Opinion

In this space on Friday we talked about how the major newspaper chains have been taken over by the Wall Street investment model, wherein profits must continually be maximized, and where papers and chains of papers have been dumped when profits dip to 19 percent. On Sunday night we attended a forum at the lately resuscitated Hillside Club, where the enterprising Sylvia Paull had convened a panel to discuss this proposition: -more-

The buzz this week in journalistic circles has been all about the Knight Ridder corporation selling itself off to the McClatchy organization. Last week’s panic in the press—fears that the chain would fall into the wrong hands—was momentarily superseded by euphoria in “responsible” quarters, notably the New York Times, because of the wholesome reputation for solid journalism that McClatchy’s California flagships have nourished over the years. -more-

BERKELEY UTOPIA -more-

The City of Berkeley, members of the city government, Anna De Leon, and Panoramic Interest have spent weeks, months, years, and thousands of your tax dollars debating and clarifying the issues of the Gaia Arts Center. In an attempt to bring controversy about the Gaia Arts Center back to city government, Ms. De Leon is using her status as an attorney, misinterpretation of the facts, and influential friends in the city government to encourage city planning officials and the ZAB to reexamine the Gaia Arts Center and modify zoning. -more-

A decade ago we led the successful community effort to rebuild the tot-lot at Thousand Oaks School Park in conjunction with the daylighting of Blackberry Creek. As Glen Kohler has stated (letter to the editor, Feb. 21), the daylighting project was a wrenching experience for our neighborhood. Replying to Kohler, Urban Creeks Council leader Carol Schemmerling (Feb. 28) wrote: “There were indeed, advocates and critics (after all this is Berkeley)…” -more-

Two weeks ago, some local residents spotted something truly special in Codornices Creek: a pair of adult steelhead trout—a federally listed threatened species—trying to build nests (“redds”) for their eggs. Fortunately, Friends of Five Creeks and the Urban Creeks Council were able to capture these spawning attempts on film for the first time ever on this creek (you can view the video clip at www.urbancreeks.org). -more-

HARD CHOICES -more-

“Purcell Daniels Jr., A Humble Hero” -more-

The Supreme Court has gotten many things wrong over the years but the decision to uphold the Solomon Amendment is good Constitutional law. Unfortunately for those hoping to stem the tide of homophobia, the Constitution offers little protection. -more-

“U.S. Launches Invasion of Iran,” or maybe, “Nuclear Ultimatum Delivered to Pakistan.” We can imagine these screaming headlines in the Chronicle. This is unlikely to happen now, but it may not be for the next American president. -more-

I sat through Tom Bates’ long introduction to his “mayor’s breakfast” at the Vault today, listening to his iteration of all the things he is doing for Berkeley. I have little framework for evaluating much of what he had to say. Sounds like he’s taking on every relevant issue—locally, nationally, globally—right here in Berkeley. -more-

I commend the Daily Planet for running several good and timely commentary pieces lately concerning the proposed Ashby BART development. Bob Wrenn’s piece (2/28) made the important case for going ahead with the project even though it has “gotten off on the wrong foot.” His reasons include providing needed housing for low and very-low income people, for the disabled, and for senior citizens. -more-

I worked at Jim Doten Honda as a mechanic for 15 years. The average tenure of the mechanics was about 20 years. -more-

I feel a little bit helpless. The words have been spoken, declared and proclaimed. “We are not moving.” What used to be a flower has wilted and died. The Flea Market is not what it used to be. I doubt that many of the sellers there are actually from the neighborhood. To me it’s just another example of people from outside the neighborhood coming in and dictating to us how it’s going to be. -more-

Mid morning on January 26th I was just about to call Allan’s house to see how he was doing, when my phone rang. It was Susan calling from work to tell me she’d just read the announcement of his death. It felt very strange. An important part of my life had suddenly become the past. -more-