The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has launched an investigation into the fall that claimed the life of a construction worker at the new Berkeley City College Building. -more-
A Berkeley High School student was gunned down in Oakland Saturday night as he was standing on the street with friends, police said. -more-
The three candidates for this June’s Oakland mayoral race—Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and former Congressmember Ron Dellums—have begun to increase campaign activity. -more-
The fate of Berkeley’s warm water pool—a treasured resource to many of Berkeley’s disabled and elderly residents—looks bleak, City Councilmember Dona Spring said Thursday. -more-
The University of California continues to harbor big plans for a 152-acre parcel of land near door to a massive chemical plant on the southern Richmond shoreline—both as an academic research facility and as the potential home for cash-generating corporate research programs. -more-
A test dig at the Richmond shoreline site where a retired UC Berkeley worker said barrels of possible radioactive waste had been buried has turned up no evidence of radioactivity or barrels, a state agency reported. -more-
Sometimes, apparently, government can act quickly. -more-
Prosecutors and Internal Affairs investigators have launched a criminal investigation into the handling of drug evidence at the Berkeley Police Department. -more-
The panel charged with helping draft a new plan for downtown Berkeley will hear from a panel of experts Wednesday discussing “What Makes a Great Downtown?” -more-
The Berkeley City Council will face a relatively light agenda when they hold their first meeting of 2006 Tuesday. -more-
Toward the end of the Jan. 13 article “A Samizdat For Our Time,” quotation marks were mistakenly omitted from a quote by playwright Harold Pinter, giving the impression that the words were those of the story’s author. We regret the error.. -more-
Berkeley High students Robert Coil, a senior, and Alexis Hooper, a junior, are two of the most gracious teens you could hope to meet. They have ambition, good manners, and guts—the kind of kids who would make their parents proud, if only their parents were around. -more-
Berkeley High School Principal Jim Slemp’s State of the School speech last week gave the picture of a high school that is ready to step into the future. -more-
In Sunday’s New York Times Book Review, I read that Louis Sachar has finally written a sequel to his best-selling, award-winning young adult novel, Holes. Reading the review of this new novel, Small Steps, reminded me of a trip I took three years ago. Although I didn’t go far, it made a lasting impression, just as the book Holes made an impression when I read it back in 1999. -more-
To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-
You’d never know it from reading his press releases, but Mayor Bates is pushing a proposal to effectively eliminate Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO). He recently told a group of concerned citizens, “This is going to happen, I have a majority on the council.” But there’s more to it than a council majority. -more-
Last weekend my son was confronted by a team of police in a parking lot when he was returning from watching the Chronicles of Narnia. He was held at bay on suspicion of robbing the nearby Circuit City store even though the description of the suspect was i n no way similar to his physical features except that he is an African-American. -more-
Thanks for publishing a lengthy obituary on Campbell Coe, one of Telegraph Avenue’s colorful characters and an important person in the local music scene. Scott Hambly’s writing evokes the wide-ranging talents of a true “Renaissance man” and observes his conversational style thoughtfully. His description of the “incredible” tales that turned out to be true was as well put as it’s ever been. I have a few corrections and comments: -more-
It would be impossible to write a comprehensive history of American poetry in the last century and not make significant reference to the Bay Area. Only New York would seem to exceed it in importance. And one couldn’t very well compose that Bay Area section without paying considerable attention to Berkeley, home at one time or another to a number of major poets, such as Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder. -more-
Political analysts in Europe and the United States a month ago reacted with horror to the news that a native-born Belgian woman had become the first female Western convert to Islam to blow herself up for “martyrdom.” It’s as if being born and raised in the West were a vaccine against religious extremism. -more-
For many years big budget Hollywood movies depicted Arabs as terrorists or greedy oil barons, but since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq, it seems such films are finally falling out of fashion. Arab analysts and media are lauding portrayals of Arabs and Muslims in the recent films Syriana and Munich, and the smaller budget independent film Paradise Now. Each are contenders to be on the list of Academy Award nominations released on Jan. 31. -more-
Two small gray shorebirds pitched down into the new Berkeley Marina mitigation wetlands, among the ducks and geese, and swam off out of binocular range. They were red phalaropes, part of a huge involuntary invasion blown in by the winter storms, scattered along the coast from the mouth of the Columbia River to Morro Bay. Some were dying of starvation when they hit land; the luckier ones seemed to be hanging around and regrouping before heading back out to sea. -more-
When the newly-constructed Vista Community College campus opens in downtown Berkeley this summer, it will include a 21st century structure but a decidedly retro name. -more-
Alameda County Court Commissioner Jon Rantzman this week awarded $5,000 apiece to 14 South Berkeley residents who had sued neighbor Lenora Moore in Small Claims Court, arguing that she allowed family members to operate a drug house out of the premises. -more-
On the morning of Dec. 18, a home owner on Schoolhouse Creek had her entire house flooded within 15 minutes after the creek swelled up to six feet from the rain that day. -more-
A construction worker fell 45 feet from atop a scaffold where he or she was applying stucco to the new Vista College building in the 1800 block of Center Street just after 10 a.m. on Jan. 3. -more-
While city officials have called one public meeting to discuss plans for the proposed housing and commercial development at the Ashby BART station, concerned neighbors have called another of their own. -more-
Wednesday night’s Planning Commission workshop on finding sites for car dealers in industrial West Berkeley raised as many questions as it did answers. -more-
Berkeley and Oakland aren’t the only East Bay school districts beset by budget woes. -more-
The Berkeley School Board held its first meeting of the new year Wednesday and approved, without discussion, payment of $64,000 in legal fees; up to $74,000 to two different firms for inspection services during King Middle School’s dining commons construction; and payment to the Berkeley YMCA so that special needs students can use the Y’s shallow pool for swimming instead of the district’s warm pool. -more-
Have you ever wanted to attend a Berkeley High School event and really see how great of a dance program they have? Well, now is your chance. This Friday and Saturday, under the direction of Linda Carr, around 150 BHS students are putting on a show called “Dance Productions.” -more-
Deputy Fire Chief David Orth constantly reminds folks of the dangers of leaving candles lit when residents are out of the room. -more-
As pollution and environmental degradation in China worsen, the Communist government has been unable or unwilling to prescribe measures needed to address the problem. This inability carries grave consequences, threatening stability not only in China, but also the region. -more-
One of the singular events of 2005 was Congressman John Murtha’s announcement that he had changed his position on Iraq. Calling the occupation “a flawed policy wrapped in illusion,” decorated veteran Murtha said, “The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq ... Our military is suffering.” -more-
Oakland having been such a violent place for so long, the city ought to be one of the leading national experts on the causes of urban violence, and its possible cures. But if such expertise is present somewhere inside Oakland City Hall or at the Oakland Police Department headquarters further down Broadway, it’s not being shared with the rest of the citizens. -more-
To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-
Recently there has been a good deal of discussion about the “by-right” exemption to Berkeley’s general policy of discretionary review for conforming residential additions under 500 square feet. Since there seems to be quite a bit of misunderstanding about my position and about the limited scope of the proposals being considered by the City Council, I’d like to make clear my own view of the matter. -more-
Recent stories in the Daily Planet about the 300-unit “transit village” proposed for the west parking lot of the Ashby BART station have referred to upzoning of the surrounding area. It’s important that neighbors understand that these are two separate issues—a transit village could be built at Ashby BART without upzoning the area, or vice-versa. -more-
Last month, the Berkeley City Council voted to apply for a state grant that will pay for an extensive community process to plan a possible residential and commercial development on the west parking lot at the Ashby BART station. While this is quite preliminary, since the funding is by no means certain, the Council strongly endorsed the application as an extraordinary opportunity to right a wrong. -more-
Tempering the operatic and balletic flights of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht with a descent into a real inferno, The Crucible will be staging The Seven Deadly Sins as “A Fire Opera” through Saturday at The Crucible’s studio in West Oakland. -more-
Something significant has been happening in the last several years. While the political discourse of the mainstream media has skirted the scandalous actions of the Bush administration, regurgitating the administration’s rhetoric rather than attending to the dubious actions taken in the name of “the American people,” a vigorous political criticism has increasingly been voiced in the arts. -more-
Noted jazz and popular music critic Phil Elwood, a life-long Berkeley resident, died Tuesday of heart failure at age 79, just a month after the death of his wife, Audrey. -more-
Most of our older housing stock still peeks out on the world thought original wooden double-hung windows. Since we still live with so many of these, we should understand their advantages and disadvantages. -more-
While we’re on the topic of seeds, there are some you can start right now. Some of these are exotic to some of us, but comfort food from Grandma’s kitchen for others. And some of our grandmas’ kitchens have been through more changes than others. -more-
The picture said it all. Jack Abramoff was photographed on his way to court wearing a black trenchcoat and a black fedora. To San Francisco opera-goers, the outfit meant that he was soon going to be facing the music. Abramoff, The Opera, was about to begin. -more-
