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-
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-
One of the most heart-rending dialogues in English literature is a short scene in Macbeth. -more-
There ought to be a name for that pervasive feature of modern life, wherein whatever something’s called tells you what it’s not. Case in point: “Drug-Free Zone.” What that actually tells you is “we still have a drug problem around here, although we’re working on it.” Naming developments is a well-known example: the Gaia Building has no Gaia bookstore; “Library Gardens” looks to be arid square blocks of wall-to-wall condos, though a small garden might eventually materialize. Congresswoman Barbara Lee is trying with very little help to keep the “Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act” meaning what its name says, in view of Bush and the Congressionals (both D and R) singing a different song as they bestow more nukes on India. And of course there’s the now-classic “Healthy Forests” law, aimed at getting rid of more trees. -more-
The Bush administration’s foreign policy—whatever it is—is in ruins. Iraq and neglected Afghanistan are sinking into macabre violence. Israel has launched a bloody regional war, with conspicuous support from a diplomatically isolated United States. India is recovering from a major terrorist atrocity. Terror plots against North America are an apparent growth industry. -more-
Suzanne La Barre wrote an interesting report on the July 25 City Council meeting pertaining to the crisis of the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA). While the governing body of BHA (the nine City Council members and only two appointed members at large), assumes the posture that it just now recognizes that new governance is essential to the stability of the agency, the cry of “Shocked! Shocked!” sounds a bit hollow given the history. Let’s see if we can round up the usual suspects! -more-
I knew I had to make one last farewell visit to Cody’s Books on Telegraph before it closed. To leisurely browse one last time the new-book tables in the front and wander through the stacks to see what was “new and notable.” And mostly just to drink in the vibe of being in what to me was the heart of Berkeley—the freedom of ideas, the right to challenge entrenched power and thought. -more-
Some people have told me that the recent developments on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley (the closing of Cody’s Books and decline of business in the area) are indicative of young people’s rejection of a dead culture—Hippies. Well, I for one am still alive and kicking! -more-
The recent heat wave has been difficult for my husband, Ralph. He is often bedridden, and because he can’t move or perspire properly, he is prone to overheating. Ralph doesn’t know he’s too hot until it’s too late. -more-
In some ways, we humans are educating ourselves about the planet that sustains us the way the owner of a cranky old car educates herself about how cars work: We learn about systems and parts when they break down and we’re forced to figure out why. Partly that’s a matter of perceived urgency that gets grants written and funding done—“pure” research is a delicious notion, but it’s rare that anyone can get the time, facilities, and support to study a matter just because we all get intrigued by it. -more-
As I watch CNN’s man-of-the-moment Anderson Cooper looking quite natty in his rugged, styled shirt (his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt, after all) with billowing smoke, raging fires, guns, blood and death smearing the landscape behind him, it occurs to me that if there were not so much real life suffering going on in the Middle East (and elsewhere), I could be watching yet another war movie, this time featuring the handsome hero/journalist who casts all thoughts of danger aside to hurtle himself past bombs and bullets to get hands-on, first-person accounts of the ravages of war. -more-
It was one of those obscure issues you run into in the back-end of the City Council agenda, when the chambers have all but cleared and the stray staff members are packing away their binders and papers and waiting patiently for the adjournment call, and the only ones who seem to be paying attention are the Sanjiv Handas of the world. -more-
I was in Paris for just a few days. According to carefully devised calculations I had two hours to tour the Louvre. After two hours I was still there. I tried following “sortie” signs toward the exit but they kept directing me through galleries showcasing illuminating artifacts. Once inside I’d get sucked back into the viewing circuit. -more-
In 1974, the Berkeley Daily Gazette published the photo of a “mystery house” on the northwest corner of La Loma Avenue and Ridge Road. -more-
When I show up with my flashlight, there’s one item that most homeowners are holding their breath about and that’s their foundation. People generally believe that this is: a) the most important system of the house, and b) the most expensive. Well, this is close to the truth in both cases, although I can think of plenty of cases where neither is actually the case. -more-
It’s high hot summer and the mosquitoes are peaking, along with the rest of the annoying arthropods. -more-
An orchestra of marimbas playing “Down in Mexico, Joyous Mexico” ... Drinking Rum Cocos on the verandah of the Hotel Costa Verde, while below, the patrona’s nightswimming with the local boys, and that big lizard’s chafing at the end of his rope, and a hurricane’s brewing up ... -more-
In some ways, we humans are educating ourselves about the planet that sustains us the way the owner of a cranky old car educates herself about how cars work: We learn about systems and parts when they break down and we’re forced to figure out why. Partly that’s a matter of perceived urgency that gets grants written and funding done—“pure” research is a delicious notion, but it’s rare that anyone can get the time, facilities, and support to study a matter just because we all get intrigued by it. -more-
Are your kids gone at summer camp? Are you in need of some fulfillment from young people? -more-
What better way to appreciate and pay tribute to the songs of Leonard Cohen than to watch and listen as a cast of his less talented idolaters walk on stage and butcher them? -more-
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the world’s largest and oldest, returns to the Roda Theatre Saturday for a week-long engagement. It ran last week at San Francisco’s Castro Theater and will move on to San Rafael after the Berkeley engagement. -more-
The exhibit “Paul Robeson: The Tallest Tree in Our Forest,” has been extended through Aug. 26. at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, 659 14th St., Oakland. -more-
Mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, San Francisco native and a favorite among supporters of the Philharmonia Baroque, with which she sang during the 1980s and ’90s in Berkeley, died July 3 at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. -more-
Julian White, pianist, composer, speaker on music and the humanities, and piano teacher extraordinaire, who died at his Kensington home on June 23, will be celebrated in a memorial gathering this Sunday, July 30, 4-6 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Road in Kensington. -more-
I was in Paris for just a few days. According to carefully devised calculations I had two hours to tour the Louvre. After two hours I was still there. I tried following “sortie” signs toward the exit but they kept directing me through galleries showcasing illuminating artifacts. Once inside I’d get sucked back into the viewing circuit. -more-
In 1974, the Berkeley Daily Gazette published the photo of a “mystery house” on the northwest corner of La Loma Avenue and Ridge Road. -more-
When I show up with my flashlight, there’s one item that most homeowners are holding their breath about and that’s their foundation. People generally believe that this is: a) the most important system of the house, and b) the most expensive. Well, this is close to the truth in both cases, although I can think of plenty of cases where neither is actually the case. -more-
It’s high hot summer and the mosquitoes are peaking, along with the rest of the annoying arthropods. -more-
A photo caption on the front page of the July 14 issue misidentified the woman in the photograph. The woman is Clara Johnston. -more-
