The Week

“Heloise Golightly,” five o’clock shadow and all, offered a bit of seriocomic relief during Wednesday night’s environmental comments session devoted to two new buildings at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab—one of which will house the $500 million agrofuel research program funded by BP, the former British Petroleum. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
“Heloise Golightly,” five o’clock shadow and all, offered a bit of seriocomic relief during Wednesday night’s environmental comments session devoted to two new buildings at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab—one of which will house the $500 million agrofuel research program funded by BP, the former British Petroleum. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
 

News

Few Defend UC Lab in Heated Meeting on EIR

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 10, 2007

Berkeley residents came to share concerns about the fuel on the hill Wednesday night, and by the time the meeting had ended, only one voice had been raised in its unconditional defense. -more-


Overflow Crowd Mourns Slain Journalist

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 10, 2007

Oakland laid its secondmost famous native son journalist to rest on Wednesday morning, with an overflow gathering of more than 500 city officials, leaders and citizens packing the pews and aisles of St. Benedict Catholic Church in East Oakland for the funeral of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey. -more-


Supervisors, Children’s Hospital Clash over Bond

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 10, 2007

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors and Children’s Hospital of Oakland appear to be on a collision course over a proposed Children’s Hospital Special Tax Initiative tentatively scheduled to be placed on the February ballot. -more-


Obama Mops Up in Oakland

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 10, 2007

Pauline Beck isn’t absolutely sure who she’ll be voting for in the February presidential primaries, but after spending the morning with the man she called her “co-worker”—Sen. Barack Obama, candidate for president—the 61-year-old homecare worker, said she’d “probably vote for Obama.” -more-


D.A. Examines Charges, Kavanagh Hires Criminal Attorney

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 10, 2007

Rent Stabilization Board Member Chris Kavanagh, an elected official embroiled for a second time in controversy around his place of residence, has engaged criminal attorney James Giller of Oakland to defend him—if need be. -more-


The Shipyard Isn’t Dead Yet, Say Architect, Official

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 10, 2007

Don’t be sounding any death knells yet for The Shipyard, one of West Berkeley’s last remaining hangouts for techno and steampunk artists. -more-


Downtown Landmarks Debate Revived

By Richard Brenneman
Friday August 10, 2007

Members of the two city citizen panels hammering out policy guidelines for the new downtown plan will meet Monday night to finalize a key section of the document. -more-


Dump Truck Kills Berkeley Cyclist

By Bay City News
Friday August 10, 2007

A 55-year-old Berkeley woman was struck and killed by a dump truck this morning [Thurs.] as she was attempting to ride her bicycle through an Oakland crosswalk, the Alameda County coroner's bureau reported. -more-


New Housing Authority Board in Training Saturday

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 10, 2007

The new Berkeley Housing Authority board will be in training for most of the day on Saturday, learning about the history of public housing, the role of the housing authority and the various programs the authority governs. The meeting is public and begins with public comments at 8:45 a.m. -more-


BHS Grad Honors Slain Colleague Through Film

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 10, 2007

Community Hosts Sunday Fundraiser for Canon Jones Memorial Scholarship -more-


Teenagers Speak Out on Social Issues

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 10, 2007

Mahaliyah’s If Concrete Could Speak was one of many films that screened May 31 at the Berkeley High School Film Festival, films that deal with topics often considered taboo even today. -more-


Jazz Fest Still Lacks African American Artists

By Judith Scherr
Friday August 10, 2007

There have been a few African American artists added to the line-up at the Downtown Berkeley Jazz Festival since attention was called in June to the festival’s lack of African American participation. -more-


Spring Turns In Last of Her Campaign Amendments

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday August 10, 2007

Councilmember Dona Spring turned in the last of her 2006 campaign statement amendments to the Berkeley City Clerk’s office Thursday. -more-


English Speakers Desired: America’s ESL Challenge

By Khalil Abdullah, New America Media
Friday August 10, 2007

WASHINGTON—Had President Bush been able to enact an immigration bill that legalized undocumented immigrants this year, the result would have produced “a one-time shock to the ESL (English-as-a-second-language) training system” in the United States, according to Michael Fix. -more-


First Person: A Shout Out to Non-Moms

By Sonja Fitz
Friday August 10, 2007

It’s all about the children. -more-


Healthy Living: Yield to Oncoming Traffic

By Erin Ehsani
Friday August 10, 2007

Yes, you’re losing grip.” This is how my acupuncturist, Bronwyn, responded to my complaint of an increasing numbness in my right arm that was hampering my ability to maintain grasp. I could barely write a sentence without losing hold of the pen, my hand creating unintentional squiggly lines because I refused to let go. Ha ha body. I get it. Damn metaphorical translations. -more-


A Fresh Start for Berkeley’s Aquatic Park

By Riya Bhattacharjee and Rio Bauce
Tuesday August 07, 2007

In a corner of West Berkeley, amidst industrial rubble and smoke, two young minds are hard at work resurrecting what has long been a no man’s land. -more-


Developer Plans More Projects for Iceland Block

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Lost in the recent flap over the landmarking of Iceland is the future of the rest of the block on which it’s located—currently the home of McKevitt Volvo. -more-


AC Transit Directors Approve Bus Transfer

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday August 07, 2007

The general manager for the Alameda Contra Costa Transit District says that a trade-in of 16 existing North American Bus Industries (NABI) buses five years early for new Van Hools is still in the economic interest of the district, even though the $1.35 million federal interest in the NABIs cannot be transferred to another debt, as the district earlier anticipated. -more-


Local Attorney Now Heads Community Law Center

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday August 07, 2007

The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is undergoing a makeover, not only becaused it has moved, but also because it has a new executive director. Last month, the center promoted a minority rights advocate, Tirien Steinbach, to be its new executive director. Steinbach replaced Interim Executive Director Deborah Moss-West. -more-


Popular Car Wash Faces Eviction

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Come fall—or maybe winter, as far as the Kandy Mann can guess—there may be one less African American-owned business in Berkeley, four fewer full-time jobs and one less place to get a car hand-washed any day of the week. -more-


Oakland Police Say Bailey Murderer Did Not Act Alone

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Oakland Police officials are saying that a 19-year-old employee of Oakland’s Your Black Muslim Bakery has confessed to the shotgun murder of Oakland Post editor and veteran journalist Chauncey Bailey. But Oakland Deputy Chief Howard Jordan said at a Monday morning press conference that OPD investigators do not believe the assertion of San Francisco native Devaughdre Broussard that he acted alone in Bailey’s shooting, and are pursuing leads about possible accomplices. -more-


Southside Rapist Strikes in Apartment Building Lobbies

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Berkeley police are seeking a suspect in two Southside rapes, one on July 6 and the other Aug. 2. -more-


War and Peace Notes: Grand Lake Screens New Documentary on Media’s Role in U.S. Wars

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Thursday, the community will have a chance to see the Bay Area premiere of War Made Easy, a film narrated by Sean Penn and based on Norman Solomon’s book by the same name. The film exposes the role of the media as cheerleader for the war in Iraq and shows, using archival footage, how the media played an almost identical role during the War in Vietnam and earlier wars. -more-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Forgotten range triggers blaze -more-


Landmarks Commission Debates Significance of 19th-Century Home

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 07, 2007

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) did not declare the 19th-century dwelling at 3100 Shattuck Ave. a structure of merit or a city landmark Thursday. -more-


Battle of Marin Avenue Nears Key Court Ruling

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Ray Chamberlin took the Battle of Marin Avenue to a venerable venue last week when he faced lawyers representing the governments of two cities in a San Francisco courtroom. -more-


Historic Blood House Back on Zoning Board Agenda

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 07, 2007

The Blood House is back on the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) agenda Thursday after the board failed to take action almost two years ago on its proposed removal from 2526 Durant Ave. to make room for mixed-use development . -more-


Plants to Grow Beyond the Pale

By Shirley Barker, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 07, 2007

As noted in a previous article, globe artichokes are perennial plants that need a permanent spot outside the vegetable area designated for a four-year rotation plan. These are not the only plants needing their own separate place: rhubarb and horseradish are others. -more-


Healthy Living: A Passion for Exercise and Healthier Food Choices

By Wendy Stephens
Tuesday August 07, 2007

When I was younger, and TV was in its relative infancy, and the big radio in my mother’s and my grandmother’s kitchens was a kind of second hearth to gather round and literally rub shoulders over while listening to distant yet homey messages beam in, I became very taken with my mother’s radio idol, lay nutritionist Carleton Fredericks, and my mother’s TV idol, feats of wonder strongman, Godfather of Fitness Jack LaLanne. -more-


Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Planners Come and Go, But the Department Never Changes

By Becky O’Malley
Friday August 10, 2007

The announcement that Mark Rhoades is leaving Berkeley’s Planning Department for greener pastures has been greeted in many parts of the city with expressions of enthusiasm—they’re, in a phrase, jumping for joy. One group of citizens, the kind who would sign their letters “Outraged” if the Planet allowed it, is even hosting a party at Café de la Paz on Monday night to celebrate his departure. The paper has received a number of caustic letters about his track record, a few so caustic that the opinion editors breathed a sigh of relief when the senders had second thoughts and withdrew them. We don’t really like to print personal attacks on private individuals, but we don’t like to censor letters either. And it’s hard to top an earlier correspondent’s “duplicitous insect” appellation for Mr. Rhoades—anything more is piling on. -more-


Editorial: Let’s Talk About What the Media Can Do

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday August 07, 2007

“...you wrote in your hit piece on me that you do sort your socks. That’s strange: Disorder is OK outdoors but not in? Sounds like symptoms of a closet conservative to me.....Let me digress by immodestly pointing out that, unlike for you, the challenges of broadcast programs like this one are not theoretical for me. I literally wrote the book on this subject....Unlike your newspaper which has only one point of view, my radio show serves the entire community and all points of view.....Consider this an invitation to join me one day soon on my radio show. You’ll find an environment shockingly different from the pages of your paper: a place where all points of view are truly welcome.” -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday August 10, 2007

MORE STORIES ON KALW -more-


Letter: West Berkeley Community Benefits District

Friday August 10, 2007

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-


Commentary: West Berkeley Improvements—Benefits for Everyone

By Steven Donaldson
Friday August 10, 2007

I have to thank Sarah Klise for including my name with some of the larger property owners in West Berkeley. I guess she sees me as a “big shot” now, controlling the fate of West Berkeley! I own two Victorian buildings and operate my branding design studio on Fifth and Addison. Oh, I also live in West Berkeley and my kids have gone through elementary school here. -more-


Commentary: The Legacy of Mark Rhoades

By Stephen Wollmer
Friday August 10, 2007

The departure of Mark Rhoades from his positions in the Planning Department has been met with private sighs of relief from Berkeley residents and even some a public celebration (Café La Paz, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13). As the City of Berkeley’s zoning officer for the last five years, Mark has used his febrile and fertile imagination to bend and twist the Zoning Ordinance beyond recognition in favor of the developers who fund his department but to the dismay of current residents, who believe that the City should be defending their rights to equal treatment before the law. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Tuesday August 07, 2007

CHRIS KAVANAGH -more-


Commentary: Shame on Governor For Vetoing Universal Health Care Bill

By Jessica Rosen
Tuesday August 07, 2007

The OneCareNow universal health insurance campaign in 365 cities in 365 days is dedicated to ensuring quality, affordable universal healthcare gets passed in California. To get involved, go to www.onecarenow.org. -more-


Commentary: Rotating Primaries: An Eternally Bad Idea

By Thomas Gangale
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Ever wonder why nothing ever gets done in Washington? One of the reasons is that some of our elected officials, once they get an idea into their heads, they fixate on it until the end of time, no matter how dumb it is. The latest dumb, old idea is being trumpeted by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT). The fact that they’re touting it as a “tri-partisan solution” ought to tell that it’s more hype than substance. There’s a Democrat, a Republican, and a Leiberman. What, is Leiberman a party of one? Well, I guess that makes it easier for him to get seated in a busy restaurant. -more-


Commentary: Do Berkeley Police Have It In for Bicyclists?

By Michelle Lerager
Tuesday August 07, 2007

I am a 56-year-old woman who has enjoyed riding my bike all over Berkeley for over 25 years. I bike to work daily; I do most of my errands by bike; and I ride to reduce my carbon footprint and for fitness—I’m proud to say I ride up Spruce Street regularly for aerobic exercise. I am a very safe, conservative bicyclist. I stop at all stop lights and proceed cautiously at stop signs, slowing or stopping and taking my proper turn when entering intersections. I avoid main streets and appreciate the “Bicycle Boulevards,” which I use whenever possible. -more-


Columns

Column: Undercurrents: The Speculation Over the Murder of Chauncey Bailey

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday August 10, 2007

The assassination of Oakland Post editor and long-time Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey on a daytime downtown Oakland street—now exactly one week ago, as of the time of this writing—is a test for Oakland, under a national spotlight. Some of us are passing it. Some of us are not doing so well. -more-


Column: The Public Eye: I’m Trying to Get On the Bus

By Zelda Bronstein
Friday August 10, 2007

I had my transit-oriented epiphany one morning in late May as I was making my way to a conference at the UC Student Union. I live in north Berkeley near the intersection of Solano and Colusa. Loathe to pay $20 to leave my car for six to eight hours in the city-owned Telegraph-Channing garage, I decided to look for a free space on a Northside street and walk from there to the conference. But as I motored through neighborhoods north of Cedar above Shattuck, my fantasized unregulated spot failed to materialize. Everywhere I looked, I saw two-hour parking signs. Time was wasting, and I was getting further and further from my final destination. I returned home, left my car in the driveway and, feeling both chastened and virtuous, caught the bus. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Buyer Sought for Historic West Berkeley Church

By Daniella Thompson
Friday August 10, 2007

Westminster Presbyterian Church, which changed hands last year, is on the market again. The third landmark designated by the City of Berkeley, the church at 926 Hearst Ave. and Eighth Street is the second oldest in town, having been built in 1879—a year after the neighboring Church of the Good Shepherd went up. -more-


Garden Variety: Seize the Time, Pet the Kittens at Westbrae’s Paradise Pottery

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 10, 2007

Now that Clay of the Land has gone out of business—the likable and savvy owners lost their lease to a developer, how novel—I guess I ought to mention other local marvelous discount pottery places. Here’s one to get to before the high-rise axe descends upon its lot, as there’s been a for sale placard there right from the start. -more-


About the House: Retrofitting a Lousy Foundation

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 10, 2007

We had a little shaker a few weeks ago and I was faced with the same series of encounters in the ensuing days that I’ve faced so often over the last 20 years. They tend to go something like “Hey, that was a pretty big quake we had the other day, eh? But you know, there weren’t any cracks in my walls or anything. Not as bad a Loma Prieta.” And I get started… “Well, the fact is that what we had the other day was tiny.” Then comes the math. “Did you know that a 7.2 on the Richter is roughly 30,000 times bigger than a 4.2 (the one we just had)”…faces go blank, people wander away wondering why they bothered talking to me in the first place. Maybe I’m just not a people person. Oh well, my kids love me. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 10, 2007

Playing in the Traffic? -more-


Column: The Public Eye: Giuliani: ‘It’s Great to Be Rich”

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday August 07, 2007

On July 24, Rudy Giuliani, the leading Republican presidential candidate, gave a campaign speech in San Francisco. It’s illuminating to study the former New York City mayor’s remarks because they reveal a lot about him and the prevailing philosophy of the GOP. He asserted that Democrats “do not understand a capitalist economy…they think it’s bad to make money. They think it’s bad to be rich… I think it’s great to be rich.” -more-


Green Neighbors: The Madrone: The Red Jewel of Our Pacific Forest

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Sometimes when you’re walking through Briones Park, through the oak-laurel forest on the trail that leads to the archery range and that old-homestead meadow where they line up the Boy Scouts to salute things, your gaze and the sun shining through the canopy and the remnants of the day’s fogbank will intersect at just the right moment. I swear you can see the various leaves getting all excited about photosynthesis, that quotidian necessary miracle, and open themselves cell by cell to the light. -more-


Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Friday August 10, 2007

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 -more-


Hungarian Actor Finds a Home in Berkeley

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday August 10, 2007

The interesting thing about me is that I’m not interesting at all,” smiled Krisztina Peremartoni as she handed out a card reading, “Hey Actor! Shouldn’t you be acting?” for her Open Acting classes, held in a studio in Oakland. -more-


Take a Walking Tour of Berkeley’s Best Art Deco

By Steven Finacom, Special to the Planet
Friday August 10, 2007

Three quarters of a century ago the Art Deco or Moderne era left a legacy of exuberant edifices in the Berkeley architectural landscape. Several of the best will be showcased on a downtown architectural tour this Saturday, Aug. 11. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Buyer Sought for Historic West Berkeley Church

By Daniella Thompson
Friday August 10, 2007

Westminster Presbyterian Church, which changed hands last year, is on the market again. The third landmark designated by the City of Berkeley, the church at 926 Hearst Ave. and Eighth Street is the second oldest in town, having been built in 1879—a year after the neighboring Church of the Good Shepherd went up. -more-


Garden Variety: Seize the Time, Pet the Kittens at Westbrae’s Paradise Pottery

By Ron Sullivan
Friday August 10, 2007

Now that Clay of the Land has gone out of business—the likable and savvy owners lost their lease to a developer, how novel—I guess I ought to mention other local marvelous discount pottery places. Here’s one to get to before the high-rise axe descends upon its lot, as there’s been a for sale placard there right from the start. -more-


About the House: Retrofitting a Lousy Foundation

By Matt Cantor
Friday August 10, 2007

We had a little shaker a few weeks ago and I was faced with the same series of encounters in the ensuing days that I’ve faced so often over the last 20 years. They tend to go something like “Hey, that was a pretty big quake we had the other day, eh? But you know, there weren’t any cracks in my walls or anything. Not as bad a Loma Prieta.” And I get started… “Well, the fact is that what we had the other day was tiny.” Then comes the math. “Did you know that a 7.2 on the Richter is roughly 30,000 times bigger than a 4.2 (the one we just had)”…faces go blank, people wander away wondering why they bothered talking to me in the first place. Maybe I’m just not a people person. Oh well, my kids love me. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday August 10, 2007

Playing in the Traffic? -more-


Berkeley This Week

Friday August 10, 2007

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 -more-


Arts Calendar

Tuesday August 07, 2007

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7 -more-


The Theater: ‘Three Musketeers’ in Full Swing at Hinkel Park

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday August 07, 2007

You have compromised the honor of a lady!” “And you’ve bastardized an English poet!” With repartee and ripostes, fast dialogue and swordplay, Shotgun Players’ The Three Musketeers, an adaptation by Joanie McBrien (who also directed) with Dave Garrett of the rich Alexandre Dumas epic of the wars of religion in 17th-century France under the sway of Cardinal Richelieu, is in full swing weekend afternoons in John Hinkel Park, for free—and it’s quite a crowd-pleaser. -more-


Green Neighbors: The Madrone: The Red Jewel of Our Pacific Forest

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday August 07, 2007

Sometimes when you’re walking through Briones Park, through the oak-laurel forest on the trail that leads to the archery range and that old-homestead meadow where they line up the Boy Scouts to salute things, your gaze and the sun shining through the canopy and the remnants of the day’s fogbank will intersect at just the right moment. I swear you can see the various leaves getting all excited about photosynthesis, that quotidian necessary miracle, and open themselves cell by cell to the light. -more-


Berkeley This Week

Tuesday August 07, 2007

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7 -more-


Clarification

Tuesday August 07, 2007

Regarding a report in the Aug. 3 article “Spring Agrees to Negotiate Campaign Violation,” a July 26 FCPC staff update clarifies that Berkeley City Councilmember Dona Spring did not incur any late filing obligation for the SEIU Local 535 PAC $250 contribution because it was hand-delivered a week after the date on the check. -more-


Correction

Tuesday August 07, 2007

The Planet incorrectly stated in a story Friday on the proposed South West Berkeley Benefits District that in the draft budget there are no funds allocated to address zoning issues. The draft budget, however, allocates $60,000 for the first year for “overall district management,” which will include funding a district administrator responsible for “oversight of contracted services.” Those services are to include: “Hiring professionals (to) advise on land use issues, transportation planning, [and] input on [the] West Berkeley Plan.” South West Berkeley zoning is spelled out in the West Berkeley Plan adopted by the city. -more-