News

More than half a million dollars and piles of glossy mailers later, campaign weary incumbent mayoral and council candidates—Mayor Tom Bates and Council-members Gordon Wozniak, Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Linda Maio—will retake their old seats on the familiar council dais. -more-

Though Berkeley voters rejected Measure J Tuesday, backers say they’ll go back to the electorate if city councilmembers adopt the new landmarks ordinance they passed on first reading in July. -more-

With Alameda County operating its new Sequoia voting system for the first time in last Tuesday’s general election, the county experienced its share of opening -more-

Incumbents Nancy Riddle, Shirley Issel and challenger Karen Hemphill have won the three open seats on the five-member Berkeley Board of Education. -more-

While Albany’s going to pot, Richmond may be getting a new mayor and El Cerrito is in for the same old, same old. -more-

The defeat of Measure I, a property-owner-backed measure that would have eased conversion of rental units to condominiums, was much easier than No on I coordinator Jesse Arreguin had anticipated. -more-

In the three major contests in this week’s election for positions in Oakland-area government, voters split the difference, with two incumbents turned out and one incumbent re-elected. -more-

A search for a new Berkeley Library director has begun. -more-

City Manager Phil Kamlarz will be asking the Berkeley City Council in closed session on Monday to approve the appointment of Pamyla C. Means as City Clerk. -more-

One of Berkeley’s neighborhood services liaisons, Michael Caplan, got a new job Thursday when he was named acting manager of the city’s Office of Economic Development. -more-

Saturday, 88 years after the guns went silent in Europe at the end of World War I, Berkeley will celebrate Veterans Day with a flag ceremony at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. -more-

There was at least one post-election celebration in Berkeley that brought together Bates and Bronstein backers and Measure J fans and foes in a common spirit of -more-

Third- and fourth-graders at LeConte Elementary School skipped their science, math and writing classes on Tuesday for a hands-on lesson in civic participation. -more-

West Berkeley residents will join environmental justice groups and community members on Saturday in a rally against the toxic pollution and noxious odors emanating from Pacific Steel Casting. -more-

In the months leading up to Tuesday’s election, the conventional wisdom in Washington, D.C., was that immigration would be a powerful wedge issue that would help the Republicans either limit their losses or even retain control of the House of Representatives. -more-

Two polls, one on the eve of the election, the other through the media’s exit polling, confirmed earlier independent polls that the public wants a solution and wants that solution to be comprehensive. -more-

Asian American voters in eight states continued a decade-long shift towards Democratic candidates, with 79 percent of those polled favoring Democrats in Tuesday’s congressional and state elections. They also rejected an affirmative action ban that won in Michigan. -more-

The Arnold Effect was on awesome display Tuesday. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger trounced his hapless and ineffectual Democratic opponent and nearly pulled a few Republicans along with him into other state offices. -more-

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy vs. Ferguson that Jim Crow laws mandating various forms of segregation were OK and that if Blacks had a problem with that “badge of inferiority” it was “solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.” -more-

After their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court failed, several Berkeley Sea Scouts (BSS) have tried to make the public understand the service they offer. The BSS have been under pressure because the City of Berkeley has accused them of operating under the discriminatory policy against gays and atheists of the Boy Scouts of America. For this reason the city took away their previously free use of the dock at the Berkeley Marina, sparking the court case. -more-

More than half a million dollars later, campaign weary incumbent mayoral and council candidates Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Gordon Wozniak, Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Linda Maio will retake their familiar seats on the council dais. -more-

Incumbents Nancy Riddle and Shirley Issel and challenger Karen Hemphill have won the three open seats on the five-member Berkeley Board of Education. -more-

In Richmond they call it the Iron Triangle, a hard-core, high-crime neighborhood bound by railroad tracks and—to outsiders, at least—long abandoned of hope. -more-

Berkeley Mayor: Zelda Bronstein. Berkeley City Council: District 1: no endorsement, District 4: Dona Spring, District 6: Kriss Worthington, District 8: Jason Overman -more-

With the latest loan to his campaign of $26,000, District 7 challenger George Beier has broken Berkeley’s record for financing a City Council campaign. -more-

The Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee outdid itself with a last-minute mailer that hit District 7 mailboxes Monday. -more-

In the last days of the contentious Berkeley City Council District 7 race, challenger George Beier has won praise and attracted criticism for his innovative attempts to tap into the student vote. -more-

In their final meeting before voters decide on their future role in city government, Berkeley commissioners added two new landmarks to the city’s legacy. -more-

Citizens charged with guiding the creation of a new downtown plan called a halt to discussions last week, deciding instead to tackle “the vision thing.” -more-

The schedule of election night parties traditonally provides clues for alert observers about shifting alliances among candidates. All festivities are scheduled to start after the polls close, around 8 o’clock tonight (Tuesday). -more-

Should the Berkeley Police Department be held accountable to the public when its actions are called into question? -more-

The Zoning Adjustments Board will review the Kragen/Trader Joe’s project at 1885 University Ave. on Thursday. -more-

The Berkeley school board passed a resolution last week supporting Brown v. Board of Education and the Seattle, Wash., and Louisville, Ky., public school integration plans, both of which have been challenged by Sacramento-based non-profit Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). -more-

Planning commissioners will decide regulations rather than specific projects when they meet Wednesday. -more-

Hooded bandit -more-

SAN FRANCISCO—Many ethnic voters will troop to the polling booths on Tuesday with one thing in mind: immigration. And there are indications from ethnic journalists that their communities are leaning toward the Democratic ticket to get the kind of comprehensive immigration reform law they want. Some fear that the issue will get swept under the rug until the new Congress starts in January. -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-

We have met the enemy and it is us. -more-