A photo of Amir Hassan is part of a memorial in front of the Shattuck Avenue house where he died. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.
A photo of Amir Hassan is part of a memorial in front of the Shattuck Avenue house where he died. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.

Extra

Flash: Counter-demonstrators Square off with Code Pink Outside Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Organized by KSFO radio personality Melanie Morgan, chair of Move America Forward, pro-war, anti-Islamic and anti-immigration demonstrators converged on the Berkeley Recruiting Center today (Wednesday), caravanning into town with their SUVs and Harleys decked out in American flags to face off with Code Pink, the anti-war group that has held vigils in front of the 64 Shattuck Square Recruitment Office for three weeks. -more-



Page One

Police Arrest Mother in Amir Hassan Death

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 16, 2007

A 31-year-old Berkeley mother has been charged with murdering her 9-year-old son. -more-



Project Offers a Glimpse into Life of Berkeley’s Lost Japantown

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Michi Uchida’s piercing black eyes and gnarled fingers testify to a community torn apart by World War II and the resurrection that followed in its aftermath. -more-



West Berkeley Tax District Off Table, City Staff Says

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 16, 2007

After protests from West Berkeley residents and small business owners, the West Berkeley Community Benefits District (WBCBD) may be off the table. -more-



Dellums’ North Oakland Meeting Focuses on Crime

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday October 16, 2007

If Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has lost significant political support in the city since the June 2006 election—as at least one local media outlet has reported—that sentiment was not immediately apparent at a standing-room-only Town Hall meeting at North Oakland’s Peralta Elementary School last Saturday morning. -more-



Pele deLappe, Artist and Activist, Remembered—1916-2007

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Celebrated for her art and her activism, Pele deLappe spent a lifetime fighting for racial justice, women’s equality and workers’ rights. -more-



Features

Downtown Panel Prepares For Final Public Workshop

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Two key sections of the proposed new downtown plan come up for votes Wednesday, chapters that could help define the future look of Berkeley’s urban core. -more-


ZAB Approves Relocation of Blood House to Regent St.

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday October 16, 2007

The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) voted 8-6 Thursday to allow Berkeley developers Ruegg and Ellsworth to relocate the landmarked Blood House at 2526 Durant Ave. to Regent Street and build a a 34,158-square-foot, five-story building with 44 apartments, 18 parking spaces and retail space in its place. -more-


Hospital Nurses Back to Work Following Strike and Lockout

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Staff registered nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Herrick Hospital were back at work Monday morning—three days after their two-day walkout ended. -more-


Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Assault -more-


Mixed Reaction to Oakland School Control Bill Veto

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday October 16, 2007

In a move that Oakland Unified School Board President David Kakishiba said was “not unexpected,” California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Assemblymember Sandré Swanson’s AB 45 Oakland school local control bill on Saturday. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday October 16, 2007


Commentary: Only a Mass Movement Can Halt These Endless Wars

By Kenneth J. Theisen
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Many people think the Bush regime is politically weakened and will no longer be able to achieve its political agenda, particularly in regard to the Iraq war. Millions also have the illusion that after the 2008 elections that the U.S. military will finally withdraw from that beleaguered country. But the Bush regime is currently expanding the size of the U.S. military, and the leading Democratic presidential contenders are not likely to remove the U.S. military presence in Iraq if they are elected. -more-


Commentary: Marceau, the Pantomimist—Not Mime

By R.G.Davis
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Before Marcel Marceau’s body is buried and evaporates from public view, I thought to make note here in a short commentary that Marceau was a pantomime (pantomimist) and Charlie Chaplin was a mime – despite what AP, UPI and theater folk say about Marceau. -more-


Commentary: Year 6 of War on Terror: TV Violence, Insults

By Margot Pepper
Tuesday October 16, 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, California found. -more-


Commentary: Article Fails to Mention Opposing Views

By Donald Forman
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Your article “Reading Recovery Program Shows Results in Berkeley Schools” (October 5–8) violates several basic journalistic principles. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Supporting Our Troops—All of Them

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday October 16, 2007

We get letters from all over the world in response to what appears on our pages, particularly on our opinion pages. We get letters in which the writers unburden themselves of their opinions about Berkeley in general, or about what they believe Berkeley to be. And we get many letters in which the writers reveal their opinions about the fate of the nation or the world, which they send hoping a Berkeley paper will print when their hometown papers haven’t. -more-


Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Exploring the Politics of Trust

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Most Americans don’t trust their government. A recent Gallup poll found “Americans generally express less trust in the federal government than at any point in the past decade, and trust in many federal government institutions is now lower than it was during the Watergate era.” Only 43 percent of poll respondents trust President Bush and 50 percent do not trust Congress. -more-


Wild Neighbors: Birds in Winter: Charles Keeler and the Summer Warbler

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday October 16, 2007

If you want to look back at changes in Berkeley’s bird life over the last century, the work of Charles Augustus Keeler provides a convenient benchmark. I have a battered library-discard copy of his Bird Notes Afield, the second edition, published in 1907. Keeler notes in a preface that the bird collection of the California Academy of Sciences, where he did his research, had been a casualty of the San Francisco quake and fire the year before. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Around the East Bay: Central Works Reprises Graves' "every Inch A King"

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Bar-Lev Turns Lens on Child Artist Controversy

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 16, 2007

San Francisco Jazz Festival Celebrates 25th Year

By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Traveling Way Up North to Crescent City Is Worth the Trip

By Carole Terwilliger Meyers, Special to the Planet
Tuesday October 16, 2007

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Supporting Our Troops—All of Them 10-16-2007

Chronicle Series Panders to Our Worst Instincts 10-12-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 10-16-2007

Letters in Response to Capt. Lund and Code Pink 10-16-2007

Commentary: Only a Mass Movement Can Halt These Endless Wars By Kenneth J. Theisen 10-16-2007

Commentary: Marceau, the Pantomimist—Not Mime By R.G.Davis 10-16-2007

Commentary: Year 6 of War on Terror: TV Violence, Insults By Margot Pepper 10-16-2007

Commentary: Article Fails to Mention Opposing Views By Donald Forman 10-16-2007

Letters to the Editor 10-12-2007

Recalling Better Times in the Elmwood By Gus Lee 10-12-2007

HNA: Guiding Principles for a Collaborative Approach By NANCY CARLETON, JOHN STEERE and DAWN TRYGSTAD RUBIN 10-12-2007

How To Be a Victim, as Taught By the Berkeley Police and Berkeley High By ELLEN MATES 10-12-2007

News

Flash: Counter-demonstrators Square off with Code Pink Outside Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center By Judith Scherr 10-16-2007

Police Arrest Mother in Amir Hassan Death By Richard Brenneman 10-16-2007

Project Offers a Glimpse into Life of Berkeley’s Lost Japantown By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-16-2007

West Berkeley Tax District Off Table, City Staff Says By Judith Scherr 10-16-2007

Dellums’ North Oakland Meeting Focuses on Crime By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 10-16-2007

Pele deLappe, Artist and Activist, Remembered—1916-2007 By Judith Scherr 10-16-2007

Downtown Panel Prepares For Final Public Workshop By Richard Brenneman 10-16-2007

ZAB Approves Relocation of Blood House to Regent St. By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-16-2007

Hospital Nurses Back to Work Following Strike and Lockout By Richard Brenneman 10-16-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 10-16-2007

Mixed Reaction to Oakland School Control Bill Veto By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 10-16-2007

Mother Held as Suspect in Death of 9-Year-Old Son By Richard Brenneman 10-12-2007

Emerson Elementary School Mourns Fourth-Grader By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-12-2007

Arguments End In UC Stadium Court Case By Richard brenneman 10-12-2007

Council Approves Sale of Air Rights, Sets New Rules By Judith Scherr 10-12-2007

Alta Bates/Summit Nurses Strike By Judith Scherr 10-12-2007

Group Behind Dellums Poll Clarifies Intention By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 10-12-2007

The Path of Information About ‘Dellums Poll’ in The Internet Age 10-12-2007

Dellums to Hold North Oakland Town Meeting This Saturday 10-12-2007

Plan for Bowles Hall Over; What’s Next for Landmark? By Richard Brenneman 10-12-2007

All Visitors to Show Photo ID at Berkeley High By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-12-2007

Binational Health Week Focuses on Latino Mental Health By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-12-2007

Freedom Song Network Turns 25 By Judith Scherr 10-12-2007

Berkeley School Board Reviews Test Scores By Riya Bhattacharjee 10-12-2007

Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Exploring the Politics of Trust By Bob Burnett 10-16-2007

Wild Neighbors: Birds in Winter: Charles Keeler and the Summer Warbler By Joe Eaton 10-16-2007

The Middle East: Of Torpedoes and New Voices By Conn Hallinan 10-12-2007

Planners From Another Planet The Public Eye By Zelda Bronstein 10-12-2007

The Police Should Stick to Facts, Not Speculate By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 10-12-2007

Victorian ‘Enigma’ in Central Berkeley on View Sunday By Steven Finacom 10-12-2007

Fall is Planting and Plant Sale Season By Ron Sullivan 10-12-2007

Ceiling Heights Get Real By Matt Cantor 10-12-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 10-16-2007

Around the East Bay: Central Works Reprises Graves' "every Inch A King" By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 10-16-2007

Bar-Lev Turns Lens on Child Artist Controversy By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 10-16-2007

San Francisco Jazz Festival Celebrates 25th Year By Ira Steingroot, Special to the Planet 10-16-2007

Traveling Way Up North to Crescent City Is Worth the Trip By Carole Terwilliger Meyers, Special to the Planet 10-16-2007

Wild Neighbors: Birds in Winter: Charles Keeler and the Summer Warbler By Joe Eaton 10-16-2007

Berkeley This Week 10-16-2007

Arts Calendar 10-12-2007

Nicholas Bearde to Record Live CD at Yoshi’s Tuesday By Ken Bullock 10-12-2007

European Short Films 10-12-2007

The Good, the Bad and the Brilliant 10-12-2007

Satirical ‘By George, It’s War’ Opens at La Peña By Janet Somers - Special to the Planet 10-12-2007

Victorian ‘Enigma’ in Central Berkeley on View Sunday By Steven Finacom 10-12-2007

Fall is Planting and Plant Sale Season By Ron Sullivan 10-12-2007

Ceiling Heights Get Real By Matt Cantor 10-12-2007

Berkeley This Week 10-12-2007