Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News

Citizens Rally for Ailing City Housing Authority

By Suzanne La Barre

Friday July 14, 2006

A rally to save Berkeley’s troubled Housing Authority drew about two-dozen supporters Tuesday. -more-

Council Approves Mayor’s New LPO

By Richard Brenneman

Friday July 14, 2006

By a 6-3 vote, the Berkeley City Council passed the mayor’s controversial new Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) Tuesday, setting the stage for a November confrontation at the ballot box. -more-

OUSD Could Make Less Than Planned in Land Sale

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Friday July 14, 2006

The Oakland Unified School District held the first of three public hearings Wednesday night on the proposed sale of 8.25 acres of OUSD Lake Merritt-area properties, but a key component of the proposal was only available to those who later followed a trustee’s suggestion to look up the actual development proposal on the district website. -more-

Post Office Might Close In Elmwood District

By Richard Brenneman

Friday July 14, 2006

While Berkeley’s Elmwood district gained one landmark last week, it may be about to lose another community mainstay—it’s post office at 2705 Webster St. at College Avenue. -more-

Warm Pool Measure Wins Approval, Then Postponed

By Judith Scherr

Friday July 14, 2006

Warm-water pool users cheered as the Berkeley City Council, its chambers packed wheelchair to walker, voted 6-3 to place a referendum before the voters asking for approval of a $4.5 million bond to complete funding for a new warm pool. -more-

Vandals Strike Warm Water Pool

By Judith Scherr

Friday July 14, 2006

Sea Scouts Appeal Berkeley Case to Supreme Court

By Judith Scherr

Friday July 14, 2006

City Council Kills ‘Clean Money’ Ballot Proposal

By Judith Scherr

Friday July 14, 2006

Berkeley Schools’ Achievement Gap Is Widest in County

By Suzanne La Barre

Friday July 14, 2006

Local Agencies, Cities Make Preparations for Coming Bird Flu

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Friday July 14, 2006

Details of Proposed Land Deal Differ From Initial Proposal

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylo

Friday July 14, 2006

Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman

Friday July 14, 2006

Lopez Obrador Wins California Cities in Symbolic Vote

By Stan Oklobdzija, New American Media

Friday July 14, 2006

Democracy a Buzzword After Failed Taiwan Recall of Chen

By Eugenia Chien, New American Media

Friday July 14, 2006

News Analysis: The Mexico Election: Obrador is No Gore

By Ted Vincent, Special to the Planet

Friday July 14, 2006

First Person: The Trick of Knowing How to Keep the ‘Stupids’ at Bay

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet

Friday July 14, 2006

Berkeley resident Joyce Hawkins, a Section 8 tenant for 21 years, joined public housing advocates at Old City Hall Tuesday to show support for the Berkeley Housing Authority. Photograph by Suzanne La Barre.

Editorials

Editorial: Getting WMD’d in Berkeley

By Becky O’Malley

Friday July 14, 2006

In the go-go era in Silicon Valley in the 1980s, we used to have a saying: “If you look around the table and don’t know who the sucker is, it’s you.” This has never been more apparent than in the outcome of the protracted discussions over the development industry’s long struggle to de-fang Berkeley’s hallowed Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, which appears, temporarily at least, to be successful. -more-