When Councilmember Laurie Capitelli introduced new elements to a draft Landmarks Preservation Ordinance at a council meeting earlier this month with no notice to the public, some community members cried foul. -more-
An agreement between the chief of the Oakland Police Department and the powerful Oakland Police Officers Association union to put more officers on Oakland’s streets at peak crime times delivers considerably fewer officers than first proposed by the chie f, and appears to do so at considerably greater cost. -more-
Something’s foul at the Alternative High School. -more-
The Gaia Building, the heart of one of Berkeley’s longest-running political and cultural dramas, is heading back for another look by the same city panel that approved its construction. -more-
Berkeley police made the biggest pot bust in the department’s recent history Wednesday, and they wanted people to know. -more-
The City Council meets tonight, Tuesday, first at 5:30 p.m. as the Redevelopment Agency, then at 7 p.m., in its regular role. -more-
Decision time is fast approaching for the hotly debated creeks ordinance, but Creeks Task Force members are still torn over how to regulate the city’s hidden waterways. -more-
At last Thursday’s Berkeley Transportation Commission meeting, the board unanimously passed a motion asking for a transportation services fee (TSF) to be approved by the City Council at its July 11 meeting. -more-
Aficionados of Himalayan cuisine can eat their hearts out tonight (Tuesday), knowing that they’re doing good by eating well. -more-
More than 75 percent of Berkeley voters would support a renewed school parcel tax, a new survey says. -more-
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 which was passed in February 2006 by Congress and signed by President Bush included language that essentially overturned the Rosales v. Thompson decision handed down by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The decision in Rosales broadened the eligibility criteria for federal foster care funding under Title IV-E, which enabled children to be found eligible for Title IV-E. -more-
No need for tears. Joseph Charles wouldn’t have wanted that. He would have wanted you to smile—or wave. And he would have definitely wanted you to cheer. On March 22, members of the Berkeley NAACP Youth & College Division are coming together to celebrate the legacy of Mr. Charles, Berkeley’s “Waving Man.” -more-
Caught between a steady chorus of warnings by local voting rights activists and a looming deadline to begin preparations for the November elections, Alameda County Supervisors voted narrowly this week to begin negotiations with two companies for the poss ible purchase of paper-verified electronic voting machines. But even supervisors who supported the negotiations cautioned that the vote does not necessarily mean that new electronic voting machines will actually be bought. -more-
Diamonds are forever, so the Berkeley Board of Education is starting small. It will build an open field. -more-
People who turn to the Internet for information about Berkeley crimes will get both more and less information than they did before, but much more attractively packaged. -more-
There have been many Betties. -more-
While he has little experience in city government, Zachary RunningWolf, who formally announced his candidacy for mayor on Wednesday, says he knows what Berkeley needs. -more-
By unanimous vote, environmentalist and former Berkeley City Councilmember Nancy Skinner was named Monday to fill a vacant seat on the board of the East Bay Regional Parks District. -more-
UC Berkeley officials, athletes and contractors staged a full-court press at Memorial Stadium Monday, offering soft drinks and cookies along with the reasons they said everyone should support their massive building plans around the aging facility. -more-
Issues of race, poverty and neglect dominated during the next-to-final hand of a high stakes gamble over the future of North Richmond. -more-
The “backdoor agreement” that outlines pollution management of Pacific Steel Casting must be revoked, environmental groups say. -more-
A vote by Alameda County Supervisors this week to remove a controversial trustee from the board of the Alameda County Medical Center may not necessarily stop pending legal action against the county for her original removal from the board. -more-
They scream obscenities at the teacher during class and show up all smiles to chat after school; they defy curfews and curl up in their mothers’ laps; they’re ready to live on their own and can’t make a sandwich; they sleep with boyfriends and play with Barbies; they live on chips and cry over acne. -more-
Lauralaura is an 18YO SWF (18-year-old single white female, for the uninitiated) from Berkeley who likes Goth parties. -more-
At Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Berkeley Board of Education meeting, directors approved: -more-
On a balmy Saturday morning, a doctor, a lawyer, a software engineer, and a smattering of others gathered in a room in West Berkeley to learn how to install windows, doors, and skylights. -more-
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-
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-
“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-
In the three years I’ve attended San Francisco State as an MFA student, I’ve developed a consuming interest in the theater. Brian Thorstenson, whose play Shadow Crossing is now at the Berkeley City Club, was the first instructor to inspire me in the craft of playwriting. In his course, “Reading and Viewing Plays,” we read and saw half a dozen live performances, and watched several on tape. We analyzed and critiqued, then copied scenes from each play, put them into our own words and voices, and made them our stories. -more-
Once it’s reached adulthood a Monterey cypress is easy to recognize, though it takes wildly different shapes depending on whether it’s near the ocean shore, its native habitat, or inland even only a few miles. Its native habitat, in fact, is the very small section of coastland between Monterey and Point Lobos. If it were only there, it would be rare—and most likely endangered—just because its range would be so small. But it’s handsome and easy to grow from seed, so it’s in cultivation and part of human-made landscapes all over the world. -more-
Some elections to keep an eye on. Last month’s massive demonstrations in Bangkok demanding the resignation of Thailand Prime Minister Thanksin Shinawatra focused on the media mogul’s avoidance of $100 million in taxes. But underlying the charges of corruption is a growing allergy to Thanksin’s heavy-handed approach to any opposition, a result of his scorched-earth policy toward Muslims in the country’s southern provinces. -more-
In journalism, we are taught to look for social and political faultlines, the spots were the various forces of our society rub against each other, and sometimes collide. Usually, these are only tiny cracks in the social fabric that are barely visible, even to the trained eye. But sometimes they are a mile wide and if you lean over and peer inside, you can actually see what’s really going on. You have to look quickly, however. These things close up fast and even before they do, there’s folks running around with their smoke-blowing machines, trying to make you believe that what you are seeing is not actually what you are seeing. -more-
“I hope this cheese comes from happy cows,” I overheard the customer ask at the Marin French Cheese Company. He’d just purchased pounds of Rouge and Noir in several varieties and was perhaps double-checking his investment. The cows and I were equally cont ent as I cruised country roads, tasting locally produced cheeses, gathering picnic goodies and basking in nature’s bounty. -more-
Today was a good day. I started it off with the inspection of a gorgeous house. Did I say gorgeous? No, glorious. It was so true to the aesthetic of the period as to be a sensorial feast. It was actually a very simple house. Built in 1912, a “classic box,” aka, Classic Revival. One of those simple, almost-but-not-quite boxy designs that usually has a little bay front and almost always has a porch on one corner punctuated by a single classical column. There are thousands in the our area so I’m sure you know the one I mean. -more-
All right, up and at ’em. The only cure I know for the March Muddy Blues is time spent with eager green plants, and since it’s still too wet to mess in the mid in most of our gardens, the place to mingle is the neighborhood nursery. -more-
We recently had a call from a woman who wanted some advice about her current home loan and whether we would recommend a refinance. After investigating her circumstances, hearing her story, and questioning her about the process she had gone through, I understood why there are consumer-rights groups wanting to regulate the mortgage industry. Her story spoke not only about a mortgage professional who was more interested in their own paycheck than the best interests of their client, but to a very popular loan program, that in my opinion, should be regulated very carefully. -more-
Once it’s reached adulthood a Monterey cypress is easy to recognize, though it takes wildly different shapes depending on whether it’s near the ocean shore, its native habitat, or inland even only a few miles. Its native habitat, in fact, is the very small section of coastland between Monterey and Point Lobos. If it were only there, it would be rare—and most likely endangered—just because its range would be so small. But it’s handsome and easy to grow from seed, so it’s in cultivation and part of human-made landscapes all over the world. -more-
Sistah Kee, aka Kito Gamble, will bring her original music to Yoshi’s on Jack London Square Monday night, March 20, for shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., rapping and singing at the keyboard to celebrate her debut CD on Gamble Girls Records, Represent. She’ll be backed by a full horn section, guitar and rhythm section, violin and cello, plus three backup vocalists and her mother, noted jazz singer Faye Carol, deploying her celebrated scatting style. -more-
Alexander Bulkley’s The Zodiac is opening this week in limited release, and for good reason: it’s terrible. The distributors are probably just cutting their losses, sneaking the film in and out of theaters quickly and quietly, conceding the story and its audience to the upcoming big-budget version starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo, due for release this September. -more-
“The California earthquake stands between eight and ten at points of greatest disturbance; from which we may trust our senses to the extent of believing that it was no small affair,” wrote Stanford scientist John C. Branner about April 18, 1906. -more-
“I hope this cheese comes from happy cows,” I overheard the customer ask at the Marin French Cheese Company. He’d just purchased pounds of Rouge and Noir in several varieties and was perhaps double-checking his investment. The cows and I were equally cont ent as I cruised country roads, tasting locally produced cheeses, gathering picnic goodies and basking in nature’s bounty. -more-
Today was a good day. I started it off with the inspection of a gorgeous house. Did I say gorgeous? No, glorious. It was so true to the aesthetic of the period as to be a sensorial feast. It was actually a very simple house. Built in 1912, a “classic box,” aka, Classic Revival. One of those simple, almost-but-not-quite boxy designs that usually has a little bay front and almost always has a porch on one corner punctuated by a single classical column. There are thousands in the our area so I’m sure you know the one I mean. -more-
All right, up and at ’em. The only cure I know for the March Muddy Blues is time spent with eager green plants, and since it’s still too wet to mess in the mid in most of our gardens, the place to mingle is the neighborhood nursery. -more-
We recently had a call from a woman who wanted some advice about her current home loan and whether we would recommend a refinance. After investigating her circumstances, hearing her story, and questioning her about the process she had gone through, I understood why there are consumer-rights groups wanting to regulate the mortgage industry. Her story spoke not only about a mortgage professional who was more interested in their own paycheck than the best interests of their client, but to a very popular loan program, that in my opinion, should be regulated very carefully. -more-
