News
Council Hears New Plan for Greenhouse Gas Reduction
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
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
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
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-
School Board to Vote on Curvy Derby
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
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
The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) is scheduled to hear a nuisance proceeding Thursday. -more-
Commission Discusses Closed Police Misconduct Hearings
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
About 250 UC Berkeley students were shadowed last Thursday, but it was all for a good cause. -more-
West Berkeley Residents Monitor Pacific Steel Emissions
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
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
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
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
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-
Historian Leon Litwack Retires with Golden Apple
Images of a young Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar ablaze flickered across the screen at the UC Berkeley Wheeler Auditorium on Wednesday. The film Berkeley in the ’60s was not just entertainment for the some hundred students from History 7B (American History since 1865)—it was classwork. -more-
UC Academic Senate Confirms BP Contract
Berkeley’s Academic Senate handed a victory to supporters of the proposed half-billion-dollar contract between the former British Petroleum and the university. -more-
Universal Health Care Bill Passes Committee
A bill that would guarantee single-payer health care coverage to all Californians passed the California State Senate Health Committee Thursday, leaving at least one community advocate optimistic about the bill’s chances of becoming law. -more-
DAPAC Gives OK to Downtown Proposals
DAPAC members finally adopted recommendations for developing UC Berkeley-owned property in downtown Berkeley Wednesday, but it took more than three hours, and one key element remains to be decided. -more-
Mayor Bates Touts Berkeley’s Green-City Initiatives
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates urged local businesses to help propel Berkeley toward becoming the greenest city in the country at the Sustainable Berkeley Commercial Property Climate Protection Luncheon gathering on Tuesday. -more-
Senate Bills on Police Public Information Meet Mixed Fates
Legislation that would re-open police disciplinary hearings and open up police personnel disciplinary files narrowly passed the Senate Public Safety Committee this week on a partisan 3-2 vote, leading advocates to the conclusion that a compromise will be necessary for the bill to survive both the Legislature and a possible veto from Gov. Schwarzenegger. -more-
Panoramic Sales Net City $2.1 Million
The sale of seven Berkeley apartment buildings will make the city richer by $2.1 million in the form of a one-time property transfer tax payment, reports Calvin Fong, an aide to Mayor Tom Bates. -more-
Longfellow’s Technology Programs Attract National Attention
Forty-two school board members from around the country paid a visit to Longfellow Arts and Technology Magnet Middle School Monday to look at what the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) is doing with technology in the middle schools. -more-
SF Board Landmarks UC Laguna Extension Campus
The Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board (LPAB) in San Francisco voted 6-1 in favor of the local landmark designation of the UC Berkeley Extension Laguna Street Campus Wednesday. -more-
Opium, Drug Use Drive Second Wave of AIDS Pandemic
Intravenous drug use (IDU) is emerging as a significant driver for the “second wave” of the international HIV/AIDS pandemic, according to Dr. Chris Beyrer, a leading authority on the disease. -more-