News

City Planning Director Dan Marks has issued a stinging rebuke of UC Berkeley’s key environmental document covering its massive expansion plans for Memorial Stadium and its surroundings. -more-

The City Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. today (Tuesday) to hash out the wording describing the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance that voters will see when they vote in November. -more-

A poster to promote Berkeley’s libraries shows Michele Lawrence smiling in a white turtleneck and red blazer, pearls in her ears and an open novel in her hands. She looks kind and composed, every bit the spokesperson for a wholesome public service announcement—but for the novel. -more-

As Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) officials gear up for the second parcel tax campaign in two years, some citizens question whether district administrators have done enough to ensure that school resources stay with Berkeley students. -more-

The Alameda City Council approved construction bids for the development of a controversial theater project in downtown Alameda Wednesday, dealing a blow to opponents who insist the project is out of scale with the area. -more-

Faced with threats of a lawsuit, the City Council has begun to explore ways to increase both the number of people allowed to speak directly to the council at its meetings and the variety of topics the public can address. -more-

Federal government “anti-terror” activities have penetrated a number of Northern and Central California cities including Berkeley, according to an ACLU report released last week: “The State of Surveillance: Government Monitoring of Political Activity in Northern and Central California.” -more-

The California Supreme Court ruled today that the trustees of California State University must prepare a new environmental impact report on a planned expansion of a campus in Monterey County. -more-

Will the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Bevatron building and Iceland become the city’s newest landmarks? And will the Drayage fall to the wrecking ball? -more-

Californians knew global warming was real even before temperatures soared past 110 degrees in many regions for days and killed at least 75 people statewide, according to a survey released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). -more-

1. Where were you born and where did you grow up, and how does that affect how you regard the issues in Berkeley and in your district? -more-

Paintballs redux -more-

Arab Culture’s Genius To Communicate Beyond Itself -more-

In an abrupt reversal, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to table the revised Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) it had passed on first reading July 11. -more-

Former Mayor Shirley Dean didn’t ask anyone to take out election papers in her name. -more-

In a sign of the growing opposition in Oakland to the proposed sale of the Oakland Unified School District Administration Building and five adjacent downtown school sites, the Oakland City Councilmembers have called on State Superintendent Jack O’Connell to delay the sale until the terms can be renegotiated and the deal receives school board approval. -more-

A construction estimate for new Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) offices has come in at more than double the budget, forcing district officials to head back to the drawing board. -more-

The Berkeley City Council asked the Ashby BART Station Task Force Tuesday evening to reach out to the South Berkeley community and broaden the vision of what the vast, paved parking lot west of the station might become. -more-

“This project is not about Ashby BART,” said David Early, the consultant hired to shepherd a new transportation plan for south and west Berkeley. -more-

The Berkeley City Council debated a proposal to initiate transportation service fees Tuesday evening which was touted by some as a tool to stop global warming and condemned by others as a fee that would hurt the business climate -more-

Faced with some two dozen students calling for “hands off ASUC elections,” the Berkeley City Council Tuesday night nixed a move to intervene in a disputed student vote. -more-

UC Berkeley officials unveiled a scale model of their 200,000-square-foot, replacement for Warren Hall—a $160 million structure that that would rise more than 100 feet near the intersection of Oxford Street and Berkeley Way. -more-

For a time, Wednesday night’s planning meeting turned into a fencing match—with commissioners and the public aiming pointed ripostes at a proposed new fence ordinance drawn up by city staff. -more-

Cary Kent, a former Berkeley police sergeant, was formally sentenced in Alameda County Superior Court Thursday for theft of drugs from the evidence locker at the Berkeley Police Department. -more-

The city is in talks with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over possibly restructuring the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) board. -more-

The race for seats on the Rent Stabilization Board is underway as potential candidates gear up for a nomination convention Aug. 6. -more-

Ernest died on Saturday, July 15. He was 78. I hadn’t heard from him for over a week and had begun to worry. I had left two messages and they had not been returned. He had been calling me every two or three days with his latest thoughts about how to fight to preserve the Flea Market from the threat of a multi-story housing project proposed for the parking lot where the market had operated for 41 years. Then his calls stopped. When I called again on Saturday evening his stepson, Talib, told me the news. -more-

Thanks to alert citizens and a prompt response by Berkeley firefighters, a Tilden Park hills fire was extinguished before it could spread Tuesday night. -more-

Terror threat on BART -more-