The Week

Some South Berkeley residents would like to see the Adeline Street substation used for retail space. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
Some South Berkeley residents would like to see the Adeline Street substation used for retail space. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
 

News

Police Substation Expansion Requires Community Input, Says Zoning Board

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 15, 2006

The Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday passed a motion to continue a use permit modification request for the South Berkeley Police Substation until the Police Department has met with community members in order to get their feedback on the plan. The change in use would allow expansion for employee lockers and vehicle storage. -more-


Senior Program Prepares To Close Its Doors

By Rio Bauce, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for the last 37 years, the New Light Senior Center, located in the South Berkeley YMCA, has provided seniors with healthy, organic, nutritionally balanced food at a low price. That might end on Sept. 1, when the program founded by former Councilmember Maudelle Shirek will have to close its doors because of funding problems. -more-


Incumbents Hit Filing Deadline; Challengers Have Until Wednesday

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 15, 2006

When filings closed for Berkeley’s incumbents in the mayoral, City Council, city auditor and School Board races Friday, four would-be candidates had dropped out. -more-


Jerry Brown Gives Up $100 Limit to Broaden Base

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday August 15, 2006

A year after Jerry Brown was elected mayor of Oakland, San Francisco publisher Phil Bronstein introduced him at a luncheon of the American Society of Newspaper Editors as a politician who was trying to get big money out of politics. -more-


UC Gives 200K to Berkeley Groups to Compensate for Campus’ Impact on City

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 15, 2006

The UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund will distribute $200,000 in Berkeley this year in the form of grants which will support 15 projects through partnerships between local community groups and the university. -more-


New Public Charter School Opens This Month in Oakland

By Rio Bauce, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 15, 2006

At the end of this month, a new free, public charter school open its doors in Oakland. Funded primarily by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the California Department of Education, Urban Renaissance School of Arts & Technology (often referred to as Urban but not to be confused with the San Francisco private school of the same name) is committed to preparing kids for college and having a small school community. Urban is dedicated to small class sizes, with no more than 25 students per class. The high school is open to students in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Investigation continues -more-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Million-dollar cigarette -more-


Three-Alarm Blaze Breaks Out In Willard Park Neighborhood

By Rio Bauce and Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 11, 2006

Fire’s Damage Estimated at $1 Million -more-


Clif Bar Announces Move to Alameda

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 11, 2006

A week after Nestle USA-owned PowerBar announced its move from Berkeley to Glendale, Calif., rival company ClifBar confirmed on Wednesday that it will be moving its Berkeley headquarters to Alameda, when the company’s current lease expires in July 2008. -more-


Second Berkeley Cop Suspected of Evidence Theft

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 11, 2006

A Berkeley police patrol officer was suspended Wednesday, reportedly after a sting operation focusing on theft of evidence, the Daily Planet has learned. -more-


Major Discrepancies in Condo Conversion Initiative

By Rio Bauce
Friday August 11, 2006

There seems to have been some confusion over the facts of the Condo Conversion Initiative, which will be before Berkeley voters on the Nov. 7 ballot. As a result, the city may be forced to hire outside attorneys to sue itself to correct possible errors. -more-


Broken Crosswalk Lights Hazardous for Disabled

By Rio Bauce
Friday August 11, 2006

Broken Santa Rosa lights at the corner of Parker and Telegraph have been causing difficulties for blind people and other pedestrians. These lights, which are embedded in the roadway and activated by a push button, flash to notify drivers that pedestrians are coming and that they need to stop. On Tuesday morning, the Berkeley Office of Transportation was notified that the light at Parker and Telegraph streets wasn’t working. -more-


Telegraph Area Association Revival Under Consideration

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 11, 2006

By Richard Brenneman -more-


Ashby BART Project Spurs Rise of Community Groups

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 11, 2006

As plans for development at the Ashby BART station continue under a city-designated task force, alternative groups are sprouting up in South Berkeley. -more-


Assembly Bill Puts Comcast Cable Contract in Doubt

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 11, 2006

The City of Berkeley’s future plans to re-negotiate its contract with Comcast Corporation, the current provider of cable video services in Berkeley, stand to be threatened if a state-level legislative bill demanding the elimination of the role of local government in the franchise process is passed as early as Monday -more-


Cinema Workers, Management Discuss Grievances

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 11, 2006

Shattuck Cinema workers and union representatives met with management on Wednesday to negotiate pay raises, and other basic demands including uniforms and grievance procedures. -more-


Detox Center Emerges From Telegraph Group’s Work

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 11, 2006

Starting in May, Alameda County will have a new program to handle substance abusers, fulfilling the long-time dreams of Berkeley activists and city officials. -more-


Activists Give Perata Deadline on Oakland School District Property Sale

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 11, 2006

A group of Oakland education and political leaders and activists have given state Sen. Don Perata until Aug. 16 to either meet with them directly or issue a statement opposing the pending sale of the Oakland Unified School District administration building and property and several adjacent schools. -more-


The Curious History of the OUSD Land Sale As Told in the Legislative Record

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 11, 2006

SB39, the bill that authorized the state takeover of the Oakland Unified School District, was introduced in abbreviated form in January 2003 by state Sen. Don Perata, with no details included. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 11, 2006

Gangs of three -more-


News Analysis: Hundreds of Mexican Miners Fired for Striking

By David Bacon, New America Media
Friday August 11, 2006

NACOZARI, Sonora, Mexico—Just days after conservative candidate Felipe Calderon declared himself the winner of Mexico’s July 2 presidential election, the Mexican federal labor board lowered the boom on striking miners. At Nacozari, one of the world’s largest copper mines, just a few miles south of Arizona, 1,400 miners have been on strike since March 24. On July 12 the board said they’d abandoned their jobs, and gave the mine’s owner, Grupo Mexico, permission to close down operations. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Joint Panel to Consider Downtown Landmarks

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Members of two city panels will gather tonight (Tuesday) in an effort to resolve issues surrounding the role of historic buildings in the future of downtown Berkeley. -more-


Editorial: The Importance of Protecting Free Speech

By Becky O’Malley
Friday August 11, 2006

This week we got a phone call from a polite but persistent guy who asked to speak to the editor—that’s me. When I called him back, he identified himself as the owner of a restaurant which has been advertising once a week in our restaurant guide section, and he said he was so unhappy with the paper’s coverage of the Middle East that he was thinking of canceling his ad. Now, 60 bucks a week one way or the other (those little color ads are almost loss-leader cheap for the advertisers) won’t make or break the budget, so we really don’t have a strong financial interest in arguing with the guy, but I did make an effort to explain two principles to him. First, respectable newspapers don’t let advertisers dictate policy for the editorial section and second, we firmly believe that airing all opinions, even those we find extremely distasteful, is the best way to solve problems in the long run. I pointed out that the Planet didn’t “cover” the Middle East, but just allowed opinions on the news from that area to be printed as letters or commentary signed by the authors. I asked the restaurant owner if he ever read the European press on the Internet, or Ha’aretz, the Israeli paper, or even the New York Times on a regular basis. He said he didn’t. We had a civil discussion, but it was apparent he wasn’t persuaded. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday August 15, 2006

NIMBYISM -more-


Commentary: Military Takeover of Cuba Not Such a Remote Possibility

By Jean Damu
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Some politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and anti-Castro activists in Florida have been waiting so long for the passing from the scene of Cuban president Fidel Castro, that now that he has actually ceded power, it remains to be seen whether or not they can restrain themselves from attempting to provoke an event or series of events that would force Cuba to turn to its military for political stability and military defense during this transition period. -more-


Commentary: Brower Center is Building for the Future

By Peter K. Buckley
Tuesday August 15, 2006

I would like to clarify just a few of Mr. Katz’s misstatements that relate to the David Brower Center: -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday August 11, 2006

INSIGHTFUL, HONEST -more-


Commentary: Immigration Bill’s Provisions Hidden in Plain Sight

By Rashida Tlaib, New America Media
Friday August 11, 2006

DETROIT—It’s been said before that the debate in Congress over immigration has needlessly gone beyond fixing the core problems within our immigration system. -more-


Readers Respond to Middle East Commentaries

Friday August 11, 2006

EDITOR’S NOTE: -more-


Commentary: ‘Progressives’ Oversimplify Housing, Growth Issues

By John Koenigshofer
Friday August 11, 2006

The irony of “progressive” politics is nowhere more apparent than in the housing policies of the City of Berkeley. -more-


Commentary: Both Mideast Commentaries Were Wrong

By Ehud Appel
Friday August 11, 2006

The Aug. 8 edition of the Daily Planet featured two appallingly ludicrous commentaries about the Lebanon war. One was an exercise in the most indulgent of national mythologies: “We are morally superior to Them.” -more-


Columns

The Public Eye: Notes on NIMBYism Part III: A NIMBY Confronts Environmental Dualism

By Sharon Hudson
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Summer is here! Vacation time! Where shall I go? Usually I head straight for the wilderness—where I have spent much of my life—far from electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and the teeming masses. But since I have spent even more of my life in one of the highest density parts of Berkeley, the more interesting question is: What has enabled me to stay in town most of the time? -more-


Column: How Writing Changed My Life

By Susan Parker
Tuesday August 15, 2006

I was not a writer before my husband Ralph had a bicycling accident that left him paralyzed below the shoulders. I worked at an international adventure travel company (located in Berkeley), leading bicycling trips to exotic locations like Tasmania and Bali. The only things I wrote were postcards, grocery lists, and, occasionally, copy for the company’s travel brochures. But in the spring of 1994 after Ralph’s accident, all writing, with the exception of completing medical and legal forms, became obsolete. I spent my days dealing with doctors, therapists and social workers. At night, I lay in bed alone, wondering what would happen to us. -more-


Forster’s Terns, Food Webs, And Flameproof Pajamas

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Hovering over the shallows in search of a fish, the Forster’s tern embodies grace and elegance. Its long, pointed wings and forked tail combine aerodynamic function and esthetic appeal. John Reinhold Forster did not deserve this bird. -more-


The Public Eye: Notes on NIMBYism Part II: Density, Equity, And the Urban NIMBY

By Sharon Hudson
Friday August 11, 2006

Most urban NIMBYs in Berkeley who oppose new developments are not part of an insulated class trying to hang onto their privileges. They are part of a sacrificial class that already lives in or next to high-density areas or transit corridors. They mostly do all the “right” things: walk a lot, drive little, consume little, live in little spaces, have little gardens (if any), and tolerate being a little too crowded. High-income people consume much more, utilize many more resources, and contribute much more to global warming than low-income people. Yet all the detriments of man’s environmental abuse and atonement are borne by the poor and funneled into high-density areas. -more-


Undercurrents: Jerry Brown Adds Zeros to Justify Operation

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 11, 2006

In their 1948 American classic book about growing up in Oakland in the early part of the last century, Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey wrote in Cheaper By The Dozen that their father once discovered one of the more fascinating elements of the human mind—people could pass by a black typewriter every day without stopping or even thinking about it, but a typewriter painted white simply could not be resisted. “For some reason, anyone who sees a white typewriter wants to type on it,” Frank Gilbreth told his children on the day he brought one home and set it on the dining room table. “Don’t ask me why. It’s psychology.” (For those born in the 80’s and beyond and so didn’t live in those times, typewriters—which preceded computers as the thing on which we did our writing—used to come in one color, black. Same with telephones.) -more-


Head for the Berkeley Hills

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday August 11, 2006

“Bring your own” is a good motto to remember when visiting the neighborhoods of the Berkeley hills. With no shopping district or quaint cafes, there’s little to tempt your dollars. Unless you’re in the market for a home. Then you’re in trouble, big trouble, because what the hills area does offer is hard to resist: a showcase for architectural excellence, eye-filling views, rock outcropping parks, hidden pathways and an appealing sense of space within nature. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Harris Allen: The Spirit of Individuality

By Daniella Thompson
Friday August 11, 2006

Architect Harris Allen had no cookie cutters in his professional tool box. No two of his buildings looked alike—each was designed for its particular site and stamped with the owner’s individuality. -more-


Tripping, Slipping and Falling Around Your House

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 11, 2006

I’m often amazed at the lack of attention paid to places where people can fall, slip or trip around the house (not to mention commercial or municipal buildings). Maybe other people aren’t as clumsy as I am. It is a plus, though, that in my job I seem to be admirably suited to finding any obstacle that might ultimately cause any other person at any future date to slip, trip or fall. No divination required; I’m just the poster boy for smacking your cranium. -more-


The Dirty Lowdown on Working With Our Lowdown Dirt

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 11, 2006

One of the hardest things for new gardeners here—both experienced gardeners who move here and long-time locals who get inspired by the goddess Flora—is our dirt. Most of us have to garden on clay soil here, and those of us in the flatlands generally have the heaviest, the historically most stomped-on and sometimes most-contaminated clay. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 11, 2006

Head For The Doorway? -more-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Tuesday August 15, 2006

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15 -more-


Forster’s Terns, Food Webs, And Flameproof Pajamas

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 15, 2006

Hovering over the shallows in search of a fish, the Forster’s tern embodies grace and elegance. Its long, pointed wings and forked tail combine aerodynamic function and esthetic appeal. John Reinhold Forster did not deserve this bird. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday August 15, 2006

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15 -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday August 11, 2006

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 -more-


Great Works from New York on Display at Magnes

By Peter Selz, Special to the Planet
Friday August 11, 2006

The Magnes Museum, the “Jewish Museum of the West,” is currently exhibiting a fine collection of paintings, photographs, works on paper and sculpture from the Jewish Museum in New York. Many of the paintings are by artists of social conscience, such as Ben Shahn, Raphael and Moses Soyer, Peter Blume, Ben Zion, William Gropper and Philip Evergood. -more-


SF Mime Troupe Brings ‘Godfellas’ to Berkeley

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday August 11, 2006

“Imagine a nation where religious fervor runs hot, and faith rhetoric runs hotter.” If you feel your imagination is running behind the headlines, hie you to the outdoors—a park, say, Live Oak this weekend, or Willard on the 26th or 27th—and see those headlines in the flesh but with the faith rhetoric standing on its head, as the San Francisco Mime Troupe girds up for battle with powers and principalities by putting on an act entitled Godfellas. -more-


Moving Pictures: Pacific Film Archive Takes a Look at One of Japan’s Greatest Directors

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday August 11, 2006

Earlier this year, Pacific Film Archive presented a series of films by Mikio Naruse, bringing much deserved attention to one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers. Now they’ll follow up with a series on another Japanese master, Kenji Mizoguchi. -more-


Head for the Berkeley Hills

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday August 11, 2006

“Bring your own” is a good motto to remember when visiting the neighborhoods of the Berkeley hills. With no shopping district or quaint cafes, there’s little to tempt your dollars. Unless you’re in the market for a home. Then you’re in trouble, big trouble, because what the hills area does offer is hard to resist: a showcase for architectural excellence, eye-filling views, rock outcropping parks, hidden pathways and an appealing sense of space within nature. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Harris Allen: The Spirit of Individuality

By Daniella Thompson
Friday August 11, 2006

Architect Harris Allen had no cookie cutters in his professional tool box. No two of his buildings looked alike—each was designed for its particular site and stamped with the owner’s individuality. -more-


Tripping, Slipping and Falling Around Your House

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 11, 2006

I’m often amazed at the lack of attention paid to places where people can fall, slip or trip around the house (not to mention commercial or municipal buildings). Maybe other people aren’t as clumsy as I am. It is a plus, though, that in my job I seem to be admirably suited to finding any obstacle that might ultimately cause any other person at any future date to slip, trip or fall. No divination required; I’m just the poster boy for smacking your cranium. -more-


The Dirty Lowdown on Working With Our Lowdown Dirt

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 11, 2006

One of the hardest things for new gardeners here—both experienced gardeners who move here and long-time locals who get inspired by the goddess Flora—is our dirt. Most of us have to garden on clay soil here, and those of us in the flatlands generally have the heaviest, the historically most stomped-on and sometimes most-contaminated clay. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 11, 2006

Head For The Doorway? -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday August 11, 2006

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 -more-


Correction

Friday August 11, 2006

A typographical error in Bob Burnett’s Aug. 8 “Public Eye” column caused a gross underestimation of the U.S. defense budget. The correct figure is approximately $550 billion. -more-