The Week

Oak to 9th Opponents Turn in Referendum Petitions
          Architect James E. Vann, a member of the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt and Oakland’s Oak to 9th Referendum Committee, was at the office of the Oakland city clerk on Thursday to turn in boxes containing some of the 30,000 signatures supporting the referendum and opposing the city’s approved plan for the area. Photograph by Mike O'Malley.
Oak to 9th Opponents Turn in Referendum Petitions Architect James E. Vann, a member of the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt and Oakland’s Oak to 9th Referendum Committee, was at the office of the Oakland city clerk on Thursday to turn in boxes containing some of the 30,000 signatures supporting the referendum and opposing the city’s approved plan for the area. Photograph by Mike O'Malley.
 

News

Oakland School District Trustees Release Counterproposal to Downtown Property Sale

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 18, 2006

Oakland Unified School District trustees dramatically changed the debate over the district’s downtown properties this week, introducing a proposal to build a “new, permanent, state of the art education center” on the 8.25-acre property currently occupied by the district’s administration building and five educational facilities. Under a resolution drafted by veteran school board trustee Noel Gallo, the new facilities would house a kindergarten through high school program, the two early childhood development centers currently on the property, and the district administrative offices. -more-


State Regulators Sue Pacific Steel Casting

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 18, 2006

State regulators have sued Berkeley’s Pacific Steel Casting Company (PSC), demanding either an accurate, up-to-date emissions list or a $10,000-a-day fine. -more-


Alta Bates Construction Draws Ire From Neighbors

By Rio Bauce and Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 18, 2006

Neighbors of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley are irked by very loud construction noise at the hospital site, which they say has been going on for the last two weeks or more. -more-


5 Candidates Compete For 3 School Board Seats

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 18, 2006

The Nov. 7 local office elections will see five candidates competing for three open seats on the five-member Berkeley Board of Education. -more-


Downtown Planning Panel Advises Council To Abide by City’s Landmarks Ordinance

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 18, 2006

While the fate of Berkeley’s existing landmarks law remains an open question, a joint committee made it clear Tuesday night that they want to follow its criteria in the new downtown plan. -more-


Call for Guard to Come Home Fails in State Committee

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 18, 2006

Despite best efforts of activists and legislators, California Coast Guard troops serving in Iraq won’t be heading home to resume stateside duties. -more-


2.9 Earthquake Delivers Early Morning Wakeup Call

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 18, 2006

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake jostled some Berkeley residents awake at 5:58 Thursday morning—a short, sharp reminder of the presence of the Hayward Fault’s fitful presence. -more-


Committee Issues Wellstone Endorsement Recommendations

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 18, 2006

The Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club’s electoral committee heard from a host of candidates Wednesday night and recommended that the full club endorse Andy Katz for East Bay Municipal Utilities District, Nancy Skinner for the East Bay Regional Parks Board, Anne Marie Hogan for Berkeley auditor, Dave Blake for Berkeley Rent Board, and Jason Overman over Gordon Wozniak for Berkeley District 8 City Council. -more-


Clifton the Only Peralta Trustee To Face Challenge In November

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 18, 2006

There will be no more massive turnovers in the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees, at least for now. -more-


Security Experts’ ‘Suicides’ Called Into Question

By Jeffrey Klein and Paolo Pontoniere, New America Media
Friday August 18, 2006

European Media Probe Dangers of Secret -more-


Italy a Special Place in the Heart of the Dirty War

By Jeffrey Klein and Paolo Pontoniere
Friday August 18, 2006

As the investigation into covert CIA’s and local rogue intelligence operatives in Europe expands across the continent, Italy’s emerges as the thinking head of a hydra whose tentacles reach far into worldwide communication net and backward into the history of international conspiracies. -more-


A Few Good Restaurants For Health-Conscious Diners

By Rio Bauce
Friday August 18, 2006

Are you trying to eat better? Do you describe yourself as a vegetarian, a vegan, or a raw-foodist? Have you had trouble finding good healthy food for a reasonable price? Here are a few local restaurants to get you started. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 18, 2006

Hoodied heisters -more-


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-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Can Oakland Re-Think Oak to 9th?

By Becky O'Malley
Friday August 18, 2006

Sunday morning we enjoyed a visit to the DMV offices on Claremont Avenue in Oakland. That’s a first—when has anyone ever enjoyed a DMV trip? The reason it was a pleasure is that we weren’t actually visiting the DMV, but were taking advantage of Oakland’s newest urban amenity, the Sunday farmers’ market which has set up shop in the parking lot there, just blocks from our home on the Berkeley border. It’s a tasty mixture of organic produce, booths for specialty cooking and a rotating roster of craftspeople and selected musicians. -more-


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-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday August 18, 2006

RENT CONTROL -more-


Commentary: Inconvenient Truths From Berkeley’s First Native American Mayoral Candidate

By Zachary Running Wolf
Friday August 18, 2006

A nation that loses its cherished freedom and protections will often discover that it has been a victim of spin and counter spin. This is not difficult to understand when we consider that a significant majority of our citizens still believe that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The truth of the matter is that it is difficult for humans to accept that they are continually being brainwashed. -more-


Commentary: Musings on an Identity Crisis

By Joan Levinson
Friday August 18, 2006

By JOAN LEVINSON -more-


Commentary: Too Little Green, Too Far in the Red

By Michael Katz
Friday August 18, 2006

A few points about Peter Buckley’s Aug. 15 response to my May 26 commentary on the proposed David Brower Center/Oxford Plaza megastructure: -more-


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-


Columns

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: The Deadly Tales We Tell Ourselves

By Conn Hallinan
Friday August 18, 2006

History is the story we tell ourselves in the present about the past, but how we punctuate the story, where we put the periods, the commas and the ellipses, depends not on everything that happened, but on who is telling the story, where we stand in the narrative, and what outcome we want. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Keeping Watch Over Oakland’s Schools Was Not for Brown

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 18, 2006

When I was coming up, I used to attend Vacation Bible School, and faithfully study my daily passages, and then ask many questions that often seemed to annoy the teacher in charge of the class. -more-


Impressionism 101: Start in San Francisco

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday August 18, 2006

Radicals of the 1860s, they broke the rules and moved out of their studios. Away from poised portraits and still lives, they painted open-air scenes meant to capture everyday subjects in a passing moment. They painted with un-mixed vibrant colors in broad and daubed brushstrokes creating shimmering canvases bathed in light. The Impressionists turned their backs on academic painting, commanded attention and revolutionized the world of art. -more-


About the House: A Few Tips on the Dangers of Excess Water Pressure

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 18, 2006

Pressurizing the entire municipal water system is not an easy matter. I’m sure glad I don’t have to do it. Everyone’s bound to be unhappy. If you’re down in the flats or close to a pumping station, you’re pressure is going to be very high. If you’re waaaaay up at the top of the hills, it’s going to be much lower. We pump up the system to a pressure that will make sure that the person furthest from the pump will still have enough pressure to get a decent shower, even when her darned husband flushes the toilet (If I’ve told that man one time, I’ve told him…). -more-


Garden Variety: Work All Day? Plant a Night Garden to Welcome You Home

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 18, 2006

Being a night person gives you a different look at things. Strolling at night or commuting to a night shift, especially when the moon’s out, you get to see gardens that no one else sees, even their owners. Silver leaves glow at night, and reshape a garden’s contours. White-flowered groundcovers make a garden float, changing perspectives and lifting a viewer off her own feet. Noises are damped, and what you hear is framed and given significance. There’s a feeling of privilege, of witnessing what mortals routinely miss. I can see where the stories of fairies in the bottom of the garden come from. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 18, 2006

Will Uncle Sam Save Us? -more-


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-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Friday August 18, 2006

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 -more-


CalShakes Brings ‘Merchant of Venice’ to Orinda Stage

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday August 18, 2006

At outdoor cafe tables topped with Cinzano umbrellas the actors loll, idly watching video screens arranged around an open-work structure’s beams like townhall clocks at the points of the compass, facing the audience. Watching as a platinum-bewigged young woman, dolled up in loud fashion but draped in a sleek tawny fur with beige boots, flops into a chair, pushes back her sunglasses, reaches for her bag as if a beached globe-trotter, and impatiently tosses wads of play money onto the stage ... Watching as a bearded financier doffs “the badge” of his “Jewish gabardine” to bathe in cash as he reclines in a dumpster ... Watching as a suitor woos his intended by hefting a black plastic garbage bag of loot to throw his hat in the ring. -more-


Summer Outdoor Cinema Series Features Classic Film, Live Music

by Justin DeFreitas
Friday August 18, 2006

Pyramid Alehouse kicks off its annual Outdoor Cinema series this Saturday with a screening of the 1969 Robert Redford-Paul Newman classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. -more-


Impressionism 101: Start in San Francisco

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Friday August 18, 2006

Radicals of the 1860s, they broke the rules and moved out of their studios. Away from poised portraits and still lives, they painted open-air scenes meant to capture everyday subjects in a passing moment. They painted with un-mixed vibrant colors in broad and daubed brushstrokes creating shimmering canvases bathed in light. The Impressionists turned their backs on academic painting, commanded attention and revolutionized the world of art. -more-


About the House: A Few Tips on the Dangers of Excess Water Pressure

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 18, 2006

Pressurizing the entire municipal water system is not an easy matter. I’m sure glad I don’t have to do it. Everyone’s bound to be unhappy. If you’re down in the flats or close to a pumping station, you’re pressure is going to be very high. If you’re waaaaay up at the top of the hills, it’s going to be much lower. We pump up the system to a pressure that will make sure that the person furthest from the pump will still have enough pressure to get a decent shower, even when her darned husband flushes the toilet (If I’ve told that man one time, I’ve told him…). -more-


Garden Variety: Work All Day? Plant a Night Garden to Welcome You Home

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 18, 2006

Being a night person gives you a different look at things. Strolling at night or commuting to a night shift, especially when the moon’s out, you get to see gardens that no one else sees, even their owners. Silver leaves glow at night, and reshape a garden’s contours. White-flowered groundcovers make a garden float, changing perspectives and lifting a viewer off her own feet. Noises are damped, and what you hear is framed and given significance. There’s a feeling of privilege, of witnessing what mortals routinely miss. I can see where the stories of fairies in the bottom of the garden come from. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 18, 2006

Will Uncle Sam Save Us? -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday August 18, 2006

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 -more-


Corrections

Friday August 18, 2006

The names of two candidates were incorrectly reported in the Aug. 15 story “Incumbents Hit Filing Deadline.” -more-


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-