The union made some big wins at Berkeley High on Tuesday. Except that the students were acting as both management and labor and the cash was just play money. -more-
Rich Robbins of Wareham Development, Inc. has a vision for the seven-story West Berkeley building he recently bought for around $20 million. -more-
A $100,000 process to write a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, approved by the City Council in February, will be carried out inside city government—with staff hired for the purpose—and not outsourced to Sustain-able Berkeley, as the Council directed last month. -more-
The Berkeley Board of Education voted to eliminate sixth grade from Berkeley Arts Magnet (BAM) Wednesday. BAM was the only elementary school in the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) that offered sixth grade to its students. -more-
Student assignments are in. Parents suffering from sleepless nights and frenzied nerves over their toddler’s kindergarten placement were finally able to rest in peace when the last of the 560 school assignment letters were mailed out from Berkeley Unified’s Office of Admissions and Attendance earlier this month. -more-
Finally, the Berkeley Planning Commission has elected a new chair, though the last one still fumed that Wednesday’s election wasn’t needed. -more-
Over objections raised by the city’s police union, the City Council voted 8-0 at its meeting Tuesday to add its support to Assemblymember Mark Leno’s bill, AB1648, which would re-open police complaint procedures statewide. Councilmember Gordon Wozniak was absent. -more-
AC Transit bus riders and drivers seeking to halt the Transit District’s purchase of more Van Hool buses got a distinctly chillier reception this week from the Metropolitan Transit Commission than they did when they first brought the issue to the MTC earlier this month. -more-
With no opposition and support from the Oakland Police Department and the offices of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Oakland City Council Public Safety Chairperson Larry Reid, the California State Senate Public Safety Committee unanimously approved this week a bill that would reinstate the 30-day confiscation of cars who police say are involved in Oakland sideshows. -more-
NEW YORK—The recent scandal involving the firing of eight U.S. attorneys by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has yielded mostly silence from the country’s pre-eminent Latino organizations. -more-
There is a special force that appears from time to time and steers imminent harm or danger away from me, like a proverbial guardian angel. I’ve never seen this force, and I cannot count on it coming, but it has happened too often for me to ignore it. -more-
Six hundred and eighty six students were represented on the walls of the Berkeley Arts Center (BAC) Wednesday as part of the Berkeley Unified School District’s annual Youth Arts Festival. -more-
On Wednesday, March 21 the Richmond City Council voted 8-1 to have Mayor Gayle McLaughlin ask the California State Lands Commission (SLC) to require Chevron to allow San Francisco Bay Trail access to land on the south side of the I-580 corridor near its Richmond refinery. -more-
A four-story condominium-over-retail complex may soon be rising at the corner of two of Berkeley’s busiest streets. -more-
The decision by the administration of newly elected Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums to delay going forward with an Oakland Planning Commission staff plan to alter industrial zoning in portions of West Oakland is the result of a political climate shaped by lobbying from Oakland housing advocates and positions taken by Mayor Dellums’ Housing Task Force, as well as by long-term efforts of one of Dellums opponents in last year’s mayoral race, West Oakland Councilmember Nancy Nadel. -more-
While David Stoloff is out as Planning Commission chair, there’s no successor yet—despite the group’s election earlier this month. -more-
With screaming pink banners and a clear message demanding an end to the war in Iraq, from three to 50 Code Pink women and their supporters could be found over the past two weeks camped out in Pacific Heights in front of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s home. -more-
The Berkeley Board of Education will vote on Wednesday on hiring an architect to design the Berkeley Unified School District’s pre-kindergarten projects. -more-
There’s a contradiction often built into the job of public official—one I’ve observed over some 15 years reporting on various local governments in the Bay Area. -more-
Some 50 filmmakers, radio producers and writers renting studio space at the seven-story tower at Tenth and Parker streets hope that they will come away from the special City Council meeting tonight (Tuesday) with hope of minimal rent increases over six months or a year, rather than the significant increases the new landlord is demanding. -more-
Last week was designated the Week of Service by Berkeley High School’s (BHS) student government. It was created to give students the opportunity to give back to their community. Friday was another Red and Gold Day with the Barbecue Club and the Baking Club at lunch. The Barbecue Club is a group of BHS male seniors who cook really good barbecue. Everyone at BHS likes it. A newer addition is the Baking Club, a group of BHS female seniors who make baked goods. The money raised will go to support charities. For those of you who don’t know, Red and Gold Day has traditionally occurred sometime in October once every school year, where students dress up in their school colors and show school spirit. It is typically followed by a homecoming rally. -more-
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent apology for his country’s involvement in the abduction of thousands of Asian women for use as prostitutes during World War II has drawn a swift response from Asian Americans. The issue has been a point of tension between Japan and its neighbors for decades, and many here question Abe’s sincerity. -more-
Virginia Silber was born in New York City on August 30, 1943. She died at her sister’s home in Berkeley on March 16, 2007, from metastatic lung cancer. Between those two dates lived a remarkable woman: a loving mother of Adam, a creative early-childhood teacher in the Oakland School District, and a sister, relative and friend who will be missed more than words can convey. -more-
Oakland—When Erick Gaines leaves home for work in the morning, he makes sure he leaves with his inhaler. Gaines is a trucker and he likes it. He loves being able to set his own hours, and he enjoys the independence his job gives him. But he wishes driving a truck wouldn’t take such a heavy toll on his lungs. -more-
It is idle to imagine that growing one’s own food saves money. Regardless of factoring in one’s time, the average Berkeley back yard is not sufficiently large and sunny to grow enough food for one person, let alone a family. -more-
Berkeley’s robbery rash still soaring -more-
Well, it’s “whither journalism” time again. Straws in the wind: Thursday’s Chronicle, with the top story, over the fold, complete with big picture, about our friend Jane Stillwater, whose comments sometimes appear in these pages. Jane’s off to Iraq, trying to get herself embedded in an army unit, and her saga will undoubtedly be reported in exquisite detail on her blog, as are other events in her never-dull daily life. The jump headline says it all: “64-YEAR-OLD BERKELEY BLOGGER OFF FOR IRAQ.” This story has everything: “elderly party still full of beans,” “beloved-tho-quirky Berzerkly hasn’t changed,” “elderly newspaper HAS changed: now it reads blogs” and “foreign news is OK if it has a local angle.” More power to Jane for capturing the zeitgeist, perhaps finally getting the attention of anyone who doesn’t already know that there’s a mess over there. Maybe a 64-year-old Berkeley blogger can clean it all up. Or if not, at least it makes entertaining copy for the Comical. -more-
The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board approved a mixed-use project at 700 University Ave. Thursday. -more-
Recent Daily Planet stories on Association of Bay Area Governments housing quotas, transit-oriented developments, so-called “affordable housing,” “inclusionary housing,” and, most egregious of all, “Sustainable Berkeley” are all just local manifestations of the Agenda 21 policy document. Agenda 21 was adopted at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, by more than 170 nations in 1992. President Clinton implemented this document in the United States by executive order with no congressional debate or involvement. Since the adoption of this policy, all across the country’s local councils, “visioning councils,” “working groups,” “charrettes,” et al have been set up with no voter input and have been given the power to transform communities using “smart growth,” transit-oriented developments (TOD), “transit villages,” “urban growth boundaries,” “traffic calming,” and “pack ‘em and stack ‘em” government housing projects which are built by private developers who get preferential development agreements with local government subsidized by your tax dollars. -more-
In response to the March 23 letter from Shirley Douglas of the Water Transit Authority: It is very encouraging to read that the two new 25-knot 149-passenger ferries on order for the Water Transit Authority (at $8 million each) are not intended for the Berkeley/Albany route. These vessels are unnecessarily fast, high-powered and expensive for the 5.6 mile distance from the Berkeley Marina to San Francisco. It is also good to learn that WTA has reversed its early decision to comply with the IMO High Speed code, and instead is going to stay with the much more appropriate 46 CFR Subchapter T regulations. -more-
Dear Senator Boxer, -more-
Regarding the draft environmental impact report for UC Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its Long-Range Development Plan: The plans are not right or honest in presenting the whole of your intentions and impacts. -more-
The law of the jungle is survival of the fittest; the law of civilization is cooperation! -more-
By Diane Douglas, David Schweidel, Rachel Greenberg, Sunny Solis, Darryl Dickerhoff and Lori Simpson -more-
Ten years or so ago, the new-born Downtown Berkeley Association flexed its taxpayer-funded muscle and pressured the City Council to pass a raft of laws against “problematic street behavior,” widely touted as responsible for local economic decline. -more-
Regarding the current battle at the Fantasy Building, where its new owner, San Rafael-based Wareham Property Group, is threatening Berkeley’s community of independent filmmakers with skyrocketing rents and odious-termed leases: -more-
When the Bush administration recently unveiled its new African military command—AFRICOM— Deputy Assistant Sec. of Defense Teresa Whalen said that the initiative was aimed at “promoting security, to build African capacity to build their own environments and not be subject to the instability that has toppled governments and caused so much pain on the continent.” -more-
“There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house,” Lewis Carroll writes in Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, “and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea in it; a Dormouse was sitting between them… The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it. … Alice … sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table. … ‘I want a clean cup,’ interrupted the Hatter [after they had eaten for a while]: ‘let’s all move one place on.’ He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse’s place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change; and Alice was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate.” -more-
On February 23, 1924, the weekly newspaper The Courier announced that the rapidly expanding American Bank, headquartered at 16th Street and San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, had purchased the College National Bank of Berkeley. American Bank was headed by Phillip E. Bowles, a University of California alumnus and regent from 1911 to 1922. Bowles Hall, UC’s first student residence hall, would be endowed by his widow in his name. -more-
Having had the unhappy occasion to take an airline flight recently, I got to feast my jaded eyes on something called “Skymall.” This is a catalogue one finds stuffed along with the airline’s house magazine and a leftover napkin into the pocket of the seat ahead, pressing on one’s sore knees even if one is, as I am, built like a fireplug. -more-
I recently visited Tokyo. What a wonderful experience in so many ways. Too many to touch on in a single article, but one thing that did strike me again and again was the use of and respect for space. Japanese people tend to live in much smaller spaces than we take for granted and they endeavor to use each space as efficiently and richly as possible. It alters the aesthetic. Also, there’s no shame in packing things in to these tight spaces. On the contrary, I think that the Japanese view a waste of space or living in unnecessarily large quarters as egregious misconduct. -more-
“We need a music teacher,” said the woman on the telephone in charge of hiring substitute teachers. “You know anything about music?” -more-
If you’re walking down University Avenue, or driving up the freeway to the Richmond Bridge, or taking a car or bike jaunt up around Clear Lake, you’ll have noticed that the redbuds are blooming. We’ve borrowed specimens of this gorgeous scarf that the Central Valley wears around its eastern and western foothills. Good idea, for landscape and ornament in the cities and for the most difficult spots along roads. -more-
ADVENTURES OF THE YOUNG CESAR CHAVEZ -more-
In the Beginning—of the Clown Bible, at least, according to Ten Red Hen at Willard Metalshop Theater—God Herself was inscribed in silhouette in a circle of light above the stage. She seemed to be cooking up something—though was that a music box being cranked over the pot, not a peppergrinder? Cut to past the seventh day or so, when a shy, polite Adam and Eve plucked red noses, not the usual Forbidden Fruit, from the boughs above, carelessly putting them on ... God cried out through a bullhorn, like a surly ringmaster, and the newly-minted clowns were afraid—and hid themselves. -more-
With The Grbavica: Land of My Dreams, director Jasmila Zbanic has fashioned a thoughtful and moving film about characters defined by the past while yearning to break free from it. -more-
Forbidden Hollywood, a new three-disc DVD set from Turner Classic Movies, sheds light on one of the most fascinating eras of film history. -more-
On February 23, 1924, the weekly newspaper The Courier announced that the rapidly expanding American Bank, headquartered at 16th Street and San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, had purchased the College National Bank of Berkeley. American Bank was headed by Phillip E. Bowles, a University of California alumnus and regent from 1911 to 1922. Bowles Hall, UC’s first student residence hall, would be endowed by his widow in his name. -more-
Having had the unhappy occasion to take an airline flight recently, I got to feast my jaded eyes on something called “Skymall.” This is a catalogue one finds stuffed along with the airline’s house magazine and a leftover napkin into the pocket of the seat ahead, pressing on one’s sore knees even if one is, as I am, built like a fireplug. -more-
I recently visited Tokyo. What a wonderful experience in so many ways. Too many to touch on in a single article, but one thing that did strike me again and again was the use of and respect for space. Japanese people tend to live in much smaller spaces than we take for granted and they endeavor to use each space as efficiently and richly as possible. It alters the aesthetic. Also, there’s no shame in packing things in to these tight spaces. On the contrary, I think that the Japanese view a waste of space or living in unnecessarily large quarters as egregious misconduct. -more-
BERKELEY’S LAND AND EARLY NEIGHBORHOODS -more-
A career-spanning exhibit of the gorgeous and haunting photographs of Henry Wessel, documenting his visions of the landscape, people and light of California and the West, is on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through April 22. -more-
With surprisingly little fanfare to date, the dry winter of 2006/2007 has brought two important new books exploring the character of the Berkeley community. -more-
“Stop in the Name of Love, or, Until the War Is Over, Nobody Gets Over.” The subheads of the African-American Shakespeare Co.’s production of Lysistrata say it all—as director Rhodessa Jones amplifies, “Lysistrata is a cry for peace by women driven to change the world using the ultimate weapon!” -more-
If you’re walking down University Avenue, or driving up the freeway to the Richmond Bridge, or taking a car or bike jaunt up around Clear Lake, you’ll have noticed that the redbuds are blooming. We’ve borrowed specimens of this gorgeous scarf that the Central Valley wears around its eastern and western foothills. Good idea, for landscape and ornament in the cities and for the most difficult spots along roads. -more-
