The Week

Judith Scherr
          Former President Jimmy Carter discusses his book Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid with Orville Schell at UC Berkeley on Wednesday.
Judith Scherr Former President Jimmy Carter discusses his book Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid with Orville Schell at UC Berkeley on Wednesday.
 

News

Carter Focuses in on Palestine/Israel at Packed Zellerbach

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 04, 2007

The 39th president of the United States, former peanut farmer and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, got standing ovations and multiple rounds of applause from a packed Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus Wednesday afternoon, where he had come at the invitation of two students to speak about his controversial book, Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid. -more-


Report Fails To Quell Furor Over Emeryville Discrimination

By J. Douglas
Friday May 04, 2007

An Emeryville City Manager’s report has concluded that the city does not discriminate against its African-American employees, but the City Council agreed Tuesday night with the city manager’s recommendation that an outside consultant should be hired to do a survey of possible morale problems within the city’s black workforce. -more-


Greenery, Density Color Downtown Panel Talk

By Richard Brenneman
Friday May 04, 2007

Do people who rent or buy residences in so-called transit-oriented development really use mass transit? -more-


Visions of a Future Downtown: An Appraisal

By John Kenyon
Friday May 04, 2007

Ascend into central Berkeley via the steep escalator of subterranean BART, and you are met with a decidedly uncivic scene. People of every age and condition seem intent solely on crossing Center Street or Shattuck Avenue. You can also squeeze past a smaller, more youthful crowd waiting for the bus along the BART plaza edge or just hanging out. -more-


Pacific Steel Settles with Air Quality District

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday May 04, 2007

The country’s third largest steel foundry agreed to a settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Tuesday, which requires it to install a capture hood to control emissions and pay $150,000 in fines to the air district, though not all critics were satisfied by the agreement. -more-


Demonstrators Call for Immigration Rights

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 04, 2007

Their signs declared unity in the face of government raids and called for amnesty for immigrants without documents, and their chants affirmed “Sí, se puede!” (Yes, we can!) as May 1 demonstrators marched through Berkeley streets, gathering forces before moving to larger demonstrations in Oakland and San Francisco. -more-


BHS Students Skip Class for Day of Action

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday May 04, 2007

Berkeley High School (BHS) students skipped class Tuesday to attend the Immigration Day rally in San Francisco as many of them did last year, but this time they had permission from their teachers. -more-


Perata Signs On to OUSD Control Bill

By J. douglas Allen-taylor
Friday May 04, 2007

The Oakland legislator who wrote the bill that authorized the state takeover of the Oakland Unified School District in 2003 has signed on as a co-author of new legislation designed to bring about a quicker return to local control of the Oakland schools. -more-


Burroughs Hired to Write Greenhouse Gas Bill

BY Judith Scherr
Friday May 04, 2007

Timothy Burroughs will be writing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan, the city’s Public Information Officer Mary Kay Clunies-Ross announced in a press release Thursday. -more-


Police Blotter

By RIO BAUCE
Friday May 04, 2007

Residential Burglary -more-


AC Transit ‘Partnership’ with Bus Manufacturer Questioned

By J. Douglas
Friday May 04, 2007

An assertion this week by the general manager of AC Transit that the East Bay bus transportation agency was in a “partnership” with Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool led transit board of directors members to say that the statement made them “concerned” and might send a signal to other bus manufacturers that the district wasn’t interested in buying their buses. -more-


Suit Filed Over ‘Naked Guy’ Jail Death

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday May 04, 2007

Esther Krenn, mother of Andrew Martinez—known as the Naked Guy—sued Santa Clara County Jail Friday in federal court in San Francisco for failing to prevent his suicide in prison. -more-


Larry Bensky, Activist-Journalist, Cancels KPFA Show

By Judith Scherr
Friday May 04, 2007

KPFA’s Larry Bensky has spent much of his 70 years honing the craft of activist-journalist. -more-


Kids’ Fitness Picks Up Steam in California

By Donal Brown
Friday May 04, 2007

The battle to improve physical education in California schools is intensifying following the release in late January of two new reports commissioned by The California Endowment, a private health foundation. -more-


Correction

Friday May 04, 2007

An incomplete paragraph appeared in Arnie Passman’s April 27 commentary, “The Peace Symbol’s Golden Year is Here.” The complete paragraph is as follows: -more-


Committee Votes to Keep Mayor’s Public Commons Initiative on Agenda

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Despite community pleas to talk with members of the homeless community first, the Berkeley City Council’s Agenda Committee Monday afternoon refused to take the mayor’s Public Commons for Everyone proposal off the May 8 council agenda. -more-


BP Project Impractical, Dangerous, Critics Charge

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Questions of scientific feasibility and environmental responsibility dominated a Thursday night teach-in called by critics of UC Berkeley’s $500 million biofuels pact with a British oil company. -more-


Zoning Board Backs Closing of B-Town Store

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 01, 2007

The B-Town Dollar Store at 2973 Sacramento St. could be closed if the Berkeley City Council decides to act on a recommendation passed by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday. -more-


Woodfin Hotel Workers Fired; Supporters Cry Foul

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday May 01, 2007

The Woodfin Suites Hotel fired 12 workers Friday, according to an East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy press statement. EBASE has helped Woodfin workers in their attempts to get Emeryville’s living wage ordinance for hotel workers enforced. -more-


Bay Area Rallies for Immigrant Rights

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps in the Bay Area and across the nation have separated working parents from their children, forced families to flee in haste to countries of origin many scarcely know and caused millions of others to live in fear of harassment and deportation. -more-


Book Commemorates 33 Years of Political Art

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday May 01, 2007

A collection of posters Inkworks Press has produced over its life as a worker-owned collective brings together art, calls to political action and 33 years of history. -more-


Fewer Berkeley Businesses Selling Alcohol to Minors

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 01, 2007

The California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) announced Friday that alcohol violation rates have dropped in Berkeley. -more-


City Officials Ponder Measures To Address Freeway Collapse

Tuesday May 01, 2007

The City of Berkeley announced Monday that as the bridge approaches become heavily congested as a result of the MacArthur Maze collapse, traffic in and around Berkeley is expected to be impacted, even though none of the detours suggested by Caltrans and local officials routes traffic directly through Berkeley. -more-


School District Committee Searches for African-American Teachers

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 01, 2007

The Berkeley School Board received information on the Black College tour that took place in February to recruit more teachers of color at historically black colleges in Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Ga. -more-


Downtown Committee Ponders Green Plan; Landmarks Commission Weighs BHS Gym

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 01, 2007

DAPAC members will finally tackle the central element of their proposed new plan Wednesday night when they consider the role of sustainabilty in the future of Downtown Berkeley. -more-


Proposal Could Affect Boston’s Asians

By Adam Smith, New American Media
Tuesday May 01, 2007

A proposal to allow green card holders in Boston the ability to vote in municipal elections could have far-reaching effects for nearly half of the city’s 45,000 Asian Americans, say local experts and office holders. -more-


Mexican Journalist Risks Life to Expose Child Sex Rings

By R.M. Arrieta, New American Media
Tuesday May 01, 2007

The pristine, sandy beaches of Cancun draw more than just visitors looking for a little fun and sun. Those with a penchant for little girls as young as four have found their way to this region. -more-


Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Assault -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Paying for the Privilege of Driving Alone

By Becky O’Malley
Friday May 04, 2007

It’s day six of the missing freeway link, and Berkeley is still standing. Friends have called from all over the country to reassure themselves about us—thanks, folks, but we’re just fine. -more-


Editorial: Celebrating the Commons on May Day

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Today is May Day, the first of May, the occasion in many cultures for festivities of one kind or another. The ancient Celts took their herds from winter quarters to summer pastures at this time of year, with appropriate excitement. Socialists of all stripes, especially in Europe, have traditionally celebrated May Day as a labor holiday, though it has sometimes been used as an excuse for ugly displays of weapons. The excitement which culminated in the Haymarket riots in America started around this time of year. Young folks, especially in Europe, danced around May poles, with fertility probably lurking in the background motivation in some fashion. Girls have often been crowned Queen of the May, and Catholics around the world sometimes crowned statues of Mary as well. In England and the United States, children and lovers delivered flowers to doorsteps anonymously in May baskets. Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and their friends celebrate the ejection of French invaders from Mexico this week, culminating on Cinco de Mayo, and May 1 has become a day for demonstrations on behalf of all immigrants. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday May 04, 2007

AN OPPORTUNITY -more-


Let Sun Shine On Cell Antenna Dilemma

By Laurie Baumgarten
Friday May 04, 2007

The issue of cell phone antennas and how the city of Berkeley deals with them is a perfect illustration of what Becky O’Malley was referring to in her article, “We’ll Have to Make Our Own Sunshine”( Daily Planet, April 27). In it, she advocates transparency in government. I first heard about Patrick Kennedy’s application for a permit to put up potentially dangerous cell-phone antennas in my neighborhood about eight months ago from a neighbor. I received no notification or warning from city staff, which was, and is aware of the many studies that indicate potential harm from the RF radiation that they emit, and I live in the immediate block. If there were a posting on the door of Kennedy’s Storage building, where he wants to put these antennas, it was small and not noticeable to the neighborhood. Essen-tially, we found out about the application for a permit by accident from one of the workers who was installing equipment for the cell-phone antennas before any legal permit for them had been issued. What hubris! -more-


KPFA: Peace and Social Justice?

By Kellia Ramares
Friday May 04, 2007

I have been in the KPFA News Department for eight years. I was one of the journalists arrested in the newsroom on July 13, 1999. I don’t do much reporting now; I board op the Evening News several times a week because it pays. But it doesn’t pay much. I am scheduled for 11 hours a week and generally take on requests to fill in during holidays and vacations as the opportunities arise. I have no benefits. -more-


Ode to the Berkeley Free Clinic

By Amelia Baurmann
Friday May 04, 2007

It is close to 10 years ago now that I sat in the waiting room of the Berkeley Free Clinic waiting for my interview. I had already submitted an essay stating my reasons for wanting to be a part of the medical collective there, and had carefully considered that it would mean training there every weekend, all weekend, for six months. I was ready for something in my life to make sense, and working as a waitress wasn’t quite getting me there. While I waited, I studied the posters on the walls, mostly various artists’ interpretations of the BFC dragon logo with their motto printed beneath it: “Healthcare for people, not profit.” “Sure, I can get behind that,” I thought. -more-


Democratic Candidates Offer No Alternatives to War

By Kenneth J. Theisen
Friday May 04, 2007

Last week eight Democratic presidential candidates met in South Carolina for a debate. The candidates were senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, Chris-topher Dodd; former senators John Edwards and Mike Gravel; Gov. Bill Richardson; and Representative Dennis Kucinich. Although most of what was said during this so-called debate was no more than “campaign sound bites,” it is important to look at what was said and also what was unsaid to see the alternatives the Democratic Party is offering to replace the Bush regime in 2009. -more-


Let the Iraqis Vote on U.S. Troop Withdrawal

By Laurence Schechtman
Friday May 04, 2007

There is a way out of Iraq. There is one strategy which has not yet been tried, which may survive a Senate filibuster and possibly even a presidential veto. -more-


Washed in the Blood of the Lamb: Iraq in Retrospect

By Jane Stillwater
Friday May 04, 2007

“So, Jane,” someone just asked me, “what have you learned from your trip to Iraq?” -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday May 01, 2007

CREATING GREEN JOBS -more-


Commentary: What Are the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East?

By Matthew Taylor
Tuesday May 01, 2007

With President Jimmy Carter coming to town Wednesday to speak to UC Berkeley students about his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, it’s an appropriate time for us to reflect on the current prospects for justice and peace in the Middle East. -more-


Commentary: U.S. Uses Walls to Divide and Conquer in Iraq

By Kenneth Thiesen
Tuesday May 01, 2007

As we all know, the Bush administration is asking for more time from the American people to “win” in Iraq. First there was the “surge” of at least 30,000 more troops as the solution to defeating insurgents in Iraq. Now along with the surge, the U.S. military has come up with another tactic that will help “win” the war. “Building security walls” is the latest strategy. But what is the United States really constructing in Iraq? -more-


Commentary: Cell Phone Towers Pose Health Risks for Dense Areas

By Joanne Kowalski
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Like others, I, too, was concerned about the health effects of cell phone towers and went to the Internet to do some research. From it, I learned that while the FDA maintains that the link between RF energy emitted by cell phone antennas and health problems like cancer is “inconclusive” or “has not been demonstrated,” they also say “there is no proof that they are absolutely safe.” Even on industry friendly sites, the “prevailing wisdom among researchers” in the field is that it is “too early to draw any strong conclusions.” The research has not been expansive enough, there have been too few properly controlled studies, exposure times have been too short (sometimes as little as one hour) and the technology is too new to really know about possible long term effects. There does, however, seem to be a definite effect at the cellular level (e.g. DNA changes) which may well pose a risk to developing organisms (e.g. children). -more-


Commentary: A Healthy Perspective on Downtown Development

By Sweena Aulakh
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Largely absent from the on-going debate surrounding high density development in downtown Berkeley is a discussion on its health effects. As estimated by the Association of Bay Area Governments there will be an expected 4,200 additional residents in Berkeley by 2015. In determining possible solutions to the increased housing demand, Berkeley's Planning Department and the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) must take into account the growing body of evidence which supports dense development as a means to improve health and well-being. -more-


Commentary: Jewish Peace Activists Must Build Bridges

By Raymond Barglow
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Over the weekend of April 28-29, several hundred activists gathered in Oakland at a national conference sponsored by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Entitled “Pursuing Justice for Israel/Palestine: Changing Minds, Challenging U.S. Policy,” the conference gave expression to a movement building in the United States that is more critical of Israeli policies than is the conservative “Israel right or wrong” lobby. -more-


Columns

Under Currents: Dellums and the Media: The First 100 Days

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 04, 2007

One of the reasons it can be so important—and valuable—to have several media outlets covering the same issue or event is that individual observers tend to have their own take on things, and it is only by reading more than one account—several, if possible—that you can get a clear account of what’s really going on. Of course, that doesn’t happen when our good friends in the media go chasing after each other’s tails, yard-dog fashion, without trying to figure things out for themselves, but that’s another story. -more-


John H. Spring: Splendor, Strife and Shenanigans

By Daniella Thompson
Friday May 04, 2007

John Hopkins Spring, the developer of Thousand Oaks, always knew how to attract attention. On December 23, 1915, World War One was raging in Europe, and the newspapers were reporting that British losses at the Battle of Gallipoli had climbed to 112,921. But the war did not make top headline in the Oakland Tribune that day. -more-


Garden Variety: How Big Is the Impact of That Little Brown Moth?

By Ron Sullivan
Friday May 04, 2007

Word is that the “recommendations” and “suggestions” from the agriculture officials about the recently discovered infestation of the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana, hereinafter LBAM) has grown into a state-declared quarantine. -more-


Ask Matt: On Water Heaters, Bay Windows

By MATT CANTOR
Friday May 04, 2007

Dear Mr. Cantor: I want to thank you for the very informative and interesting article in the Daily Planet about strapping water heaters. Moreover, I want to say that I am a devoted reader and always find your pieces interesting and informative. -more-


The Care Crisis

By Ruth Rosen, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 01, 2007

A baby is born. A child develops a high fever. A spouse breaks a leg. A parent suffers a stroke. These are the events that throw a working woman’s delicate balance between work and family into chaos. -more-


The Public Eye: Virginia Tech Killings Have Us Down on the Killin’ Floor

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday May 01, 2007

In one his most famous songs, bluesman Howlin’ Wolf sang “I should’a quit you, long time ago... / And I wouldn’t’ve been here, / Down on the killin’ floor.” -more-


Column: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole Again

By Susan Parker
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Last Friday, April 27, I spent the day at Children’s Fairyland with one thousand other hot and tired attendees. It was a record-breaking crowd for Fairyland. The lines for the Magic Web Ferris Wheel and Flecto Carousel were long, as was the wait for a seat outside Johnny Appleseed’s Café. Almost everyone in the park was 5 years old or younger. It would have been a very good day to stay away from Fairyland, but I was subbing for a teacher who had, obviously, already thought of that. -more-


Wild Neighbors: Where’s Poppa? The Case of the Fatherless Lizards

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday May 01, 2007

If you visit Mount Diablo this time of year and walk the Fire Interpretive Trail that circles the summit (highly recommended for wildflowers, including the locally rare bitterroot), you’re almost sure to meet one or more of the resident California whiptail lizards. Sometimes they dash across the path from one shelter to another, demonstrating why they’re also called racerunners. But I’ve had some escort me along their personal stretch of trail, keeping a wary eye on me all the while. -more-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Friday May 04, 2007

FRIDAY, MAY 4 -more-


Moving Pictures: A Minimalist Journey Along the Road to Recovery

By JUSTIN DeFREITAS
Friday May 04, 2007

Andrea Arnold’s Red Road, a Scottish film opening this weekend at Shattuck Cinemas, draws the viewer in immediately with its quiet intensity. The film begins with Jackie (Kate Dickie) silently watching a bank of monitors at her job at a security company, each screen presenting a different view of urban Glasgow from cameras positioned around the city. -more-


Arts Around the East Bay

Friday May 04, 2007

FLEETING MOMENTS -more-


The Thearer: Macbeth at Berkeley Art Center

By KEN BULLOCK
Friday May 04, 2007

Whether it’s the Weird Sisters on the heath, a dagger hovering in mid-air, Birnham Wood marching on Dunsinane, or “No man of woman born,” the Bard’s “Scottish Play”—so-called to guard against its very own evil eye—is usually drenched with atmosphere and gore, and served up as a kind of Hallowe’en blowout with cultural credentials. -more-


John H. Spring: Splendor, Strife and Shenanigans

By Daniella Thompson
Friday May 04, 2007

John Hopkins Spring, the developer of Thousand Oaks, always knew how to attract attention. On December 23, 1915, World War One was raging in Europe, and the newspapers were reporting that British losses at the Battle of Gallipoli had climbed to 112,921. But the war did not make top headline in the Oakland Tribune that day. -more-


Garden Variety: How Big Is the Impact of That Little Brown Moth?

By Ron Sullivan
Friday May 04, 2007

Word is that the “recommendations” and “suggestions” from the agriculture officials about the recently discovered infestation of the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana, hereinafter LBAM) has grown into a state-declared quarantine. -more-


Ask Matt: On Water Heaters, Bay Windows

By MATT CANTOR
Friday May 04, 2007

Dear Mr. Cantor: I want to thank you for the very informative and interesting article in the Daily Planet about strapping water heaters. Moreover, I want to say that I am a devoted reader and always find your pieces interesting and informative. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday May 04, 2007

FRIDAY, MAY 4 -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday May 01, 2007

TUESDAY, MAY 1 -more-


Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay

Tuesday May 01, 2007

ETHNOPOETICIST READS AT MOE’S -more-


Savall’s Skill Lends Immediacy to Performance

By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Before going to hear the work of a particular classical composer, which, for me, usually means Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Mahler, or Satie, I try to listen to recordings of the pieces on the program before hand. Listening ahead not only makes the melodies performed familiar, it also gives the live concert a nostalgic resonance, and suggests a context for the music, both the original moment of its creation in time by the composer, and its creative intervening afterlife. -more-


BHS Revives ‘Hair’ for 40th Anniversary

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 01, 2007

Students at Berkeley High will “Let the Sunshine In” by performing a 40th anniversary celebration—and critical examination—of the musical Hair, this weekend and next on campus at the Florence Schwimley Theater. -more-


TheatreFIRST Struggles to Survive in Oakland Arts District

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 01, 2007

TheatreFIRST, Oakland’s only resident theater company, will perform the West Coast premiere of John Arden’s 1959 antiwar masterpiece, Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance, opening this Friday at 8 p.m., and running through May 27 at the Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth St., just north of Broadway. -more-


Wild Neighbors: Where’s Poppa? The Case of the Fatherless Lizards

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday May 01, 2007

If you visit Mount Diablo this time of year and walk the Fire Interpretive Trail that circles the summit (highly recommended for wildflowers, including the locally rare bitterroot), you’re almost sure to meet one or more of the resident California whiptail lizards. Sometimes they dash across the path from one shelter to another, demonstrating why they’re also called racerunners. But I’ve had some escort me along their personal stretch of trail, keeping a wary eye on me all the while. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday May 01, 2007

TUESDAY, MAY 1 -more-