Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

Steve Barton Out as Housing Director

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 05, 2007

“Today, Housing Director Stephen Barton stepped down from his post,” Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz wrote in an email to the mayor and City Council Tuesday. -more-

News

Safeway to Rebuild Shattuck Store

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Rounds of applause punctuated occasionally by bouts of “boos”—enough to prompt a scolding from City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli—greeted varied proposals for Safeway’s planned North Shattuck Avenue makeover at a meeting Thursday evening at the Jewish Community Center. -more-

Retired Police Officer Arrested in Fatal Crash

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 05, 2007

A retired Berkeley police officer was jailed Sunday night on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving after he allegedly struck and killed an elderly Berkeley woman on Solano Avenue. -more-

Questions of Bias at Jazz Festival, School

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 05, 2007

A Berkeley jazz school that has profited from tens of thousands of city dollars is remiss in hiring an almost all-white faculty, serves mostly white students and has engaged only a handful of African Americans for the Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival, say local African American musicians and supporters. -more-

Oakland Activists Call for School Closure Moratorium

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday June 05, 2007

A revived and newly energized movement to restore local control to the Oakland public schools held several hours of testimony from Oakland residents on Friday evening calling for an end to the state school takeover of Oakland Unified School District and a moratorium on school closures in the district until that time. -more-

Berkeley Residents Speak Out About City Budget

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 05, 2007

A group of about 10 civic-minded residents turned out for a lightly publicized public hearing on the budget at the North Berkeley Senior Center Tuesday evening, hoping city staff would listen to their ideas. -more-

UC, Lab Opt Out of Nanoparticle Report

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 05, 2007

LeConte Community Honors Denise Brown

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday June 05, 2007

College Republicans Support Woodfin

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Landmark Flint Site On the Auction Block

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 05, 2007

School Board Meeting Preview

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday June 05, 2007

DAPAC, Landmarks Meetings Crowd Calendar

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Oakland Bills Makes Their Way Through State Legislature

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Safeway real estate officer Todd Paradis fields questions from neighbors of the chain’s North Shattuck Avenue store, which is slated for demolition and an upgraded and expanded replacement. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.

Editorials

Financial Woes Plague UC Hotel Developers

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Money woes are forcing developers of the high-rise hotel and condo tower planned for the corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue to take another look at their project. -more-