Opinion

For those of us who have spent a substantial part of our lives in or near educational institutions—and that’s most of us in Greater Berkeley—the approach of September always feels like the real New Year. Even for small children it’s the chance to start over again and to get it right this time. Over the weekend we attended a small gathering marking the tenth anniversary of the deaths of Page and Eloise Smith, who 40 years ago spearheaded some significant attempts to get education right. -more-

This issue of the Berkeley Daily Planet contains the second of two special “Back to Berkeley” pullout magazine sections. Like the first one (which is still being distributed around town as well) it’s full of insider tips from local residents on how students and other newcomers can make the most of their Berkeley experience. For those of you who can’t find a copy of Part One, we’ll just repeat a bit of what we said earlier. The Planet is the publication for what we call Greater Berkeley: people who live in Berkeley, but also people who work in Berkeley, shop in Berkeley, go to school in Berkeley, or even just wish that they lived, worked or shopped in Berkeley. We believe that Berkeley is a state of mind which has expansive boundaries. Those of us who are lifers here are happy to welcome most of the new faces we see every August. -more-