Some 50 people, including four Berkeley city councilmembers, rallied at the Maudelle Shirek Building Tuesday, demanding that federal drug agents and the Los Angeles Police Department stay out of Berkeley and that the city become a sanctuary for distributors of medical marijuana. -more-
The restaurant remodel and mixed-use development of the historic Fidelity Bank Building on Shattuck Avenue was postponed by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday to investigate ways to alleviate the project’s loss of parking. -more-
Rent Stabilization Board Member Chris Kavanagh, a Green Party member first elected to the board in 2002, may not live in Berkeley, a requirement for all elected officials in Berkeley. -more-
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums won a large measure of vindication over charges in some media outlets that he was missing in action in the Waste Management workers lockout dispute, when representatives of both Waste Management and Teamsters workers told a Friday afternoon City Hall press conference that a settlement of the month-long lockout would not have been possible without the mayor’s intervention. -more-
Nearly a month after the U.S. Supreme Court severely restricted the use of race to bring about diversity in schools, a group of legal scholars and education officials gathered at a recent panel discussion on the issue and said Berkeley’s integration strategy is likely to withstand challenges based on the recent 5-4 decision, and may become a model for other districts that are struggling to integrate their schools without triggering legal barriers. -more-
After more than a year of delays, Pacific Steel Casting released its Health Risk Assessment report to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District last week. -more-
The California Supreme Court Monday upheld a death penalty for a former Berkeley waterfront commissioner who brutally beat a university professor and his wife and then murdered and dismembered a fellow commissioner who would have testified against him. -more-
Berkeley may be getting $330,000 more for mental heath services, in addition to the nearly $1 million already allocated under the state Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). -more-
The Berkeley City Council will meet briefly today (Tuesday) to hold a public hearing on the Elmwood Theater Business Improvement Area, required for the business improvement district to continue its operations, and to formally adopt findings that B-Town Dollar at 2973 Sacramento St. is a nuisance and should be shut down. -more-
The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against California ordinances allowing the seizure and forfeiture of vehicles used in picking up prostitutes or buying drugs, thus effectively ending the City of Oakland’s 10-year experiment in the practice. -more-
UC Berkeley development officials will meet this morning (Tuesday) with builders eager for the chance to build an $8 million guest house at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. -more-
An organization affiliated with National Public Radio will be coming to Oakland and Richmond for six weeks beginning Aug. 9, collecting historical stories by Bay Area African-Americans for possible later broadcast on NPR. -more-
On Thursday the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will discuss the landmarking of a 19th-century dwelling at 3100 Shattuck Ave., which is proposed to be demolished for the construction of a new three-story mixed-use building . -more-
In my gilded youth I went on a skiing trip to Austria. In those carefree days one traveled by boat and train in a leisurely, comfortable, civilized way, with none of the overcrowded panic that mars voyaging today. The train had sleeping berths and we woke gasping at the proximity of massive Alps rearing skywards almost close enough to touch, or so it seemed. Our destination was a picture postcard-perfect village, Obergurgl. -more-
The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against California enacting ordinances allowing the seizure and forfeiture of vehicles used in picking up prostitutes or buying drugs, thus effectively ending the City of Oakland’s 10-year experiment in the practice. -more-
The Berkeley Transportation Commission’s transit subcommittee debated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the Southside with Berkeley residents Wednesday. -more-
Flanked by high-priced consultants tasked with bolstering a “troubled” housing authority suffering from years of neglect, and facing a new board apparently ready to work through volumes of (sometimes contradictory, some say) HUD regulations, Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) Executive Director Tia Ingram reported at the Monday BHA board meeting on the progress of the newly indepen-dent agency. -more-
A proposal to rezone parts of West Berkeley for car dealerships drew massive, vocal public opposition at Berkeley’s Plan-ning Commission Wednesday night. -more-
Greenhouse gases and Bus Rapid Transit dominated the first half of Wednesday night’s Berkeley Planning Commission meeting which drew a packed house to the North Berkeley Senior Center. -more-
The state’s Brown Act and the Public Records Act aim to maximize the ability of citizens to participate in community affairs. -more-
A community meeting which officials said they called Tuesday evening to assess general library needs was part Berkeley Library lovefest, part rally to save the South Berkeley Branch Library. -more-
A 22-year-old homeless woman was arrested early Thursday for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old Berkeley boy, six weeks after she was caught with the same youth along an Oregon highway. -more-
Oakland Unified School District officials and at least some board members were keeping close-mouthed at the end of this week about allegations of possible improper relations between a male school board member and a 17-year-old female Oakland area high school student. -more-
Elephant Pharmacy is hosting an electronic recycling drop-off day on Saturday. The pharmacy, at 1607 Shattuck Ave., will be accepting computers, TVs, stereos, and all other electronic equipment from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. -more-
By Cynthia Johnson -more-
Talk about abrupt transitions: We spent a long weekend in the Santa Cruz mountains with some of the grandchildren, with no newspaper delivery and recreational attractions out-competing Internet and radio news updates. So listening to the latest news on NPR on Monday morning was the classic rude awakening, with a featured report on the secretary of state’s announcement that she’s proposing to drop more weapons, to the tune of close to $30 billion or more, into the steaming cauldron which is the Middle East today. A big hunk of the new money, $20 billion, would go to Saudi Arabia, theoretically to balance a perceived threat from Iran, but in addition, to allay Israeli fears about the Saudis, Israel’s already huge weapons funding would be increased to at least $30 billion. And there’s another $13 billion for Egypt. -more-
Once again I’m exercising my editorial privilege of previewing opinion contributions and responding to them the same day they’re printed. I’ve read the comments from Jean Damu and Alona Clifton in this issue, and I both agree and disagree with the points they raise. -more-
I am writing given your recent editorial comment about KPFA’s new Sunday Morning talk show host, Peter Laufer and his reply. Some history is important. Right after Larry Bensky announced that he was leaving the Sunday Morning show I approached Sasha Lilley, the recently appointed interim program director, while at an event at the Berkeley Unitarian-Universalists Hall at Cedar and Bonita. I suggested that they should consider breaking up the two-hour block and getting some diversity in that time slot: Women, people of color, and political diversity. Having the same politics controlling the questions and direction of the interviews every Sunday can get tiresome and redundant. Having different expressions from diverse people with diverse politics could reach more people and be much more interesting. -more-
As a long-time listener and volunteer at KPFA, I have been following the issue of Larry Bensky’s replacement with great interest. Even though there continues to be infighting over station management issues, the hosts on KPFA generally maintain a high level of respect for their audience, and do their level best to allow people to express their views on the air. I hoped, at a minimum, that the new host of the Sunday morning show, Peter Laufer, would embrace these ideals. -more-
What a cheap shot by columnist Becky O’Malley, backhandedly saying that my criticism of Rep. John Conyers for having 45 people who came to demand that he act on the impeachment bill for Dick Cheney that he has let sit in his committee for three months arrested was “not quite racism.” Why does the white Becky mention the race word? Because the chair of the Judiciary Committee is black? -more-
I am very torn about the Bus Rapid Transit project. I want transit to work and will take the bus more often if it does happen. Still, after reading the articles and letters pro/con-BRT, I remain unconvinced that BRT will be successful. While ridership will grow, such growth can be had with gentler, incremental and cheaper measures that have not been considered, and that in some combination, could increase ridership just as much without having to resort to tearing up Telegraph: i.e., proof of payment system, Bay Area transit pass, security, better shelters, NextBus, lower fares, free rides in downtown areas, increased gas tax, WiFi, more buses/shorter headway, better neighborhood parking programs and enforcement, employee TDM, etc. -more-
I mailed a few letters this past Saturday, getting to the post office just before pickup at 4:30 in the afternoon. The post office is on the corner of College and Webster in the Elmwood. I live on Prince Street and was alarmed that every parking spot on the street was taken; it is the longest uninterrupted street in the city, between College and Claremont avenues. Traffic on College was backed up beyond Woolsey, almost to Alcatraz Avenue as a result of the red traffic light at Ashby. Alcatraz is four blocks south of Ashby. After I mailed my letters, I walked to the corner of Ashby and College, and as a result of the red light there, traffic was backed up on Ashby several blocks east as well as west. I wondered: has the city ever commissioned an environmental report for auto exhausts in my neighborhood, especially on the corner of Ashby and College on a Saturday afternoon? -more-
Berkeley’s process to begin implementing Measure G, the greenhouse-gas reduction initiative passed by 81 percent of Berkeley voters last November, is off to a good start. Community workshops held in collaboration with city commissions have been well-attended and lively, and have produced long lists of helpful ideas for action. It seems that the city council will have more than enough raw material from which to decide on policies and incentives after it receives the staff report in December. And many of us citizens will then gladly line up to sign a pledge to do our own bit to help further reduce the greenhouse gases we help to produce in Berkeley every day. However, we’re still taking too narrow a view, and that phrase “produce in Berkeley” explains why. City staff report that about a quarter of our greenhouse gases are produced by automobiles as they drive our city streets (freeway traffic, for which we’re not primarily responsible, is excluded). But there’s an even larger contribution to greenhouse gases that we’re also responsible for—the hundreds of thousands of vehicle miles traveled every work day by commuters into and out of town. According to the evolving Measure G implementation plan, if the miles aren’t traveled in Berkeley they simply don’t count. And that’s leading us to an ostrich-eye view of what we need to do. -more-
When it comes to food, “everything in moderation,” is how my grandmother would have said it. And that includes knowledge. -more-
Did you know that your neighbors can get together and decide that it is in your best interest to pay a supplemental property tax, all without your input or a fair voting process? Well, welcome to Berkeley. Year: 2007. This is what is happening right now in South/West Berkeley under the interestingly named proposed Community Benefits District (CBD). -more-
The jaw-dropping attacks on Michigan Congressman John Conyers this week by members of the white, leftist sector of this nation’s antiwar movement have proven how deeply racism exists. -more-
Your July 24 editorial (“It’s All About Attitude in the End”) was deeply insulting to me, to Rush Limbaugh and to our myriad broadcast brethren. Reducing public discourse to an “us versus them” formula denigrates the very notion of free speech. I’m convinced that I speak for all of us when I say that it is you who are the problem here. More on that, as we say on the radio, in a moment. -more-
It was a hot summer’s day in Philadelphia, 100 degrees in the street with 98 percent humidity. I came home with chocolate syrup and strawberries all over my white uniform after another stressful day of driving a Mr. Softee’s ice cream truck in the hood. -more-
About the time of year the robins wind down and the naked ladies begin to bloom, we start seeing the garden spiders. They’re orbweavers, probably Araneus diadematus, and at this stage they’re just little orange-and-black specks with legs. Between now and Halloween they’ll get a lot bigger, and plumper. -more-
One of the great attractions of the herd—or of the mob, it’s more dangerous younger cousin—is that once joined, it relieves the individual of having to make many individual investigations and decisions. That was always the case, from the dawn of time, but it is increasingly appealing in a world that is growing both more complicated and more illusion-driven, simultaneously. When every line of every speech or presentation or newspaper article must be closely searched and scrutinized for both accuracy and hidden agenda, the mind wearies, and the soul longs for a safe haven where there is a comfort that everyone around you is moving along with the same assumptions, right or wrong. Thus, the herd is joined, and followed. -more-
The north fork of Strawberry Creek, which runs in its natural open channel along a block and a half of Le Conte Avenue west of La Loma Ave., is home to a number of distinctive historic structures, including the landmarks Weltevreden (1896), Allenoke Manor (1903), and Theta Xi Chapter House (1914). Among these remarkable buildings, one of the most distinctive is the smallish Oscar Maurer photography studio, whose north elevation descends steeply to the creek bank. -more-
Sebastopol is not exactly next door, but the Apple Capital of Sonoma County is a great excuse for a day trip. The Gravenstein Highway (Route 116) between US101 and the town is lined with roadside attractions, botanical and otherwise, although there seems to have been a sudden wave of mortality among the local antique stores. -more-
Before I proceed to plagiarize, I like to, at least, pay homage to the memory and, in this case, their extraordinary creativity and insight of the oracle. -more-
The Telegraph 3 p.m. Project, a collection of scores of photographs by Robert Eliason with matching poems by Owen Hill captioning text that chronicles in an upbeat fashion streetlife on the avenue, will be on exhibit at the Gaia Building, 2120 Allston Way (near Shattuck) through Jan. 31. -more-
“Not fair, roaring without telling,” Decca would warn as I read—and roared—over some bit from her latest book or letter. I was nursing a sherry in her Oakland kitchen, and reading hugely funny and provocative items from some of the experiences we’d shared during the ‘40s and ‘50s. -more-
Are you interested in little old white lady, self-supporting, spinster-librarians? Do you assume much doesn’t go on in their lives beyond the spectacles and reading all those books? Well, meet “Miss Breed.” She took chances, risked her career and income by taking an activist stance during World War II. -more-
About the time of year the robins wind down and the naked ladies begin to bloom, we start seeing the garden spiders. They’re orbweavers, probably Araneus diadematus, and at this stage they’re just little orange-and-black specks with legs. Between now and Halloween they’ll get a lot bigger, and plumper. -more-
“I know thousands of songs,” says singer Cynthia Davis, who will perform a special matinee of jazz standards and negro spirituals this Sunday at Anna’s Jazz Island. “But I seldom sat down and learned one. I learned them from the old movies; we used to go twice a week in the old days. When I sing a song, I go back to the scene in the movie. Songs in musicals were written to tell stories. -more-
In 1969, Ralph Arlyck made a student film called Sean about his 4-year-old neighbor in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. Sean was the son of hippie parents and in an interview with Arlyck he claimed to smoke and eat marijuana, earning the film a great deal of notoriety, including praise and damnation from politicians and dire predictions of Sean’s fate as an adult. -more-
Out of the hundred or so operas that are produced in major houses annually, Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda ranks among the top 20 and has done so for decades. This brings up a pressing question for opera companies: Is it possible to show the same opera over and over with little change in the production, or are companies obliged to rework expensive operas so that they seem continually new? Last Saturday, the Berkeley Opera opened its own version of Aïda, one that strove to be unconventional—fresher and more relevant. -more-
The north fork of Strawberry Creek, which runs in its natural open channel along a block and a half of Le Conte Avenue west of La Loma Ave., is home to a number of distinctive historic structures, including the landmarks Weltevreden (1896), Allenoke Manor (1903), and Theta Xi Chapter House (1914). Among these remarkable buildings, one of the most distinctive is the smallish Oscar Maurer photography studio, whose north elevation descends steeply to the creek bank. -more-
Sebastopol is not exactly next door, but the Apple Capital of Sonoma County is a great excuse for a day trip. The Gravenstein Highway (Route 116) between US101 and the town is lined with roadside attractions, botanical and otherwise, although there seems to have been a sudden wave of mortality among the local antique stores. -more-
Before I proceed to plagiarize, I like to, at least, pay homage to the memory and, in this case, their extraordinary creativity and insight of the oracle. -more-
