Downtown Copenhagen, seen from the City Hall tower.
              By Michael Katz
Downtown Copenhagen, seen from the City Hall tower. By Michael Katz

Extra

Flash: Telecommunications Companies Win Right to Place Antennas Near Ward Street Homes

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Amidst jeers, catcalls and demands for the mayor's recall – and threats from Mayor Tom Bates that he'd clear the rowdy public from the chambers – the Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday to allow two powerful telecommunications companies to place their antennas atop UC Storage, adjacent to the neighborhood at Ward Street and Shattuck Avenue. The building is owned by developer Patrick Kennedy. -more-



Page One

Scandinavia to DAPAC: Low Is Beautiful

By Michael Katz
Tuesday November 06, 2007

As Berkeley’s downtown planning panel faces its Wednesday deadline to make, break, or abandon a compromise on raising buildings’ height limits, it might want to look to the decisions of those who’ve considered the issue a bit longer. -more-



DAPAC to Decide Downtown Heights

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday November 06, 2007

High rises and high densities top the agenda for Wednesday’s Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee meeting. -more-



Council Weighs Plan to Finance Solar Power

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Berkeley could be the first city to pay upfront costs for residents upgrading energy efficiencies and/or going solar. -more-



Berkeley High Nominated as Historic Landmark

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 06, 2007

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted on Thursday to nominate the Berkeley High School campus to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district . -more-



Agency Seeks Proposals to Replace Greenhouses with Homes

By Geneviève Duboscq
Tuesday November 06, 2007

The Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency (RCRA) is proposing to build a new housing development called Miraflores on the site of three Japanese American nurseries that date from the early 20th century. The greenhouse roofs are visible from west Interstate 80 near the Cutting Boulevard exit. -more-



Features

Ex-Offenders Gather to Learn How to Clear Their Records

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday November 06, 2007

For the average citizen, trying to clear up personal information on a government computer—Social Security records, for example—can range between a headache and a bureaucratic nightmare. For California ex-offenders it can be worse, a permanent way of life that sometimes can resemble a trip down into a Victor Hugo or Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel, a hole in which any effort to dig one’s way out only ends in burying oneself in a deeper hole. -more-


City Manager, Police Chief to Respond To Committee Recommendations To Prevent Theft by Police

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 06, 2007

City Manager Phil Kamlarz and Police Chief Doug Hambleton will be at the Wednesday Police Review Commission meeting to respond to a subcommittee report on evidence theft issues. -more-


Don’t Direct Staff Without Permission, City Manager Reminds Council

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Council rules are clear: councilmembers and mayor may not direct city staff to perform any task—at least not without the city manager’s intervention. -more-


Students Weave Stories into Murals

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday November 06, 2007

From the outside, Portable 9 looks like any other classroom at Berkeley High. But inside, a mix of sights, sounds and colors hurtles the visitor into a world of oil, paper and fabric. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday November 06, 2007

WILL DAPAC HAVE BEEN WORTH IT? -more-


Why Do We Need Huge Buildings Downtown?

By Jesse Arreguin
Tuesday November 06, 2007

When I interviewed with Councilmember Kriss Worth-ington two years ago regarding my interest in serving on the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC), the first thing that I said was that I felt that the existing Downtown Plan was generally fine and that there really was no need for a new plan. When I was later appointed to the DAPAC, I entered the process with a lot of skepticism, hoping that something positive would come out of the process. Two long and exhausting years later, I am still not only skeptical but also concerned about the direction of the DAPAC. -more-


Downtown Planning and Building Heights

By Gerald Autler
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Having lived in Berkeley and other parts of the Bay Area for a number of years (yes, I am one of those dreaded “true believers” indoctrinated at UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning), I occasionally read the Daily Planet online from across the country—mostly for entertainment, it must be said. I’ve watched the debate over tall buildings in downtown Berkeley with some interest and have to say that, despite my “true believer” status and my tendency to agree with the “pro-development lobby group” Livable Berkeley, I find myself in this case sharing the skepticism about the wisdom of filling up downtown Berkeley with buildings of 14 stories and more. But opposition to that kind of height should not translate into support for the anti-growth position so often espoused by the Daily Planet. -more-


Funding Downtown Public Improvements

By JOHN N. ROBERTS
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Over the past 24-plus years, I have directly participated, either as a volunteer or a paid landscape architecture/urban design consultant, in approximately 15 separate projects that have been actually constructed in Berkeley’s downtown. -more-


‘1984’ Comes to DAPAC

By Doug Buckwald
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Winston Smith was sitting in his cubicle in the Ministry of Truth. It was his job to collect all of the information about the problems with high-rise buildings and high-density development and place it in the tube to be sent down the Memory Hole so that it would be forgotten forever. It had been a busy day; many records had been changed to prove that high-rise “Smart Growth” worked perfectly everywhere it had been tried. He was exhausted. -more-


Neighbors Oppose Panoramic Hill Project

By Cathy Orozco
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Tonight (Tuesday), Bruce Kelley, a local developer, will ask the City Council to approve his plans to build a house at 161 Panoramic Way. The lot Kelley plans to build on sits between two blind curves on the narrowest section of this substandard road. While California Fire Code requires roads to be 20 feet wide, Panoramic Way is only 11 feet, 8 inches wide adjacent to the north side of Kelley’s lot. Panoramic Way was designed for 1920s cars and has hardly been upgraded since then. The road is treacherous because of its narrowness, its many blind curves, and the absence of shoulders and sidewalks. Walkers and joggers are forced to the edge of the road to dodge passing cars and delivery trucks. -more-


Sustainability: What Have We Really Accomplished?

By Nazreen Kadir
Tuesday November 06, 2007

In 1992, the Earth First conference in Rio de Janeiro brought together people from all over the world, from all disciplines and walks of life, to address the issue of sustainability, especially in relation to the earth’s diversity of species—its living systems. Among other topics, Rio ’92 addressed polices of the rich countries that drove poor people who live off the land to adopt certain “slash and burn” practices detrimental to the environment. Out of Rio ‘92 flowed the United Nations Biodiversity Convention which the United States was one of the last countries to ratify. A similar stance was taken over the Kyoto Protocol that addresses the emission of greenhouse gases that are not sustainable to the earth’s environment. -more-


The Sad Truth About Our Departing City Attorney

By PETER MUTNICK
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Evelyn Giardina said in a recent letter to the editor, “And good riddance to you, Manuela. You built a career by telling the city manager and City Council what they wanted to hear, which is not the same as providing good legal counsel. Take your golden parachute and just go.” -more-


Editorial

The View From Above

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday November 06, 2007

“Downtown Berkeley is at present a pretty desolate and unattractive place, one that many citizens avoid if at all possible.” -more-


Columns

Snakes in the Reservoir, and Other Booms and Busts

Wild Neighbors: By Joe Eaton
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Sometimes I miss out on interesting natural phenomena. It wasn’t until last month, while cruising the posters at the biennial State of the Estuary Conference, that I learned about the water snake invasion of Lafayette Reservoir. I’d go check it out, but it’s too late; they’re all gone. Another exotic-species boom gone bust. -more-


Gardener’s Gold

By Shirley Barker
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Every now and then I see a teenager in one of my trees. From a window I thought at first it might be a small UC student locationally adrift, in a striped shirt. A closer look showed it to be a young Cooper’s hawk, glaring down at me in comparably dauntless fashion. Thanks to Joe Eaton’s bi-weekly column, I can guess that it is drawn to the sparrows and finches at the thistle feeder, though the ducks keep an eye skywards when it appears, and my female cat skedaddles into the house. Smaller than the ducks, she is I hope still too large for the crow-sized Cooper’s. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday November 06, 2007

Cuckoo at the Masquers Playhouse

By KEN BULLOCK
Tuesday November 06, 2007

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday November 06, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

The View From Above 11-06-2007

Editorial: Remembering the Dead With Joy on Their Day 11-02-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 11-06-2007

Why Do We Need Huge Buildings Downtown? By Jesse Arreguin 11-06-2007

Downtown Planning and Building Heights By Gerald Autler 11-06-2007

Funding Downtown Public Improvements By JOHN N. ROBERTS 11-06-2007

‘1984’ Comes to DAPAC By Doug Buckwald 11-06-2007

Neighbors Oppose Panoramic Hill Project By Cathy Orozco 11-06-2007

Sustainability: What Have We Really Accomplished? By Nazreen Kadir 11-06-2007

The Sad Truth About Our Departing City Attorney By PETER MUTNICK 11-06-2007

Letters to the Editor 11-02-2007

Commentary: Children’s Hospital Bait-and-Switch By Robert Brokl 11-02-2007

Commentary: Bus Rapid Transit Success in Oregon By Steve Geller 11-02-2007

Commentary: Political Criticism, Review of the Record Do Not Amount to Mud-Slinging By Richard Phelps 11-02-2007

Commentary: The KPFA Local Station Board Election By Bob English 11-02-2007

Commentary: KPFA Elections: The Real Issues By Brian Edwards-Tiekert 11-02-2007

Commentary: Disputing Gendelman, Hallinan on KPFA By Virginia Browning 11-02-2007

Commentary: The Struggle for Listener Democracy at KPFA By Noelle Hanrahan 11-02-2007

Commentary: Redaction and Consequences in the Board Election By Marc Sapir 11-02-2007

Commentary: Elektro-Smog and the Politics of Class Injustice By Laurie Baumgarten 11-02-2007

Commentary: The Movement Against Cell Antennas in South Berkeley: Grassroots Democratic Activism Versus Verizon-Style Domestic Imperialism By Michael Barglow 11-02-2007

News

Flash: Telecommunications Companies Win Right to Place Antennas Near Ward Street Homes By Judith Scherr 11-06-2007

Scandinavia to DAPAC: Low Is Beautiful By Michael Katz 11-06-2007

DAPAC to Decide Downtown Heights By Richard Brenneman 11-06-2007

Council Weighs Plan to Finance Solar Power By Judith Scherr 11-06-2007

Berkeley High Nominated as Historic Landmark By Riya Bhattacharjee 11-06-2007

Agency Seeks Proposals to Replace Greenhouses with Homes By Geneviève Duboscq 11-06-2007

Ex-Offenders Gather to Learn How to Clear Their Records By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 11-06-2007

City Manager, Police Chief to Respond To Committee Recommendations To Prevent Theft by Police By Judith Scherr 11-06-2007

Don’t Direct Staff Without Permission, City Manager Reminds Council By Judith Scherr 11-06-2007

Students Weave Stories into Murals By Riya Bhattacharjee 11-06-2007

Downtown Skyline Compromise Erodes By Richard Brenneman 11-02-2007

DAPAC Approves Economic, Housing Chapters By Richard Brenneman 11-02-2007

Berkeley High Scraps Photo ID Plan for Visitors By Riya Bhattacharjee 11-02-2007

City Council Workshop Looks at Making Condo Conversion Work By Judith Scherr 11-02-2007

Dow’s Presence Triggers Berkeley Campus Protest By Richard Brenneman 11-02-2007

Early Rains Damage Books At Library Bookstore By Judith Scherr 11-02-2007

Guardian-SF Weekly Lawsuit Can Move Forward By Tim Redmond 11-02-2007

Neighbors to Wear Tin Foil to Protest Verizon Suit By Riya Bhattacharjee 11-02-2007

Day to Help Clear Criminal Records By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 11-02-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 11-02-2007

Burmese Desperate to Hear from Silenced Leader Aung San Suu Kyi By Aung Zaw, New America Media 11-02-2007

First Peson: Finally: A Sonata on Important Things By Marvin Chachere 11-02-2007

Columns

Snakes in the Reservoir, and Other Booms and Busts Wild Neighbors: By Joe Eaton 11-06-2007

Gardener’s Gold By Shirley Barker 11-06-2007

Undercurrents: Then and Now: Chron Columnist’s Take On More Police for Oakland By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 11-02-2007

East Bay Then and Now: Maybeck’s Boke House: Made by One Crusader for Another By Daniella Thompson 11-02-2007

Garden Variety: Take a Nursery Jaunt Up Tomales Bay By Ron Sullivan 11-02-2007

About the House: A Few Things I Was Wrong About By Matt Cantor 11-02-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 11-06-2007

Cuckoo at the Masquers Playhouse By KEN BULLOCK 11-06-2007

Snakes in the Reservoir, and Other Booms and Busts Wild Neighbors: By Joe Eaton 11-06-2007

Gardener’s Gold By Shirley Barker 11-06-2007

Berkeley This Week 11-06-2007

Arts Calendar 11-02-2007

Bruce Barthol Plays at Freight & Salvage By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 11-02-2007

A Different Side of John Cage Tonight By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 11-02-2007

Moving Pictures: The Grassroots Movement to Stop Apartheid By Justin DeFreitas 11-02-2007

East Bay Then and Now: Maybeck’s Boke House: Made by One Crusader for Another By Daniella Thompson 11-02-2007

Garden Variety: Take a Nursery Jaunt Up Tomales Bay By Ron Sullivan 11-02-2007

About the House: A Few Things I Was Wrong About By Matt Cantor 11-02-2007

Berkeley This Week 11-02-2007