Two problem cops have left the Berkeley Police Department, Chief Doug Hambleton told the Daily Planet Tuesday. -more-
As the Donahue Gym at Berkeley High School exploded in thunderous applause during the host school’s 63-14 win over El Cerrito High on Feb. 16, it was not the game that was the center of everyone’s attention, but the man who helped win it. -more-
Two protests—one Monday and another this Thursday—are adding new fuel to the growing controversy over the proposed $500 million pact between a British oil company, UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois. -more-
Zachary Running Wolf, the activist who launched the tree-sit at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium, spent the weekend in jail, charged with threatening campus police. -more-
Making Telegraph Avenue work for business owners and those who own the buildings the merchants rent, as well as for shoppers, students, street vendors, residents and folks who hang out in the area is a jigsaw puzzle whose odd-size pieces the City Council and the city’s various departments are constantly trying to make fit. -more-
While most of the city’s budget questions are being referred to the months-long budget process that will end in June or July, the City Council will vote tonight (Tuesday) on disbursing a $3.3 million windfall. -more-
A group of neighbors vociferously opposed the construction of a proposed new two-story single-family dwelling at 161 Panoramic Way during the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting Thursday. -more-
In the wake of several citizen complaints about crashes resulting from high-speed Oakland police chases, the Oakland Citizens’ Police Review Board has recommended changes to the city’s police vehicle pursuit policy and has set up a multi-agency task force to make further refinements. -more-
One of the most active campaigns in both California and the nation to put stricter limits on high-speed police pursuits is being conducted by the mother of Kristie Priano, the 15-year-old Chico girl who was killed when the Priano family van was struck by a 15-year-old girl who was being chased by police for taking her mother’s car without permission. -more-
City Manager Phil Kamlarz announced Monday the retirement of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Director Marc Seleznow, who has been in the position for four years. -more-
The public hearing for UC Berkeley’s controversial plans to convert its historic six-acre Laguna Street Extension campus in San Francisco into a private rental-housing development is set for March 8. -more-
Why did a state-mandated alliance of Bay Area governments lend $12 million to a secretive military think tank to expand its facilities in San Diego? -more-
How can the city and UC Berkeley cooperate in planning uses in the university’s major downtown expansion plans that will benefit both town and gown? -more-
The Berkeley school board voted last week to approve a resolution to honor Berkeley High Vice Principal denise brown and declared Feb. 15 as denise brown day. Brown died Feb. 2 following complications from knee surgery. -more-
Before you lick your next postage stamp onto the electricity bill or a postcard from the latest family vacation, take a look at the variety of commemorative stamp choices you will have this year. -more-
UC Berkeley officials announced Thursday that they will conduct an archaeological survey at the site of the Memorial Stadium oak grove. -more-
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-
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-
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-
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 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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
February 14, 2007 -more-
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-
It happened that last weekend we had two excursions which took us out of the Berkeley Bubble and into the genuine suburbs, in fact into the old established bridge-and-tunnel suburbs, over a bridge to the Peninsula and through the tunnel to Lamorinda. On Saturday night in Palo Alto we were lucky enough to see two fine singers with local connections, Berkeley-born Alaine Rodin and current resident Kathleen Moss, in the West Bay Opera’s stunning production of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, which demonstrated conclusively that culture is alive and well outside the urban bay area. The Lafayette trip on Sunday was for a sadder purpose, a memorial for a friend who had died suddenly. -more-
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-
We use many forms of communication to reach the parents, students and staff of the Berkeley schools, but when it comes to communicating with the larger Berkeley community, the one vehicle that reaches so many households and gets people’s attention, is the commentary and letters section of our local newspaper. Honestly, how many of you turned to this section immediately after scanning the front page? I have a couple of important updates for the community that I want to share with you here, because it is information that I think is important to everyone. -more-
The Oxford Plaza / David Brower Center is a wonderful example of environmentally sound planning and responsible development that captures the best of Berkeley’s heritage and future. Together, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-standard environmental conference center and office building plus 97 units of much-needed affordable housing comprise this visionary project that honors Berkeley’s own David Brower, a pioneer in the Green movement. -more-
The referendum against giving away the Oxford Parking lot for the “Brower Center” has certainly gotten some attention. A venomous disinformation campaign is being waged against the people involved in the referendum (well, mainly against me). -more-
The Special AC Transit board meeting J. Douglas Allen-Taylor reported on (Feb. 9) was practically a secret meeting. Luckily, two reporters came. The other one, Erik Nelson, from ANG Newspapers, has a blog: www.ibabuzz.com/transportation. He says on his blog, “Van Hool, where have you been all my life (or short career as a blogger)? This hitherto ignored issue has become the biggest thing to hit the blog since its inception!” You can make it even bigger by logging on. -more-
Telegraph just ain’t what it used to be. Once a beacon of a tolerance, hope, and historic significance that drew tourists from all over the world to the little city we all call home, it has more recently been victimized by a perception of decline, blight, and depravity—sometimes not fully deserved, but adverse to its image nonetheless. Almost a dozen reports, millions of dollars in studies, and hundreds of hours of discussion have been invested into addressing the causes at the heart of this avenue’s tarnished image, and yet few proposals have actually seen the light of day. -more-
A reparations bill currently floating around Congress and being debated in the House Judiciary Committee may, for the first time since it was hatched two decades ago, actually have a chance at passing. The idea to establish a reparations commission is the brainchild of Michigan Democrat John Conyers. It has been kicked around Congress since 1989, but supporters are optimistic that it will pass since Democrats now have control of the House. Several cities, including Chicago and New York, have passed resolutions in support of the bill. Los Angeles City Council vote on a resolution Tuesday. -more-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
It was just over a year ago that neighbors of Ashby BART rose up in protest against plans to put a 300-unit “transit village” on the station’s west parking lot. At stake in the ensuing, nearly yearlong struggle was something more basic than land use, namely citizens’ right to have a meaningful say in the public decisions that affect their lives. -more-
People keep giving me advice. It is useful and appreciated. (Well, maybe I exaggerate just a little, but I’m in a charitable mood.) -more-
A few columns back I touched on the chemical arms race between newts and garter snakes: the newts loaded with a fugu-like toxin to which the snakes have evolved resistance. Well, there are complexities to that story that I wasn’t aware of, some of which are described in a 2004 Journal of Chemical Ecology article entitled “A Resistant Predator and its Toxic Prey: Persistence of Newt Toxin Leads to Poisonous (Not Venomous) Snakes.” The lead author, Becky Williams, is a UC Berkeley graduate student; she collaborated with Edmund Brodie, Jr. of Utah State University and Edmund Brodie III, now at the University of Virginia. -more-
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-
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-
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-
MYUNG MI KIM AT UC’S DOE LIBRARY -more-
It’s tough being king ... Ludwig of Bavaria is a proactive, very public monarch. Nothing, whether extensive engineering projects such as roads and canals, or grandiose museums and other monuments to the arts, is too good for his people, and the exchequer be damned. He’ll find a way to make Munich the envy of even Paris and Vienna. -more-
Berkeley has long been famous for starting revolutions—especially revolutions that come from the political left. The purpose of this editorial is to make the heretical proposal that Berkeley launch a revolution from the right—a revolution drawn from the heart of the free-enterprise system. -more-
A few columns back I touched on the chemical arms race between newts and garter snakes: the newts loaded with a fugu-like toxin to which the snakes have evolved resistance. Well, there are complexities to that story that I wasn’t aware of, some of which are described in a 2004 Journal of Chemical Ecology article entitled “A Resistant Predator and its Toxic Prey: Persistence of Newt Toxin Leads to Poisonous (Not Venomous) Snakes.” The lead author, Becky Williams, is a UC Berkeley graduate student; she collaborated with Edmund Brodie, Jr. of Utah State University and Edmund Brodie III, now at the University of Virginia. -more-
• The Feb. 9 story “Peralta Trustee Questions Financial Priorities of District, Debate Grows over Bond Funds” misquoted Peralta Trustee Abel Guillen following last week’s trustee meeting. Guillen said his vote against the audio visual contract for the renovation of the Peralta Administration Building boardroom was “on principle,” not “symbolic,” as was reported. -more-
OEBS PREMIERE OF ‘FIRE AND ICE’ -more-
“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-
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-
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-
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-
