News

Parents and Kids Prepare for Kindergarten

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday June 30, 2006

The first foray into kindergarten can feel overwhelming for many children who have not previously attended preschool. From socializing with others to learning to hold a writing implement, youngsters with no prior schooling may struggle where their peers forge ahead. -more-


Council Faces City Housing Authority’s Failures

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday June 30, 2006

The Housing Authority Board convened for an extended meeting Tuesday to face the bitter reality that the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) is a troubled agency. -more-


Ward Quits OUSD, Takes District Post In San Diego

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 30, 2006

The future of the administration of the Oakland Unified School District—as well as the future of OUSD’s downtown administrative properties—fell into considerable confusion this week with the decision by the San Diego County Board of Education to hire state administrator Randy Ward as their administrator. -more-


Convicted Drug Officer Not Yet Serving Sentence

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 30, 2006

The former Berkeley police sergeant convicted of grand theft and felony possession of heroin and methamphetamine was not formally sentenced to home detention Tuesday, as was expected, due to a paperwork snafu. -more-


Presidential Impeachment Measure on November Ballot

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 30, 2006

Excoriating George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney for defiling the constitution, the Berkeley City Council spoke out with one voice Tuesday night, voting unanimously to place a referendum on the November ballot to poll Berkeley citizens on the question of impeaching the president and vice president. -more-


Council Rejects ‘Clean Money’ Measure, Adopts New Budget

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 30, 2006

Ignoring commission advice, the Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday not to place public financing of local elections before the voters in November. The Fair Campaign Practices Commission had voted 7-1 last week to support putting “clean money” on the local ballot. -more-


Planning Commission OKs In-Lieu Condo Fees, Library Gardens’ Condo Map

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 30, 2006

Berkeley planning commissioners Tuesday voted to urge the City Council to adopt a new in-lieu fee for condo developers designed to create more affordable housing for the city’s poorer residents. -more-


Federal Deadline Arrives for BUSD Paraprofessionals

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday June 30, 2006

The union representing about 370 paraprofessionals and other classified employees is accusing the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) of failing to avert layoffs in the face of newly effective No Child Left Behind mandates. -more-


Alternative High Students Protest Exclusion from Graduation Event

By Suzanne La Barre
Friday June 30, 2006

A handful of students from the Berkeley Alternative High School claim they were denied participation in unofficial graduation festivities earlier this month. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 30, 2006

Berkeley experienced an unusual rash of drive-by assaults during a four-day period from June 13-19, starting with paintballs, escalating to a lemon and culminating in a drive-by shooting that left a Brentwood man with a leg wound. Another shooting, this one with no injuries, followed. -more-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 30, 2006

Watery rescue -more-


Condos Dominate Planning Agenda

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday June 27, 2006

Planning commissioners will be juggling political hot potatoes Wednesday night, ranging from condos to landmarks and Telegraph Avenue. -more-


Housing Authority Faces Friday Federal Deadline

By Suzanne La Barre
Tuesday June 27, 2006

The deadline for the embattled Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) to correct a laundry list of managerial deficiencies is fast approaching. -more-


Trader Joe’s Project Moves to Design Review

By Suzanne La Barre
Tuesday June 27, 2006

A Trader Joe’s in downtown Berkeley is one step closer to reality, following a vote by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday. -more-


Landmark Commissioners Find Flaws in Mayor’s Plan

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday June 27, 2006

“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-


Public Financing of Elections Clears Hurdle

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday June 27, 2006

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-


‘Opt Out’ Military Recruitment Bill Heads to State Senate

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday June 27, 2006

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-


Council to Debate Budget, Gaia Building, Public Comment

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday June 27, 2006

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-


Seagate/Arpeggio High-Rise Condo Project Set to Rise

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday June 27, 2006

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-


Supervisors Give $8 Million Bailout to Medical Center, Avert Layoffs

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday June 27, 2006

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-