News

Back to the Future for the Berkeley City Council

By Judith Scherr
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Measure J Defeated, Supporters Vow Fight

By Richard Brenneman
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Mixed Results for Sequoia Voting System

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Riddle, Issel and Hemphill Win BUSD Seats

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday November 10, 2006

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


Anti-Mall Duo Win in Albany; Green Candidate Claims Richmond Victory

By Richard Brenneman
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Berkeley Condo Conversion Fails, Measure H and G Pass

By Judith Scherr
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Kernighan Reelected, Guillen Wins Peralta Seat, Ruby New Oakland Auditor

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Search Begins for Next Berkeley Library Director

By Judith Scherr
Friday November 10, 2006

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


Pamyla Means Nominated To Fill City Clerk Post

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Caplan Named City Finance Head

By Richard Brenneman
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Veterans Day Celebrated Saturday

By Richard Brenneman
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Planning Commission Toasts Proposition 90’s Defeat

By Richard Brenneman
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


LeConte Students Conduct Exit Poll

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Groups Plan Protest Against Pacific Steel

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


News Analysis: Immigration Reform Surprise: Hard Liners Lost

By Frank Sharry, New America Media
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


The Public Demands Solutions

By Frank Sharry, New America Media
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Asians in Eight States Favored Democrats in Election

New America Media
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


News Analysis: GOP Could Learn From Arnold’s Effect on Black Voters for ‘08

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


News Analysis: Blacks Play for High Stakes In Mid-Term Elections

By E.R. Shipp, New American Media
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Berkeley Sea Scouts Defend Their Program

By Rio Bauce, Special to the Planet
Friday November 10, 2006

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-


Flash: Hard Fought Berkeley Races End in Victory for Incumbents, Measure J Defeated

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Flash: Issel, Riddle, Hemphill Win School Board Seats, Measure A Approved By Huge Margin

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Richmond Recruits Youth to Help Restore Its Past Glories

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday November 07, 2006
Contributed by Ellen Gailing.
                  Richmond residents Dolores Garcia and Eduardo Carrasco practice for Saturday’s Dance Swap at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond.

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-


THE DAILY PLANET ENDORSES

Tuesday November 07, 2006

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


Campaign Cash Flowed As Election Approached

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


PAC’s Last Postcard: SuperGeorge Licks Phantom Crime Wave

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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


Techie Innovations Draw Qualified Praise, Criticisms

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Commission Adds 2 Landmarks, Urges Preservation of BHS Gym

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Downtown Area Committee Pauses For a Vision Check

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Candidates Join Forces to Host Election Night Parties

Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


City Goes to Court to Re-Open Police Complaint Hearings

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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


Hudson-McDonald Presses ZAB For 148-Unit Trader Joe’s Building

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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


Berkeley School Board Reaffirms Commitment to Integration

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


Planners to Ponder New Laws For Milo Foundation, Designs

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday November 07, 2006

Hooded bandit -more-


Immigration Trumps War for Many Ethnic Voters

By Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, New America Media
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


10 Questions for Councilmember Max Anderson

By Jonathan Wafer, Special to the Planet
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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-


First Person: The War on Ourselves

By Winston Burton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday November 07, 2006

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