Columnists

Column: The Public Eye ‘Why We Fight’ Doesn’t Go Far Enough By Bob Burnett

Friday February 24, 2006

Eugene Jarecki’s documentary Why We Fight is playing at several Bay Area theaters, including downtown Berkeley’s Shattuck Cinemas. Although it won the grand jury prize for documentaries at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and made a much-touted appearance on the BBC, for a considerable period it appeared that the film wouldn’t be seen in the United States. Finally Sony agreed to distribute Why We Fight and it opened nationwide on Feb. 10. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Anti-Arab Racism Haunts Dubai Port Deal By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday February 24, 2006

There is a certain boy-caught-with-matches quality to the Bush administration’s reactions regarding the U.S. port terminal transfers, like the little kid who has been busy setting fires all over the neighborhood and then finds, to his horror, that his own playhouse is suddenly threatened. -more-


Exploring Berkeley’s Southside By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet

Friday February 24, 2006

Symbiotically, the University of California and the city of Berkeley are partners, not always in harmony. Since 1873 when students, professors and their educational accouterments moved from downtown Oakland to the new site above Oceanview, both have prospered. -more-


Gorman Building Rehab a Genuine Success Story By JOHN ENGLISH Special to the Planet

Friday February 24, 2006

For an object lesson in preservation go to the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Parker Street where the old Gorman building has emerged from an exemplary rehab project. This historic structure with roots deep in the 19th century can now ably serve the 21st. -more-



Garden Variety: Tips For Finding the Right Tree for Your Garden By RON SULLIVAN

Friday February 24, 2006

We’re nearing the end of bare-root tree season, but we can buy and plant a tree any time of the year here, lucky us. But picking out the right tree in a nursery can be confusing, and a tree is (one hopes) an investment that we’ll be living with for years. -more-


Column: Andrew Boyd: A Guy With a Lot of Projects By SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday February 21, 2006

My friend Andrew is back in town for some high-level, covert schmoozing. I last wrote about Andrew Boyd in 2004 when he was in the Bay Area directing a street theater effort against the Bush administration’s economic policies. Andrew is the founder of Billionaires for Bush, a do-it-yourself grassroots media campaign using humor and drama to expose politicians who support big business interests at the expense of everyday Americans. -more-


Canary Island Pine Trees Find a Home in East Bay By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet

Tuesday February 21, 2006

You’ve probably seen Canary Island pines around Berkeley, though I don’t know of any that are official street trees. They’re spotted in groups around the UC campus—there’s one near the Campanile—and they show up in various civic plantings, on big lawns and open spaces. They’re big trees—the largest pine native to the “Old World”—with a soft look when they’re mature. -more-