News

The eclectic assembly of artists who have made The Shipyard a hub of creativity for the past six years was packing up over the weekend, evicted—they say—by the city. -more-

A few weeks ago members of the southeast Berkeley community found newspapers and hate-filled flyers on their sidewalks and front porches targeting Jews, blacks, Hispanics and immigrants. -more-

One of the city’s most valuable services is the NewsScan, the free, online daily compilation of media references to Berkeley. You find things there that you wouldn’t know about otherwise. Last Friday, I happened across just such an item, an article pulled down from the website of GlobeSt.com that reported the upcoming auction of two parcels totaling 5.8 acres at Fourth and Gilman, a.k.a. the former site of Flint Ink. -more-

Chaos broke loose at the intersection of The Alameda and Monterey Avenue during an otherwise peaceful Berkeley Critical Mass bicycle demonstration late Friday. -more-

Developing earthquake standards for cities is hard enough, but writing rules to strengthen homes to withstand serious temblors—rules that apply to a large number of homes, including those built on hillsides, and are flexible enough to use a variety of materials and building techniques—is a challenge. -more-

On May 8, the Department of Energy announced the new management team for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL): the University of California, Bechtel National, BWX Technologies and others. -more-

Canon Christian Jones II came home a week too soon from school in Alabama. The 18-year-old Berkeley High School graduate had planned to spend the summer with his family in Pinole starting May 14. -more-

SB 67 (Sideshow bill) -more-

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) approved a use permit to establish a 24-Seven fitness center of approximately 2,000 sq. ft. in an existing commercial building at 1775 Solano Ave., but decided to discuss its parking provisions as an informational item at the next ZAB meeting. -more-

MKThink—the San Francisco-based consultants hired by UC Berkeley to develop a community-based needs assessment plan to improve People’s Park—met with the park’s Advisory Committee members and park users for their first public meeting last Monday, May 7. -more-

Members of the two city bodies looking at the future of the Berkeley’s historic buildings are nearing completion of a key element of the new downtown plan. -more-

A celebration of smiles will be held at Emerson and Jefferson Elementary Schools this weekend. -more-

A weary mayor and seven councilmembers—with Councilmember Betty Olds having gone home—and more than two dozen members of the public waited in the council chambers past midnight Tuesday to address the mayor’s controversial Public Commons for Everyone initia-tive, a proposal aimed at curbing inappropriate behavior in shopping areas by intensifying law enforcement in an initial phase and adding social services later as funding will allow. -more-

With the release last week by Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums of a budget that proposes to spend $1.1 billion per year over the next two fiscal years, the focus of Oakland’s budget discussion now shifts to the Oakland City Council. -more-

Two operations and five days after he was beaten outside a Berkeley student co-op, a San Francisco State student remains under medical care at Summit Alta Bates Hospital. -more-

Nextel and Verizon representatives at Tuesday’s council meeting squared off with irate neighbors of UC Storage at 2721 Shattuck Ave., with the communications companies getting what they wanted—the promise of a public hearing to review a zoning board decision which denied the powerful companies permits to install their antennas atop the Shattuck Avenue building. -more-

The Berkeley City Council got a first look at the draft two-year 2008-2009 $614,050 budget at a workshop before its regular meeting on Tuesday. Final budget decisions will not be made until the June 26 council meeting. -more-

If a Burger King wants to set up shop on Telegraph Avenue, the Berkeley Planning Commission decided Wednesday night that they’re not inclined to block it, though they don’t expect the fast food chain to open up on Berkeley’s emblematic commercial street. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education delayed its vote on a controversial proposal to establish a Community Day School on the B-Tech campus Wednesday. -more-

Tuskegee police have charged Quentin Motez Davis, 18, of Macon County, and Romanita Michelle Cloud, 18, of Tuskegee, Ala., with the murder of Berkeley High Graduate Canon Jones, who was shot after he left his dorm to buy food on April 29. -more-