News

When Councilmember Dona Spring proposed that the Berkeley City Council ask voters to complete bond financing for a new warm pool two weeks ago, the issue died for lack of a second. -more-

Hoping to maintain affordable housing for the city’s most vulnerable citizens, local activists are rallying to save the beleaguered Berkeley Housing Authority. -more-

A proposal to perk up Telegraph Avenue with a new Peet’s Coffee and Tea is in the works. -more-

“Clean money” supporters failed to get the Berkeley City Council to place public financing on the November ballot two weeks ago, so they are calling out the troops to convince the body to approve the referendum at tonight’s (Tuesday) meeting. -more-

Berkeley gained a pair of new landmarks Thursday during a meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) dominated by projects planned on the UC Berkeley campus. -more-

Outgoing state administrator Randolph Ward is moving forward this week with the first of three public hearings to discuss the sale of the downtown Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) properties as education and political leaders and activists are escalating their challenge to both the proposed property sale and the continued state management of the district. -more-

Pacific Steel Casting, the subject of noxious odor complaints in West Berkeley for more than two decades, is headed to court. -more-

B-Tech Academy (formerly Berkeley Alternative High School) has secured a major grant from State Superintendent Jack O’Connell to help raise student achievement. -more-

Woman Dies in House Blaze -more-

Drive-by shooting -more-

If you’ve put in your eight-plus hours at the office, fought the traffic home, picked up your kids from childcare, no way are you going home to prepare a gourmet meal. -more-

The San Francisco Chronicle reported last October that “eight lucky families,” all victims of Hurricane Katrina, would move into a 48-unit apartment complex in West Berkeley under the auspices of a non-profit affordable housing agency. -more-

While the City Council is set to resolve one battle of that structural war known as the Gaia Building, other conflagrations still confront city officials and citizen commissioners. -more-

Deangelo Wilson, an aspiring basketball player, is learning a valuable lesson this summer: plies and jump shots are remarkably similar. -more-

Lies, lawsuits and chalk marks: It’s politics as usual on the UC Berkeley campus. -more-

Neighbors of Bateman Mall met with Berkeley city officials for the third time on Thursday to discuss the city’s conceptual plan for the restoration of the grassy mall. -more-

SAN JOSE—If this city were a person, it would be a middle-aged man on the tail end of a spiraling career who, having just gone through a mid-life crisis, buys a glitzy new house and tries to hook up with younger women, then lies to his family about it. In other words, San Jose would be our current mayor, Ron Gonzales. -more-

Rapists sought -more-

Last Poetry Reading at Cody’s Books -more-

Editor’s Note: Between 1995 and 2001, according to the Federal Reserve bank, the average family of color saw their net worth fall 7 percent to $17,000 while the average white family's net worth rose 37 percent to $120,000. Meizhu Lui is one of the co-authors of “The Color of Wealth,” and the executive director of United For a Fair Economy. -more-