Saying Goodbye to Alberto Hundreds of mourners came Thursday afternoon to the Bonar Street apartment that was the home of Berkeley High School sophomore Alberto Salvador Villareal-Morales, who was killed by a drive-by shooting Saturday night in Oakland.
               Photo by Michael Howertonn
Saying Goodbye to Alberto Hundreds of mourners came Thursday afternoon to the Bonar Street apartment that was the home of Berkeley High School sophomore Alberto Salvador Villareal-Morales, who was killed by a drive-by shooting Saturday night in Oakland. Photo by Michael Howertonn

Page One

Neighbors Oppose Ashby BART Project By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 20, 2006

Nearly 400 neighbors of Ashby BART packed the South Berkeley Senior Center Tuesday night to voice their concerns about the transit village project proposed for the station’s western parking lot. -more-



Panel: What Makes a Great Downtown? By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 20, 2006

What makes a great downtown? -more-



Housing Authority Director Resigns Under Cloud of Suspicion By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday January 20, 2006

The surprise resignation of the manager of the Berkeley Housing Authority has left City Councilmembers puzzled and Housing Department officials scrambling to find a replacement by the end of the month. -more-



Regents Pass Employee Compensation Reform By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday January 20, 2006

A month after announcing initial plans to regain public confidence over its handling of employee compensation, the University of California Board of Regents is considering several proposals to tighten controls over salaries of high-paid university officials and professors. -more-



City, Kennedy Lawyers Discuss Gaia Controversy By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 20, 2006

Attorneys for the city and developer Patrick Kennedy are meeting today (Friday) to reach what Kennedy hopes will be a final settlement on the use of the Gaia Cultural Center. -more-



Features

City Attorney Narrowly Avoids State Supreme Court’s Wrath By MIKE McKEE San Francisco Recorder

Friday January 20, 2006

Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque walked a dangerous line during oral arguments before the California Supreme Court in San Francisco a week ago—and probably didn’t even realize it. -more-


Council Rings in New Year With Unfinished BusinessBy SUZANNE LA BARRE Special to the Planet

Friday January 20, 2006

Three news items unresolved in 2005—outdoor dog care, cell phone tower radiation and a controversial homebuilding amendment—dominated discussion at the first Berkeley City Council meeting of the new year on Tuesday. -more-


Defeating Alito with Cookies and Milk

Friday January 20, 2006

Photo by Stephan Babuljak -more-


Correction

Friday January 20, 2006

The Daily Planet incorrectly reported that a meeting that will be held Monday evening focused on the Ashby BART transit village proposal. The meeting will focus on the Downtown Berkeley BART station. -more-


Elena Fernández Herr 1920-2006 By Richard Herr

Friday January 20, 2006

Elena Fernández Herr died in her apartment in Paris, France on Sunday Jan. 15. She was born in Madrid, Spain on Aug. 14, 1920, the daughter of a jewelry appraiser. Her primary and secondary education was at the liberal Instituto Escuela of Madrid, which moved with its students to Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. -more-


Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 20, 2006

Car slasher -more-


Column: Dispatches From The Edge: Planning the Next War: White House Targets Iran By Conn Hallinan

Friday January 20, 2006

Iran has long been a target of the Bush administration’s rhetorical ire. The president called it “the world’s primary state sponsor of terrorism,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice characterized it as “something to be loathed.” But with the U.S. military under siege in Iraq, and polls running heavily against the Iraq war, it seemed just bluster and so much talk. -more-


Column: UnderCurrents: Punishing Politicians for Doing the Right Thing By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday January 20, 2006

Last week’s column ended saying that Oakland needs some straight talk and some serious, adult conversation on this recent explosion of violence in our city, where it’s coming from, and where it may be leading. -more-


Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Friday January 20, 2006

To view Justin DeFreitas’ latest editorial cartoon, please visit -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday January 20, 2006

RENT CONTROL -more-


Commentary: Two Halves Needed for a Whole Downtown By ALAN TOBEY

Friday January 20, 2006

Thanks to the city’s very helpful online NewsScan service, we recently saw two different visions of what makes for a successful downtown—and neither of them goes far enough. It’s instructive to figure out why. -more-


Commentary Parsing the Derby Street Proposals By MARK McDONALD

Friday January 20, 2006

I would like to help clarify the two competing plans on what type of sports field should be developed at the Derby Street field. One is labeled the Multi–Use—Don’t Close Derby Street plan. The other is the Regulation Baseball Ballfield—Close Derby Street plan. -more-


Commentary Exit Exam is Misguided Educational Policy By KEN STANTON

Friday January 20, 2006

Requiring students to pass the California High School Exit Examination in order to qualify for a high school diploma is a misguided educational policy. In his Jan. 6 letter to the state Board of Education, California Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell said, “Some schools pushed each and every student to succeed while others, wallowing in the status quo of low standards, handed out diplomas to any student who simply put in seat time.” According to O’Connell, the goal of requiring seniors to pass the exit exam is to “hold every school in California accountable for improving student achievement...” -more-


Commentary: Jackson, King and the Business of Black Leadership By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Pacific News Service

Friday January 20, 2006

Jesse Jackson is peeved that Martin Luther King Jr.’s chronicler, Taylor Branch, revealed that King regarded Jackson as an egoist and opportunist. Branch made the charge in At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-1968. He claimed that after a stormy meeting in Memphis shortly before his assassination, Dr. King shouted at Jackson that he wanted to carve out his own niche in society and was only interested in doing his own thing. -more-


Election Section

China, Taiwan Crack Down on Korean Soap Operas By EUGENIA CHIEN Pacific News Service

Friday January 20, 2006

In the cramped space of AsiaStar Fantasy, a video store that specializes in Chinese cinema in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood, DVDs of flashy Korean soap operas like “Jewel in the Palace” and “Greatest Hits of Korean Drama” have been edging their way in. -more-


Correction

Friday January 20, 2006

The Pacific News Service article, “Arab Analysts Give Nod to Favored Oscar Contenders,” published in the Jan. 17 Daily Planet, stated that the film Munich had been banned in Israel. The film has not been banned there. Pacific News Service regrets the error. › -more-


Barn Owls in Berkeley? Learn How to Keep Them Here By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

Friday January 20, 2006

Barn owls are more common in urban areas, including Berkeley, than you might think. Most of the time they’re just ghostly apparitions in the night. But on Jan. 28, you can meet one of these nocturnal hunters face to face at a fundraiser for the Hungry Owl Project (HOP), sponsored by Keep Barn Owls in Berkeley, a recently launched owl-advocacy group. -more-


About the House: Yes, You Really Can Learn To Do It Yourself By MATT CANTOR

Friday January 20, 2006

I have known quite a few handymen and even a couple of handywomen over the years and there’s nothing especially distinctive about them as a group. Perhaps there is one thing and it might be worth taking note of. Each of them is willing to do something they’ve never done before…every day. -more-


Garden Variety No Need to Rush Those Gardening Decisions By RON SULLIVAN

Friday January 20, 2006

You’ve found it! You’ve signed on the line, committed a scary amount of money and time, got your own piece of ground, a roof of your own over your own head, no landlord to answer to and the freedom to garden as you please. Congratulations! -more-


Public Comment

Arts Calendar

Friday January 20, 2006

FRIDAY, JAN. 20 -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Give Purple a Chance in Berkeley By BECKY O'MALLEY

Friday January 20, 2006

Every year about this time I start feeling my California confusion. Though I’ve lived here for most of my life, my imprinting on the proper rhythm of the seasons came in the years I spent as a child and again as a young adult in the East and Midwest, where January is cold and the trees are bare. But even though the holiday wreath of bay leaves on our front door is still fresh and green, the spring bulbs next to the door are coming up fast, and the pear tree next door is already covered with white blossoms. Spring is here already, though this year, with a long warm fall, winter lasted less than a month. -more-


Arts Listings

Berkeley This Week

Friday January 20, 2006

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Give Purple a Chance in Berkeley By BECKY O'MALLEY 01-20-2006

Public Comment

Arts Calendar 01-20-2006

News

Neighbors Oppose Ashby BART Project By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-20-2006

Panel: What Makes a Great Downtown? By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-20-2006

Housing Authority Director Resigns Under Cloud of Suspicion By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-20-2006

Regents Pass Employee Compensation Reform By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-20-2006

City, Kennedy Lawyers Discuss Gaia Controversy By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-20-2006

City Attorney Narrowly Avoids State Supreme Court’s Wrath By MIKE McKEE San Francisco Recorder 01-20-2006

Council Rings in New Year With Unfinished BusinessBy SUZANNE LA BARRE Special to the Planet 01-20-2006

Defeating Alito with Cookies and Milk 01-20-2006

Correction 01-20-2006

Elena Fernández Herr 1920-2006 By Richard Herr 01-20-2006

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-20-2006

Column: Dispatches From The Edge: Planning the Next War: White House Targets Iran By Conn Hallinan 01-20-2006

Column: UnderCurrents: Punishing Politicians for Doing the Right Thing By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-20-2006

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 01-20-2006

Letters to the Editor 01-20-2006

Commentary: Two Halves Needed for a Whole Downtown By ALAN TOBEY 01-20-2006

Commentary Parsing the Derby Street Proposals By MARK McDONALD 01-20-2006

Commentary Exit Exam is Misguided Educational Policy By KEN STANTON 01-20-2006

Commentary: Jackson, King and the Business of Black Leadership By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Pacific News Service 01-20-2006

China, Taiwan Crack Down on Korean Soap Operas By EUGENIA CHIEN Pacific News Service 01-20-2006

Correction 01-20-2006

Barn Owls in Berkeley? Learn How to Keep Them Here By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 01-20-2006

About the House: Yes, You Really Can Learn To Do It Yourself By MATT CANTOR 01-20-2006

Garden Variety No Need to Rush Those Gardening Decisions By RON SULLIVAN 01-20-2006

Cal OSHA Investigates Worker’s Fatal Fall By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Berkeley High Student Murdered In Drive-By Shooting By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Oakland Mayor’s Race Picks Up Steam As Candidates Start Campaigning By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-17-2006

Warm Water Pool Fate Still Bleak, Says Councilmember By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station Development Plans Remain on Hold By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

No Radioactive Waste Found at Richmond Site By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Extra Staffer Hired for South Berkeley Post Office By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 01-17-2006

Police Drug Evidence Abuse Probe Launched By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Downtown Panel to Hear from Experts By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Council Faces Light Agenda By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 01-17-2006

Correction 01-17-2006

Two Berkeley High Students Search for a New Home By ANNIE KASSOF Special to the Planet 01-17-2006

Principal Gives BHS Good Marks in Annual Address By YOLANDA HUANG Special to the Planet 01-17-2006

Column: Riding the Bus With Shipwreck and Louis Sachar By SUSAN PARKER 01-17-2006

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS 01-17-2006

Letters to the Editor 01-17-2006

Response to Story on Anna’s Jazz Island 01-17-2006

Commentary: Why Attack the Landmarks Ordinance? By Roger Marquis 01-17-2006

Commentary: Teaching My SonOne of Life’sHardest Lessons By CAROLYN DOELLING 01-17-2006

Commentary: Campbell Coe: Not a Myth to Many By SANDY ROTHMAN 01-17-2006

A Few Good Places to Hear Poetry in Berkeley By Jake Fuchs Special to the Planet 01-17-2006

Arts Calendar 01-17-2006

News Analysis: Religious Martyrdom is a European Ideal, Too By PAOLO PONTONIERE Pacific News Service 01-17-2006

News Analysis: Arab Analysts Give Nod to Favored Oscar Contenders By JALAL GHAZI Pacific News Service 01-17-2006

Recent Winter Storms Blew Red Phalaropes Ashore By JOE EATON Special to the Planet 01-17-2006

Berkeley This Week 01-17-2006

Arts & Events

Berkeley This Week 01-20-2006