Freedom is what pre-schoolers at Berkeley’s oldest nursery will inherit on their first day of class—freedom to learn and grow through play, by getting their hands wet and their feet muddy and by letting their imaginations soar. -more-
While Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) officials were pitching their role in the half-billion-dollar grant from British oil giant BP, they were also bidding for a second, similar but federally funded program. -more-
Members of the Associated Students of UC Berkeley’s Senate voted Wednesday night to urge administrators to hold off on signing a $500 million contract with BP (British Petroleum) until their concerns have been addressed. -more-
The tradition of reappointing library trustees for their second and final four-year terms without considering new applicants is being challenged by a trustee. -more-
Assemblymember Sandré Swanson’s AB 45 Oakland school local control bill overcame its first legislative hurdle this week, passing the Assembly Education Committee on a 7-2 party line vote (Democrats voting aye, Republicans voting no), but in a vastly modified form that drastically changes the terms under which local control would be restored. -more-
Start the day with a good breakfast. “That’s what our moms always told us,” said Bert Johnson Wednesday morning over hot cereal, a cup of java, a couple of slices of day-old bread and the company of friends. -more-
SaveBerkeleyIceland.org—the community based organization that came forward in January to preserve the 67 year-old historic ice-rink at 2727 Milvia St.—has so far raised $90,000 from six weeks of fundraising. -more-
Opposition to chicks in cages, support for draft resistors and getting rid of plastic shopping bags were among the items approved by the Berkeley City Council Tuesday. -more-
The recent Virginia Tech University mass shooting tragedy has led to widespread discussion and debate across the nation about school safety. -more-
The Berkeley Board of Education approved $20,000 Wednesday to hire WLC Consultants to officially study the Curvy Derby Plan and further develop it. -more-
A sparsely attended public hearing to consider how to conduct closed-door complaint hearings was held Wednesday evening by the Police Review Commission. -more-
The “Crisis of the California Commons” is the subject of a conference being held this weekend at Berkeley City College. -more-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) is scheduled to hear a nuisance proceeding Thursday. -more-
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-
About 250 UC Berkeley students were shadowed last Thursday, but it was all for a good cause. -more-
A group of West Berkeley residents have set up an air monitor to detect emissions from Pacific Steel Casting (PSC) Monday. -more-
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-
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-
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-
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-
We’d like to thank our good friends at the Bay Guardian (where several of us here cut our journalistic teeth) for their persistent advocacy for sunshine in government. In case their lively publication isn’t on your usual reading list (it should be) here’s what they have to say about what’s going on in Berkeley: -more-
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-
Two thirds into the winter of 1957-58, Gerald Holtom was feeling 66.6 percent-ish as he agonized over the design. That February 21, as the artist was to explain the genesis of his idea in greater, more personal depth later to Peace News editor Hugh Brock, he was “in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself the representation of an individual in despair with arms outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalized the drawing with a line and put a circle around it.” -more-
In the spirit of cities rolling out the welcome mat for private stadiums, a la Pac Bell Park and McAfee Coliseum, sometimes at the expense of funding such secondary needs as schools, let’s have a contest for renaming the UC Berkeley. British Petroleum has made a strong bid for renaming the school the University of British Petroleum. But that’s a little over the top—maybe we should just put department names up for sale, and at least keep the UCB acronym for the present. -more-
A warm water pool in Berkeley is a truly desirable and important amenity to Berkeley residents, and a boon to the greater East Bay. The article in the Daily Planet on Tuesday, April 10, “Voices of the Berkeley Warm Pool,” is a remarkable tribute and reminder about the benefits of a warm water therapeutic pool for everyone in our community. However, the reality is that the existing pool is very old, deteriorating at a rapid clip, and may soon be unusable. And then where will we all be? -more-
Becky O’Malley begins her latest foray into the Middle East with noble sentiments. She endorses Pelosi’s and Lantos’ recent peace mission to Syria, and condemns the Bush administration for obstructing it. Then, as usual, our local editor severely strays. She starts by calling Israeli Prime Minister “clueless” for denying that Pelosi was bringing a peace message from him to Syrian President Assad, when everyone knows that Olmert is quite anxious to make peace with Syria, has said so often, and yes, of course Pelosi was bearing a message of peace to the Syrians from Olmert. No one has ever seriously called Olmert “clueless.” What a clueless insult. O’Malley, herself, concedes that, in order to send a peace message to Syria through Pelosi, Olmert had to disregard an explicit order from Bush not to do so. Olmert was in a tough position, since defying a bully like Bush cannot be a good thing for little Israel. Then O’Malley incoherently tries to tie AIPAC into this, as though somehow AIPAC is standing in the way of peace with Syria, citing Soros’ recent criticism of that organization. O’Malley quotes Soros as saying that he is “not sufficiently engaged in Jewish affairs,” and yet O’Malley nevertheless touts Soros as “a strong supporter of Israel.” Soros is right and O’Malley wrong. Soros has never been identified with Jewish causes or with Israel. He does not have much of a history of either support or detraction. His main focus of activity has been Eastern Europe. As for AIPAC, it did not in this case, and never would lift a finger to obstruct an Israeli peace initiative, but, more typically, in a case like this its role would be to help smooth over any bad feelings created between Olmert and Bush on his matter. O’Malley offers not a shred of evidence that AIPAC played or plays any obstructive role in the peace process, or in any way works against the interests of either the United States or Israel. Because AIPAC serves America’s interests as well as Israel’s, it is so highly regarded by politicians across the political spectrum, from Tom Bates to Tom Delay, and almost every politician in between, including Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee and Tom Lantos. -more-
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-
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-
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-
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-
In 1609 a terrible thing happened. Not terrible in the manner that great wars are terrible, but in the way that opening Pandora’s Box was terrible: King James I of England discovered that dividing people on the basis of religion worked like a charm, thus sentencing the Irish to almost four centuries of blood and pain. -more-
Generals, so the theory goes, tend to fight the last war, and so my good friends in the local media—many of whom seemed to have missed the fact that the administration of Mayor Jerry Brown was one of the most secretive in our lifetime—have taken out, yard dog fashion, after his successor, Ron Dellums, on the same charge. -more-
After driving past for months and months, I noticed an opportune parking space and misbehaved badly enough to get it, and so I finally got inside the Sahara Import shop on Ashby just east of Shattuck. -more-
I guess I have to remember to stay off of my horse else be in danger of falling off and damaging my backside. The industry (if you can call it that) that I’m employed in is fairly new and often mistaken for other adjacent trades (e.g. a friend referred to me as an appraiser the other day) including, not surprisingly, the structural pest control industry (often referred to as termite inspectors). -more-
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-
POETRY READING TO HONOR GINSBERG -more-
Architect Glen Small, feeling unappreciated, with no books or significant critical studies of his work in print, drafted his will and testament with a special request: He bequeathed to his middle daughter Lucia the task of writing his biography. His hope was that she would document his achievements and thus firmly establish his professional reputation once and for all. He wasn’t sick; he was just bitter, and wanted the story to be finally told. -more-
Noted historian and author Alistair Horne, whose book A Savage War of Peace (1977), on the French war against Algerian rebels (1954-62), has been reprinted by the New York Review with a new preface that draws parallels with the War in Iraq, will lecture and be interviewed Monday, 8 p.m., at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., in a coproduction with Moe’s Books. -more-
After driving past for months and months, I noticed an opportune parking space and misbehaved badly enough to get it, and so I finally got inside the Sahara Import shop on Ashby just east of Shattuck. -more-
I guess I have to remember to stay off of my horse else be in danger of falling off and damaging my backside. The industry (if you can call it that) that I’m employed in is fairly new and often mistaken for other adjacent trades (e.g. a friend referred to me as an appraiser the other day) including, not surprisingly, the structural pest control industry (often referred to as termite inspectors). -more-
If you’ve seen the film A Great Day in Harlem, you may have noticed that of the 57 jazz legends who showed up to be photographed by Art Kane standing on the stoop of a Harlem brownstone at 17 East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues on an August morning in 1958, only three of them were women and only one of the three was white. -more-
A young Asian woman in a fashionable, low-cut black dress and high heels busies herself with last minute fussing over the white bulk of an architectural model, positioned on a table elevated enough so that she needs to climb above it on a high tech stepladder to reach down into its interior. -more-
There was a time in history when travel diaries were the way people in London, Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam found out about the countries they had yoked to their imperial ambitions. India, Sumatra, and rural Donegal—the places that funneled raw materials and gold into the great imperial centers—came alive in journals and long letters to leading newspapers. Most of the diarists focused on the exotic, but not a few accurately predicted that no matter how many dragoons were sent to terrorize the Irish countryside, insurrectionary groups like the “Whiteboys” would appear in their wake to burn down a landlord’s house. Or divined that all the “khaki boys” in the British Army would never quell the fierce Pushtin tribesmen of the Northern Frontier. -more-
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-
In an April 13 story on labor relations in the Berkeley schools, a school employee’s name was misspelled. Her name is Anita Thomson. -more-
