Condos Dominate Planning Agenda
Planning commissioners will be juggling political hot potatoes Wednesday night, ranging from condos to landmarks and Telegraph Avenue. -more-
Planning commissioners will be juggling political hot potatoes Wednesday night, ranging from condos to landmarks and Telegraph Avenue. -more-
The deadline for the embattled Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) to correct a laundry list of managerial deficiencies is fast approaching. -more-
A Trader Joe’s in downtown Berkeley is one step closer to reality, following a vote by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday. -more-
“I have heard again and again that the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) is being used to stop development, though it was never meant to,” said Patti Dacey Thursday. “That’s not true.” -more-
Despite the city attorney’s reluctance, the Fair Campaign Practices Commission voted 7-1 Thursday to ask the Berkeley City Council to put a measure before the voters in November that would support public financing for council and mayoral elections. -more-
A California bill designed to inform high school students and their parents of their right to withhold contact information from military recruiters won Republican support in the state legislature last week but not nearly enough to survive a possible gubernatorial veto. -more-
While City Manager Phil Kamlarz has detailed a $220,000 six-month Telegraph Avenue area improvement plan as part of his $300 million mostly fixed-cost budget that goes before the Berkeley City Council tonight (Tuesday), Councilmember Kriss Worthington will ask his colleagues to approve the funds but hold off on the plan specifics. -more-
In Monday morning’s bright sunlight, a front-end loader busily growled through the dwindling piles of rubble that are the last remnants of three Center Street buildings. -more-
Representatives of the hospital workers union which successfully lobbied county supervisors to provide an $8 million budget bailout for the Alameda County Medical Center say they will continue to monitor the situation to make sure that the center incurs no new round of layoffs. -more-
The Berkeley City Council has just asked the Arts Commission to “review and update the definition of ‘arts and crafts’ as referred to in the West Berkeley zoning, which will enable an inventory of such space to go forward and ensure that the space is protected, as stipulated in the West Berkeley Plan and the zoning.” So far, great: protecting arts/crafts space is essential. But if you read on, another agenda appears: “The commission will no doubt struggle with what constitutes arts and crafts as their practice has been modified by the advent of computers and advanced technology.” -more-
The City of Berkeley spends $89,000 annually to purchase goods that facilitate an efficient infrastructure and continued service. Police uniforms, computers for city offices, and accounting supplies are generally ordered from private vendors, who contract companies from across the world to manufacture the starting materials. -more-
Regarding UCB’s draft enviornmental impact report (DEIR) for the Southeast Campus Integrated Projects (SCIP), which include retrofitting Memorial stadium, a new Student Athlete High Performance Center (SAHPC), new parking garage, and other improvements, John Galen Howard was right. -more-
As she prepares to take to the stage at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura for the world premiere of Open Secrets, I thought your readers may be interested to learn how Berkeley’s famous daughter Karen Grassle saved my life almost 30 years ago when she was at the height of her fame, playing Caroline Ingalls in “Little House on the Prairie.” -more-
The Doubletree Hotel at the Marina, in the process of being sold to Canadian buyers, has raised hotel workers’ concern. -more-
Voters will determine 33 Senate seats in 2006. According to veteran D.C. prognosticator Charlie Cook, 16 incumbent senators are all but guaranteed reelection. In order to regain control of the Senate, Democrats will have to win at least six of the eight Republican seats that are in play and retain all nine of the contested Democratic seats. Here are the ten most interesting senatorial races: -more-
Joe and I spent a couple of days up in Humboldt County among the really big trees last week. We stayed in a motel on the Avenue of the Giants among the old redwoods, where we could sit on the front porch in the evening and listen to the Mozartian aria of hermit thrush and the haunting, minimalist song of varied thrush, a bird has perfected wabi-sabi. -more-
News of Doubletree Sale Worries Hotel Workers 06-27-2006
Editorial: A Few Caveats and a Contest 06-23-2006
Letters to the Editor 06-27-2006
Commentary: Defining Artisans Out of Existence By John Curl 06-27-2006
Commentary: A No-Sweat Method To Make Berkeley Sweat-Free By Igor Tregub 06-27-2006
Commentary: John Galen Howard Was Right By Helen Burke 06-27-2006
Commentary: A Note of Thanks to Karen Grassle By Maureen McAlorum 06-27-2006
Letters to the Editor 06-23-2006
Commentary: Noise + Traffic = Flight: Saving Urban Neighborhoods By Joanne Kowalski 06-23-2006
Commentary: Is Berkeley the Neo-Con City? By Bonnie Hughes 06-23-2006
Condos Dominate Planning Agenda By Richard Brenneman 06-27-2006
Housing Authority Faces Friday Federal Deadline By Suzanne La Barre 06-27-2006
Trader Joe’s Project Moves to Design Review By Suzanne La Barre 06-27-2006
Landmark Commissioners Find Flaws in Mayor’s Plan By Richard Brenneman 06-27-2006
Public Financing of Elections Clears Hurdle By Judith Scherr 06-27-2006
‘Opt Out’ Military Recruitment Bill Heads to State Senate By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-27-2006
Council to Debate Budget, Gaia Building, Public Comment By Judith Scherr 06-27-2006
Seagate/Arpeggio High-Rise Condo Project Set to Rise By Richard Brenneman 06-27-2006
Supervisors Give $8 Million Bailout to Medical Center, Avert Layoffs By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-27-2006
Homophobic Speech Sours Community Graduation Event By Suzanne La Barre 06-23-2006
Council Decides Not to Decide On Landmark Law Revisions By Judith Scherr 06-23-2006
After Announcing Property Sale, OUSD Proposes Borrowing Funds By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-23-2006
La Fiesta Owners Celebrate Life Together on Telegraph By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-23-2006
Library Gardens Going Condo By Richard Brenneman 06-23-2006
Council Looks at Budget, Approves Garbage Hikes By Judith Scherr 06-23-2006
Wishing Well Supporters Urge Council to Save Local Free Box By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-23-2006
City Clerk Cox Quits Post To Take Position in Napa By Judith Scherr 06-23-2006
BUSD Teachers’ Union Demands Apology for Pay Dock Threat By Suzanne La Barre 06-23-2006
Berkeley Schools Hires New Assistant Superintendent By Suzanne La Barre 06-23-2006
Shattuck Cinemas Workers Get Union By Judith Scherr 06-23-2006
Protestors Rally at BART Station Against Deaths In Gaza By Judith Scherr 06-23-2006
Le Conte Neighbors Fume Over Storage Facility Construction By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-23-2006
Mayor Seeks Funds for Ashby BART Plan Study By Richard Brenneman 06-23-2006
Judge Awards Legal Fees to Opponents of Pt. Molate Casino By Richard Brenneman 06-23-2006
DAPAC Demands Access, Hears Downtown Hotel Plan By Richard Brenneman 06-23-2006
Police Blotter By Richard Brenneman 06-23-2006
Column: The Public Eye: Campaign 2006: Top 10 Senate Races By Bob Burnett 06-27-2006
Douglas-Fir Builds and Graces Towns, Creates Splendid Forests By Ron Sullivan, Special to the Planet 06-27-2006
Column: The Public Eye: Downtown Plan: One Good Afternoon, Lingering Suspicions By Michael Katz 06-23-2006
Column: Dispatches From the Edge: Gaza Shrapnel; Timor Haste; Turin Trouncing By Conn Hallinan 06-23-2006
Column: Undercurrents: Hopes Soar as the Dellums Era Begins in Oakland By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-23-2006
At Home in Northbrae By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet 06-23-2006
East Bay Then and Now: An Enchanting Country House Echoes East Coast Follies By Daniella Thompson 06-23-2006
About the House: Paint Jobs: The Good, The Bad and The Best By Matt Cantor 06-23-2006
Garden Vartiety: Corporations Budding In On Local Garden Shops By Ron Sullivan 06-23-2006
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 06-23-2006
Arts Calendar 06-27-2006
‘Inspector General’ at the Berkeley City Club By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 06-27-2006
Books: Czeslaw Milosz: The Poet in His Times By Phil McArdle, Special to the Planet 06-27-2006
Douglas-Fir Builds and Graces Towns, Creates Splendid Forests By Ron Sullivan, Special to the Planet 06-27-2006
Berkeley This Week 06-27-2006
Arts Calendar 06-23-2006
Moving Pictures: Account of The Harrowing Road to Guantanamo By Justin DeFreitas 06-23-2006
Poets and Writers Organize Benefit for Katrina Victims By Ken Bullock Special to The Planet 06-23-2006
At Home in Northbrae By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet 06-23-2006
East Bay Then and Now: An Enchanting Country House Echoes East Coast Follies By Daniella Thompson 06-23-2006
About the House: Paint Jobs: The Good, The Bad and The Best By Matt Cantor 06-23-2006
Garden Vartiety: Corporations Budding In On Local Garden Shops By Ron Sullivan 06-23-2006
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 06-23-2006
Berkeley This Week 06-23-2006