News

“Independent Living isn’t doing everything by yourself—it’s being in control of how things are done.” -more-

Kavanagh Will Plead Not Guilty -more-

Friends and family of Gary W. King rallied outside of Oakland City Hall Monday afternoon to call for the prosecution of the police sergeant who shot and killed the 20-year-old Oakland resident last Thursday. -more-

After her mother’s death in 1999, journalist Emily Yellin came across the wartime diary and hundreds of letters her mother had written home from the Pacific while working with the Red Cross. Within days, Yellin could see that “My mother’s story served as a window through which to see the story of all the women in World War II.” -more-

Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive Director Kevin Consey will leave his post in January, the museum announced Friday. -more-

Berkeley police are investigating two deaths on Saturday as the city’s third and fourth homicide of 2007. -more-

Planning commissioners meet Wednesday to hold their second and final vote on the zoning ordinance and plan amendments paving the way for car dealers to set up shop in West Berkeley. -more-

The courtroom battle over UC Berkeley’s stadium-area building plans has shifted from shaky ground to the broader environment—though a bomb threat delayed Friday’s session. -more-

Representatives of the Wayans Brothers-Pacifica Capital Urban Development Partnership have said that they did not know, when they signed an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) with the City of Oakland to purchase old Oakland Army Base property, that the Port of Oakland was planning a bayfill and container cargo storage in waters directly across from that property. -more-

A meeting, billed as a forum to discuss the West Berkeley Community Benefits District (WBCBD), has been delayed, according to Michael Caplan, the city’s acting economic development director. -more-

Berkeley Developers Ruegg & Ellsworth will ask the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday for a use permit to redevelop the former Tower Records building at 2517 Durant Ave. -more-

Berkeley Rent Board member Chris Kavanagh was arrested Friday morning by Oakland police and is currently (Friday afternoon) in Santa Rita jail, according to his attorney, James Giller. The date of his arraignment has not been set. -more-

The city of Berkeley, environmental groups and neighbors are seeking to overturn the UC Board of Regents’ approval of documents that would pave the way for a massive construction program and the removal of a grove of oaks along the stadium’s western wall. -more-

Finding himself without City Council allies in support of a rapid transit system with dedicated bus lanes, Mayor Tom Bates backed down Tuesday night in his request for the pro-Bus Rapid Transit Transporta-tion Commission to lead city efforts in exploring AC Transit’s BRT proposal. -more-

About 200 people congregated at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza Thursday to show support for six black teenagers who they say were unfairly charged in the beating of a white student in a small, mostly white town in Louisiana. -more-

The good news is that Berkeley will be housing three new low-income families in the three- and four-bedroom homes it owns. The bad news is that if you were on the waiting list, you have to start the application process from scratch. -more-

AC Transit officials have not released bottom-line figures on the complicated exchange of 16 North American Bus Institute buses for 16 buses made by Belgium-based Van Hool company because as late as Aug. 28 the district was still in negotiations over how much it owes the federal government for going through with the deal without federal approval. -more-

At a People’s Park Community Advisory Board meeting held last week, community members listened to San Francisco-based MK Think, the firm hired by UC Berkeley to plan improvements for the park, and Emily Marthinsen, assistant vice chancellor, talk about conceptual designs for the park. -more-

Much of Councilmember Kriss Worthington’s time is spent working on issues such as low-income housing, diversity and labor. But, he told the Daily Planet on Thursday, his efforts are often blocked by the inadequacy of state laws. -more-

The first step for the selection of Berkeley’s next school superintendent will begin with a community meeting Monday. -more-