Bay Trail Markers Relate Richmond’s History By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
You come upon them almost as a pleasant surprise from out of the past, like an explorer finding a shining obelisk poking out of a sea of Egyptian sand. -more-
You come upon them almost as a pleasant surprise from out of the past, like an explorer finding a shining obelisk poking out of a sea of Egyptian sand. -more-
A Planning Commission majority, against the outspoken wishes of Chair Harry Pollack, Wednesday night elected the panel’s three representatives to the panel that will create a new plan for an enlarged downtown district. -more-
The Berkeley City Council Tuesday began tackling a dirty problem that could cost property owners up to $4,500. -more-
Faced with growing neighborhood complaints, West Berkeley’s Pacific Steel Casting Company announced Tuesday that it plans to install a carbon filter designed to eliminate the burning rubber smell wafting from its factory. -more-
For progressive activists, living in the East Bay has the defect of its virtues. It’s gratifying to reside among politically like-minded others but frustrating to find oneself mostly preaching to the choir about matters of state, national and global concern. (Local affairs are not nearly so consensual, as readers of the Daily Planet are acutely aware.) For that reason, many locals went far afield during last year’s presidential campaign. Since last fall, the missionary impulse has faded in most left-liberal quarters. But at the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club (WDRC), tapping new constituencies has remained a high priority, leading to some novel political initiatives. -more-
On a six-to-three vote, city councilmembers Tuesday approved proposed amendments to Berkeley’s condominium conversion ordinance, preparing the ground for a final vote next Tuesday. -more-
Berkeley veterans are promising to press forward with the city’s annual Veteran’s Day commemoration without the support of one of Berkeley’s most famous veterans. -more-
Although employment of local workers in the multimillion dollar Vista College construction project in Berkeley has jumped dramatically since a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) was put in place, Peralta College district trustees said they were disappointed that more has not been done to include both local workers and minority contractors in the project. -more-
Berkeley landlords can tack an additional seven-tenths of one percent onto the rents they charge tenants, the annual general adjustment rate approved Tuesday by the Rent Stabilization Board. -more-
Four years removed from nearly being taken over by the county, the Berkeley Unified School District received welcomed news from Standard & Poor’s. -more-
Once again, the Berkeley Police Department’s public information officers failed to respond to calls from the Daily Planet, this despite an e-mail sent to all regional media promising that Officer Steve Ergo would respond to all calls placed by the media between 4 and 5 p.m. Thursday. -more-
To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit www.jfdefreitas.com To search for previous cartoons by date of publication, click on the Daily Planet Archive.
-more-Bangkok, Thailand—You may have noticed that the neo-conservatives surrounding the Bush administration have quit crowing about the new “American Empire.” They’ve been in retreat ever since it became apparent that the Iraqi occupation was a catastrophe, a blunder so ghastly that even stalwart Republicans such as Henry Kissinger and Reagan-era National Security Agency director Lieutenant General William Odom called it “the greatest strategic disaster in United States history.” -more-
To appreciate the possibilities of a legalized sideshow in Oakland, you have to put aside the preconceptions that have been built upon the five-year history of the illegal street sideshow movement. Instead, you must go back to the way things were before the Oakland Police Department chased the sideshows out of the parking lots and into the streets. -more-
Already during 2005, millions of human beings trapped by natural disasters have been saved through the rapid response of United Nations agencies. U.N. workers have, often at great risk to themselves, physically delivered differing types of lifelines—food, medical supplies, and shelter—to victims of the tsunami in the Pacific, Hurricane Katrina and hurricane Rita here in the United States, and most recently, the devastating 7.6 earthquake in Pakistan. Were it not for the capability of the U.N. to carry out humanitarian efforts in any part of the world on a moment’s notice, the resulting loss of life and land might well have negatively impacted millions more. -more-
I fully support UC’s removal of the clothing box at People’s Park. That the free box was an effective distribution system for used clothing for the poor is an illusion. After the ambitious entrepreneurs had taken the best clothes for resale, the rest were ruined, usually within hours, by rain, dirt, and careless handling. Thus the noble experiment became, ironically, a continuing demonstration of “Darwinian” capitalism and waste—two things supporters of the free box surely decry. -more-
People’s Park, a Berkeley landmark, has a tradition of free exchange. The tradition of sharing food, sharing music, trading clothing, giving away helpful information (and yes, sometimes love) without compensation is more than 35 years old. The freebox, one of the best examples of this tradition, is simply a box into which one puts old or simply unwanted items for the next person to use, and takes whatever interests them. -more-
Laura Menard’s letter in your Oct. 18 edition about the small claims law suit against Lenora Moore contains allegations and insinuations, which require a response, tedious as the task may be. -more-
I am a resident of South Berkeley. I have been assisting Lenora Moore in presenting her defense. In the Lenora Moore case I feel that the plaintiffs have displayed a sense of privilege and entitlement. Not only are they trying to get Ms. Moore to sell her family home through the small claims court process, but they have attacked anybody that is assisting Ms. Moore in defending herself. -more-
In his Oct. 4 Daily Planet commentary, “New Owners Did Not Fire Honda Workers,” Chris Regalia is technically correct. All that is required to follow his argument and absolve the new Berkeley Honda management of responsibility for the plight of the former Jim Doten workers and the continuing picket line and demonstrations is to enter the realm where angels dance on the heads of pins. -more-
Editors, Daily Planet: -more-
The line of great jazz trumpeters, young men with a horn, begins with the legendary New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden. You can read a brilliantly fictionalized account of his life in Michael Ondaatje’s 1976 novel Coming Through Slaughter. -more-
The United Nations Day Peace Concert Committee and the Oakland East Bay Symphony will present “A Concert for Peace and Humanity” this Sunday at the Oakland Paramount Theatre. -more-
Berkeley Arts Festival will present playwright Wajahat Ali and poets Boadiba, Karla Brundage and Tennessee Reed in a reading by New Voices from the Before Columbus Foundation this Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley. Admission is free. -more-
Just because the A’s aren’t playing in this year’s World Series doesn’t mean that there is no joy in Oakland this October. -more-
The recent report on diversity on Berkeley’s commissions, which was sparked by Councilmember Kriss Worthington with colleagues Darryl Moore and Max Anderson as allies, will provide food for thought for a long time in the city. I’ve only seen the news accounts, but haven’t read the report myself, or even seen a tight statistical analysis of its data or methodology, so I’m not in a position to comment intelligently on its results per se. But the question of whether students in a college town should be represented on civic bodies in proportion to their numbers in the population is an interesting one which lends itself to a bit of blue-sky analysis. -more-
Editorial: Giving Students a Voice in Berkeley By BECKY O'MALLEY 10-21-2005
Editorial: Watching the Scooter ‘n’ Judy Show By BECKY O'MALLEY 10-18-2005
Bay Trail Markers Relate Richmond’s History By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 10-21-2005
Downtown Area Plan Committee Takes Shape With New Appointments By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-21-2005
Dirty Water Could Prove Costly for Property Owners By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-21-2005
Pacific Steel Proposes Solution For Foul Air Problem By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-21-2005
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club Preaches Beyond the Choir By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Special to the Planet 10-21-2005
Council Adopts Condo Conversi By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-21-2005
Veterans Day Commemoration In Doubt By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-21-2005
Peralta Board Urges Hiring Changes By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 10-21-2005
Rent Board Sets Increase 10-21-2005
High Debt Rating for BUSD 10-21-2005
POLICE BLOTTER 10-21-2005
Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 10-21-2005
Letters to the Editor 10-21-2005
Column: The Public Eye: The ‘New American Empire,’ Rest in Peace By Bob Burnett 10-21-2005
Column: Undercurrents: Promoters Capitalize on the Sideshow Culture J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 10-21-2005
Commentary: Accentuate the Positive on UN’s 60th Anniversary By RITA MARAN 10-21-2005
Commentary: The People’s Park Freebox is a Nuisance By SHARON HUDSON 10-21-2005
Commentary: Ten Myths About the Freebox By CAROL DENNEY 10-21-2005
Commentary: Allegations in South Berkeley Case Are Not Based on Facts By OSHA NEUMANN 10-21-2005
Commentary: Ms. Moore Deserves Legal Assistance By LEO STEGMAN 10-21-2005
Commentary: Berkeley Honda Employees Didn’t Get a Fair Offer By Donna Mickleson 10-21-2005
Commentary: Confessions of a Landmarker By Neal Blumenfeld 10-21-2005
Arts: Yoshi’s Honors Memory of Jazz Legend Clifford Brown By IRA STEINGROOT Special to the Planet 10-21-2005
Arts: Oakland Concert Proceeds Will Benefit Gulf Coast Children By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 10-21-2005
Arts: Poets, Playwrights to Read at Berkeley Arts Festival By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 10-21-2005
Arts Calendar 10-21-2005
Baseball Exhibit Offers Reflective End to a Difficult Season By MICHAEL HOWERTON 10-21-2005
Berkeley This Week 10-21-2005
Park District Aims to Save Richmond Marsh By F. TIMOTHY MARTIN Special to the Planet 10-18-2005
West Berkeley Bowl EIR Says Project Won’t Negatively Impact Neighborhood By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-18-2005
Political Intrigue Stirs Up Oakland’s District 6 Race By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 10-18-2005
Library Contracts With Non-Union Janitorial Firm By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-18-2005
Cal Players Give Statements in Willis-Starbuck Shooting By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-18-2005
Wednesday Night Program Honors Berkeley’s First Integrated Church By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-18-2005
Correction 10-18-2005
Cindy Sheehan Moves to Berkeley, Joins Call for National Guard Return By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-18-2005
Iceland Finds Noise Solution By MATTHEW ARTZ 10-18-2005
Lucretia Edwards, 1916-2005 By TOM BUTT 10-18-2005
City Council Tackles Condo, Soft Story Ordinances By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-18-2005
Police Blotter 10-18-2005
Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 10-18-2005
Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 10-18-2005
Letters to the Editor 10-18-2005
Let There Be Music (And Art, Too) By Phila Rogers Special to the Planet 10-18-2005
Column: The View From Here: Meleia Willis-Starbuck and the Sociology of Sports By P.M. Price 10-18-2005
Column: The Things They Carry By SUSAN PARKER 10-18-2005
Commentary: Preserving the Bevatron Makes Environmental And Historic Sense By Mark McDonald 10-18-2005
Commentary: It’s Not Too Late to Pull the Plug On the Library’s RFID Boondoggle By GENE BERNARDI 10-18-2005
Commentary: Avian Flu, Katrina and 9/11: Planning for Disaster Response By KEN STANTON 10-18-2005
Arts: Lively, Playful Excursion Into Obscure Shakespeare By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 10-18-2005
Arts: Berkeley Artist Seeks Reconciliation In Story of Jazz Pianist Grandmother By RICHARD BRENNEMAN Staff 10-18-2005
Arts Calendar 10-18-2005
Tracking the Migration of Warblers By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 10-18-2005
Berkeley This Week 10-18-2005