A protest ended in the arrest of one of the protesters outside the university’s administration building during a protest opposing the $500 million agricultural fuel program funded by the company once known as British Petroleum. Protograph by Richard Brenneman.
A protest ended in the arrest of one of the protesters outside the university’s administration building during a protest opposing the $500 million agricultural fuel program funded by the company once known as British Petroleum. Protograph by Richard Brenneman.

Page One

Clashes Continue Inside KPFA

By Judith Scherr
Friday January 04, 2008

Nicole Sawaya was named executive director of the Pacifica Foundation Sept. 29, began her job part time in November, and plunged in full-time in December, all according to an agreement with her bosses on the foundation board of directors. -more-



Tree-Sit Supporter Hangs Jury at Trial

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

The coordinator of the tree-sit at Memorial Stadium represented himself in a court battle with UC Berkeley that ended in a hung jury Wednesday afternoon. -more-



City Psychiatrist Struck, Killed by Auto Crossing Marin Avenue

By Judith Scherr
Friday January 04, 2008

Sandra Graber, a psychiatrist with the city of Berkeley, was struck and killed by a car as she was crossing Marin Avenue at Colusa Avenue on Monday at about 9:40 a.m. -more-



Sawtooth Building Artists Lose Parking Lot to Bayer

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

Plans to close the parking lot used by one of West Berkeley’s last relatively inexpensive havens for artists and craft workers are galvanizing occupants of the Sawtooth Building. -more-



Critics of UC Computer Lab Seek Review Extension

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

Concerns over the timing of the environmental review of a towering computer lab planned for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are triggering newly organized opposition. -more-



Features

New Year’s Day Blast Startles Neighborhood

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

For Berkeley firefighters and police, 2008 started with a bang—an explosion that sent pieces of a stolen car flying more than 200 feet. -more-


February Election Offers More Than Presidential Choices

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday January 04, 2008

When local voters go to the polls less than a month from now, the media emphasis and advertising blitzes will be focused on the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination races. But while there are no state and local offices up for grabs on Feb. 5 or for the absentee ballot period that has already begun and will run through 8 p.m. on election day, there will be important state and local measures on the ballot. A brief summary of local measures: -more-


Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

With the retirement of David P. Orth as Deputy Fire Chief Dec. 16, Gil Dong assumed the high profile slot as deputy chief and department spokesperson. -more-


A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

Former Mayor Shirley Dean, City Councilmember Betty Olds and environmentalist Sylvia McLaughlin drew a flood of media attention when they became Berkeley’s oldest tree-sitters Jan. 22. The trio brought 245 years of savvy to a high-profile protest to save the grove of trees UC Berkeley hopes to ax to make way from a $125 million gym complex along Memorial Stadium’s western wall. The project ended the year embroiled in litigation. -more-


A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos
Friday January 04, 2008

Another protest ended in the arrest of one of the protesters outside the university’s administration building during a protest opposing the $500 million agricultural fuel program funded by the company once known as British Petroleum. -more-


A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

Wendy Alfsen (left)of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee reacts with dismay to a proposal to erect up to 14 16-story high-rise point towers in the city center. DAPAC wound up its two-year struggle to draw up a plan with a draft that rejected the towers. Sitting beside Alfsen is Mark Rhoades, who left his post as city Planning Manager, triggering a celebration by some of Alfsen’s allies. -more-


A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

Three artists from the Shipyard removed their belongings after a city inspection handed down multiple citations for building, zoning and fire code violations to the assemblage of studios housed in shipping containers at the West Berkeley site. The artists were given additional time to finish their projects for the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. -more-


A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos

By Richard Brenneman
Friday January 04, 2008

A Berkeley firefighter carries Misti Mina Hassan, 31, from her Shattuck Avenue apartment after a friend called police on Oct. 10 to say Hassan had told her she had murdered her 9-year-old son Amir. Police found the boy’s body in the apartment. Hassan has been charged with murder. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday January 04, 2008

AUTO BURGLARIES -more-


Commentary: BRT: Orwell, Damned Lies and Parking

By Michael Katz
Friday January 04, 2008

AC Transit’s misnamed bus “rapid” transit proposal would not be very rapid. And it would not “replace” the many parking spaces it would remove, as Charles Siegel’s Dec. 14 and 21 letters mistakenly claimed. -more-


Commentary: BRT Parking Data Will Come in Due Time

By Alan Tobey
Friday January 04, 2008

Sharon Hudson’s 12/28 commentary (“AC Transit Will Not Replace Parking Loss”) is exceedingly unhelpful in shedding any light on our proposed Bus Rapid Transit project. She’s complaining prematurely: the concerns she raises will be much more definitively addressed as the ongoing environmental review process moves to its conclusion in 2008. -more-


Commentary: Resolve to Drive Safely in the New Year

By Laurie Capitelli
Friday January 04, 2008

Sadly, we are entering the New Year, carrying the burden of yet another pedestrian fatality in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood. On Monday, December 31, during the late morning, a pedestrian walking northbound on Colusa, crossing Marin, was hit and fatally injured by a vehicle going southbound on Colusa and turning left onto Marin. All parties were obeying the traffic signal. The driver contends the sun, shining directly into her eyes, prevented her from seeing the pedestrian as she completed her turn. My condolences go to the family who shouldn’t have had to face this unexpected and senseless loss. My sympathy goes out the driver who will have to bear this burden the rest of her life. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Looking for Leadership on Every Level

By Becky O’Malley
Friday January 04, 2008

What’s nice about taking a midwinter break is that it provides an opportunity to poll the delegation: to inquire of the citizenry about what’s on their minds. Holiday parties are great for taking informal surveys, discretely of course. The best thing about residents of the urban East Bay is that they rarely agree on much, so when they do, it’s news. -more-


Columns

Column: Threat of Eminent Domain Gets Writer Writing Again

By Susan Parker
Friday January 04, 2008

I haven’t written a column for a long while because I’ve been adjusting to this widowhood thing. Over the past 15 months I’ve spent time renewing old friendships that were lost after Ralph’s accident, fixing up my house, looking for and finding a job. It took some weeks for the people who lived with me and helped with Ralph’s care to relocate. Since then several folks have moved in and out, and moved in again. -more-


Column: Dispatches from the Edge: Dispatch Awards for The Year That Was

By Conn Hallinan
Friday January 04, 2008

The following are Dispatches’ annual “I Don’t Believe I Am Actually Reading This” Awards. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: A Religious and Spiritual Test for Candidates

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday January 04, 2008

The issue of religion and candidates’ faith has been raised in the presidential race. Not for the first time, in such races. Almost certainly, not for the last. It raises the question whose answer is assumed but which is rarely tackled head-on by progressives: should there be a religious test for American presidential candidates? -more-


First Person: What Would Buddha Buy?

By Martha Dickey
Friday January 04, 2008

Today I am spending most of the daylight hours looking for a parking space. In the latter days of December, people in Berkeley are still trying to be polite, but I can see that it is becoming forced. Their necks tighten as they mentally calculate the size of each space versus the size of their SUV. They troll slowly, but I can’t pass them because a) I can’t predict their next move, and b) I can’t ignore even a slight possibility that they might pull a gun on me as I pull into a parking space that they believe to be rightly theirs. -more-


About the House: Getting the Real Dirt on Dirt

By Matt Cantor
Friday January 04, 2008

I have preferred over the years to confine my writing to subjects outside of my actual day-to-day vocation, but sometimes a discussion of my work helps a bit to illustrate a point. It’s not very glamorous but I spend a lot of my life in crawlspaces. The cats look at me funny, wondering what I’m doing in their bathroom. People often say, as I suit up to get sub-domestic, “Well, here’s where you earn your money!” It’s really not true, but the comment reveals how unpleasant the average person perceives this to be. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Friday January 04, 2008

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Friday January 04, 2008

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Looking for Leadership on Every Level 01-04-2008

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 01-04-2008

Commentary: BRT: Orwell, Damned Lies and Parking By Michael Katz 01-04-2008

Commentary: BRT Parking Data Will Come in Due Time By Alan Tobey 01-04-2008

Commentary: Resolve to Drive Safely in the New Year By Laurie Capitelli 01-04-2008

News

Clashes Continue Inside KPFA By Judith Scherr 01-04-2008

Tree-Sit Supporter Hangs Jury at Trial By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

City Psychiatrist Struck, Killed by Auto Crossing Marin Avenue By Judith Scherr 01-04-2008

Sawtooth Building Artists Lose Parking Lot to Bayer By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

Critics of UC Computer Lab Seek Review Extension By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

New Year’s Day Blast Startles Neighborhood By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

February Election Offers More Than Presidential Choices By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-04-2008

Fire Department Log By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos 01-04-2008

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

A Reporter’s Eye: 2007 in Photos By Richard Brenneman 01-04-2008

Columns

Column: Threat of Eminent Domain Gets Writer Writing Again By Susan Parker 01-04-2008

Column: Dispatches from the Edge: Dispatch Awards for The Year That Was By Conn Hallinan 01-04-2008

Column: Undercurrents: A Religious and Spiritual Test for Candidates By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 01-04-2008

First Person: What Would Buddha Buy? By Martha Dickey 01-04-2008

About the House: Getting the Real Dirt on Dirt By Matt Cantor 01-04-2008

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 01-04-2008

About the House: Getting the Real Dirt on Dirt By Matt Cantor 01-04-2008

Berkeley This Week 01-04-2008