The Week

Ohlone leader Wounded Knee, left, prayed Tuesday for Zachary Running Wolf and other activists who are protesting plans to level a grove of oak trees to make way for a $125 million gym along the western wall of UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
Ohlone leader Wounded Knee, left, prayed Tuesday for Zachary Running Wolf and other activists who are protesting plans to level a grove of oak trees to make way for a $125 million gym along the western wall of UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
 

News

UC Announces Plans for Archaeological Survey

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 23, 2007

UC Berkeley officials announced Thursday that they will conduct an archaeological survey at the site of the Memorial Stadium oak grove. -more-


OUSD Land Sale Deal Declared Dead

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 23, 2007

In a dramatic but not necessarily unexpected announcement, California Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said on Thursday that the proposed deal to sell more than eight acres of prime downtown Oakland Unified School District land to an east coast development team is dead, killed by overwhelming Oakland opposition. -more-


High-Rise Tower Plan Proposed for Downtown

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 23, 2007

Should downtown Berkeley sprout a highrise-studded skyline, complete with 14 new 16-story “point towers” as a solution to regional government demands that the city add new housing? -more-


Joint Panel Readies Downtown Vision

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 23, 2007

The downtown panel subcommittee exploring possibilities for joint city/UC Berkeley coordination on the university’s downtown expansion plans steamed full speed ahead Tuesday, pushing towards a quick wrap-up. -more-


Urban Ore Proposes Zero Waste Transfer Station for City

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday February 23, 2007

The city of Berkeley could have a seven-acre zero waste transfer station at Second and Gilman Streets in the next three to five years. -more-


Berkeley High Beat: Free Breakfast Program Premieres at Berkeley High

By Rio Bauce
Friday February 23, 2007

Berkeley High School has partnered with Ann Cooper, Berkeley Unified School District director of nutrition services, to provide a free breakfast for all its students. Breakfast is served in the morning, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. -more-


Man Charged with Misdemeanors In Pacific Center Threats Case

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 23, 2007

A Clayton man was formally arraigned by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office Tuesday, charged with two misdemeanors: making criminal threats to staff at Pacific Center for Human Growth and vandalism at the agency, a support center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. -more-


Students and Alcohol Policy Group Debate Drinking Laws

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 23, 2007

There are laws on the books against underage drinking and loud parties, but they need more muscle, say advocates of two proposed ordinances that would crack down on adults who allow underage drinking and unruly parties on their premises. -more-


Judge Denies Restraining Order in Woodfin Case

By Judith Scherr
Friday February 23, 2007

A judge turned down a Woodfin Suites Hotel application Wednesday for a temporary restraining order intended to prevent an Emeryville city councilmember and labor leaders from coming within 500 feet of the hotel. -more-


Oakland School for the Arts Undergoes Administrative Overhaul

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 23, 2007

Facing dropping student test scores and continued teacher turnover, Jerry Brown’s heavily-subsidized Oakland School For the Arts charter school has undergone an administrative overhaul in recent months. -more-


Police Blotter

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 23, 2007

Aims, no shot -more-


Fire Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday February 23, 2007

Valentine’s fire -more-


An Open Letter to an Immigration Judge

By Margot Pepper
Friday February 23, 2007

February 14, 2007 -more-


News Analysis: New Cold War With Russia Brewing Over Oil and Gas

By Paolo Pontoniere, New America Media
Friday February 23, 2007

A new Cold War is under way, but unlike the conflict of the Reagan era it is not a fight for military supremacy but rather for gaining control, directly or through commercial proxy, of energy resources. -more-


Oak Grove May Be Native American Burial Site

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Rediscovered evidence of Native American burials at the site of UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium—omitted in university environmental documents—raises new questions about the future of the oak grove beside the stadium where the university is planning a massive building project. -more-


Oakland’s Inclusionary Housing Commission Under Fire

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Four months after it was formed by the Oakland City Council to make recommendations for a comprehensive inclusionary zoning ordinance for the city and two weeks after its final report was supposed to be due, members of the City of Oakland Inclusionary Housing Blue Rib-bon Commission met for the first time Thursday evening under attack from tenant advocates and under pressure from councilmembers to complete an ambitious agenda before the summer council break. -more-


Sustainable Berkeley Contract Questioned

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Next week is Timothy Burroughs’ last week as program officer for a nonprofit that works with cities to address global warming. March 5 will be his first day with Sustainable Berkeley, a collaboration among the city, university, nonprofits and business groups aimed at “keep[ing] Berkeley a national environmental leader.” -more-


DAPAC Tackles High-Rise Buildings, Parking

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Talk of “opportunity sites,” parking spaces and height limits occupied Tuesday’s meeting of a subcommittee hammering out what may become key elements of Berkeley’s plans for the downtown’s future. -more-


Berkeley High School Mourns denise brown at Memorial

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Smiles and tears marked the memorial of Berkeley High School Vice Principal denise brown at the Berkeley Community Theater Thursday. -more-


School Board to Review Homeless Youth Program

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 20, 2007

The Berkeley school board will meet Wednesday to approve a resolution honoring Berkeley Vice Principal denise brown and declaring Feb. 15 as denise brown day. brown died Feb. 2 following complications from knee surgery. -more-


Forum Planned for Reuse of UC Extension on Laguna St.

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 20, 2007

A documentary film and public forum on the history and reuse of the 5.8-acre historic UC Berkeley Extension campus at 55 Laguna St. in San Francisco will be held on Saturday. -more-


City Planners to Review LBNL Long Range Growth Plans

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Planning commissioners last week heard Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) plans for long-range growth and amended the city’s controversial soft-story ordinance. -more-


Emeryville Council Finishes Hotel Worker Regulations

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 20, 2007

While Emeryville voters passed Measure C—the living wage ordinance for hotel workers—in November 2005 the City Council didn’t write the final regulations until last week, when they put into place rules on worker complaints. -more-


ZAB Looks at Mental Health Services, Berkeley Iceland

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 20, 2007

The Zoning Adjustments Board will hear the request for a use permit modification by the City of Berkeley Mental Health and Human Services to change the hours of operation of the Health and Human Services mobile crisis team at 2433 Channing Way from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Oxford/Brower Brouhaha Turns Ugly at the Market

By Becky O’Malley
Friday February 23, 2007

Going to the Tuesday Farmer’s Market is usually a pleasure, but this last Tuesday it was more than a chore, it was an annoyance. It’s become the battleground of choice for those who have differing views about the soon-to-be-launched Brower Center and Oxford Plaza projects. Only the Planet’s opinion pages (see today’s) and the flamemail circuit have seen more skirmishes. -more-


Editorial: One More Time: Who Is My Neighbor?

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday February 20, 2007

So you look out your kitchen window, and in the yard next door the two brothers who live there seem to be fighting. You notice that they’ve got knives and that one of them seems to be bleeding a bit. What do you do? Go over there and stand between them? Call the police? Yell out the window to them, “Cut it out, right now!” Perhaps? Or do you pull down your shades and go on making -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday February 23, 2007

FACELIFT -more-


Commentary: North Shattuck Plaza, Inc.

By Daniel Caraco
Friday February 23, 2007

On the surface, the fuss over a plaza on Shattuck Avenue between Vine and Rose Streets seems silly. Asphalt abounds, the parking and circulation patterns in the area are chaotic, there is interest, and green is in. Beneath the surface, however, lies a cautionary tale about privatizing the development of public assets and resources. What happens when the City entrusts its development agenda to intermediaries? Does this represent a new way of doing business in Berkeley? If so, is it widespread? And, does this practice promote or retard the prospects for good governance? -more-


Commentary; Stadium Stories Paint Sinister Picture

By Vince Tancreto
Friday February 23, 2007

I guess by now I shouldn’t be surprised by every slanted article written about the UC Stadium Project. Your Feb. 20, 2007 article (“Oak Grove May Be Native American Burial Site”) was no exception in the continued disingenuous anti-stadium project rhetoric and misinformation campaign using the BPD as their mouthpiece. Basing this article on the biased opinions of a plaintiff lawyer and an “activist” with obvious agendas presents only the story you apparently want your readers to hear. -more-


Commentary: The Oxford/Brower Bait and Switch

By Barbara Gilbert
Friday February 23, 2007

The Oxford/Brower Project is not only about affordable housing and a green center for environmental activists. It is also about municipal fiscal responsibility, sound downtown economic development, crucial downtown parking, respect for the taxpayer, and honest accounting on the part of public officials. -more-


Commentary: Oxford/Brower Is a Good Investment

By Marcy Greenhut
Friday February 23, 2007

The David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza Housing www.browercenter. org/ is quite possibly the best land use project proposed in Berkeley in this generation. It will serve as a model for other developers and cities who are considering building green; the way forward in building sustainably. -more-


Commentary: Opponents Concerns Unfounded

By Kirstin Miller
Friday February 23, 2007

In an eleventh hour attempt to derail Berkeley’s first ever downtown affordable family housing project and “green” nonprofit office and meeting facility, signature gatherers appearing at Berkeley Farmer’s Markets are telling people that the David Brower Center’s underground parking facility would likely flood during a storm event or as a result of culvert failure due to its proximity to the Strawberry Creek underground culvert and that that is a reason to oppose the project. A few people have also expressed concernthat the Brower Center would make future creek restoration more difficult. -more-


Commentary: Big Projects Need Environmental Impact Reports

By Barry Wofsy
Friday February 23, 2007

It is shocking that the massive Brower development, which includes approximately 18 commercial businesses accompanied by approximately 100 housing units, is not being required to have an environmental impact report (EIR). -more-


Commentary: Attack on Referendum Supporter Was Unfair

By Peter Teichner
Friday February 23, 2007

In his op-ed promoting the Brower Center (Feb 20-22), Rob Wrenn makes such a concerted, personal attack on Gale Garcia and her efforts to expose and oppose the foolhardiness of the City’s giveaway of the proposed Brower Center land that one has to consider what might be his interest in this venture and whether he’s actually a shill for Mayor Bates and the developers. -more-


Molly Ivins Tribute: The Pelosi Revolution

By Phil McArdle
Friday February 23, 2007

Before November’s election it was impossible to imagine the current debate in the House and the Senate. Nancy Pelosi supervised the creation of an outstanding resolution on Iraq for the House of Representatives. For those who have not yet seen it, the text reads: -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday February 20, 2007

OPEN LETTER TO CAL -more-


Commentary: Kofi Annan’s Last Speech at UN Security Council

By Kofi Annan
Tuesday February 20, 2007

The following is an excerpt from Kofi Annan’s final address to the UN Security Council on the Middle East, on December 12, 2006. It appeared in this form in the New York Review of Books for February 15, 2007. -more-


Commentary: Brower/Oxford Development Was Well Reviewed and Is Needed

By Rob Wrenn
Tuesday February 20, 2007

The David Brower Center/Oxford Plaza project, which is two months away from breaking ground in downtown Berkeley, is an excellent project despite the misleading claims being made by opponents of affordable housing who are trying to derail the project. -more-


Commentary: Section 8 Rent Hikes Threaten Disabled and Elderly

By Berkeley Citizens for Fair Housing
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Former Clinton Secretary of State Robert Reich has recently deplored Berkeley’s housing gentrification rush and its unfortunate, un-Berkeley like homogenizing effects (Jan. 30, “The Private Eye”). -more-


The Theater: Pinter’s ‘The Birthday Party’ at Aurora

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday February 20, 2007

In the parlor/dining room of a sleazy boardinghouse, two patterns of wallpaper at war with each other, the day’s just beginning with a husband’s diffidence over a tabloid and a wife’s incessant, skewed platitudes (almost malapropisms) from the Pullman kitchen: is the news good, is the weather nice? -more-


Columns

Column: Undercurrents: Some Thoughts on Sen. Barack Obama’s Presidential Run

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 23, 2007

The serious presidential run of Senator Barack Obama—son of a Kenyan father and white American mother—has given the country an opportunity to hold an adult discussion on the issue of race. Here’s hoping. -more-


Neighbors Riled About Plans to Develop Spring Mansion

By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

When the Spring Mansion first appeared in the nearly tree-less Berkeley Hills, almost 100 years ago, it was more than a home for one of the East Bay’s most successful real estate speculators, the man behind Thousand Oaks, the Claremont Hotel, and the town of Albany. It was a gleaming white advertisement for John Hopkins Spring’s newest suburban development, which surrounded the house. And it could be seen from San Francisco. -more-


John Hudson Thomas’ Legacy

By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

Unlike many of his contemporaries, the architect John Hudson Thomas has not been forgotten—at least not completely. He has fans who compile lists of his houses, which liberally dot the Berkeley Hills, are also common in Oakland and Piedmont, and can be found as far afield as Los Gatos and Woodland, in the Sacramento Valley. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday February 23, 2007

Alert To Renters & Landlords -more-


Column: The Public Eye: ‘Just Say No’ Is Just Wrong

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday February 20, 2007

There’s new evidence that the Bush Administration’s “abstinence only” approach to sex education is not proving effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies or the spread of sexually transmitted disease. -more-


Column: Why Visit India When You Live in Paradise?

By Susan Parker
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Friends invited me to go to India with them and I gave their offer serious consideration. They’re experienced travelers, spending five to six weeks a year on foreign soil, often in places off the beaten track, difficult, and obscure. But at the last minute I opted to stay home. Running around the subcontinent, though no doubt fun, would be fiscally irresponsible. I’ve got new priorities and responsibilities, bills pending and not much income. I need time to adjust to this weird, wretched state of widowhood. -more-


Green Neighbors: Winter Native Flowers: Silk-Tassel and Leatherwood

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Along with all the flowering plums, acacias, and magnolias, a few native trees and shrubs are late-winter bloomers. Most, like the manzanitas and flowering currants, are on the shrubby side. But coast or wavyleaf silk-tassel (Garrya elliptica) is a bona fide tree up to 30 feet high, showy in its own way, and amenable to planting as an ornamental. There’s a particularly handsome silk-tassel specimen on the University Avenue median strip. -more-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Friday February 23, 2007

FRIDAY, FEB. 23 -more-


Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay

Friday February 23, 2007

OEBS PREMIERE OF ‘FIRE AND ICE’ -more-


The Theater: ‘Sweeny Todd’ at Contra Costa Civic Theatre

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

“A barber had a wife—and she was beautiful!” So sings Sweeney Todd at the start of the eponymous musical by Sondheim, in its last two weekends at Contra Costa Civic Theater in El Cerrito. -more-


The Theater: ‘Cartoon’ Comes to Life at La Val’s

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

Asleep in a heap under blue skies with fleecy clouds, the cast of Cartoon is jangled awake and into manic song and dance by an alarm clock, squelched by a mallet-wielding gal, who turns out to be the dictator of the grinning, ‘toonish clan. -more-


Neighbors Riled About Plans to Develop Spring Mansion

By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

When the Spring Mansion first appeared in the nearly tree-less Berkeley Hills, almost 100 years ago, it was more than a home for one of the East Bay’s most successful real estate speculators, the man behind Thousand Oaks, the Claremont Hotel, and the town of Albany. It was a gleaming white advertisement for John Hopkins Spring’s newest suburban development, which surrounded the house. And it could be seen from San Francisco. -more-


John Hudson Thomas’ Legacy

By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet
Friday February 23, 2007

Unlike many of his contemporaries, the architect John Hudson Thomas has not been forgotten—at least not completely. He has fans who compile lists of his houses, which liberally dot the Berkeley Hills, are also common in Oakland and Piedmont, and can be found as far afield as Los Gatos and Woodland, in the Sacramento Valley. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday February 23, 2007

Alert To Renters & Landlords -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday February 23, 2007

FRIDAY, FEB. 23 -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday February 20, 2007

TUESDAY, FEB. 20 -more-


Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay

Tuesday February 20, 2007

‘FLIGHT OUT OF TIME’ RECEPTION AT KALA -more-


Green Neighbors: Winter Native Flowers: Silk-Tassel and Leatherwood

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday February 20, 2007

Along with all the flowering plums, acacias, and magnolias, a few native trees and shrubs are late-winter bloomers. Most, like the manzanitas and flowering currants, are on the shrubby side. But coast or wavyleaf silk-tassel (Garrya elliptica) is a bona fide tree up to 30 feet high, showy in its own way, and amenable to planting as an ornamental. There’s a particularly handsome silk-tassel specimen on the University Avenue median strip. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday February 20, 2007

TUESDAY, FEB. 20 -more-