News

It’s official. Parents and children at Willard Park need a Pied Piper. And fast. -more-

An Oakland City Councilmember said Saturday that the Chief of the Oakland Police Department has a plan to almost triple the number of police officers on Oakland streets at peak crime periods, but said that implementation of the plan is being delayed by Mayor Jerry Brown and City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente because of opposition from the Oakland Police Officers Association labor union. -more-

The West Berkeley Bowl marketplace will usher in significant and unavoidable traffic, a new report says. -more-

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) wants to get rolling on a rapid bus route through Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro. -more-

The City Council will begin its session tonight (Tuesday) at 5 p.m. with a workshop looking at what it might mean for Berkeley to join other cities to replace PG&E with a locally owned energy supplier. -more-

Richmond City Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin announced Sunday that she will run for mayor in the November elections. -more-

A provision in the No Child Left Behind Act could threaten the jobs of as many as 76 Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) para-professionals. -more-

The message of this year’s annual Muslim Awareness Week was even more urgent than in previous years. -more-

Despite reports that the Albany Waterfront Coalition (AWC) plans a counter-intitiative to oppose a ballot measure being circulated by environmentalists to block a proposed shopping mall at Golden Gate Fields, no such proposal is in the works, says the group’s spokesperson. -more-

Simulated gun, real heist -more-

Despite the patrician heritage and the family fortune, Otis Chandler liked to come off as an ordinary guy. But he wasn’t, and that’s why he’ll be missed. -more-

Hills home fire -more-

BANGKOK—Catherine Deneuve, grand dame of world cinema, sat serenely on stage at the International Bangkok Film Festival recently and declared her admiration for Asian films thusly: “I think Brokeback Mountain is something special.” -more-

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez declares that his country is in the forefront of a new “Bolivarian revolution” sweeping Latin America. -more-

Students Organizing for Justice in the Americas (SOJA) staged a rally on the UC Berkeley campus Wednesday clad in “Sweat-free UC” signs—and little else. -more-

It was with a small nod to irony that Willi Paul, a professional community builder, admitted he made a name for himself in Berkeley by splitting a community group in two. -more-

Foes of a proposed shopping mall at Albany’s Golden Gate Fields race track filed notice Monday that they’ll begin circulating an initiative that would temporarily halt waterfront development. -more-

Egrets, coots, cyclists, Frisbee players, rowers, bat rays, leopard sharks, rats, squirrels—Aquatic Park offers something for the many species who live or hang out there. -more-

If you’ve been out recently for a walk beside the large lagoon at Aquatic Park —especially around the little wharf that extends into the water on the east side— you may have been struck by a very distinct, very bad odor. -more-

In what is quickly becoming a running political soap opera, the ouster of Alameda County Medical Center trustee Gwen Sykes took a new turn this week when Sykes participated in this week’s trustee meeting, insisting that she was still one of the 11 board members. -more-

Some members of the Berkeley Fire Department may be operating with expired paramedic certification. -more-

Think “transportation” and you’ll probably imagine trains, buses, cars and such. But the city’s Pedestrian Master Plan is focused on a more elemental method of travel. -more-

The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a massive $390 million construction bond measure Tuesday night, voting to place the issue before area voters on the June ballot. -more-