News

Berkeley fault lines—literal and legal—dominated long hours of argument Tuesday during an intense hearing in Judge Barbara J. Miller’s crowded Hayward courtroom. -more-

Neighbors of Alta Bates Medical Center denounced what they said was an effort on the part of the hospital on Wednesday to influence the results of a required parking and traffic survey by lowering the number of employees parking in the neighborhood on the days of the survey. -more-

It’s official. The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) is headed back to the ballot box. -more-

The Peralta Community College District’s conversion to running district operations through an information management system purchased from the former PeopleSoft company was hastily managed at the beginning, is two years behind its initial projected completion, and is costing the district millions of dollars in unanticipated consultant fees, according to a report given last week by the district’s information technology office to Peralta trustees. -more-

A massive dog with bared fangs stands atop the blindfolded half-naked man lying face down on the jail-cell floor; an unclothed hooded man is hoisted upside down by the rope tightly tied around his left ankle; a prison guard with large army boots beats and kicks a bound prisoner. -more-

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce political action arm spent $100,000 in a much-publicized attempt to influence local November elections and to direct the path of economic development in the city. -more-

First you see them. Then you don’t. -more-

UC Berkeley’s building boom has chalked up plans for still more construction, with the unveiling this week of the final draft of another Long Range Development Plan (LRDP)—this one proposing to add nearly a million square feet of new construction by 2025. -more-

UC Berkeley is looking for a representative of the Berkeley community to fill a vacant position on the People’s Park Community Advisory Board. -more-

The city has removed median strips in the middle of Telegraph Avenue between Prince and Russell streets, alarming area residents about pedestrian safety. -more-

The Berkeley Planning Commission agreed to continue through February the public hearing for zoning changes on Telegraph Avenue designed to help businesses on the strip which has experienced an economic downturn according to the city. -more-

Victim clings to life -more-

Three of the most prominent names in Berkeley politics ascended to an oak-borne platform Monday to put their bodies on the line in defense of a campus grove. -more-

Councilmember Dona Spring called a Fair Campaign Practices Commission decision not to pursue a complaint against those responsible for a July opinion poll “a whitewash of a blatantly political” survey. -more-

Despite a city attorney’s finding that a secret pre-election poll on Berkeley landmarks law didn’t violate city election codes, supporters of Berkeley’s defeated Measure J remain skeptical. -more-

A group of Berkeley community members and Bay Area skaters have come together to explore actions which could save the 67-year-old Berkeley Iceland from closing down in March. -more-

The 17-member Oversight Committee for Alameda County’s 2004 Measure A health services sales tax presented its first year of findings to the Board of Supervisors Health Committee this week, concluding that while funds were spent in compliance with the measure’s purposes during the ’04-’05 fiscal year, there were “inconsistencies” in expenditure reporting from organizations receiving Measure A “which did not allow consistent scrutiny of all fund recipients.” -more-

Marcia Freedman went to Israel in 1967 when her then-husband landed a temporary job as guest lecturer at Haifa University. She stayed for decades, becoming an Israeli citizen, a member of the Knesset (1973-77), an author, an out lesbian and a self-defined peace activist. -more-

Stores on economically ailing Telegraph Avenue will be allowed to keep longer hours and many new businesses there will find permits easier to get under new zoning ordinances to be considered by the Planning Commission Wednesday. -more-

The Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday will once again hear a request by Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications for a use permit to construct a new wireless telecommunications facility for 18 cell phone antennas and related equipment atop the UC Storage building at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-