News

Hundreds of people gathered at St. Joseph the Worker Church on Friday to mourn the death of 15-year-old Berkeley High School sophomore Alberto Salvador Villareal-Morales. -more-

A Hayward judge has handed down a mixed victory for Raymond Chamberlin’s lawsuit challenging the reduction of traffic lanes on Marin Avenue. -more-

Amid a flurry of controversy, KPFA-FM General Manager Roy Campanella II has stepped down. -more-

If an Oakland Public Works Agency guided walk around the south end of Lake Merritt was designed to dampen criticism of the city’s plan to remove more than 200 trees, it didn’t exactly work. -more-

AC transit’s plan to “delete” 44 bus stops in Berkeley, Alameda and Oakland next week to provide faster and more reliable service has angered many riders who depend on those stops. -more-

A much-anticipated Board of Trustees presentation on the Peralta Community College District International and Global Education Department has been postponed. -more-

With the approval of state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the lawsuit filed by environmentalists over the sale of Richmond’s Point Molate is history. -more-

Berkeley city councilmembers will hear an appeal Tuesday by the owner of Dwight Way Liquor, who wants to overturn a Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) decision declaring the store a public nuisance. -more-

Density bonuses, West Berkeley zoning changes and creeks are among the land use issues city officials will be considering this week. -more-

Opponents of a plan to build a shopping mall in a Golden Gate Fields parking lot are holding a rally Thursday in the form of an old-fashioned ice cream social. -more-

In an unprecedented crackdown on more than 500,000 absconders—illegal immigrants who have not followed deportation orders—U.S. authorities this year are nearly tripling the number of federal officers assigned to round up such fugitives. -more-

Brandisher boogies -more-

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia—The inauguration of Evo Morales as the first president of Bolivia of indigenous origins marks a watershed in the history of the Americas. The “caras,” whites and mestizos who have dominated Bolivia for centuries, are being replaced by an Indian who represents the country’s true majority. -more-

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-

What makes a great downtown? -more-

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-

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-

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-

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-

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-

Photo by Stephan Babuljak -more-

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 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-

Car slasher -more-

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-

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-

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

RENT CONTROL -more-

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-

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-

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-

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-

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-

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 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-

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-

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-