Opinion

One of the few jokes I can remember is the one about the drunk who staggers from the bar to his car, only to realize that he’s dropped his keys somewhere. A friend comes across him two hours later, on his hands and knees under the lamppost on the corner. “Why are you still looking here?” the friend asks. “You must have dropped them nearer to the car.” The drunk responds that it’s too dark to see the keys on the ground near the car, which is why he’s still looking under the lamppost, where it’s easier to see. -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-

URBAN LEGEND -more-

In recent years, academics and consultants have emphasized the critical importance of leadership to the success of government and business enterprises. Leadership conveys an image of military daring, while management has come to be viewed as a technical subject, of interest only to those who have not yet reached positions of leadership. This attitude fits well with the interests of politicians, who are unlikely to have management experience, but may feel well qualified to offer leadership. Moreover, attacks on the failings of government bureaucracy—real or imagined—resonate with voters. -more-

I have traveled to far-off places just to visit quaint waterfronts where industrial detritus is turned into quirky outdoor art and the artists live in cohesive communities that also welcome strangers and wayfarers. In these funky enclaves, artisans, bohemians, working-class artists, students, and professionals live comfortably on the leftovers of former times-where recycle and reuse come naturally and beautifully. How does this sort of “organic” development grow and can you still find it in Oakland? You’d better look quickly before it is gentrified, calcified, and homogenized away leaving no open spaces, no gathering places, no real studios or workshops-only darkened patches of private yards. -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-