Opponents of the Ashby BART project gathered before the task force meeting Monday evening. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
Opponents of the Ashby BART project gathered before the task force meeting Monday evening. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.

Extra

Flash: Caltrans Nixs Ashby Bart Planning Grant

Friday May 26, 2006

The City of Berkeley will not get a Caltrans Community-based Transit Planning Grant to plan a large condo development for the west parking lot of the Ashby BART station. Winning cities were posted on the Caltrans web site late Friday afternoon, and Berkeley was not among them. -more-



Page One

Landlords Blamed for Telegraph’s Troubles

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 26, 2006

Responding to a package of proposals aimed at shoring up struggling businesses on Telegraph Avenue—more police, social services, better marketing, upgraded facades, brighter lighting, faster permitting and a new green machine to scrub the sidewalks—Marc Weinstein, owner of Amoeba Music, shared a unique perspective on the Avenue’s economic downturn at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. -more-



Jeers Greet Ashby BART Task Force Members at First Meeting

By Richard Brenneman
Friday May 26, 2006

Tempers flared and jeers erupted Monday night at the first public meeting of the task force outlining the scope of a major private development on public land. -more-



Budget Crunch Kills Laney Child Center

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 26, 2006

A group of Laney College students received an unpleasant surprise in the mail earlier this month: a notice that because of budget problems, the Laney College Children’s Center was closing its infant and toddler day care program effective the end of this school year. -more-



Friends Remember Andrew Martinez

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday May 26, 2006

Andrew Martinez’s funeral was Thursday, but a memorial will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. in People’s Park. -more-



Berkeley High Student Elections Hit Rules Impasse

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday May 26, 2006

Students are set to vote in the Berkeley High School elections Wednesday, but a communications snafu is casting a shadow over the democratic process. -more-



Features

Spanish-Speaking Families Warned to Skip Demonstrations

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday May 26, 2006

More than 200 Spanish-speaking parents and students received calls from Berkeley schools late last month, urging students to attend school May 1 or suffer consequences. -more-


Council Postpones Finance Law, Votes Yes on Rebuilding

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 26, 2006

Public financing of election campaigns is one way to shield public officials from the influence of big money. But when the question of placing a measure on Berkeley’s November ballot calling for public financing for all local elected offices came before the City Council Tuesday, councilmembers hesitated. -more-


Newcomer Steps Into Mayor’s Race

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 26, 2006

A recent Stanford grad, Christian Pecaut, 25, is ready to change the world. He wants to start as Berkeley’s next mayor. -more-


Willa Klug Baum, 1926-2006

By Brandon Baum
Friday May 26, 2006

Willa Klug Baum, an internationally respected oral historian, passed away on May 18, 2006, following back surgery. Her pioneering work in oral history methodology and interview techniques served as the foundation for the establishment and growth of oral history as a unique academic discipline. -more-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday May 26, 2006

Power outage -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Friday May 26, 2006

May 5 -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday May 26, 2006

SAVE ICELAND -more-


Commentary: Dispensing Marijuana in El Cerrito

By Peter Loubal
Friday May 26, 2006

On May 15 the City Council voted in favor of a “Del Norte Marijuana Dispensary Zone,” without a public hearing or local presence. Oakland’s “Oaksterdam” district and Richmond’s Pot Shops have shown how hard it is to help chronic pain sufferers while evading potential damage to “society.” Top quality cannabis can cost more than gold. If legalized, it could be grown as easily as, say, basil. The sick clamor for “at cost” medical use attracts idealists, profiteers and attorneys. Drug companies devise new methods for medical “inhaling.” Tobacco and liquor interests ponder ways on how not to be cut out of potential profits. The State and federal legal standoff is unlikely to be resolved soon. The broader pros and cons of legalization are well beyond being a local matter. -more-


Shotgun’s ‘King Lear’ Takes Ashby Stage

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday May 26, 2006

“Blow winds, and crack your cheeks!” Nowhere else in Shakespeare are the elemental forces of nature so much in sync with primal human passions as in this tragedy of two dysfunctional families and a kingdom coming apart at the seams. -more-


Commentary: Chron Attack Machine Targets Ron Dellums

By Randy Shaw
Friday May 26, 2006

As the general election for Oakland mayor approaches, the San Francisco Chronicle is working hard to elect Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente and to defeat his chief rival, former Congressmember Ron Dellums. -more-


Moving Pictures: Cheung, Nolte Take ‘Clean’ Beyond Cliché

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday May 26, 2006

Clean is a film about picking up the pieces and putting them back together, about kicking a drug habit, about winning back the love of one’s child, about forgiveness and compassion, and almost every other road-to-redemption cliché you can think of. And yet somehow it succeeds. -more-


Commentary: Support Creeks Task Force Recommendations

By Helen Burke
Friday May 26, 2006

After a year and a half of listening to many perspectives and extensive deliberations, the Creeks Task Force (CTF) has carefully crafted a set of recommendations to revise the Creeks Ordinance that respects private property owners’ interests and protects the natural environment. (See www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ planning/landuse/creeks). The CTF Recommendations are now before the City Council. -more-


Moving Pictures: Real Face of ‘Baby Face’ Finally Revealed

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday May 26, 2006

Pacific Film Archive’s “A Theater Near You” series is a showcase for films that don’t make it to your local megaplex. This week PFA is featuring an encore screening of Baby Face, the notorious 1933 Pre-Code film that for decades was only seen in a heavily censored version. A negative of the original version was discovered in 2004 and the restored film has been circulating for about a year in advance of its upcoming DVD release. -more-


Commentary: Brower Center: Over-Hyped, Over-Sized, Over-Budget

By Michael Katz
Friday May 26, 2006

The “David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza,” intended to replace the city-owned parking lot at Oxford Street and Allston Way, recently received a key City Council endorsement. That’s noteworthy because this six-story development embodies admirable environmental and housing-equity goals. -more-


Commentary: The Oakland Land-Grab Conspiracy: Setting the Record Straight

By Sheila Jordan
Friday May 26, 2006

Columnist J. Douglas Allen-Taylor is to be commended for devoting attention to the situation in the Oakland schools. It is unfortunate that he did not take the trouble to check his facts and ask for comments from the people directly involved before committing his thoughts to print. His grand conspiracy theory, in which the Oakland schools crisis was just a pretext for an alleged land grab, would not have survived performance of these basic journalistic obligations. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Remembering the Cost of War

By Becky O’Malley
Friday May 26, 2006

When I was a child, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day. It functioned as a paler Midwestern version of Mexico’s colorful Dia de Los Muertos, a day for the dead. We went out to a big cemetery where several deceased family members were buried—our family plot included the grave of my uncle who had died not long before in World War II—and actually decorated the graves, or at least straightened them up. We helped clear away the weeds which had accumulated since the last winter, ran around a bit, and thought as much as children can about what it means to be dead. -more-


Columns

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: On the War Path in Iran, Nepal and Somalia

By Conn Hallinan
Friday May 26, 2006

Anyone who thinks the Bush administration is too far down in the polls to even contemplate attacking Iran should consider the following developments: -more-


Column: Undercurrents: The Pressing Problems of Public Transportation

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 26, 2006

Transportation—the stepchild of public issues—has suddenly resurfaced as a concern in certain Oakland political circles. -more-


A Tour of Richmond’s WWII Historic Sites

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 26, 2006

It’s not at all strange for a bus half-filled with important local officials to roll through the streets of a California city, pointing out tracts and plots and buildings along the way. It is unusual when the other half of the bus is filled with longtime city residents and community activists, and the purpose of the tour is not so much to plot the city’s future as it is to make sure its past is understood. -more-


Lingering in the Elmwood District

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday May 26, 2006

It’s a warm, breezy spring day. I’m sitting in the courtyard at Espresso Roma, lunching on a terrific spinach-mushroom frittata and watching the world of Elmwood pass by. Inside laptops silently hum while lattes are sipped. Though my meter is ticking I’m in no hurry to move. Once here, why would I want to leave? -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Pattiani House Emerges From Restoration

By Daniella Thompson
Friday May 26, 2006

In the 1880s and ‘90s, few East Bay architects were as fashionable as Alfred Washington Pattiani (1855–1935). Italian name notwithstanding, Pattiani, who was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, was descended from a well-to-do German family. His paternal grandfather, Alois Fahrnbacher of Landshut, Bavaria, was a tobacco manufacturer, commercial court assessor, and a member of the Bavarian parliament. -more-


About the House: Some Cures For Noisy Neighbors

By Matt Cantor
Friday May 26, 2006

A friend of mine has a bassist living upstairs who is still working out the chords to In a Gadda Da Vida after living there for about 12 years. My friend is a patient person but she’s begun to exhibit something of a tick and often looks dolefully into space for long periods of time, returning from her reverie only when the music has stopped for some short spell. -more-


Garden Variety: Some Tools and Tips for Bigger Gardening Chores

By Ron Sullivan
Friday May 26, 2006

I rarely venture into my garden with constructive intent but without my Felco pruners and my hori-hori. Most of the time those hand tools are enough because I have a very small garden. Sometimes, though, I need to do something that requires two hands and a bigger tool, and I have my favorites among those too. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday May 26, 2006

What’s Under Your Bed? -more-


Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Friday May 26, 2006

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Remembering the Cost of War 05-26-2006

Editorial: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish, Failed Levees 05-23-2006

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 05-26-2006

Commentary: Dispensing Marijuana in El Cerrito By Peter Loubal 05-26-2006

Shotgun’s ‘King Lear’ Takes Ashby Stage By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-26-2006

Commentary: Chron Attack Machine Targets Ron Dellums By Randy Shaw 05-26-2006

Moving Pictures: Cheung, Nolte Take ‘Clean’ Beyond Cliché By Justin DeFreitas 05-26-2006

Commentary: Support Creeks Task Force Recommendations By Helen Burke 05-26-2006

Moving Pictures: Real Face of ‘Baby Face’ Finally Revealed By Justin DeFreitas 05-26-2006

Commentary: Brower Center: Over-Hyped, Over-Sized, Over-Budget By Michael Katz 05-26-2006

Commentary: The Oakland Land-Grab Conspiracy: Setting the Record Straight By Sheila Jordan 05-26-2006

Letters to the Editor 05-23-2006

Commentary: Berkeley Public Library is Still a Vibrant Institution By Susan G. Kupfer 05-23-2006

Commentary: Library Service, Prestige Has Deteriorated 05-23-2006

Commentary: Connecting the Dots: Cheap Labor, Goods And Moral Values By Ken Norwood 05-23-2006

Commentary: Immigrant Crisis is Election Issue By Margot Smith 05-23-2006

News

Flash: Caltrans Nixs Ashby Bart Planning Grant 05-26-2006

Landlords Blamed for Telegraph’s Troubles By Judith Scherr 05-26-2006

Jeers Greet Ashby BART Task Force Members at First Meeting By Richard Brenneman 05-26-2006

Budget Crunch Kills Laney Child Center By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-26-2006

Friends Remember Andrew Martinez By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-26-2006

Berkeley High Student Elections Hit Rules Impasse By Suzanne La Barre 05-26-2006

Spanish-Speaking Families Warned to Skip Demonstrations By Suzanne La Barre 05-26-2006

Council Postpones Finance Law, Votes Yes on Rebuilding By Judith Scherr 05-26-2006

Newcomer Steps Into Mayor’s Race By Judith Scherr 05-26-2006

Willa Klug Baum, 1926-2006 By Brandon Baum 05-26-2006

Fire Department Log By Richard Brenneman 05-26-2006

Police Blotter By Richard Brenneman 05-26-2006

Ruby Harmon Celebrates Her Centennial Birthday By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-23-2006

BAM Curator Quits Over Exhibit Dispute By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-23-2006

BUSD Eyes West Campus For New Headquarters By Suzanne La Barre 05-23-2006

Jury Rejects Claims of Former Vista Head in Reverse Discrimination Suit By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-23-2006

Andrew Martinez, ‘The Naked Guy,’ Dies in Jail By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-23-2006

Progressive Convention Hammers Out A Platfom By Judith Scherr 05-23-2006

Hancock Bill Would Stop Berkeley Projects, Local Developers Say By Richard Brenneman 05-23-2006

Council to Look at Condo Conversion, Telegraph Ave. By Judith Scherr 05-23-2006

New Telecom Antennae Installations Before ZAB By Suzanne La Barre 05-23-2006

Berkeley Landmarks Ordinance Proposals Debated By Richard Brenneman 05-23-2006

Greenway Project Breaks Ground in Richmond By Richard Brenneman 05-23-2006

Berkeley Honda Is Back in Business By Suzanne La Barre 05-23-2006

Police Blotter By Richard Brenneman 05-23-2006

Fire Department Log By Richard Brenneman 05-23-2006

Columns

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: On the War Path in Iran, Nepal and Somalia By Conn Hallinan 05-26-2006

Column: Undercurrents: The Pressing Problems of Public Transportation By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-26-2006

A Tour of Richmond’s WWII Historic Sites By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-26-2006

Lingering in the Elmwood District By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet 05-26-2006

East Bay Then and Now: Pattiani House Emerges From Restoration By Daniella Thompson 05-26-2006

About the House: Some Cures For Noisy Neighbors By Matt Cantor 05-26-2006

Garden Variety: Some Tools and Tips for Bigger Gardening Chores By Ron Sullivan 05-26-2006

Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-26-2006

Column: Summer Reading Suggestions By Susan Parker 05-23-2006

Commentary: English-Only Laws Don’t Work, and Bush Knows It By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media 05-23-2006

The Sometimes-Mellower Gopher Snake: A Great Pretender? By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet 05-23-2006

Arts & Events

A Tour of Richmond’s WWII Historic Sites By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-26-2006

Lingering in the Elmwood District By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet 05-26-2006

East Bay Then and Now: Pattiani House Emerges From Restoration By Daniella Thompson 05-26-2006

About the House: Some Cures For Noisy Neighbors By Matt Cantor 05-26-2006

Garden Variety: Some Tools and Tips for Bigger Gardening Chores By Ron Sullivan 05-26-2006

Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-26-2006

Berkeley This Week 05-26-2006

Arts Calendar 05-23-2006

At the Theater: Golden Thread Brings ‘Island of Animals’ to Fremont By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 05-23-2006

The Sometimes-Mellower Gopher Snake: A Great Pretender? By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet 05-23-2006

Berkeley This Week 05-23-2006