News

ZAB Hears Wright’s Garage Debate

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 13, 2007

The Zoning Adjustments Board closed the public hearing for Wright’s Garage on Thursday and continued the matter to March 8. -more-


City Reviews Planned Section 8 Rent Hike

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 13, 2007

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-


Judge Denies Open Police Complaint Hearings

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 13, 2007

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-


Berkeley District Students’ API State Test Scores Increase

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 13, 2007

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 Prepare Rally to Save Berkeley Iceland

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 13, 2007

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-


Suspect Arrested in Pacific Center Hate Crime Attacks

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 13, 2007

Staff is breathing easier at Berkeley’s 14-year-old support center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. -more-


Berkeley Lab, University Plans Dominate Planning Agendas

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 13, 2007

Berkeley Planning Commissioners will get their first official look at expansion plans for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL) Wednesday night. -more-


Remembering denise brown: Passing the Torch of Community Spirit

By Kalima Rose
Tuesday February 13, 2007

By Kalima Rose -more-


BHS Sophomores Face Exit Exam

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Referendum Drive Seeks to Halt Brower Center Project

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 09, 2007

Is the referendum fast becoming the weapon of choice for Berkeley voters to challenge City Council decisions? -more-


N. Shattuck Plaza Forum Provokes Heated Debate

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Wozniak’s Web Writings on Wright’s Garage Create Conflict

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


AC Transit Increases Use of Controversial Buses

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Shattuck Hotel Restoration Previewed at DAPAC Meeting

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 09, 2007

“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-


Downtown Planners Confront ‘The Elephant in the Room’

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Audience Demands to be Heard at PSC Meeting

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Berkeley School Board Reviews Budget, Lunch Progran

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Peralta Trustee Questions Financial Priorities Of District, Debate Grows over Bond Funds

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


A First Look at Alameda County’s New Juvenile Hall

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Program Demonstrates Possibility of Permanent Housing for the Homeless

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Mental Health Funding Threatened

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Correction

Friday February 09, 2007

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-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 09, 2007

Roving firefighters discover trailer fire -more-


Bush and the Confederacy

By Ted Vincent, Special to the Planet
Friday February 09, 2007

“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-


First Person: Top 10 Lessons from the First Year of Motherhood

By Sonja Fitz
Friday February 09, 2007

1. Sleep shmeep -more-


News Analysis: U.S. Schools Benefit from Mexican Largesse

By Louis E. V. Nevaer, New America Media
Friday February 09, 2007

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-