Photo by Gar Smith
              As car crashes go, this one on Sunday on Miramonte Court was both spectacular and nearly pristine.
Photo by Gar Smith As car crashes go, this one on Sunday on Miramonte Court was both spectacular and nearly pristine.

Page One

Car Crash

Tuesday April 24, 2007

Photo by Gar Smith -more-



Council Hears New Plan for Greenhouse Gas Reduction

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday April 24, 2007

The mayor and city manager will propose, at tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council meeting, a shift in tactics for writing Berkeley’s greenhouse gas reduction plan. -more-



Oak-to-Ninth Dispute Moves Forward in Superior Court

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday April 24, 2007

The massive Oak-to-Ninth development project continued its various journeys through the state court system last week, with lawyers for the Oakland Heritage Alliance filing its opening brief in a lawsuit challenging the City of Oakland’s CEQA findings on the 180,000-square-foot Ninth Avenue Terminal. -more-



Local Bus Manufacturer Refutes AC Transit Assertions

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday April 24, 2007

With AC Transit rapidly expanding its purchase of Belgian-based Van Hool buses, the senior vice president of a Bay Area bus manufacturing company is refuting a key reason why AC Transit officials say the European-manufactured buses are more desirable than American-made ones. -more-



I-House Spring Festival Celebrates Diversity, Tolerance

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 24, 2007

As Virginia Tech struggled to recover from the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, residents of International House at UC Berkeley came together in a riot of colors to celebrate unity in diversity Saturday. -more-



Features

School Board to Vote on Curvy Derby

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 24, 2007

The Berkeley Board of Education is scheduled to vote on development of the Curvy Derby Plan for the Berkeley Unified School District’s (BUSD) East Campus field Wednesday. -more-


David Halberstam Killed in Car Crash

Bay City News
Tuesday April 24, 2007

MENLO PARK (BCN)—Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author David Halberstam was killed this morning in a three-vehicle crash near the Dumbarton Bridge in Menlo Park, the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office reported. -more-


ZAB Hears Sacramento St. Drug Problem Reports

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 24, 2007

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) is scheduled to hear a nuisance proceeding Thursday. -more-


Commission Discusses Closed Police Misconduct Hearings

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Since September, due to a California Supreme Court decision, the Police Review Commission has not held any inquiries into police misconduct. On Wednesday, the commission will hold a public hearing on new regulations for closed hearings. -more-


High School Students Become College Students for a Day

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 24, 2007

About 250 UC Berkeley students were shadowed last Thursday, but it was all for a good cause. -more-


Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Wet Seal chase -more-


Legislative Briefs

Tuesday April 24, 2007

SB67 -more-


West Berkeley Residents Monitor Pacific Steel Emissions

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 24, 2007

A group of West Berkeley residents have set up an air monitor to detect emissions from Pacific Steel Casting (PSC) Monday. -more-


The Rise of Blackwater

By Sandip Roy, New America Media
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Four of the employees of Blackwater USA, one of more than three dozen private military companies operating in Iraq, were murdered, burned and left hanging on a bridge in Fallujah in 2004. Jeremy Scahill, a contributor to The Nation magazine and a correspondent for Democracy Now!, has written a book about how a company that is barely 10 years old rose from the swamp of North Carolina to become the world’s most powerful mercenary army, controlled by one man. Scahill recently spoke to Sandip Roy on the program “Your Call on KALW” about his book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. -more-


Follow the Carquinez Strait to Port Costa and Crockett

By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 24, 2007

From Franklin Trail in Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline Park spread panoramic views ranging from Martinez and Benicia nearby to the far reaches of Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tam and the Lower Delta. Anchoring the two ends of this trail are the small, strait-side towns of Port Costa and Crockett. Plan a glorious getaway exploring parkland, browsing antique shops and eclectic boutiques and sampling intriguing eateries. -more-


Ten Questions for Councilmember Linda Maio

By Jonathan Wafer, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 24, 2007

1. Where were you born and where did you grow up, and how does that affect how you regard the issues in Berkeley and in your district? -more-


More Korean Reactions to Shooting Rampage

By Kapson Yim Lee, New America Media
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Korean-Americans’ fear of a backlash from the campus massacre at Virginia Tech eased a bit when mainstream news media began focusing on issues that concern all Americans, such as mental illness, gun control and campus security, rather than the ethnicity of the gunman. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday April 24, 2007

OPPENHEIMER -more-


Commentary: The Proposed West Berkeley Community Benefits District

By Rick Auerbach
Tuesday April 24, 2007

With almost no public examination a private, developer-driven organization with $10,000 in funding from the city has targeted a new property assessment for large swaths of West Berkeley. Bringing into question our foundational tenets of “one person, one vote,” and “no taxation without representation,” this effort appears to find its basis in that ever popular mutation of the golden rule: whoever owns the gold (property) makes the rules. -more-


Commentary: Doing Whatever We Can to Stop Gun Violence

By Marian Berges
Tuesday April 24, 2007

I’ve been thinking about the violence at Virginia Tech, and about a violent man I once met. He was the boyfriend of a friend of mine. She brought him over to visit one afternoon, but his vibe was so repellent, so dangerous, that I didn’t want him near my kids, near me, nor in my home. I remember him sitting in my kitchen, his eyes moving over the furniture, the fixtures, evaluating everything, sizing everything up. My friend sat a little in the background, not saying much, anxious for us to like him. She was something of an innocent. She owned her own house, had a job, but (and this is my own interpretation; I can’t speak for her) felt she needed a man, a baby, and so invited this man into her home. He had come out of nowhere, had no job—she met him in a café. Over the next few months I often thought of calling her, of warning her about him, and my only excuses for not doing so was that I was pretty sure she wouldn’t listen to me, and moreover that I couldn’t imagine that it would end the way it did. It was obvious that he had all the power, had taken the reins. This is what violence, or the threat of violence does; it trumps good sense, good intentions. So I didn’t call her and he killed her. -more-


Commentary: Were KPFA Comments Red-Baiting, Or Is That a Red Herring?

By Marc Sapir
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Some publicity hound—maybe it was Al Capone—once quipped, “You can write anything you want about me as long as you spell my name right.” Having read about myself in the pages of the Planet lately I can’t say that I have much sympathy for that idea. Maybe it’s my age, but this grandfather of six doesn’t have quite the thick skin he had at 30 when jousting with the windmills of imperialism’s hubris. I actually don’t see why any critic about Berkeley would enjoy being flattered as a writer of “hit pieces,” a “red baiter” or an “agent baiter.” I’ll accept that my piece on KPFA was hard-hitting, but I had thought of that in figurative terms. Sure, I expected some wrathback. Still, those responses helped make my point. -more-


Commentary: Contracting Out the Troop Death Tolls

By Jane Stillwater
Tuesday April 24, 2007

On my plane flight back from Iraq, I was cogitating on what I had learned while I was there and, in between the in-flight movie and the rubber chicken, I started remembering what one female Parliamentarian I had interviewed kept saying to me. “The number of American troops that have died over here is much higher than reported because they do not count the contractors.” -more-


Editorial

Editorial: It’s Too Easy Acting Green, and Other Arias

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of imported tschotchkes, have a house full of them. (For the Yiddish-challenged, that’s all the little bits of useless decorative stuff you either love because your mother didn’t let them into your childhood home, or hate because she did.) But still, in the context of our PC-plus city’s Earth Day festival on Saturday, I did wonder. The Planet had a table there, and we spent an hour or so alternately sitting and walking around, chatting with vendors and visitors. We noticed quite a few stalls with merchandise which originated in Asia or Latin America which was delivered in big vans, panel trucks or SUVs. What’s wrong with that, you might ask? -more-


Columns

Green Neighbors: Welcome the Flowers That Bloom in the Spring

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Having ranted about the allergenic pollen from certain flowering trees—the sorts one might not even think of as “flowering” except in the taxonomic sense—allow me to spend a few inches on thanks and praise for their more conspicuous brethren. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday April 24, 2007


Marian McPartland Embodies Jazz History

By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 24, 2007

The Theater: Aurora Production Satirizes Contemporary Architecture

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 24, 2007

‘Price of Fire’ Spotlights Unknown History of Latin America

By Conn Hallinan, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 24, 2007

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday April 24, 2007

Corrections

Tuesday April 24, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: It’s Too Easy Acting Green, and Other Arias 04-24-2007

Editorial: Gonzales Explains It All, One More Time 04-20-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 04-24-2007

Commentary: The Proposed West Berkeley Community Benefits District By Rick Auerbach 04-24-2007

Commentary: Doing Whatever We Can to Stop Gun Violence By Marian Berges 04-24-2007

Commentary: Were KPFA Comments Red-Baiting, Or Is That a Red Herring? By Marc Sapir 04-24-2007

Commentary: Contracting Out the Troop Death Tolls By Jane Stillwater 04-24-2007

Letters to the Editor 04-20-2007

Commentary: A Berkeleyan’s View From Iraq By Jane Stillwater 04-20-2007

Commentary: Your Water Company Leading the Way By Lesa R. McIntosh 04-20-2007

Commentary: ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ Holds First National Conference By Cecilie Surasky 04-20-2007

Commentary: Is a Ferry a Good, Cost-Effective Environmental Alternative? By Roy Nakedegawa 04-20-2007

News

Car Crash 04-24-2007

Council Hears New Plan for Greenhouse Gas Reduction By Judith Scherr 04-24-2007

Oak-to-Ninth Dispute Moves Forward in Superior Court By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-24-2007

Local Bus Manufacturer Refutes AC Transit Assertions By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-24-2007

I-House Spring Festival Celebrates Diversity, Tolerance By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2007

School Board to Vote on Curvy Derby By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2007

David Halberstam Killed in Car Crash Bay City News 04-24-2007

ZAB Hears Sacramento St. Drug Problem Reports By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2007

Commission Discusses Closed Police Misconduct Hearings By Judith Scherr 04-24-2007

High School Students Become College Students for a Day By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 04-24-2007

Legislative Briefs 04-24-2007

West Berkeley Residents Monitor Pacific Steel Emissions By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2007

The Rise of Blackwater By Sandip Roy, New America Media 04-24-2007

Follow the Carquinez Strait to Port Costa and Crockett By Marta Yamamoto, Special to the Planet 04-24-2007

Ten Questions for Councilmember Linda Maio By Jonathan Wafer, Special to the Planet 04-24-2007

More Korean Reactions to Shooting Rampage By Kapson Yim Lee, New America Media 04-24-2007

Historian Leon Litwack Retires with Golden Apple By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-20-2007

UC Academic Senate Confirms BP Contract By Richard Brenneman 04-20-2007

Universal Health Care Bill Passes Committee By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-20-2007

DAPAC Gives OK to Downtown Proposals By Richard Brenneman 04-20-2007

Mayor Bates Touts Berkeley’s Green-City Initiatives By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-20-2007

Senate Bills on Police Public Information Meet Mixed Fates By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-20-2007

Panoramic Sales Net City $2.1 Million By Richard Brenneman 04-20-2007

Longfellow’s Technology Programs Attract National Attention By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-20-2007

SF Board Landmarks UC Laguna Extension Campus By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-20-2007

Opium, Drug Use Drive Second Wave of AIDS Pandemic By Khalil Abdullah, New America Media 04-20-2007

Columns

Green Neighbors: Welcome the Flowers That Bloom in the Spring By Ron Sullivan 04-24-2007

Column: Undercurrents: Dellums Administration Gets Oakland Moving Again By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-20-2007

First Person: Compassion and Outrage at the Coffee Bar By E. S. Hammer 04-20-2007

East Bay Then and Now: Daniels Excelled in Developing and Marketing Scenic Beauty By Daniella Thompson 04-20-2007

About the House: Strapping Young Water Heater Turns 10 Years Old By Matt Cantor 04-20-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 04-24-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 04-24-2007

Marian McPartland Embodies Jazz History By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet 04-24-2007

The Theater: Aurora Production Satirizes Contemporary Architecture By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 04-24-2007

‘Price of Fire’ Spotlights Unknown History of Latin America By Conn Hallinan, Special to the Planet 04-24-2007

Green Neighbors: Welcome the Flowers That Bloom in the Spring By Ron Sullivan 04-24-2007

Berkeley This Week 04-24-2007

Corrections 04-24-2007

Arts Calendar 04-20-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 04-20-2007

Moving Pictures: Finding Poetry Amid the Horror of World War II By Justin DeFreitas 04-20-2007

Hertz Hall Hosts Medieval and Modern ‘Carmina Burana’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 04-20-2007

East Bay Then and Now: Daniels Excelled in Developing and Marketing Scenic Beauty By Daniella Thompson 04-20-2007

About the House: Strapping Young Water Heater Turns 10 Years Old By Matt Cantor 04-20-2007

Berkeley This Week 04-20-2007