth El’s New Parking Plan Provides Everything LOCCNA Wanted By Amy Oppenheimer 08-19-2005

Commentary: Coup Crystallizes Inside KPFA — Again? By Marc Sapir 08-19-2005

Commentary: Cynicism and Contempt for Community Standards By Stephen Wollmer 08-19-2005

Commentary: Medication Risks Ignored by Media By Kathie Zatkin 08-19-2005

Commentary: City Cedes Powers to UC In Settlement Deal By Dennis Walton 08-19-2005

Commentary: First Person: Finding Faith in a Multi-Religious Upbringing By ISAAC GOLDSTEIN Special to the Planet 08-19-2005

Arts: Jazz Festival Livens Up Downtown Berkeley By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 08-19-2005

Arts: Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival Schedule 08-19-2005

Arts Calendar 08-19-2005

Library Dispenses Tools and Home-Repair Advice By PHILA ROGERS Special to the Planet 08-19-2005

Berkeley This Week 08-19-2005

Alameda Theater Plan Challenged By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-16-2005

Price Details Year of Police Investigation By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-16-2005

Cop Killing Came in Era of High Tension By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-16-2005

KPFA Board Backs General Manager Campanella By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-16-2005

Creeks Task Force Wades Through Complex Issues By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-16-2005

Iceland Requests Extension By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-16-2005

Bayer Corp. Janitors Could Be In a Messy Situation By MATTHEW ARTZ 08-16-2005

School District Replaces Deputy Superintendent With Predecessor By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 08-16-2005

Landmarks Subcommittees Will Visit Two Development Project Sites By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-16-2005

Corrections 08-16-2005

News Analysis: ‘Peace Pact’ Between Brits and Islamists Collapses By JALAL GHAZI Pacific News Service 08-16-2005

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 08-16-2005

Letters to the Editor 08-16-2005

Column: The Public Eye: Mao Spelled Backwards By Zelda Bronstein 08-16-2005

Column: Claudine, Johnny and the Price of Gas By SUSAN PARKER 08-16-2005

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 08-16-2005

Commentary: Beth El Has Exceeded Its Agreements By DANIEL MAGID 08-16-2005

Commentary: Some Myths Are Dangerous By GERALD SCHMAVONIAN 08-16-2005

Commentary: West Berkeley Odors Mandate Comprehensive Tests By DAVID SCHROEDER 08-16-2005

Commentary: How Many Diebolds to Screw Up an Election? By PETER TEICHNER 08-16-2005

Arts: Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival 08-16-2005

Arts Calendar 08-16-2005

If That Tree Looks Dead, It May Be a Buckeye By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 08-16-2005

Berkeley This Week 08-16-2005