News

In the face of angry neighborhood opposition, Berkeley City Councilmember Max Anderson Tuesday withdrew his motion to have his council colleagues reaffirm support of a state grant to plan development at the Ashby BART station. -more-

City councilmembers voted Tuesday to spend the city’s full $1.23 million budget surplus, discussed proposed changes in city landmarks law and watched a tense confrontation between two of their colleagues over the issue of diversity in appointments, in addition to debating the proposed development project at the Ashby BART station. -more-

In a town where free speech is holy and libraries are sacred, library workers are claiming retaliation from management for speaking out about work-related issues. -more-

The Transportation Commission’s proposal to charge new developments and businesses a fee to offset the impacts of additional car traffic they cause has raised red flags with Community Economic Development Coordinator Dave Fogarty. -more-

The two-year-long labor dispute at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center hospitals appears at an end, with both sides announcing a settlement Thursday. -more-

Supporters filled the more than 200 seats in the City Council Chambers Tuesday evening for the annual State of the City address, applauding Mayor Tom Bates as he touted accomplishments over his three years in office and addressed the challenges of the coming year. -more-

Nevada County Sheriff’s investigators are seeking child molestation charges against a Berkeley firefighter already jailed on charges of possession of child pornography in his locker and a city-owned computer. -more-

As it nears its deadline for recommending a new creeks ordinance to the City Council, a citizen task force remains deeply divided, Chair Helen Burke told the Planning Commission Wednesday night. -more-

A recently-released chancellor’s report on the Peralta Community College District Office of International Affairs concludes that the controversial office is not spending “lavishly” on foreign meals, accommodations, and travel, giving a sharp rebuke to charges made by Peralta Trustee Marcie Hodge. -more-

Allegations last quoted in a Berkeley Daily Planet story have now surfaced in an employment termination lawsuit filed against the Peralta Community College District by a former president of Vista College (now Berkeley City College). -more-

The developers of a massive housing project that will feature a Trader’s Joe store at 1885 University Ave. will meet with neighbors Monday. -more-

False alarm, good drill -more-

This Friday and Saturday, the Berkeley High School drama department will be performing Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues. -more-

Since the beginning of time, people have been dispersed, by force or mutual consent, far from their homes. Through famine, political unrest, acts of nature and searches for a better life, many miles now separate groups from their ancestral habitations. With the belief that human life began in Africa, this continent is at the heart of the human spirit and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD) has opened in San Francisco to give voice to this spirit. -more-

Some stories are impossible to write as an objective reporter. -more-

Between Mayor Tom Bates’ State of the City address, a motion on the controversial Ashby BART housing project and a hearing on the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, Berkeley’s City Council will have its hands full tonight (Tuesday). -more-

Steve Barton, Berkeley’s housing director, said, “It’s probably the most complicated financial structure ever put together for a non-profit development in Berkeley, and quite possibly the most complicated for any Berkeley project.” -more-

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is demanding information from the U.S. military about a report of spying on UC students who have protested the Iraq war. -more-

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commissioners issued a scathing review of plans for the Prince Hall Arms, a four-story, 42-unit senior citizen residential and commercial building planned for 3132 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. -more-

Investigators seized more than 30,000 electronic child pornography images when they searched the locker last month of a Berkeley firefighter who is now being held in Santa Rita jail in lieu of $1 million in bail, said the prosecutor handling his case. -more-

Berkeley officers are investigating two different shooting reports that occurred during the predawn hours Sunday. -more-

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Hit, run, burn -more-

Planning commissioners will face a full agenda when they meet Wednesday night, while the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) faces a fairly light slate Thursday. -more-