The Week

Former Vice President Al Gore shakes hands with Berkeley residents at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Monday. He was in town to urge support for Prop. 87. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
Former Vice President Al Gore shakes hands with Berkeley residents at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Monday. He was in town to urge support for Prop. 87. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
 

News

Flash: UC Stadium Gets Landmarks Status

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 24, 2006

UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium will get local landmarks status as designated June 1 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, a unanimous City Council said Tuesday night. -more-


Gore Urges Berkeleyans to Vote Yes on Proposition 87

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Former vice president Al Gore came to Berkeley Monday to support the “Yes on 87” campaign. -more-


Mayoral Candidates Tackle City Issues in Neighborhood Debates

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Before the Le Conte Neighborhood Association’s Thursday evening candidates night, secretary Jerry Miller was undecided about whom he’d pick for mayor. But after listening to the three candidates—incumbent Mayor Tom Bates, former Planning Chair Zelda Bronstein and community activist Zachary Running Wolf, Miller told the Daily Planet: “I could really see the difference between the candidates. I don’t think I’m unclear now.” -more-


Waterfront Development Frames Albany Election

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

If there’s a single issue dominating the race for Albany’s vacant city council seats, it’s the now-you-see-them, not-you-don’t plans of a Canadian race track mogul and a Southern California shopping mall magnate for the city’s waterfront. -more-


Santa Cruz Action Challenges Another UC Long-Range Plan

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Stephan Volker, the lawyer handling a lawsuit challenging UC Berkeley’s long-range plans, filed a similar action Monday in Santa Cruz. -more-


Committee Approves Projects That Will Change City’s Face

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Architects and developers of buildings that promise to transform the face of Berkeley watched and listened Thursday as a city panel tweaked their plans. -more-


Commission Investigates Push Poll Against Measure J

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday October 24, 2006

The Fair Campaign Practices Commission decided on Thursday that it will begin an investigation of the anonymous phone poll that was conducted throughout Berkeley in July 2006. -more-


Stadium Landmarking in Peril as UC Prepares for Key Vote

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Why is city staff pushing to overturn landmark status for UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium in the final weeks before UC Regents meet to decide the fate of the historic coliseum? -more-


Council Considers Gaia, Harrison Project, Solar Panel Fees

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Questions on whether a lecture on religion is a cultural use of the Gaia Building and whether Sunday church services are considered culture will be among the issues facing the City Council at tonight’s (Tuesday) meeting. -more-


Planning Commission Tackles Creeks Again

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Once again, Berkeley’s Planning Commission will look at the Creeks Ordinance this week. -more-


Peralta Candidates Get Facts Wrong on Key Issues

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday October 24, 2006

With two weeks to go in the hotly contested Area 7 Peralta Trustee race, two predominant issues have emerged. -more-


Berkeley High Beat: Spirit Week at Berkeley High

By Rio Bauce and Jacob Horn
Tuesday October 24, 2006

If you were in Downtown Berkeley last week, you may have seen Berkeley High School students dressed in red and gold clothing or as celebrities and said to yourself “What’s going on?” -more-


Berkeley City Council Candidate Statements: District 1: Linda Maio

By Linda Maio
Tuesday October 24, 2006

We love our special city, and for good reason. Berkeley is a remarkable place, admired and even envied by people around the globe. We of course want it to keep it at its best and work to make it even better. -more-


Berkeley City Council Candidate Statements: District 1: Merrilie Mitchell

By Merrilie Mitchell
Tuesday October 24, 2006

When I was a little girl, my mom would stop traffic when ducks were crossing the road. No one else seemed to do such things then, but in time, I too became a crosser of ducklings, turtles, and a doer of deeds needing doing. -more-


Berkeley City Council Candidate Statements: Disctrict 8: Jason Overman

By Jason Overman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

I’m honored that a diverse coalition of senior citizens, environmentalists, neighborhood leaders, students, tenants, and homeowners asked me to give our community a viable alternative to the out-of-step District 8 Councilmember in this election. -more-


Berkeley City Council Candidate Statements: District 8: Gordon Wozniak

By Gordon Wozniak
Tuesday October 24, 2006

In 2002 I ran as an independent who could bridge the gap between the two often-warring factions on the City Council. Council meeting were acrimonious and often ran into the wee hours of morning. Under the leadership of Mayor Bates, the City Council has developed a more collegial manner while addressing difficult issues. I am proud to have played an important role in this transformation. -more-


UC Workers, Allies Arrested at Protest for Custodian Wages

By Judith Scherr
Friday October 20, 2006

Thirty-nine custodians and their supporters—including City Councilmember Max Anderson —sat down at the intersection of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue Wednesday afternoon to make the point that UC Berkeley custodians should receive wages equal to wages earned by others in the area doing similar work. -more-


Mitchell and Maio Battle for Future of District 1

By Judith Scherr
Friday October 20, 2006

If Merrilie Mitchell were elected to replace 14-year incumbent Linda Maio as District 1 councilmember, she said she would continue the nuts-and-bolts activism she’s known for: peddling her bicycle throughout Berkeley and attending every city meeting she can. -more-


Council Candidates Spar in Willard Debate

By Judith Scherr
Friday October 20, 2006

Willard Park area residents want a safe, quiet place to live, they told mayoral and City Council candidates at a Tuesday candidates’ night, sponsored by the Willard Neighborhood Association, that drew more than 80 people. -more-


Sea Scouts Might Fold After High Court Passes

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday October 20, 2006

The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal on Monday to review a ruling that allows the City of Berkeley to deny the Sea Scouts a free dock at the Marina because of its discrimination against gays and atheists could spell the end for the 74-year-old sailing group. -more-


Beier’s Pub Event for Students Draws Attacks and Praise

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday October 20, 2006

“Politics can be fun” was the message Berkeley City Council candidate George Beier sent out to UC Berkeley students and young Southside residents during his campaign party at Blakes on Telegragh Wednesday. -more-


Compromise Proposed for Harrison Street Development

By Judith Scherr
Friday October 20, 2006

It took a week of intense negotiations, with Councilmember Laurie Capitelli moving back and forth between developer Jim Hart and neighbors of Hart’s proposed five-story mixed-use project at Harrison Street and San Pablo Avenue, for the two sides to come to what appears will be a compromise agreement. -more-


Downtown Planners Confront Homeless, Housing Need

By Richard Brenneman
Friday October 20, 2006

Citizens helping to create a new downtown plan for Berkeley turned their attention to one of the city center’s perennial conundrums Wednesday night: street -more-


Man Shot at Troubled Oregon Street Residence

By Richard Brenneman
Friday October 20, 2006

The long-running saga of the house at 1610 Oregon St. took another twist Tuesday morning with the backyard shooting of a 19-year-old San Leandro man. -more-


BHS Students Attack Officer Trying to Stop Youth Brawl

By Richard Brenneman
Friday October 20, 2006

When a Berkeley police bicycle officer spotted a couple of youths brawling in the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue Tuesday noon, he didn’t expect he’d be joining the fray. -more-


Props. 83, 85 and 90 Seek to Change California Laws

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday October 20, 2006

Three propositions on the November ballot—83, 85, and 90—would make significant changes to the California Constitution or California law. -more-


State Props. 86, 87 and 88 Look to Use New Taxes

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday October 20, 2006

Three propositions on the November statewide ballot seek to raise taxes to support various state programs. Proposition 86 would tax cigarettes to support health projects, Proposition 87 would tax oil producers to fund and encourage alternative energy sources, and Proposition 88 would increase educational spending through a parcel tax. -more-


Upcoming Candidate Events

Friday October 20, 2006

Sat., Oct. 21 -more-


Doubletree Hotel Employees Get New Contract, New Owners

By Judith Scherr
Friday October 20, 2006

With a newly negotiated contract in hand, Doubletree Hotel employees will return to familiar seats at the bargaining table next week. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Vote Yes on Measure A — Really!

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Mohammed Ali, the iconoclastic boxing champion originally known as Cassius Clay, used to describe his technique this way: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” We’ve tried to take that as our motto for the editorial column of this publication, but evidently we’ve overdone it on the butterfly side. I got an anguished call last week from my old friend the Marxist Tax Accountant, who surprised everyone by becoming the father of twins just about the time the rest of us were seeing our kids off to college. -more-


Editorial: Political Parties Aren’t for Everyone at Cal

By Becky O’Malley
Friday October 20, 2006

Someone called us this week to complain that the depiction of mayoral candidate Zelda Bronstein in Tuesday’s cartoon was, to put it kindly, very unflattering. The caller opined that she and two (female) friends thought that the cartoonist must be a misogynist at heart, since he always seems to draw Bronstein harshly. Well, probably that’s not the explanation. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday October 24, 2006

NEBA DEFECTIONS -more-


Letters to the Editor, continued

Tuesday October 24, 2006

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-


Commentary: What’s Right About Condo Conversion Measure

By John Koenigshofer
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Over the past few weeks, Chris Kavanagh and his comrades have flooded the Daily Planet with denunciations of Measure I, the citizen initiative that would allow a limited number of surplus rental units to be converted to condominiums. According to Kavanagh the measure is nothing but a conspiracy to evict thousands of tenants. Simply stated, the truth has not been told. -more-


Commentary: People’s Park from an Insider’s Perspective

By Dan McMullan
Tuesday October 24, 2006

By Dan McMullan -more-


Commentary: An Open Letter to the Berkeley School Board

By Danniel Rudman
Tuesday October 24, 2006

On Aug. 23, 17 members of the Warm Pool attended the School Board meeting asking for your support. We were not just representing ourselves. We were representing approximately 400 people a week, in ages ranging from two months old to 88, who exercise, rehabilitate themselves, and gain strength and peace of mind at this valuable facility. Included in this group are the following: -more-


Letters to the Editor

Friday October 20, 2006

GOLDEN GATE FIELDS -more-


Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Statements: Tom Bates

Tom Bates
Friday October 20, 2006

Four years ago I entered the race for mayor with a simple promise—that we would turn a new page in Berkeley’s political history by setting aside the old political divisions and working together to make Berkeley the very best it can be. We have been remarkably successful—governing with civility, supporting our kids and schools, making Berkeley an environmental leader again, and creating affordable housing. -more-


Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Statements: Zelda Bronstein

Zelda Bronstein
Friday October 20, 2006

Since June, I’ve been going door-to-door talking to Berkeley voters all over town. I’ve now visited thousands of households, and everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve encountered dissatisfaction with the current mayor and his administration. The details vary, but one theme is constant: In Berkeley, of all places, people feel that they have lost control of their local government. My campaign is about reclaiming City Hall for the community. -more-


Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Statements: Christian Pecaut

Christian Pecaut
Friday October 20, 2006

Landlords: Remorseless, lying, blood-sucking parasites. More property, more vicious. Give back every dollar stolen from the tenants, immediately, in cash. Rent is Theft. -more-


Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Statements: Zachary RunningWolf

Zachary RunningWolf
Friday October 20, 2006

Come Run with the Running Wolf -more-


UPCOMING CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

Friday October 20, 2006

THE DAILY PLANET

Friday October 20, 2006

Mayor: Zelda Bronstein -more-


Commentary: Milo Foundation Poses Health Risks for Neighbors

By Jane Tierney
Friday October 20, 2006

The City of Berkeley, by casually, sans permit, allowing Milo Foundation to introduce, in a deliberate and concerted effort, unknown and diseased animals to our neighborhood, has exhibited gross negligence in the administration of their duties to protect and serve the residents of our community. This community includes neighbors, volunteers and visiting public to the locations surrounding the 1575 Solano and 1572 Capistrano Ave. addresses. The cavalier and uninformed lack of control over these conditions puts the City of Berkeley at great risk for potential lawsuits from individual and groups most at risk for these diseases, that is, the entire public. -more-


Commentary: The Swiftboating of Measure J

By Judith Epstein
Friday October 20, 2006

Until recently, I held the naïve belief that only objective language would be used in official voters’ materials. But I was wrong. Unlike the state attorney general, our city attorney is not legally required to use impartial language to explain ballot measures to the public. As a result, Berkeley voters do not have an absolute right to unbiased presentations of municipal measures. -more-


Commentary: Myopia, Not Vision, in North Shattuck Plan

By Art Goldberg
Friday October 20, 2006

Twice during the past few months, the Planet has published articles proclaiming a “new vision” for Shattuck Avenue north of Vine Street, where the Farmers’ Market is located. The promoters of this “vision,” almost exclusively realtors, developers, architects and merchants, would like you to believe they will be creating a pedestrian plaza with lots of greenspace and trees. -more-


Commentary: How State Bond Measures are Paid and Used

By Roy Nakadegawa
Friday October 20, 2006

If all four bond measures, Propositions 1B to 1E, pass, the State’s bond debt would almost double. With constant economic growth, we might afford it, but in a downturn or even if State’s revenue is flat, we will have to increase taxes, cut services, or borrow even more money to pay for the Bonds. Worse, some of the bond funds would be used in a socially inequitable manner, failing to produce long-term benefits or improve our quality of life, environment and economy. Measures 1C and 1D seem worthwhile, but 1B and 1E do not. -more-


Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Lights Out on Berkeley Transportation Planning?

By Michael Katz
Tuesday October 24, 2006

It’s worrisome enough that Berkeley has failed to maintain a relatively simple blinking crosswalk at the risky Ashby/Piedmont intersection, as the Daily Planet reported on Oct. 6. -more-


Column: Advice From Beyond

By Susan Parker
Tuesday October 24, 2006

The Alta Bates Emergency Room doctor gave Ralph 24 hours to live. An attendant wheeled Ralph, in a hospital bed, into the East Wing of ICU. The admitting doctor said Ralph probably wouldn’t make it through the night. -more-


Berkeley’s Barn Owls: The View From 1926

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Berkeley was a much different place 80 years ago. But then as now, it was prime barn owl territory. During the summer of 1926, E. Raymond Hall of UC’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology kept track of a family of owls nesting in the tower of the First Presbyterian Church that then stood at Dana and Channing. Hall, who habitually worked late, heard them calling while walking home from the museum between 10 p.m. and midnight. -more-


The View

By P.M. Price
Friday October 20, 2006

Two Sundays ago, on Oct. 8, I rose before dawn (way before) to drive a friend to Ocean Beach in San Francisco and take part in Ma’afa, what turned out to be an extremely moving ceremony marking the estimated 100 million African ancestors who perished during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, commonly referred to as the Middle Passage. -more-


Under Currents: Checking in on the Media’s Coverage of the AG Race

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday October 20, 2006

It’s rare these days that I find myself in agreement with Mayor Jerry Brown’s attorney general campaign consultant and spokesperson, who specializes in the kind of fighter pilot/attack dog responses you would expect from someone named Ace Smith. But when Mr. Smith calls it “pathetic and desperate” a recent threat by Republicans to file a lawsuit challenging Mr. Brown’s attorney general credentials, he’s right on target. This is a matter for the voters to decide, not the judges. -more-


Esther M. Owens 1898-2006

By Donna Maynard
Friday October 20, 2006

Esther Owens was born Esther Frances Wagner in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, on March 13, 1898, the last of Anna and Max Wagner’s three children. While on a visit home from singing in a light-opera road company, Esther met her future husband, Forest John Maynard, originally from Vermont. After several moves because of Forest’s work, the young couple eventually settled in the Bay Area, first in Berkeley, then in Oakland. -more-


About The House: The Dangers of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

By MATT CANTOR
Friday October 20, 2006

Killing yourself isn’t as easy as it used to be. You used to be able to get in your 8,000 pound Buick, pull into the garage, tune in KNBR and slowly pass into unconsciousness to the strains of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” as the disappointments of the world faded softly into nothingness. Wow, that was dark. But it’s a reality that carbon monoxide has been widely used to end it all for many decades, maybe a hundred years. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By LARRY GUILLOT
Friday October 20, 2006

How’s Your Earthquake Knowledge ? (Part 2) -more-


Garden Variety: Take the Thyme for a Jaunt To Morningsun Herb Farm

By RON SULLIVAN
Friday October 20, 2006

Here’s another field trip, in case you’re not busy enough with all the October nursery sales and native-plant fests. Morningsun Herb Farm has a few natives, but its focus is garden herbs in the vernacular sense of the word: useful culinary, medicinal, and fragrant plants. -more-


Oakland Housing Authority Wins Award for Mixed-Use Project

Bay City News
Friday October 20, 2006

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials announced this week that the Oakland Housing Agency has won a national award for its Mandela Gateway Mixed-Use Housing Development. -more-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Tuesday October 24, 2006

TUESDAY, OCT. 24 -more-


The Theater: Antenna Theater Brings Audience Back to ‘High School’

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 24, 2006

It’s not exactly High School Confidential, the interactive show Sausalito’s Antenna Theater is staging at Berkeley High through this weekend, but as an example of Antenna’s ‘Walkmanology,’ more of a tour through four years on campus compressed into 45 minutes, literally a walk-through of secondary education. -more-


Harvest of Song Features Local Composers, Poets

By Jaime Robles, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 24, 2006

I am waiting for a rehearsal, held in the living room of a beautiful home, to begin. It’s the first time I will hear the pianist and soprano who are performing an aria that I wrote the libretto for. Earlier I saw the composer, Peter Josheff, going over the music with the pianist. He was totally focused. What he was telling her matters. -more-


SF Jazz Festival Underway

By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 24, 2006

At the Friday night opening concert of the 24th annual SF Jazz Festival, Sonny Rollins performed a half dozen tunes for almost two hours with an astounding amount of passion, strength and nobility. -more-


Berkeley’s Barn Owls: The View From 1926

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Berkeley was a much different place 80 years ago. But then as now, it was prime barn owl territory. During the summer of 1926, E. Raymond Hall of UC’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology kept track of a family of owls nesting in the tower of the First Presbyterian Church that then stood at Dana and Channing. Hall, who habitually worked late, heard them calling while walking home from the museum between 10 p.m. and midnight. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday October 24, 2006

TUESDAY, OCT. 24 -more-


Arts Calendar

Friday October 20, 2006

FRIDAY, OCT. 20 -more-


Theater: Central Works Brings ‘Andromache’ to City Club

By KEN BULLOCK
Friday October 20, 2006

A veiled woman enters a long chamber by the near door, kneels in a patch of light, tosses back her veil and mutters some kind of devotional, eyes heavenward. Another veiled woman hurries in and spirits the first away through the far door. A robed man enters, goes to the far door, but falls to the floor in tears, crying out “Andromache!” A sword-bearing man enters, whispers to the prostrate man, and they leave. A young man in a tattered robe enters. -more-


MOVING PICTURES: ‘The Motel’ Strives for Indie Credibility

By JUSTIN DeFREITAS
Friday October 20, 2006

So-called “indie” cinema is supposed to break away from the tired formulas of Hollywood filmmaking. Yet indie films themselves have lapsed into their own formulas, generating just as many clichés as the Hollywood blockbusters at which they so haughtily sneer. Unfortunately, Michael Kang’s The Motel embraces far too many of them. -more-


Film: All We Are Saying is Give Grass a Chance

By Roger Rapoport
Friday October 20, 2006

One film that did not make it on the fall film festival circuit this year is The Life and Times of John Sinclair. A documentary with plenty of smoke that mirrors the protest movement, it’s the story of the man who jump started John Lennon’s political career, John Sinclair. -more-


Rollins Kicks Off SF Jazz Festival

Friday October 20, 2006

Editor’s note: The preview for the 24th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival which ran in the Oct. 17 issue of the Berkeley Daily Planet gave the wrong lineup. It repeated the list of last year’s festival performers. Below is the corrected information about the kick-off of this year’s festival. The preview of the rest of the festival will run next week. -more-


A Homecoming For Alaine Rodin

By Ken Bullock
Friday October 20, 2006

Soprano Alaine Rodin, Berkeley native, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory and the Juilliard School, has made an international career for herself as an opera singer. -more-


About The House: The Dangers of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

By MATT CANTOR
Friday October 20, 2006

Killing yourself isn’t as easy as it used to be. You used to be able to get in your 8,000 pound Buick, pull into the garage, tune in KNBR and slowly pass into unconsciousness to the strains of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” as the disappointments of the world faded softly into nothingness. Wow, that was dark. But it’s a reality that carbon monoxide has been widely used to end it all for many decades, maybe a hundred years. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By LARRY GUILLOT
Friday October 20, 2006

How’s Your Earthquake Knowledge ? (Part 2) -more-


Garden Variety: Take the Thyme for a Jaunt To Morningsun Herb Farm

By RON SULLIVAN
Friday October 20, 2006

Here’s another field trip, in case you’re not busy enough with all the October nursery sales and native-plant fests. Morningsun Herb Farm has a few natives, but its focus is garden herbs in the vernacular sense of the word: useful culinary, medicinal, and fragrant plants. -more-


Oakland Housing Authority Wins Award for Mixed-Use Project

Bay City News
Friday October 20, 2006

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials announced this week that the Oakland Housing Agency has won a national award for its Mandela Gateway Mixed-Use Housing Development. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday October 20, 2006

FRIDAY, OCT. 20 -more-