A proposed major new development with at least 300 units of housing built over ground floor commercial space at the site of the Ashby BART Station’s western parking lot could spell major changes in South Berkeley. -more-
At a heated Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) meeting, residents of the Ashby neighborhood packed the second floor of Old City Hall chambers Thursday night with tales of their local liquor store. -more-
Sales taxes paid by downtown Berkeley retail stores fell 10 percent between June 2004 and June 2005, according to city figures. -more-
Was UC Berkeley’s Thursday night public “scoping session” to help prepare an environmental review of its massive development plans at and around Memorial Stadium a meaningless gesture? -more-
On Saturday evening, former councilmember/peace activist Maudelle Shirek was given a standing ovation for all the work she has done in her life. To a cheering, ecstatic crowd of more than a couple hundred Berkeley residents, Shirek introduced herself with a famous Mark Twain quote. -more-
Barbara Shearer, one of the Bay Area’s best-loved concert pianists and music teachers, died on Dec. 6 of natural causes, in Oakland. -more-
Debi Echlin, founder and owner of A Great Good Place for Books, died suddenly on Nov. 25. She was 52 years old. -more-
Berkeley city councilmembers will get a firsthand look at City Manager Phil Kamlarz’s proposal for the additional $1.08 million the city expects to receive in the current fiscal year’s budget. -more-
I own New York Market in Oakland. My brother Tony was kidnapped and my store got burned down. The day before those incidents happened, my store was vandalized. -more-
To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-
So I took a little break. I needed not to read anymore about the war in Iraq, global warming, white collar, blue collar or government fraud, spousal murders, kidnappings or everyday racism, sexism, ageism and any other isms you want to throw in there. -more-
All the lights are green for me when, in 1952, I am born. My daddy is short and he isn’t super rich, but my mom is smart and good lookin’. -more-
Welcome to my neighborhood. We live in the block just east of San Pablo Avenue. We describe each other’s houses based on their “S.P. Factor”—N. and her husband and 2-year-old, they’re as close as you can be to San Pablo, so they have the highest S.P. factor. They mostly deal with the hookers. L. and her husband and 2-year-old live up the block, where the issue is more the drug dealers and the midnight “donuts.” Me, I live in the middle of the block with my husband and 5-year-old; I call about domestic violence and gunshots. The east side of San Pablo is the “tony” side; one block to the west is where things really get exciting. -more-
Mina Davenport asks: “How can UC libraries send letters to the public and alumni to ask for contributions? I used to pay the libraries at least $200 a year; however, I will not do so any more. It is simple: no services, no contributions. Perhaps the UC executives can contribute to the libraries out of that $871 million they paid themselves as bonuses. UC libraries should let the alumni and holders of library cards have access to the Internet via the library computers.” I think her request is reasonable. -more-
“Watching Shotgun’s Cabaret is like spying through the keyhole into the delirious and extravagant world of the Weimar Republic.” -more-
Last week Joe and I took a detour onto Fourth Street, to cruise Cody’s and a couple of dry-goods stores. We were just going to dash into the Vivarium for turtle chow, but I found a free parking space on Fifth and felt that was occasion to celebrate, and besides, the sun was out. -more-
Dante Green and his girlfriend Krystina Brown, both undergrads at Xavier University in New Orleans, evacuated to Atlanta just before Hurricane Katrina hit and jumped at the offer to come study at UC Berkeley when the waters rose around their campus. -more-
Plans for a downtown UC Berkeley museum complex moved to the forefront Tuesday when the university issued a call for a project design architect. -more-
An off-campus incident between a student and a UC Berkeley undergraduate advisor that led to explosive allegations of racist and sexist epithets against the student has a local activist organization calling for the firing of the employee and the UC officials conducting a review of the university’s initial response. -more-
Members of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Monday tackled everything from a nuclear accelerator building to UC Berkeley expansion plans. -more-
The popular and sometimes controversial watch commander of North Oakland’s PSA-2 beat is leaving his post for the department’s central office, leaving regretful North Oakland citizens behind. -more-
Forget blue states and red states. At the Berkeley City Council Tuesday, it was green signs versus orange signs. -more-
The School Board meeting on Wednesday night marked the end of the presidency of Nancy Riddle. The board passed a unanimous resolution honoring Nancy Riddle for her work. Riddle was described as a strong leader who ran meetings smoothly and calmly. -more-
Student attendance declines as students grow older, the Berkeley School Board learned last week. -more-
Berkeley police arrested five Berkeley High School students last Friday after a fight between two youths escalated into a large scale fracas. -more-
The Alameda County district attorney’s office Thursday refused to press murder charges against a 42-year-old former Berkeley man accused of killing his parents and sister. -more-
To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-
There is a moment in Jeffery Goldberg’s New Yorker profile of Brent Scowcroft, George Bush Senior’s former national security advisor, when the current administration’s combination of arrogance and cluelessness crystallize. Over dinner, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice tells Scowcroft that the “good news” from the Middle East is that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is pulling out of Gaza, the first step toward resolving the issue of a Palestinian state. -more-
Abraham Lincoln being my favorite U.S. president, I often follow his advice on unconstructive criticism: “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business.” But two types of criticisms get my immediate attention. One is if someone accuses me of a factual error—my opinions are my opinions, but they ought to be based on the correct facts. The second is if I get called out of my name, which I do not appreciate. -more-
A review of the art exhibit, “Justice Matters”, sponsored by the Middle East Children’s Alliance was recently published in the Berkeley Daily Planet (Friday Dec. 2). The writer, Peter Selz, a man with a stellar reputation as an art historian, is an expert in German expressionism as well as many other areas. Unfortunately, in this case, he has stumbled into another world, one that depends not on truth but on propaganda, a world in which art is being misused to serve as a tool to spread hatred and justify violence. -more-
A small but vocal minority twists logic into a pretzel in its clamor for the death of Tookie Williams on Dec. 12. In contrast, the opposition to the execution stands upon a hierarchy of values and logic that digs deep into the positive side of America and repudiates the murderous side of our history. At the abolitionist base are folks, many of them religious, who believe that taking life, except in self-defense, is egregiously abhorrent. Because this view underpins the declared moral principles of civilization, when a cop kills someone who turns out to not have a weapon, the police plea is often that the officer thought the suspect was armed. That becomes the only acceptable public justification. -more-
The Christmas Revels celebrates the Winter Solstice—and its 20th anniversary—with songs, dances and stories of medieval England for 10 weekend matinee and evening shows, Dec. 9-18, at Oakland’s Scottish Rite Theater by Lake Merritt. -more-
Although I have a pretty strong stomach, there is nothing that will sour it as quickly as a beautiful old home that’s had all its wooden windows replaced with those awful aluminum jobs. This is called getting ferclampeted, which, in Yiddish, means “to find oil on your land and find yourself living in upscale digs you ought never to have occupied.” -more-
If you have a child on your gift list this year, and he or she looks susceptible, it’s time to pass on that benign garden bug. It doesn’t need to be missionary work to infect the kids around you (and you don’t get a toaster); just let them play in the mud with the right tools like the rest of us. -more-
Oy vey! The winter solstice is upon us, and the Christians are at it again. A friend has e-mailed me what he calls an “outline” for an editorial—it’s a collection of unbelievable stories about silly things being done in the name of Christ as the holidays approach. Top billing this year goes to the campaign by elements of the organized Christian (self-described) right wing to ban the use of the greeting “Happy Holidays” by the president. Huh? As much as I dislike the man, surely he does retain the right to greet his friends anyway he wants at any time of the year, with the possible exception of saying “Sieg Heil,” which might be considered in bad taste. -more-
On Monday it will have been three years since the O’Malley family paid a few thousand dollars for the name and distribution boxes of the original version of the Berkeley Daily Planet. A few old Macs and some horrendous metal desks were thrown in gratis. -more-
