Opinion

The Berkeley City Council’s special hearing on proposed revisions to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance was both impressive and discouraging. It was impressive because 40 articulate citizens showed up, many with statements written out in advance to take exactly three minutes, and many representing even larger numbers of signers including most of the city’s neighborhood organizations. All 40 and those they represented, probably adding up several thousand citizens, were in favor of maintaining the city’s current level of protection for historic resources. -more-

The press over the weekend was full of bad news about our security at home. The Associated Press got ahold of a leaked copy of the summary of the Congressional report on what went wrong with Katrina, and it sounds like a doozy. -more-

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

TRANSIT VILLAGE -more-

I haven’t seen the cartoons myself and frankly don’t care to (much in the same way if I hear that there is a porno picture that is being passed around, I probably wouldn’t want to see it; I rather personally dislike trashy things.) What I know is that they were printed in September and there were protests and outcries. Nothing was done. No apologies. Then, they were reprinted another time. And then the clerics caught on to it. And massive protests were organized and many people were genuinely outraged. I have to say, the stupidity of both sides astounds me and really shows some murky truths that further sadden me. First, how uncouth, how disrespectful, how racist, muslim-phobic do you have to be to mock another religion at its core of symbolism? All religions depend on symbolism. There is no imagery of the Prophet Muhammad because of a deep belief that no person should become a source of worship. Worship should be of God also left formless to take form in the individual. -more-

As a resident in the Ashby BART vicinity, I attended the city-sponsored meeting this past Saturday. The city had given us only four days notice before the meeting, and had not notified any area residents directly. Yet over 200 people were there, thanks in part to the Daily Planet’s good coverage of the City Council meeting. We were interested in learning the official view of the proposed BART parking lot project. -more-

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

UNREASONABLE RESTRICTIONS -more-

I don’t blame Jim Doten (Commentary, Daily Planet, Jan. 24) for being upset about having to pay $541,000 in withdrawal liability to cover his employees pensions. No one likes unexpected bills, not even millionaires. -more-

The Creeks Task Force (CTF), charged by the City Council to recommend revisions to the Creeks Ordinance, will hold its first Public Hearing on Feb. 15 at the North Berkeley Senior Center. At that Hearing, the CTF, of which I am a member, will be presenting a series of preliminary recommendations for public review and comment. These recommendations consist of four proposals (Options A-D) which can be seen on the city’s website at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/land use/creeks. -more-

On Feb. 21, the Berkeley City Council will hold a workshop on its policy concerning the conversion of rental units into condominiums. The council has for many years prohibited most conversions, but has recently opened the door to a minor extent because a San Francisco lawsuit cut the legs from under the council’s parallel prohibition of tenants-in-common sales. As a result, interest has been awakened in a topic long considered closed. -more-

I turned on the TV and there was a black boxer fighting a white boxer. I had the sound turned down and was blasting a Jimi Hendrix record while I was watching the fight. I had never seen or heard of either fighter before and didn’t know a thing about them. -more-