UC Aims to Curtail Annual Student Sidewalk Couch Drop
Two years ago, Derby Street resident Martha Jones had a sofa sitting on the sidewalk of her block for an entire week. -more-
Two years ago, Derby Street resident Martha Jones had a sofa sitting on the sidewalk of her block for an entire week. -more-
More than 50 complaints lodged with the Police Review Commission against various Berkeley police officers sit awaiting action at the city’s Police Review Commission offices. -more-
In an effort to bring more transparency to library governance, the Board of Library Trustees held its first public hearing last week on the budget, giving the public a chance to comment on how the institution spends the $13 million it receives through the city’s library tax. -more-
A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) plan to build a 25,000-square-foot, 60-bedroom, four-story guest house at the lab poses no significant negative environmental impacts, lab officials contend. -more-
When Augustin Aguayo joined the military the young man thought it would open doors for him, but soon realized that he had been mistaken. -more-
With some predictions that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new budget proposals could have severe effects on the East Bay’s public transit system, East Bay transit officials and its powerful trio of state legislators are indicating that a fight is in the works. -more-
The long-running battle of Casino San Pablo is at an end, with both sides claiming victory. -more-
Berkeley’s Transportation and Planning commissions and the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) will meet with representatives of AC Transit next Thursday night, May 24, to talk about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). -more-
At a contentious meeting of the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council (PRNC) on Monday dues-paying members voted 60-7 against supporting a local committee’s proposal to tear down the Richmond library’s Westside branch in Point Richmond and move the branch’s operations to a nearby rental facility. -more-
Following two months of community pressure, the Berkeley City Council is considering strengthening Berkeley’s 1986 status as a City of Refuge for immigrants. Two competing measures, both of which would direct city staff to expend no funds nor staff time in aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will be on the City Council agenda Tuesday, May 22. Last week, the Peace and Justice Commission passed a proposal for a San Francisco-style ordinance that would also require the city manager to notify the public whenever ICE asks for assistance. City Council members Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring will be introducing this ordinance. And Mayor Tom Bates is weighing in with a resolution offering language similar to San Francisco’s ordinance, minus the enforcement provisions and durability, since unlike the other proposal, it would not be adopted as part of the city’s municipal code. -more-
Your May 15 front-page story, “Critical Mass Cyclists Confront Driver in Melee,” was an eye-opener. It seems that bicycling bullies-on-wheels, otherwise known as Critical Mass (or Critical Mob), has spread from San Francisco across the bay to Berkeley. This is not progress. There is a propensity of East Bay bicyclists to consider themselves as above the rules of the road and then ride through both stop signs and red lights. Now we have bullies-on-bicycles in group rides openly flaunting the rules of the road (for everyone else) and daring the local police or anyone else to stop them. They have the false courage of a mob. These folks seem to have a very large chip on their shoulder. Actually, bicycling bullies seem to have the same mind-set as the Bush crime family: ordinary rules and laws don’t apply to us: it’s our way on the highway… -more-
A few years ago the publisher and I were tourists in London, and we stopped to look at a lovely old churchyard in Hampstead or somewhere. The kindly grey-haired old vicar saw us looking at his tombstones, and came over to tell us a few interesting stories about local history. Then, with no apparent segue, he launched into a tirade about what savages the Irish were, how they were making England uninhabitable and worse. Now, to be fair, this was during the time when some IRA members were planting bombs in British cities, so his annoyance was not unjustifiable, but he went way over the top with accusations of superstition and illiteracy against the whole Irish nation. We went on our way quickly at that point, terrified that he would introduce himself and we would have to cop to our shared Irish surname. -more-
Figuring out the motives and actions of a wartime President while those actions are taking place is always difficult because, after all, one of the key elements of the successful prosecution of a war is deceiving the enemy, and you cannot very well do that while honestly explaining your true plans and intentions to your own people. Wish it weren’t so, friends, but that seems to be a fact. And for democracies, which bill themselves as being based on an informed public, it is a contradiction that will never be fully resolved. -more-
Not every house in Berkeley can boast of an illustrious resident. Fewer can boast of two. Fewer yet can demonstrate a connection between the two notables. The house at 1335 Shattuck Avenue is one of the latter. -more-
One might be forgiven for thinking otherwise, but there are things to buy at The Gardener that actually have something to do with gardens. -more-
Hi Matt: Enjoyed your excellent article on foundation capping.One thing that I sometimes mention to my clients is that the faulty grade problem may sometimes be solved by simply digging away the dirt and debris that has accumulated against the foundation. This of course is the most economical solution when a complete foundation replacement isn’t needed for structural reasons! Do you think this is an okay observation to make? -more-
Editorial: Rude, Crude and In Your Face 05-18-2007
Editorial: Academic Freedom Changes its Shape 05-15-2007
Letters to the Editor 05-18-2007
Commentary: City Considers Proposals to Counter Immigration Raids By Margot Pepper 05-18-2007
Commentary: The False Courage of Bullies-on-Bicycles By James K. Sayre 05-18-2007
Letters to the Editor 05-15-2007
Commentary: Community Partnerships Academy Seniors Leave Us Stronger By Susannah Bell 05-15-2007
Commentary: Premature Ejaculation By Wilson Riles 05-15-2007
Commentary: Moms Wear Combat Boots, Too By Eli PaintedCrow 05-15-2007
UC Aims to Curtail Annual Student Sidewalk Couch Drop By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-18-2007
City to Challenge Closed Police Complaint Hearings By Judith Scherr 05-18-2007
Library Budget Raises RFID Questions By Judith Scherr 05-18-2007
Hotel on a Hill: 60 Rooms, Suites For Lab’s ‘Guest House’ Plans By Richard Brenneman 05-18-2007
Conscientious Objector Day By Judith Scherr 05-18-2007
Transit Officials Predict Trouble from Proposed Cutbacks By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-18-2007
Compromise Bill Freezes Casino San Pablo Games By Richard Brenneman 05-18-2007
City Panel to Discuss Bus Rapid Transit By Richard Brenneman 05-18-2007
Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 05-18-2007
Point Richmond Council Opposes Tearing Down Library By Geneviève Duboscq, Special to the Planet 05-18-2007
City Letter Prompts Shipyard Artist Exodus By Richard Brenneman 05-15-2007
Commissioners Condemn Bigoted E-mail By Judith Scherr 05-15-2007
The Public Eye: Big-Box Shopping Center on Fourth Street? By Zelda Bronstein 05-15-2007
Critical Mass Cyclists Confront Driver in Melee By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-15-2007
City Looks to Improve Earthquake Standards for Homes By Judith Scherr 05-15-2007
Hunger Strikers Protest Lab Management By Judith Scherr 05-15-2007
Berkeley High Grad Mourned in Richmond Funeral By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-15-2007
Legislative Briefs By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-15-2007
Zoning Board Approves Arpeggio Building Changes By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-15-2007
People’s Park Planners Meet With Community By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-15-2007
Historic Building, Green Design Planning Elements Take Shape By Richard Brenneman 05-15-2007
Column: Undercurrents: Thinking of War with Iran While at War in Iraq By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-18-2007
East Bay Then and Now: Captain Slater’s House Is an Early Classic Colonial By Daniella Thompson 05-18-2007
Garden Variety: There’s Still Something for Gardeners at The Gardener By Ron Sullivan 05-18-2007
About the House: Ask Matt: Foundation Caps 05-18-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-18-2007
Column: The Public Eye: Reconsidering the Need for Impeachment By Bob Burnett 05-15-2007
Column: Hey Diddle Diddle and Nine Naked Barbies By Susan Parker 05-15-2007
Wild Neighbors: The Travels and Tribulations of the Hoary Bat By Joe Eaton 05-15-2007
Arts Calendar 05-18-2007
Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 05-18-2007
Moving Pictures: A Long-Lost Classic Finally Gets its Due By Justin DeFreitas 05-18-2007
Freight and Salvage Presents ‘The Great Night of Rumi’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-18-2007
Live Oak Park Hosts 24th Annual Himalayan Fair By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-18-2007
East Bay Then and Now: Captain Slater’s House Is an Early Classic Colonial By Daniella Thompson 05-18-2007
Garden Variety: There’s Still Something for Gardeners at The Gardener By Ron Sullivan 05-18-2007
About the House: Ask Matt: Foundation Caps 05-18-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-18-2007
Berkeley This Week 05-18-2007
Arts Calendar 05-15-2007
Fourth Street Hosts Annual Jazz Festival By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet 05-15-2007
The Theater: Eastenders Present ‘Fear and Misery of the Third Reich’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-15-2007
Wild Neighbors: The Travels and Tribulations of the Hoary Bat By Joe Eaton 05-15-2007
Berkeley This Week 05-15-2007