The UC Berkeley Muslim Students Association (MSA) responded to Islamo-Fascist Week on campus with Peace Not Prejudice Week, ending today. -more-
Despite concerns of some residents that the city could end up subsidizing a downtown hotel-condo project, the council on Tuesday voted 8-1 to accept the developer’s funds to hire a consultant to figure out funding. -more-
After what Supervisor Keith Carson said was “reluctantly” carrying out their legally-mandated duty to place a $12 million Children’s Hospital special tax initiative on the February ballot, Alameda County supervisors voted to place a second compromise measure on the ballot as well. -more-
Faced with some 60 neighbors opposing telecommunications antennas proposed for a building at Ward Street and Shattuck Avenue—and armed with signs calling for the recall of the mayor and stating “Don’t Sell Us Out”—the Berkeley City Council split Tuesday over whether to uphold the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) decision to deny permits for the antennas at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-
The question of downtown Berkeley’s future skyline remained unresolved Thursday at the end of the second of three scheduled meetings of a citizen planning committee, the land-use subcommitee of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC). -more-
The People’s Park Community Advisory Board is now accepting public comments on the draft report assessing the park’s needs and planning future changes. -more-
Berkeley’s Planning Commissioners spent their meeting Wednesday talking about what they’d like to do. -more-
Cross country running is a sport where everybody gets to play. -more-
The Berkeley Board of Education approved a policy to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and their families from discrimination and harassment in the Berkeley Unified School District for the first time Wednesday. -more-
The oft-divided anti-war movement will be marching in San Francisco under a single banner Saturday: End the War Now. “No more surges, no more study groups: BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!” -more-
UC could make the first cash payment on a new downtown Berkeley art museum in January. -more-
Deputy Fire Chief David P. Orth said a cigarette-sparked fire did about $20,000 in damage to an Alvarado Road home and its contents early Wednesday evening. -more-
Faced with some 60 neighbors opposing telecommunications antennas proposed for a building at Ward Street and Shattuck Avenue—and armed with signs calling for the recall of the mayor and stating “don’t sell us out”—the Berkeley City Council split Tuesday over whether to uphold the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) decision to deny permits for the antennas at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-
Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) joined with officials from two cities and a leading developer Monday to unveil the site of a $135 million biofuel lab. -more-
Although building a second story atop the present animal shelter at 2013 Second St. is on tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council agenda, Councilmember Betty Olds, who served on a now-defunct committee searching for a new shelter, says she’ll ask the council to wait until early next year to make a decision. -more-
When a neighbor of Misti and Amir Hassan glanced out of his window last week, he saw Amir dressed in a cape and holding a rail spike in one hand. Amir peered over the balcony of his apartment and then tossed the spike, which was attached to a long rope, into the yard below. -more-
The PG&E service center at 2111 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, empty for almost two years, was handed over to the Berkeley YMCA on Friday to be developed into a teen center over the next two years. -more-
In April 2006 former Berkeley Police Sgt. Cary Kent pleaded guilty to felony drug possession and grand theft charges stemming from his stealing illicit substances from the locked police evidence vault he was charged to guard. -more-
Does the Marine Recruiting Center in downtown Berkeley have a proper use permit? -more-
A 17,000-square-foot vacant commercial property in downtown Berkeley that most recently housed Barnes & Noble will soon have a new tenant, according to city Economic Development Division Acting Director Michael Caplan. -more-
A dedicated group of six Berkeley citizen planners gathered Monday afternoon to decide how high, how dense and how soon. -more-
A small group of protesters rallied at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall late Monday afternoon as part of a National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. -more-
After nearly two years of work, Berkeley planning commissioners Wednesday will finally begin discussions of proposed local rules to govern the application of a controversial state law. -more-
In the wake of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of a bill by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson that would have clarified the procedure for returning local control to the state-operated Oakland Unified School District, Swanson is moving forward with plans for oversight committee hearings for what the assemblymember says is “to study the effectiveness of California’s statutes governing state takeovers of school districts.” -more-
Testimony concluded Monday in the trial of a six-time convicted felon from Berkeley who’s accused of attempting to murder Berkeley police officer Darren Kacalek on May 17, 2005. -more-
The Berkeley school board will vote Wednesday whether to accept the completion of the Derby Field project Wednesday. -more-
Berkeley High’s School Governance Council released a draft earlier this month of their proposal for an advisory program they plan to implement in fall 2008 for Berkeley International High School and Academic Choice students. -more-
The weather forecast says that Saturday will be another one of those gorgeous October days we’re blessed with in Northern California. It looks like it will be a very nice day for a walk—a long walk, a walk perhaps in San Francisco. Yes, if you haven’t figured it out already, this is a restrained pitch for the peace march in San Francisco. It’s being sponsored by—oh, who is it being sponsored by? And why does it matter anyhow? There will undoubtedly be people there with whom you disagree on some part of the message, or who will behave in a way you might not want to endorse. Go anyhow, carry your own sign with your own message, act the way you want everyone to act. -more-
We encountered many of our Elmwood neighbors at a recent party, most of them grumbling in typically articulate Berkeley style about the big new restaurant cum who-knows-what which is under construction near the corner of Ashby and College. The talk turned to general questions of development and density, and specifically to what might be in store for downtown Berkeley if the University of California gets everything it wants from the official progeny of the advice which is scheduled to be delivered in November by the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee. -more-
In his Oct. 19 letter to the editor, Steven Donaldson didn’t mention that he is one of the West Berkeley property owners trying to set up a new tax to fund privatizing city services. He posed instead as just another interested neighborhood guy, who no doubt attended the “Town Hall Meeting” partly to register his support for the tax and partly to observe the antics of dozens of “folks” whose earnest and articulate arguments he professes never to understand. Indeed, in 12 paragraphs of Steven’s prose, he never engages his opponents’ arguments at all. It’s as if we had nothing to say. But of course we did. -more-
Dear Captain Lund, -more-
Most of the world today has access to competing sources of news, each claiming to present a balanced version of truth. While the professional media reports from multiple primary sources and permits a variety of opinion in letters to the editor, no single source is truly capable of “balance” in reporting the news. At some point, an editor ultimately controls what gets published; at that point “balance” is compromised and the editor’s bias inevitably influences public opinion and policy. -more-
Regrettably, UC Berkeley, which just had a big opening show Oct. 22 for its Joint BioEnergy Institute, will soon see the bioenergy concept drop dead after so much hoopla from the University and BP on bioenergy having great “possibilities to save the world.” The hydrogen fuel future may be fast approaching as German scientists at the Max Planck Institute announced a few weeks ago their finding a catalyst that uses sunlight energy to convert water into hydrogen. Hydrogen for fuel and windmills for electric power have no pollution or residual junk problems and should be setup as fast as possible to give us clean energy, and most of the bioenergy concept will soon be laughed about for its shortsightedness. -more-
It’s clearly battle time over the shape of Berkeley, most imminently over downtown’s height limits, with more battles to follow. Let’s arm ourselves for the upcoming showdown on density, development, and downtown with some basic facts. Where does Berkeley stand, in the spectrum of communities, in terms of people crowding into space? -more-
I very much appreciate the Daily Planet posting the text of the memo I sent to my fellow members of DAPAC regarding downtown land use, building forms and heights. However, it’s a disservice to your readers for Becky O’Malley to suggest that my comments can be summarized by quoting the following single phrase: “We should be calling for as many tall buildings as possible to be built.” -more-
The great 19th century Tory prime minister Benjamin Disraeli once remarked there were three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. It is a dictum the Bush administration has taken to heart when it comes to totaling up the carnage in Iraq: If you don’t like the numbers, just change them; and when in doubt, look ‘em in the eye and lie. -more-
Back South, where I once lived, I used to know an older man who I’d greet every time I saw him with the question, “How’s the world treating you?” -more-
Around a North Berkeley bend, quickly by-passed by those busily headed someplace else, there’s a gem of a creek side house. The architecture and setting embody much of what gives residential Berkeley a special sense of place. -more-
One of our own is on her way to Washington DC to receive a long-deserved award. Kathy Kramer, who founded and runs the annual Bringing Back the Natives garden tour, will be honored on Nov. 1—appropriately enough, All Saints’ Day—along with Bill McKibben (The End of Nature), Al Gore, Rev. Richard Cizik (who has stirred up a hornets’ nest with the Evangelical Climate Initiative’s “Call to Action” statement, insisting on Christians’ responsibility toward stewardship of the earth), Steve Curwood (host of NPR’s Living on Earth show) and others including more dubious company like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. -more-
The other day a recent inspection client of mine called up and asked if I could help answer a few questions. She proceeded to ask if her new house had copper piping. -more-
Chinese tallow tree, Triadica sebifera, Sapium sebiferum or Croton sebiferum, is pretty, tough, and dons beautiful leaf colors in autumn. The small rounded kite-shaped leaves have a gentle green color before that, and dance engagingly in the breeze flashing their soft gray undersides, a little like aspen leaves. -more-
Among the bodies in the famous heap at the end of Hamlet, two are notably missing: the Melancholy Prince’s schoolmates (though Hamlet himself can’t seem to tell them apart), summoned by his usurper uncle to spy on him in his presumed madness, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. -more-
Altarena Playhouse, Alameda’s venerable community theater, is celebrating its 70th anniversary—and 50 years at its present location on High Street—with a venerable old comedy of just about the same vintage as the troupe, Paul Osbourn’s Morning’s at Seven (1939). -more-
The seventh annual Harvest of Song features new vo-cal and instrumental compositions by Bay Area composers headed by Ann Callaway, Allen Shearer and Peter Josheff, in collaboration with writer Jaime Robles. Composers Alexis Alrich and Laurie San Martin join this year’s mix. Performers include the Harvest Players, some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians, augmented by marimba and vibraphone. A women’s vocal ensemble adds to the festivities.Sat.Oct. 27 and Sun. Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. -more-
The 11th annual Arab First Festival continues this weekend at the California Theater in downtown Berkeley. -more-
Jimmy Carter is more active in his 80s than I was at any time during my 20s. If that’s an exaggeration it’s not much of one. The man’s zest for life is well known, but it is still awe-inspiring to see. In addition to his work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center and a writing career that results in a book per year, the man somehow manages to find time to paint, preach, hike, bicycle and travel the world. -more-
House of Games, David Mamet's 1987 directorial debut, was and still is like no other film. -more-
Around a North Berkeley bend, quickly by-passed by those busily headed someplace else, there’s a gem of a creek side house. The architecture and setting embody much of what gives residential Berkeley a special sense of place. -more-
One of our own is on her way to Washington DC to receive a long-deserved award. Kathy Kramer, who founded and runs the annual Bringing Back the Natives garden tour, will be honored on Nov. 1—appropriately enough, All Saints’ Day—along with Bill McKibben (The End of Nature), Al Gore, Rev. Richard Cizik (who has stirred up a hornets’ nest with the Evangelical Climate Initiative’s “Call to Action” statement, insisting on Christians’ responsibility toward stewardship of the earth), Steve Curwood (host of NPR’s Living on Earth show) and others including more dubious company like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. -more-
The other day a recent inspection client of mine called up and asked if I could help answer a few questions. She proceeded to ask if her new house had copper piping. -more-
An engaging man, neither young nor old, tries to convince us of mankind’s inability to perform the good, the rational, the self-interested. He takes us through a veritable sideshow hall of mirrors, acting out a reunion with his old school friends who spout banalities. He challenges them, only to be humiliated. -more-
By KEN BULLOCK -more-
Chinese tallow tree, Triadica sebifera, Sapium sebiferum or Croton sebiferum, is pretty, tough, and dons beautiful leaf colors in autumn. The small rounded kite-shaped leaves have a gentle green color before that, and dance engagingly in the breeze flashing their soft gray undersides, a little like aspen leaves. -more-
