News

For some, Steve Barton’s an idealist who puts his principles into practice, advocating housing policies—rent control, subsidized housing, co-operative housing—aimed at keeping diverse populations in Berkeley. -more-

Walk into the South Berkeley Library and you practically bump into the four computers near the entry way. If you want to browse the history section, you’ve got to move to a narrow hallway to find what you’re looking for. -more-

The People’s Park Community Advisory Board approved a policy Monday to allow a one-year trial for limited commercial activity at the park. -more-

The Sierra Club doesn’t object to a new track finish for Albany’s Golden Gate Fields; they just don’t like how it’s being done. -more-

Well-known Albany environmentalist Ruth Meniketti died Wednesday night after she was struck by a pickup as she crossed Marin Avenue at Talbot Avenue, police report. -more-

A Berkeley High School senior and her date were arrested Saturday at the senior prom in San Francisco for possession of a loaded gun. -more-

Today, the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) is a division of the housing department that oversees federally-funded low-income housing. A board currently consisting of the mayor and City Council and two tenants oversees the authority. -more-

UC Berkeley issued notice Thursday that it plans a $3 million to $5 million renovation of Cloyne Court, a venerable shingle-sided landmark that has served both as a hotel and as student housing. -more-

Changes, adjustments, or complete disbandment affecting some AC Transit 20 route lines are scheduled to go into effect June 24, but district representatives say that riders will be able to catch buses at almost all of the currently existing bus stops, and will be able to get to and from virtually all of the existing travel points. In several cases, however, riders may have to get where they are going on AC Transit a slightly different way than they have been used to. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education accepted the first reading of a policy reversal to release student information to the military for recruitment to be eligible for federal education grants. -more-

Berkeley High School unveiled its Athletic Hall of Fame last week to recognize former student athletes who have excelled in sports over the last century. -more-

Members of the Assembly Select Committee On Youth Violence Prevention brought their third and final hearing to Oakland last week, hearing hours of expert testimony before an overflow crowd at the Port of Oakland boardroom on Friday on strategies that have been used to address and attack one of California’s most pressing problems. -more-

Urban shoplifters -more-

“When this war is over, there will be one between colored and white!” These were the words of my parents that I listened to in horror from the back seat of our car outside of the A&P in East Providence, R.I. I had seen war in the newsreels on Saturday afternoon. I had seen people shooting at other people from the protection of hedgerows. I pictured myself shooting at my eight-year-old white friends. My only friends of color were my cousin and Anna, and neither lived in my neighborhood. It was the early ‘40s and my parents were referring to the segregation of our armed forces in the Second World War. I got over that. -more-

“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-

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-

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-

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-

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-

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-

Berkeley was in the national headlines for weeks after the City Council approved a policy in December 2006 that requires local businesses to report to the city on their use of nanotechnology materials as well as guidelines for safety procedures and disposal of the substances. -more-

Everything was purple at LeConte Elementary School Friday. -more-

A group of about 10 College Republican counterprotesters came out Saturday to support the Woodfin Suite Hotel in Emeryville, as some 50 demonstrators—separated from the Republicans by a handful of Emeryville Police—condemned the hotel for what they said is the unjust firing of 12 employees and refusal to comply with the city’s Measure C. -more-

The former site of Flint Ink in West Berkeley went on the auction block Friday, but just who won remains a mystery. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education will review the proposed solar project at Washington Elementary School for the third time Wednesday and vote on whether to approve $750,000 in funds from the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) and $305,000 in PG&E funds. -more-

Two DAPAC meetings—both centering on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)—and a session of the Landmarks Preservation Commission mark the week’s major events in land use. -more-

SB1019 Peace Officer Records (Sen. Gloria Romero) -more-