In a speech that touched on topics both local and global during his campaign stop at the Berkeley YWCA Sunday, Democratic presidential contender John Edwards sent a message to UC Berkeley. -more-
Critics of the proposed agreement between UC Berkeley and BP — the rebranded British Petroleum — should take their best shots now, because once the deal is signed not only Big Oil, but Big Academy and Big Government Lab will mobilize their own PR folks to fire back. -more-
Next week, Mayor Tom Bates will introduce the “Public Commons for Everyone Initiative,” a proposal some say could provide the needed muscle to displace those who sit endlessly in the city’s public spaces adjacent to businesses. Others contend the mayor’s plan would erode the civil rights of those targeted, especially the homeless and mentally ill. -more-
On a 5-0-2 vote, Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) raised a challenge to expansion plans for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Thursday night. Commissioners Miriam Ng and Fran Packard abstained on the vote. -more-
Supporters of a new multi-school education center for Oakland Unified School District’s Second Avenue properties moved quickly to capitalize on the momentum gained from the collapse of the deal to sell that property, winning key commitments from local political and agency leaders for their project at an overflow mass meeting of more than 300 parents and students at Laney College last Thursday night. -more-
Topical folksinger, hero, revolutionary, teacher, social worker, ex-political prisoner, Annette Auguste—best known as So An—is celebrated among Haiti’s poor majority for her commitment to the tiny nation’s struggle for sovereignty and democracy, according to members of the Berkeley-based Haiti Action Committee, which is bringing So An to the Bay Area this week. -more-
The membership of the City of Oakland Blue Ribbon Affordable Housing Commission that appeared in the Feb. 20 Planet story “Oakland’s Inclusionary Housing Commission Under Fire” had a number of errors. -more-
“I’m free at last,” said Zachary Running Wolf, after his release from jail last Wednesday following his Feb. 23 arrest by UC Berkeley Police on a charge of threatening a peace officer. -more-
The property housing Cody’s Books at 2 Stockton St. in San Francisco is being marketed to new tenants, raising speculation on whether Cody’s will be moving from the location as well, according to a recent story by Sarah Duxbury in the San Francisco Business Times . -more-
Only hours before they were to become public record as part of Oakland City Council’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Affordable Housing, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums released its second set of task force policy recommendations last week, calling for several proposals for a “coherent and responsive public policy to address affordable housing needs in Oakland.” -more-
Matthew F. Stolz, retired professor of political science at San Francisco State University, died of cancer at his Berkeley home Feb. 20. -more-
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District reviewed Pacific Steel Castings’s (PSC) final emissions inventory report and released it to the City of Berkeley and the public on Feb. 23. -more-
The firestorm of controversy over the $500 million pact tying UC Berkeley to one of the world biggest and most criticized oil giants intensified this week, with a teach-in, a demonstration, a pointed exchange between students and a key administrator and at least one arrest. -more-
The proposed agreement between a British oil company and UC Berkeley won't be discussed Monday during a presentation at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, as had been reported in Friday's paper. -more-
More than four dozen writers, independent filmmakers, radio producers and technicians who tenant the seven-story tower at 10th and Parker streets are facing hefty rent hikes that could squeeze them out of Berkeley, said screenwriter Karen Folger Jacobs, an 18-year tenant at the Saul Zaentz Media Center, the only renter among several contacted by the Daily Planet willing to allow her name to be used for this story. -more-
With little dissent, the joint town/gown subcommittee charged with finding ways the city can capitalize on UC Berkeley’s massive downtown expansion adopted guidelines Tuesday that members hope will become part of the new downtown plan. -more-
A small but spirited group of AC Transit bus riders brought their case against the contract for new Van Hool buses to the Metropolitan Transit Commission this week, and got what they called a “surprisingly” more attentive and favorable hearing than they expected. -more-
Two problem cops, apparently friends, have left the Berkeley Police Department. -more-
Among the decisions the Berkeley City Council made Tuesday night was to spend a $3.3 million windfall from unexpected revenues from investments and parking fines. -more-
City councilmembers voted themselves out of the job of running the Berkeley Housing Authority on Tuesday when they approved a new governance structure expected to be in place by July. -more-
Despite protests and pleas from students, teachers, and parents who marched eight miles from the East Oakland Community High School in the Oakland hills to the Oakland Unified School District Administrative headquarters Wednesday afternoon, OUSD State Administrator Kimberly Statham ruled Wednesday night that she was following her staff’s recommendation to close the school. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) was sued by Friends Protecting Berkeley's Resources (FPBR) Friday for an inadequate environmental impact report (EIR) on the demolition of the gymnasium and warm water pool within its Berkeley High School South of Bancroft Master Plan. -more-
The Barnes & Noble bookstore located in downtown Berkeley will close May 31, a piece of news that has left local independent booksellers ecstatic. -more-
The Berkeley Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to increase the hours of operation to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and midnight Sunday through Thursday for businesses on Telegraph Avenue that do not involve alcohol sales. These hours may be exceeded with a city administrative use permit. -more-
Last week the Planet carried a story about the Barnes and Noble store on Shattuck closing, including interviews with managers of other bookstores who expressed satisfaction at the impending departure. With all due respect, we’d like to differ with their analysis, even though one of them is a much-valued long-term Planet advertiser. -more-
Sometimes it’s hard to keep your eyes on the big picture. Sy Hersh was on Terry Gross’s Fresh Air radio program, which ran twice on Tuesday, and both times I managed to listen only to the first half. He was pumping his latest New Yorker piece, which explains one more time and in even greater detail how mad dogs at the top of the current national administration, notably Dick Cheney and Elliott Abrams, really are planning to bomb Iran. Since he’s predicted this at least twice before, he knows that some are going to regard him as more Chicken Little than Paul Revere, but he convinced me. -more-
It’s no longer a secret that the Bay Area housing market is in freefall, and that this downturn is spreading nationwide. But this doesn’t seem to have occurred to the investor community. Consider a recent front page of the San Francisco Chronicle business section: “Hershey’s Transfers Production to Mexico.” “Bay Area Housing Market in 24 Month Decline,” “Business Expects Rosy Economic Outlook.” Please go back and read this again, and than ask yourself if there isn’t a massive case of denial happening here. But never fear. For there is a solution to this housing crisis. In a word: condominiums! -more-
Many people are attracted by North Shattuck Plaza, the idea of a park-like area where people can sit and eat, have coffee, or read a book or meet their friends in the heart of our neighborhood shopping area (the proposed location would be on the east side of Shattuck between Vine and Rose streets). Some opponents to the plaza idea are so aggressive that they forget or discount the history of the concept. When they do this, they ignore or twist facts. In addition, they make personal attacks on the supporters of the North Shattuck Plaza concept. -more-
Bush administration accusations that Iran is supplying roadside bombs that are killing American soldiers in Iraq are all too reminiscent of pretexts used by half a dozen previous administrations to justify acts of war. -more-
I thank the Daily Planet for providing such extensive coverage of the zero waste transfer station plan now seeking public attention. As the rhetoric about zero waste reaches forward to the “put up or shut up” phase, a few concerns rise to the surface. -more-
I typically find the critical coverage of Berkeley development and city planning issues reported by the Daily Planet polemical yet comforting since this type of in-depth coverage of planning issues reassures me that our community is taking a critical and balanced look at growth in our unique city. -more-
The AC Transit General Manager says the Van Hools are the best bus we’ve ever had. But some riders are calling these nice new buses “Van Hell.” -more-
Your recent article on the North Shattuck Plaza Forum left out many supportive statements made at the workshop, and seemed to emphasize the negative ones, many based on misrepresentations that need correction. -more-
The catastrophic occupation of Iraq is evidence of far more than the incompetence of the Bush administration; it is proof that the conservative worldview is fatally flawed. As the forty-third presidency staggers to an ignominious finale, liberals must prepare not only to govern America, but also to proclaim a new vision. Liberal foreign policy should be based upon 10 elemental concepts: -more-
At a dinner party last week I announced to everyone at the table that I needed a job. Soon. Very soon. My guests nodded in approval. They had professional careers. A few were mothers who worked part-time. One was a doctor, another a nurse. At the table were several writers, a scientist, and a union member. I was the oldest person in the room, and the most minimally employed. -more-
I’ve been birding in California long enough that new species are hard to come by. Every couple of years, something exotic may blow in from Siberia, but I’ve met just about all the natives and regular visitors. There are still surprises, though. Familiar birds—birds you think you know reasonably well—keep doing unexpected things. -more-
“The Supreme Lord said: I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy.” -more-
Given the almost universal community and political opposition inside Oakland to the proposed deal between State Superintendent Jack O’Connell and a group of east coast developers for the sale of the Lake Merritt-area Oakland school properties, it shouldn’t be surprising that there was almost universal relief expressed in Oakland with the announcement last week that the deal had been killed. -more-
In March 1933, the Long Beach Earthquake destroyed 70 schools, and another 120 suffered major structural damage. The Great Depression was at its height, leaving 25 percent of the nation’s work force unemployed. Things couldn’t have looked grimmer, but one creative mind was busily churning out solutions. -more-
I have a terrible confession to make. I feel really bad about it, but it’s probably not going to change any time soon. I don’t care if your roof leaks. O.K., I know that I’m supposed to make a big deal about this sort of thing but I’m not going to. There, I said it and I feel a whole lot better. -more-
Celebrating both the richness of Jewish musical traditions and new innovations that spring from them, Berkeley’s 22nd annual Jewish Music Festival will explore the diversity and beauty of Jewish music from the world over for the next two weeks. With major artists from Argentina, Italy, Israel and the United States, “in some ways it’s the richest festival we’ve ever had, because it’s so eclectic,” says Festival Director Ellie Shapiro. “There’s everything from Italian Renaissance music to a poetry slam, cutting edge to Israeli pop.” -more-
A peripheral quality of action and inaction pervades the stage set of Berkeley Rep’s very interesting staging of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. The sensory world juts out and curves through the playing space, projections of flights of birds, enormous raindrops, swirling seas seen from above move on the screens, music and recorded natural sounds pour through, the beacon flashes—and the cast of characters, drawn from Woolf’s memories of family summers on the Isle of Skye, meet at the intersections of social politeness and private thoughts and feelings. -more-
I’ve been birding in California long enough that new species are hard to come by. Every couple of years, something exotic may blow in from Siberia, but I’ve met just about all the natives and regular visitors. There are still surprises, though. Familiar birds—birds you think you know reasonably well—keep doing unexpected things. -more-
PFA HOSTS ANTONIONI RETROSPECTIVE -more-
Le Bateau Ivre—“The Drunken Boat”—that unique coffee house, restaurant and bar will celebrate its 35th anniversary Monday with a special musical program in the recently inaugurated (and very eclectic) Monday night art performance series: Dazzling Divas, operatic arias and duets by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Bizet, Charpentier and others, sung by Bay Area favorites Pamela Marie Connelly, Tara Generalovich, Kathleen Moss, Eliza O’Malley and MaryAnne Stanislaw, accompanied by Jonathan Alford, piano. Admission is free. -more-
Mark Jackson’s new play, American $uicide, now playing at the Thick House on San Francisco’s Potrero Hill, locks horns with the old saw that it’s lonely at the top. Instead, the message seems to be that when you’re scaling the heights, everybody else is yelling, “Jump!” -more-
Few crime stories have captured the public imagination like the Zodiac murders that terrorized the Bay Area in the late ’60s and early ’70s. The case has become part of local folklore, transforming the mysterious killer who targeted couples in remote lovers’ lanes and threatened to bomb school buses into the de facto bogeyman for a generation of Bay Area children who came of age in the following decade. -more-
In March 1933, the Long Beach Earthquake destroyed 70 schools, and another 120 suffered major structural damage. The Great Depression was at its height, leaving 25 percent of the nation’s work force unemployed. Things couldn’t have looked grimmer, but one creative mind was busily churning out solutions. -more-
I have a terrible confession to make. I feel really bad about it, but it’s probably not going to change any time soon. I don’t care if your roof leaks. O.K., I know that I’m supposed to make a big deal about this sort of thing but I’m not going to. There, I said it and I feel a whole lot better. -more-
