Berkeley High senior Giana Cirolia, 17, strikes a pose for her student ID card during registration Friday. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
Berkeley High senior Giana Cirolia, 17, strikes a pose for her student ID card during registration Friday. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.

Extra

Riot Erupts Over Fencing In of UC Oak Grove

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 28, 2007

It began with a flimsy yellow ribbon and ended with a riot, two arrests and a courtroom hearing. -more-



Page One

BHS Officials Hope to Quell Back-to-School Chaos

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 28, 2007

When Berkeley High starts on Wednesday, school officials are hoping there will be no need this year for “zoo time,” as the beginning-of-the-school-year pandemonium at Berkeley High is commonly known, with students clamoring for books, calendars and lockers. -more-



Demolition Work Raises Questions in West Berkeley

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 28, 2007

A group of Berkeley residents are questioning why the windows of a building at 1050 Parker St. are being dismantled prior to the building getting a demolition use permit from the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB). Demolition permits for any building over 40 years old in a commercial zone must first be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to determine whether it has any historic significance. -more-



Verizon Sues Berkeley Over Cell Phone Towers

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 28, 2007

Cell phone giant Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against the City of Berkeley in the Federal Court of Oakland last week for allegedly being in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. -more-



Time Will Tell If Dobbins Can Survive School Board Censure

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday August 28, 2007

Can the once-promising political future of Oakland Unified School District board member Chris Dobbins survive the recent scandal and censure? To quote the most trite of answers: Only time will tell. -more-



Group to Announce Results of West Berkeley Air Quality Testing

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday August 28, 2007

Air monitors set up by a group of West Berkeley residents in May to detect emissions from Pacific Steel Casting (PSC) reveal high levels of toxic metals nickel and manganese. -more-



Features

Art Exhibit Stirs Controversy Among Korean Americans

By Peter Schurmann, New America Media
Tuesday August 28, 2007

The Korean king kneels, hands clasped in a gesture of submission. Above him looms the Japanese empress, at the head of an armada and clad in full samurai armor with sword outstretched. His armies defeated and his lands occupied, the king swears his country’s eternal loyalty to the Japanese throne. -more-


First Person: Six Years into War on Terror, TV Violence Has Skyrocketed

By Margot Pepper
Tuesday August 28, 2007

Violence, selfishness and insults have skyrocketed on national television since the first year of the war on terror, my second-grade students at Rosa Parks Elementary in Berkeley found. -more-


Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday August 28, 2007

Assault with a deadly weapon -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday August 28, 2007

VAN HOOL BUSES -more-


Commentary: West Berkeley Air Quality: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

By L A Wood
Tuesday August 28, 2007

The lyrics “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” have certainly been true in West Berkeley where foundry emissions and their noxious odors are a daily reminder of our local air quality crisis. Current levels of airborne chemicals and metal particulates have given zip code 94710 the shameful distinction of having some of the highest levels of asthma in the county. -more-


Smart Growth

By Steve Meyers
Tuesday August 28, 2007

In a recent editorial, Becky O’Malley described “smart growth” as “the unproven theory that making already-developed urban areas ever denser will prevent sprawl into the hinterlands.” While this is often cited as a benefit of smart growth by its advocates, it is only one aspect of smart growth, and the least important from the perspective of Berkeley. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Celebrating the Small Changes

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday August 28, 2007

For many months, there was a bottle of champagne in our office refrigerator, being saved for the day Karl Rove was indicted. The donor wasn’t a member of the reporting staff, since they are expected to preserve the appearance of political neutrality, but I’m pretty sure that if and when Rove had actually been indicted everyone, including the reporters, would have accepted a celebratory glass with enthusiasm. It didn’t happen—Rove was allowed to slither off the scene without going to jail, an over-enthusiastic former sales manager popped the champagne cork for some petty triumph, and the focus shifted to Alberto Gonzales as villain-du-jour. (Meanwhile, the odious Rummy had also left the building.) -more-


Columns

Green Neighbors: The Survival of the Birch Beer Canoodle

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday August 28, 2007

A birch is about as exotic as a banana here, and maybe they’re both ubiquitous in people’s front yards for similar nostalgic reasons—or maybe instead because they’re so outrageous when you know where you are. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday August 28, 2007




Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday August 28, 2007

Correction

Tuesday August 28, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Celebrating the Small Changes 08-28-2007

Editorial: At Least We Don’t Jail Our Prophets 08-24-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 08-28-2007

Commentary: West Berkeley Air Quality: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell By L A Wood 08-28-2007

Smart Growth By Steve Meyers 08-28-2007

Letters to the Editor 08-24-2007

Commentary: Berkeley Housing Authority’s Plan To Dump its Waiting List By Lynda Carson 08-24-2007

Commentary: Oak-to-Ninth Referendum Raises Democratic Issues By Akio Tanaka 08-24-2007

Commentary: Mark Rhoades: Just Following Orders? By Sharon Hudson 08-24-2007

Commentary: Trying to Re-Frame the Question of Artists in Berkeley By Thomas Lord 08-24-2007

Commentary: Empty Van Hool Buses on Telegraph By Glen Kohler 08-24-2007

Commentary: Normalcy is Dead in South Berkeley By Sam Herbert 08-24-2007

Commentary: Commemorating the Life of Peace Activist Brian Willson By Mark Coplan 08-24-2007

News

Riot Erupts Over Fencing In of UC Oak Grove By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-28-2007

BHS Officials Hope to Quell Back-to-School Chaos By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-28-2007

Demolition Work Raises Questions in West Berkeley By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-28-2007

Verizon Sues Berkeley Over Cell Phone Towers By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-28-2007

Time Will Tell If Dobbins Can Survive School Board Censure By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-28-2007

Group to Announce Results of West Berkeley Air Quality Testing By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-28-2007

Art Exhibit Stirs Controversy Among Korean Americans By Peter Schurmann, New America Media 08-28-2007

First Person: Six Years into War on Terror, TV Violence Has Skyrocketed By Margot Pepper 08-28-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 08-28-2007

Elmwood Hardware to Close for Remodel, Might Not Reopen By Richard Brenneman 08-24-2007

City Housing Authority Throws Out Waiting List By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-24-2007

Telegraph Noise Battle Targets Evangelicals By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-24-2007

San Pablo Park Plans Centennial Bash By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-24-2007

Lawsuit Seeks Halt to Lab Plans, New Environmental Review By Richard Brenneman 08-24-2007

Oakland School Board Reprimands Dobbins for Conduct By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-24-2007

Fire Code Violations Close UC Fraternity By Rio Bauce 08-24-2007

Chancellor Briefs Press on Campus Projects By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-24-2007

School Board Appoints New Deputy Superintendent By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-24-2007

DAPAC, Landmarks Meet to Finish Chapter By Richard Brenneman 08-24-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 08-24-2007

Columns

Green Neighbors: The Survival of the Birch Beer Canoodle By Ron Sullivan 08-28-2007

Column: The Public Eye: Two Great Iraq War Documentaries by Berkeleyans By Bob Burnett 08-24-2007

Column: Undercurrents: Parsing the Case Against Your Black Muslim Bakery By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-24-2007

Architectural Excursions: General Vallejo Practiced the Art of Living Well By Daniella Thompson 08-24-2007

Metonymy in the Garden: Containing Yourself By Ron Sullivan 08-24-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 08-28-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 08-28-2007

Books: Delightful Characters of Bygone Berkeley 08-28-2007

Singer Kim Nalley Wows Downtown Jazz Festival 08-28-2007

Green Neighbors: The Survival of the Birch Beer Canoodle By Ron Sullivan 08-28-2007

Berkeley This Week 08-28-2007

Correction 08-28-2007

Arts Calendar 08-24-2007

Around the East Bay 08-24-2007

The Tale of Gilgamesh at The Ashby Stage By Ken Bullock 08-24-2007

Kornbluth at Berkeley Rep By Ken Bullock 08-24-2007

Avant-Garde Cinema, Then and Now: Kino Celebrates Film’s More Eclectic Figures By Justin DeFreitas 08-24-2007

Avant-Garde Cinema, Then and Now: Kiarostami’s ‘Five’ At Pacific Film Archive By Justin DeFreitas 08-24-2007

Architectural Excursions: General Vallejo Practiced the Art of Living Well By Daniella Thompson 08-24-2007

Metonymy in the Garden: Containing Yourself By Ron Sullivan 08-24-2007

Berkeley This Week 08-24-2007