ZAB Hears Wright’s Garage Debate
The Zoning Adjustments Board closed the public hearing for Wright’s Garage on Thursday and continued the matter to March 8. -more-
The Zoning Adjustments Board closed the public hearing for Wright’s Garage on Thursday and continued the matter to March 8. -more-
Section 8 renters living in apartments of two or more bedrooms will apparently escape the rent hike anticipated on March 1, according to city manager Phil Kamlarz. But those living in studio and one-bedroom apartments may be paying an additional $35 to $45 each month for rent. -more-
The city went to court in November to fight a Berkeley Police Association lawsuit which argued that open police complaint hearings and public availability of records of those hearings violate a police officers’ right to privacy. -more-
The Academic Performance Index (API)—the basis of California’s Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 which measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures—showed significant progress in most Berkeley public schools in 2006 with the exception of Berkeley High School. -more-
Supporters of Save Berkeley Iceland plan to show up in their skating and hockey gear at the Berkeley City Council tonight (Tuesday) to request the city’s help in saving the historic ice rink scheduled to close March 31. -more-
Staff is breathing easier at Berkeley’s 14-year-old support center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. -more-
Berkeley Planning Commissioners will get their first official look at expansion plans for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL) Wednesday night. -more-
By Kalima Rose -more-
A day after Berkeley High School students mourned the sudden death of Vice Principal Denise Brown, over 800 Berkeley High sophomores filed into the gymnasium to take the California High School Exit Exam Tuesday. -more-
Is the referendum fast becoming the weapon of choice for Berkeley voters to challenge City Council decisions? -more-
When residents and merchants of North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto walked into the North Shattuck Plaza workshop on Wednesday evening, the walls were sans plans, sans easels. -more-
While Councilmember Gordon Wozniak thinks it would be a stellar idea to develop the old Wright’s Garage at 2929-23 Ashby Ave. as a restaurant and shops, some criticize the District 8 councilmember, saying he should keep an open mind on land-use questions that may come before him. -more-
Despite heated opposition from representatives of both bus drivers and the bus riding community, the Board of Directors of Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District voted unanimously last week to go forward with a contract that would put 50 new revised models of the controversial Van Hool 40-foot buses on East Bay streets. -more-
“Our goal is to bring the 1910 feeling back to the Bay Area with 2010 amenities that appeal to the corporate traveler,” said the man who will oversee the renovation a downtown Berkeley landmark. -more-
The question before DAPAC Wednesday night was whether to give the elephant in the room its own corner or simply treat it as part of the furniture. -more-
Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Linda Maio had planned a very civil two-hour evening, focusing on Pacific Steel Castings whose “burnt potholder” smell and possibly dangerous emissions have been a community concern for more than two decades. -more-
Deputy superintendent Eric Smith presented board members of the Berkeley Unified School District with information on the governor’s budget for fiscal year 2007-2008 on Wednesday. -more-
Following up on an issue he originally raised in last fall’s election campaign, freshman Peralta Community College District Trustee Abel Guillen questioned ongoing renovation work on the district’s board room, saying that it should not come before renovation at Peralta’s colleges. -more-
Following a breakfast gathering in which local law enforcement officials painted a bleak picture of youth crime in Alameda County, representatives of Alameda County’s black elected officials and black clergy took one of the first public tours the other week of the county’s soon-to-be-opened Juvenile Justice Center. -more-
The man with the sparkling eyes and shoulder-length salt and pepper hair who laughs and jokes with a visitor and shares his passion for photography and writing could have spent much of his life homeless, living in backyards in what he describes as a tube, or shut away in a mental institution. -more-
When the governor released his budget in July, he terminated funds for mental health programs, best known as State Assembly bill AB2034, saying that this funding source, available since 2000, would be replaced by the 2004 voter-approved Proposition 63. -more-
A news analysis article on page 17 of the Feb. 6. edition misidentified one of the recipients of research funds from British Petroleum. It should have been Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, not Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, as reported. -more-
Roving firefighters discover trailer fire -more-
“Is there a president anywhere in the history of America as bad as George W. Bush? I believe there is. It is Jefferson Davis. He came from privilege. He wasn’t elected. And he marched thousands of young men to their death in a long war for immoral ends,” declares Chris Chandler of the Chandler and Roe political/musical duo in a rap he gives between songs—as he did recently at Berkeley’s La Pena night club. -more-
1. Sleep shmeep -more-
At a time when Americans throughout the country are frustrated by the failure of public schools to teach their children, Mexico is increasing its efforts to help struggling school systems deal with immigrant children who speak Spanish. -more-