Columnists

Column: Undercurrents: What Did Ward Accomplish in the Oakland Schools?

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday July 14, 2006

As far back as the spring of 2005, when State Superintendent Jack O’Connell was forced to come to Oakland Technical High School and release his legally required but long-delayed Fiscal Recovery Plan for the Oakland Unified School District, a group of Oakland educators and activists—led by Board of Trustees President Gary Yee—had been saying that the legal requirements had either been met or were close to being met for a return to local control of the Oakland schools. -more-


First Tibs: Exploring Ethiopian Food at Finfine

By B. J. Calurus, Special to the Planet
Friday July 14, 2006

With all the Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants in Berkeley and Oakland, it took me a while to get around to Finfine. My loss. -more-


About the House: How Trees Do and Do Not Impact Structures

By Matt Cantor
Friday July 14, 2006

Your Honor, does this lovely Liquid Amber appear capable of doing harm to anything, let alone Mr. Filbert’s 1926 Craftsman bungalow? No, I tell you, it’s a lie, a myth, a hit and a myth! -more-


Getting the Real Dirt on Smuggled Plants and Seeds

By Ron Sullivan
Friday July 14, 2006

So you don’t wear sweatshop clothes or eat veal or plant invasive exotics. Now that the bulb and seed catalogues are starting to come in the email, there’s one more ethical matter to consider. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday July 14, 2006

The Quake Hits—Now What? -more-


Column: The Public Eye: Attempting to Derail a Presidental Dictatorship

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday July 11, 2006

Many progressives view the November mid-term elections as a referendum on the presidency of George Bush and the ineptitude of his rubber-stamp Republican Congress. -more-


Column: Intuitive Leaps Through Ordinary But Striking Occurrences

By Susan Parker
Tuesday July 11, 2006

In last week’s column I mentioned that I had been out of the country and that I wouldn’t bore readers with the details of my fabulous vacation. I said I had endured no pathos, problems, or porn, and that I had no epiphanies while abroad. This, of course, was not true. I experienced plenty of the above-mentioned items. I suffered sorrow. I encountered difficulties. I saw several dirty pictures. I had a few insights. -more-


A Garden on Codornices Creek Welcomes Wildlife

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday July 11, 2006

“We’ve had people say they’d like to come back as our cats,” says Juliet Lamont. -more-