News

Maudelle Shirek, 96, an eight-term Berkeley city councilmember who served until 2004, was joined by dozens of friends and supporters at the ceremony Thursday afternoon changing name of Old City Hall to the Maudelle Shirek Building. -more-

The last time Rick Goldsmith stood before the City Council was in 1996, when he was honored for an award-winning documentary film. -more-

In the wake of a sudden, sharp increase in public interest sparked by a local media report that the City of Oakland was considering zoning map changes that might further shrink its already depleted cache of industrial properties, the Planning Commission staff has pulled a report recommending changes to West Oakland industrial lands, and a commission subcommittee has postponed considering the rezoning until a larger group of city residents and officials can enter the discussion. -more-

At least two leading proponents of the $500 million alternative fuels program now being negotiated between UC Berkeley and BP (the former British Petroleum) have created companies that could profit from the research. -more-

Manuel De Paz has a job and a community college degree. With his extended family, he is buying a home and he has dreams of investing in a family business. -more-

After school on Wednesday, students at Willard Middle School were busy showing off their latest invention. -more-

On Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council rescinded an ordinance it had approved on the first reading, March 13, that would have limited the number of years a person can sit on certain commissions and would have restricted the number of commissions on which a person could sit. The vote was 8-0-1, with Councilmember Laurie Capitelli abstaining. -more-

The Berkeley Unified School District Surplus Committee is looking for five community members to serve on it. -more-

The yellow gloves came out Thursday morning at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Oregon, as did the smiles and “have a good day” cheers. -more-

A group of Elmwood neighbors will appeal the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board’s (ZAB) approval of a restaurant, bar and additional unspecified businesses at 2629-2635 Ashby Ave. to the City Council. -more-

Even before they started talking about it, citizen commissioners and committee members heard a dramatic attack on one provision of the city’s new proposed downtown parking plan. -more-

Ignoring complaints and controversy over 50 40-foot Belgian-made buses already in the pipeline, AC Transit directors this week quickly approved a staff recommendation to trade in 10 currently-operating buses for 10 more buses manufactured by the Van Hool company, even before the prototype for the original new bus order has been built and approved. -more-

A year ago, the Peralta Community College District held its first annual Sustainable Peralta Conference at its oldest and least environmentally friendly campus, Laney College, in typically blustery March weather. Sitting in a classroom that day with a gap under the doorway so large that participants had to wear coats to ward off the brisk wind blowing under the closed door, Peralta Trustee Nicky Gonzalez Yuen, chair of Chancellor Elihu Harris’ Advisory Committee on Sustainability and the driving force behind the Sustainable Peralta project, talked optimistically about moving future construction bond money in the district toward “green” building principles. At that time, Peralta’s newest campus—Berkeley City College—was not yet built, and its $390 million facilities bond Measure A was not yet on the ballot. -more-

From Golden Gate Park and the Presidio of San Francisco to the UC Berkeley and Stanford University campuses to Lake Merritt, spectacular and expansive designed landscapes abound in the Bay Area. -more-

An ordinance passed 5-4 March 13 that would have limited the number of years a person can sit on certain commissions and impose restrictions on the number of commissions on which a person can sit was rescinded 8-0-1 at Tuesday’s council meeting, with Councilmember Laurie Capitelli abstaining. -more-

On Saturday afternoon at Oakland City Hall, there was some R&B, some hip hop and jazz, and then there was Barack Obama. -more-

The Arpeggio—known in an earlier incarnation as the Seagate Building—will soon soar 120 feet into the Center Street skyline, its developers told a city panel last week. -more-

Berkeley Assemblymember Loni Hancock called out the big political guns on Saturday morning, with some of California’s top lawmakers to join her in an Oakland City Hall forum calling for reform of the state’s health care system. -more-

Downtown Berkeley has acquired a delightful new attraction: Kaleidoscope, the marvelous tapestry that was recently installed in the fourth-floor Story Room of the Berkeley Public Library. -more-

How many ways can a child experience an orchestra? Performing with it—as the “I am a Performer” concert at Washington Elementary School illustrated Friday morning—is one. -more-

A community workshop on the South and West Berkeley transportation plan was held at the North Berkeley Senior Center Thursday. -more-

PowerLight, a large-scale solar power system provider, announced last week that it would move out of Berkeley to the historic site of the former Ford Motor Company in Richmond. -more-

Thousands marched down Market Street Sunday demanding an end to the war in Iraq and no military intervention in Iran. Catherine Siskron of Berkeley, at center with the St. John’s Presbyterian Church peace sign, told the Planet she had come to the march to speak out. “I believe we can live in peace,” she said. “The only way we can do that is to have a voice. I want to bring the troops home and keep people safe.” -more-

Berkeley’s draft Sunshine Ordinance still needs work, says League of Women Voters President Junky Gardner, calling for the City Council to delay adoption of the ordinance intended to allow citizens greater access to local government until citizens can meet and further refine the law. -more-

A Maybeck home, a new religious headquarters, an old stadium, two lesser-known neighborhoods, and even a freeway interchange and municipal recycling center highlight the spring 2007 walking tours offered by the Berkeley Historical Society. -more-

Dozens of people shed their clothes at the UC Memorial Stadium Oak Grove Saturday for a treespirit photograph by Jack Gescheidt. To see the photographer’s image of the event, as well as his other photos of the series, see www.treespiritproject.com. -more-

Cars, busses, shuttles, passes and parking will be the themes of the day Wednesday when members of two city panels gather to discuss the future of downtown transportation. -more-

Are UC Berkeley’s plans to unite with a British oil company in a quest for new biofuels good for the environment? -more-

Last Tuesday, March 13, Iranians across the world celebrated the last Wednesday Eve of the Iranian Calendar year, called Chaharshanbe Soori. -more-