Berkeley Continues Suit Against UC Facility Plans
The city will pursue its lawsuit against the University of California. -more-
The city will pursue its lawsuit against the University of California. -more-
A closed-door Berkeley City Council session set for 5 p.m. today (Tuesday) could freeze the public out of the process and result in a deficient compromise settlement of the December 2006 City of Berkeley v. University of California lawsuit, Councilmembers Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington say. -more-
It was a decidedly mixed message for Oakland and Berkeley schools in the heavily anticipated Academic Performance Index scores released by the California Department of Education at mid-day Friday, with BUSD schools dropping 5 points overall (752 to 747) from 2006 to 2007, and OUSD schools gaining 7 points (651 to 658). -more-
Six new out-of-district students will be able to transfer to the Berkeley public schools this school year since the Alameda County Board of Education overturned the Berkeley Unified School District’s (BUSD) decision to deny them the transfers. -more-
Berkeley Rent Board Member Chris Kavanagh should “step down immediately” if he is not a legal resident of Berkeley, said a statement issued Friday by the Berkeley Green Party. -more-
For nearly six years after he got out of prison in 2000, 40-year-old Ernie Johnson kept coming up empty whenever he applied for a job. Even as he checked the “yes” box on job application forms that asked whether he had ever been convicted of a felony, he knew his chance of landing a job was slim to none. -more-
Volunteer extraordinaire John Stansfield passed away on Aug. 18 at the age of 79 from complications of pneumonia. He was the man to whom visitors and reporters alike would turn for answers at the Berkeley History Center. His enthusiasm about Berkeley’s history was absolutely contagious. -more-
Molly Fraker will join the Berkeley Public Education Foundation today (Tuesday) as its new executive director. -more-
The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will meet Thursday at a new time and with a new secretary. -more-
With support from two key East Bay representatives, State Senate President Don Perata’s SB67 sideshow 30-day car confiscation legislation easily passed the state assembly on a 74-0 vote last week. -more-
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, the Berkeley School Board voted to charge youth groups “only” $35 per hour to use the new field at East Campus. This is “only” 300 percent higher than what these groups currently pay to use other grass fields in Berkeley. To put this in perspective, if BHS baseball and softball teams were required to pay this same amount for the City of Berkeley fields that they use it would cost about $300-$400 per player per season, just for field costs. This would be on top of the expenses for uniforms, equipment, umpires, coaches, etc. -more-
I am a student at Berkeley City College and am quite distressed at the cost of books, especially the ones sold in the schools own bookstore, and one policy in particular which I feel is totally unfair: the buy-back and return policy. As students, we have seen the results of state budget cuts with fewer classes, the increase in fees and the painfully high cost of our textbooks, no teaching supplies and more, but to be ripped off by our own school is terrible. First, if I buy let’s say a $100 book and return it, still wrapped four days later the bookstore will pay me only $50 for it, then turn around and sell it again for $100 to the next unsuspecting student. That has got to be criminal, but what’s worse is returning your old textbooks. -more-
For openers, whining (or whinging, if you’re British). I very seldom try to take a whole week off, and even then I try to fill this space via e-mail if I can. In fact, the last time I tried this, I was in Oxford when the University of California at Berkeley suckered one of its devoted alumni into letting them off the hook on the City of Berkeley’s righteous lawsuit challenging just one of the university’s several mammoth expansion schemes which are proposed over the next 20 years. Planet reporters did a good job of covering the fireworks, but it would have been fun to see them close up. -more-
Since the invasion of Iraq, in March of 2003, George W. Bush’s rationale for the occupation has continually shifted. On Aug. 22, the White House once again changed its criterion for success. As disturbing as this is, what’s more disturbing is the new justification: keep Iraq from becoming another Vietnam. -more-
Although you wouldn’t expect a book about metabolic ecology to be a page-turner, I found John Whitfield’s recent In the Beat of a Heart: Life, Energy, and the Unity of Nature engrossing. Whitfield, a British science journalist, explains how metabolism relates to size, volume, and surface area. Along the way, he looks at why bats outlive mice, whether humans are allotted a fixed number of heartbeats in their lifetime (astronaut Neil Armstrong said that if that was true, he was damned if he was going to waste any of his jogging), and the tragic fate of Tusko the elephant. -more-
Editorial: The People Are Given More Bread, Bigger Circuses 08-31-2007
Letters to the Editor 09-04-2007
Commentary: School Board Raises Field Use Fees 300% By Doug Fielding 09-04-2007
Commentary: The Cost of Textbooks By David Kamola 09-04-2007
Commentary: Lies, Oil and Television By Jack Bragen 09-04-2007
Letters to the Editor 08-31-2007
Commentary: Kitchen Democracy: The Great Pretender By Steve Martinot 08-31-2007
Commentary: Berkeley’s Misplaced Planning Priorities By Paul Glusman 08-31-2007
Berkeley Continues Suit Against UC Facility Plans Judith Scherr 09-04-2007
Council to Consider City-UC Settlement Behind Closed Doors By Judith Scherr 09-04-2007
Test Scores Carry Mixed Messages for Local Schools By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 09-04-2007
County Overrules BUSD on Six Transfer Students By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2007
Greens Say Kavanagh Should Resign If Not a Berkeley Resident By Judith Scherr 09-04-2007
New Port Security Law Bars Ex-Cons, Undocumented By Viji Sundaram, New America Media 09-04-2007
John Stansfield By Linda Rosenand Berkeley Historical Society Volunteers 09-04-2007
New Director for Education Foundation By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2007
Landmarks Commission Agenda By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2007
Assembly Passes Sideshow Bill Renewal By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 09-04-2007
UC Stadium Oak Grove Fence Prompts Violent Clash By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-31-2007
Judge Rules Fence Can Stay At Oak Grove By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-31-2007
First-Day Jitters for Berkeley Students By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-31-2007
Oakland Schools Announce $3 Million Deficit Increase By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-31-2007
UC to Present Agenda for City’s New Downtown Plan By Richard Brenneman 08-31-2007
DAPAC-Landmarks Move to Finish Downtown Report By Riya Bhattacharjee 08-31-2007
Oakland School Bill Passes By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-31-2007
Cal Bears Kick Off Football Season on Saturday By Steven Finacom, Special to the Planet 08-31-2007
Column: Dispatches from the Edge: Iraq and Vietnam By Bob Burnett 09-04-2007
Wild Neighbors: Reptilian Diet Secrets: Starving Snakes for Science By Joe Eaton 09-04-2007
Column: Dispatches from the Edge: Indonesia and the United States: A Shameful Record By Conn Hallinan 08-31-2007
Column: Undercurrents: A Few Words on Republican Senator Larry Craig By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 08-31-2007
Open House in Focus: Elmwood Townhouse in Cluster on View This Sunday By Steven Finacom 08-31-2007
Garden Variety: More Container Planting: Material Differences By Ron Sullivan 08-31-2007
About the House: Time to Consider an On-Demand Water Heater By Matt Cantor 08-31-2007
Arts Calendar 09-04-2007
Cajun, Zydeco Band Returns for Another Stroll By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 09-04-2007
‘The Shadow Box’ at Masquers Playhouse in Pt. Richmond By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 09-04-2007
Wild Neighbors: Reptilian Diet Secrets: Starving Snakes for Science By Joe Eaton 09-04-2007
Berkeley This Week 09-04-2007
Arts Calendar 08-31-2007
The Theater: ‘Viaticum: The Carnal Table’ — A Theatrical Feast By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 08-31-2007
Action and Exuberance on Display at SFMOMA By Justin DeFreitas 04-26-2010
Open House in Focus: Elmwood Townhouse in Cluster on View This Sunday By Steven Finacom 08-31-2007
Garden Variety: More Container Planting: Material Differences By Ron Sullivan 08-31-2007
About the House: Time to Consider an On-Demand Water Heater By Matt Cantor 08-31-2007
Berkeley This Week 08-31-2007