Denise Brown
Denise Brown

Page One

Beloved Vice Principal’s Sudden Death Stuns BHS

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The purple ribbons fluttering in the wind inside the Berkeley High School courtyard symbolized the loss of BHS Vice Principal Denise Brown for the entire Berkeley Unified School District Monday. -more-



BP-University Liaison Raises Questions

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Seven years ago, the Atlantic Monthly published “The Kept University,” a story about a $25 million five-year liaison between the giant Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and California’s premier public university, UC Berkeley. -more-



Election Report Highlights City’s Big Spenders

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 06, 2007

With the final campaign expenditures for the November elections in on Jan. 31, it became definitive that the top spender was the losing challenger for District 7: George Beier. -more-



BUSD Fetes Distinguished Teacher Charles Hamilton

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 06, 2007

When Charles Hamilton teaches jazz at Berkeley High, every note has to be perfect. -more-



Downtown Committee to Take Stock, Eye Hotel Plans

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 06, 2007

With a November deadline looming, the panel of citizens charged with helping the city draft a new downtown plan will pause to take stock Wednesday. -more-



Features

Berkeley School Board Takes First Look At State Funding for 2007-2008

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The School Board will be meeting on Wednesday to receive information on the governor’s budget for fiscal year 2007-08, which was released on Jan. 10. -more-


News Analysis: UC’s Biotech Benefactors:

By Miguel A. Altieri and Eric Holt-Gimenez
Tuesday February 06, 2007

With royal fanfare, British Petroleum just donated $500 million in research funds for UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois to develop new sources of energy—primarily biotechnology to produce biofuel crops. This comes on the anniversary of Berkeley’s hapless research deal with seed giant Novartis ten years ago. However, at half a billion dollars, the BP grant dwarfs Novartis’ investment by a factor of 10. The graphics of the announcement were unmistakable: BP’s corporate logo is perfectly aligned with the flags of the Nation, the State, and the University. -more-


Wright’s Garage Leads ZAB Agenda

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The Zoning Adjustments Board will once again hear the request for a use permit for the conversion of Wright’s Garage on 2629-2635 Ashby Ave. into a multi-tenant commercial building on Thursday. -more-


East Bay Municipal Utilities District Issues Call for Tap Water Conservation

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 06, 2007

East Bay Municipal Utilities District officials are urging their customers to ease off on the taps—at least until they can finish a much needed retrofit of the Claremont Tunnel. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Steal music player, lose their bikes -more-


Margaret Breland Apartments Open With Thursday Ceremony

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Some of Berkeley’s poorest older residents will soon be living in comfortable new quarters with the opening Thursday of the Margaret Breland Apartments. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday February 06, 2007

OAKS, BEVATRON -more-


Commentary: Elmwood Endangered by Runaway Development

By Raymond Barglow
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Compared to adjacent communities, Berkeley is in many ways an attractive city to live in or to visit. But our city is very vulnerable to pressures brought by commercial real estate developers. A case in point is the pending application by Gordon Commercial for a use permit that includes a 5,000-square-foot restaurant and bar at Ashby just below College. If this application is granted, it will increase retail floor space in the four-block area surrounding College and Ashby by 11 percent, and quality of life in the neighborhood will decline for residents and visitor alike. -more-


Commentary: Great Public Spaces Give Identity to Communities

By Kirstin Miller
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The world’s best-loved cities all have something in common—beautiful public squares and plazas surrounded by magnificent buildings. They are the places where people meet and things happen, the places we tell stories about. Across the United States, public squares and plazas are being rediscovered as a powerful way of revitalizing and transforming downtowns. -more-


Commentary: Molly Ivins Tribute: Supporting Watada

By Ying Lee
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Sept. 11, 2001 was a terrible tragedy. For those of us who were up early that morning and were called to turn on the TV, we saw a horrible series of events—not read, not imagined—in real time. A worse tragedy occurred when our country, under false pretenses, attacked Iraq. Although the bombs, mortars, other sophisticated weapons were directed at Iraqis, the attack was also a less obvious one against Americans. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Wozniak’s Vote: A Conflict of Interest?

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Lately opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com has been getting complaints not only about outrages and abuses in the wider world, and about our own supposed transgressions in the pages of the Planet, but about letters to the editors and other responsible parties in other media which the proprietors of same didn’t print. For example, we ran a couple of letters lambasting the San Francisco Chronicle for a particularly lame editorial on Lt. Ehren Watada’s refusal to fight in what he terms an illegal war. The editorial writer claimed that “no soldier can be allowed to pick and choose assignments, a notion that undercuts the necessary hierarchy of military order.” He or she must have been out the day they studied the Nuremberg Trials in history class in high school. To be fair, the Chronicle did publish one snappy letter the next day making this very point, but two other good ones which the Chron didn’t see fit to print ended up in the Daily Planet instead. Which is fine. Happy to be of service. -more-


Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Grandma Goes to Baghdad

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The weekend of Jan. 26, speaker of the House and six-time grandmother Nancy Pelosi traveled to Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to get a personal view of George Bush’s “war” on terrorism. Judging from her initial comments, the trip hardened Pelosi’s opposition to Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq. So, what should we expect the Pelosi-led Dems to do about Iraq? -more-


Column: A Hunters Point Teen Speaks Out

By Jernee Suga’ Baby Carter
Tuesday February 06, 2007

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week Susan Parker turns her column over to guest columnist Jernee Suga’ Baby Carter, writing in response to the Daily Planet’s call for writers to follow in Molly Ivins’s footsteps. -more-


Green Neighbors: Leave a Parking Space for that Hummer!

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday February 06, 2007

All right, the season’s over. Put down that polesaw. I don’t mean the pruning season, exactly. I mean the pruning free-for-all season: that season where a pruner’s only concern is the anatomy and physiology of the tree being pruned. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday February 06, 2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay

Tuesday February 06, 2007

The Power of Botero’s Abu Ghraib Images

By Peter Selz, Special to the Planet
Tuesday February 06, 2007

The Theater: Blake Hawkeyes Founder’s New Play Mounted in Marin

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday February 06, 2007

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday February 06, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Wozniak’s Vote: A Conflict of Interest? 02-06-2007

Editorial: Carry It On 02-02-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 02-06-2007

Commentary: Elmwood Endangered by Runaway Development By Raymond Barglow 02-06-2007

Commentary: Great Public Spaces Give Identity to Communities By Kirstin Miller 02-06-2007

Commentary: Molly Ivins Tribute: Supporting Watada By Ying Lee 02-06-2007

Letters to the Editor 02-02-2007

Commentary: Center Street: Leave Options Open By Mark McLeod 02-02-2007

Commentary: Walkable Open Space Best Option for Center Street By Wendy Alfsen 02-02-2007

Commentary: Correcting McLeod’s Errors on Center Street By Rob Wrenn 02-02-2007

Commentary: Israel Colonization is the Primary Obstacle to Peace By Matthew Taylor 02-02-2007

Commentary: Justice, Peace, Righteousness By Joseph Lifschutz 02-02-2007

Commentary: Carter’s Great Service to History and Justice By Marc Sapir 02-02-2007

News

Beloved Vice Principal’s Sudden Death Stuns BHS By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-06-2007

BP-University Liaison Raises Questions By Judith Scherr 02-06-2007

Election Report Highlights City’s Big Spenders By Judith Scherr 02-06-2007

BUSD Fetes Distinguished Teacher Charles Hamilton By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-06-2007

Downtown Committee to Take Stock, Eye Hotel Plans By Richard Brenneman 02-06-2007

Berkeley School Board Takes First Look At State Funding for 2007-2008 By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-06-2007

News Analysis: UC’s Biotech Benefactors: By Miguel A. Altieri and Eric Holt-Gimenez 02-06-2007

Wright’s Garage Leads ZAB Agenda By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-06-2007

East Bay Municipal Utilities District Issues Call for Tap Water Conservation By Richard Brenneman 02-06-2007

Police Blotter By Richard Brenneman 02-06-2007

Margaret Breland Apartments Open With Thursday Ceremony By Richard Brenneman 02-06-2007

Carter Named New BHS Football Coach By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-02-2007

Lake Merritt Development Stirs Debate, Calls for Control By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-02-2007

N. Shattuck Plaza Plan Looks for Common Ground By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-02-2007

Local Contingent Travels to Support Lt. Watada at Trial By Judith Scherr 02-02-2007

Pacific Steel Suit Settlement Announced By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-02-2007

A Close Look at Downtown Transportation Options By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-02-2007

Council Says Bevatron May Be Dismantled By Judith Scherr 02-02-2007

Berkeley School Board Discusses Report on Test Scores By Rio Bauce 02-02-2007

Berkeley High Beat: How Students Cope with Finals By Rio Bauce 02-02-2007

Panthers Snag Soccer Title By Dan Lindheim 02-02-2007

A Tribute to Molly Ivins: Reflections on the Washington Peace March By Betty Medsger 02-02-2007

City Adopts Alcohol Sales Limits Urged by Coalition By Judith Scherr 02-02-2007

Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Grandma Goes to Baghdad By Bob Burnett 02-06-2007

Column: A Hunters Point Teen Speaks Out By Jernee Suga’ Baby Carter 02-06-2007

Green Neighbors: Leave a Parking Space for that Hummer! By Ron Sullivan 02-06-2007

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: Bolivian Elites Mobilize; Turkish Army Masses By Conn Hallinan 02-02-2007

Column: Undercurrents: Remembering, Mourning and Following Molly Ivins By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-02-2007

About the House: A Few Words About Skylights By Matt Cantor 02-02-2007

Garden Variety: Get There Before It’s Gone: Ken’s in San Pablo By Ron Sullivan 02-02-2007

Quake Tip of the Week: Bad News About Your Retrofit By Larry Guillot 02-02-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 02-06-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 02-06-2007

The Power of Botero’s Abu Ghraib Images By Peter Selz, Special to the Planet 02-06-2007

The Theater: Blake Hawkeyes Founder’s New Play Mounted in Marin By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-06-2007

Green Neighbors: Leave a Parking Space for that Hummer! By Ron Sullivan 02-06-2007

Berkeley This Week 02-06-2007

Arts Calendar 02-02-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 02-02-2007

Shepard’s ‘True West’ at Live Oak Theater By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-02-2007

About the House: A Few Words About Skylights By Matt Cantor 02-02-2007

Garden Variety: Get There Before It’s Gone: Ken’s in San Pablo By Ron Sullivan 02-02-2007

Quake Tip of the Week: Bad News About Your Retrofit By Larry Guillot 02-02-2007

Berkeley This Week 02-02-2007

Correction 02-02-2007