Rev. Raymond Landry, right, said that without Rev. Shumake’s prodding he wouldn’t have begun the effort that is leading to the construction of Macdonald Place Senior Housing in the heart of Richmond’s Iron Triangle. Larry Fleming, left, runs the Richmond Improvement Association’s job training program, which will run a cafe and a barber/beatutician training program on the ground floor of the 66-unit complex.
By Richard Brenneman
Rev. Raymond Landry, right, said that without Rev. Shumake’s prodding he wouldn’t have begun the effort that is leading to the construction of Macdonald Place Senior Housing in the heart of Richmond’s Iron Triangle. Larry Fleming, left, runs the Richmond Improvement Association’s job training program, which will run a cafe and a barber/beatutician training program on the ground floor of the 66-unit complex.

Extra

Cody’s Books to Move Downtown, Close Fourth St. Store

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Posted Wed., Feb. 21—Cody’s is leaving Fourth Street for downtown Berkeley. -more-


University Takes Down Tree-sitter’s Platform

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Posted Tue., Feb. 19—The 444-day-old battle of attrition between UC Berkeley and the Memorial Stadium tree-sitters flared again Tuesday morning, with the university claiming the victory. -more-


Video: UCPD Raid on Oak Grove

By Berkeley Citizen
Tuesday February 19, 2008


Page One

Richmond Improvement Agency Offers a Faith-Based Approach

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 19, 2008

For Rev. Andre Shumake Sr., head of a faith-based community alliance in the East Bay’s most troubled city, Richmond’s Green Party mayor has proved a strong ally. -more-



Police Officer Kills Berkeley Woman

From Bay City News and news reports
Tuesday February 19, 2008
A shrine has been set up on the Ward Street porch where Anita Gay was shot and killed by a Berkeley police officer.

Posted Mon. Feb 18, 2008--An officer responding to reports of a domestic disturbance at a south Berkeley apartment building Saturday night used deadly force on a woman who allegedly confronted the officer with a knife, according to the Berkeley Police Department. -more-



School Board Investigates Willard School Asst. Principal

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 19, 2008

The Berkeley Board of Education is investigating Willard Middle School Vice Principal Margaret Lowry for allegedly giving a student money to buy marijuana from another student, the Planet has learned. -more-



Council Begins Discussions of November Tax Measure

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Pools, police, pipes, fire prevention, youth services: fulfilling city needs will take new funding—perhaps $30 million. And that greatly surpasses the dollars flowing into Berkeley’s coffers. -more-



Children’s Hospital Representatives Meet with Neighbors

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Representatives of Oakland’s Children’s Hospital and many of the hospital’s North Oakland neighbors danced around each other at a North Oakland Senior Center community meeting for two hours last Wednesday night, with neither side seeming to be sure what music was being played, or even if the band had stopped altogether. -more-



Features

County Superintendents, Students Protest State Cuts

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 19, 2008

A broken red heart with a band-aid taped on it peeked out of Westlake Middle School student Jabari Valentine’s pocket. -more-


New Superintendent Welcomed, Lobbied by Community Groups

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger’s proposed $4.8 million budget cuts from state education funds dominated the conversation during a reception held for Berkeley’s new superintendent of schools Bill Huyett at the City Council chambers Wednesday. -more-


Protests Continue at Recruiting Center In Berkeley — And in Mountain View

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Since the Marine Recruiting Center in downtown Berkeley was locked Friday morning when the World Can’t Wait protesters arrived around 7:30 a.m. aiming to shut it down and risk arrest, the group and its allies from Code Pink and ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and Racism) went to Plan B. -more-


Candidates Begin Filing for June Races

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday February 19, 2008

With the presidential primary over, Alameda County voters will now have to turn their attention to several hotly contested local legislative races in the June 3 first-round voting, as well as a rare, contested Superior Court judge seat. -more-


West Berkeley Zoning Tour Opens to Public

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Planning Commissioners and interested citizens will tour West Berkeley March 1 as the commission prepares to ease new zoning rules in the city’s core industrial area. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday February 19, 2008

CHEAP SHOT -more-


Commentary: Does Berkeley Need Better Alcohol Regulation

By Lori Lott
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Becky O’Malley’s Jan. 22 editorial criticizes the Berkeley City Council for considering a new ordinance to replace out-dated ordinances that do a poor job of managing problems with the city’s alcohol outlets. Berkeley Daily Planet readers should know how this ordinance came about. -more-


Commentary: The Farce of Using Biocrops for Energy

By James Singmaster
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Two reports in Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) journal, got considerable media coverage on Feb. 8-9 with results in both showing that expanding biocrops for energy will greatly increase the soil emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) mainly carbon dioxide from the exposing of buried plant debris. The UN report released in Spring 2007 and prepared by the Scientific Expert Group (SEG) under the aegis of Sigma Xi said that “Even if human emissions could be instantaneously stopped, the world would not escape further climate change.” The Winter 2006 issue of AAAS Matters called for carbon dioxide sequestering. So we are going the wrong way with bioenergy thinking sponsored by BP at Berkeley and need to get a program that will actually remove some of the 35 percent overload of carbon dioxide mentioned in my Nov. 30, 2007, commentary. -more-


Commentary: The UC Berkeley Tree-Sit

By David Weinstein
Tuesday February 19, 2008

With the tree-sit protest at the UC Berkeley Memorial Oak Grove having reached its year-anniversary, the university’s tactics to thwart the protest have taken a have taken a harsh and dark turn. A double-fenced, barbed wire ghetto with blinding lights shining into the trees and street with loud generators running all night as an attempted form of mental torture to the tree-sitters is reminiscent of some state of siege. The university and its private police department’s interpretation of a recent civil injunction order constitutes a direct assault on basic American civil liberties and constitutional rights. An assault on these cherished rights and freedoms that amounts to, in my opinion, the first step into martial law. -more-


Commentary: A Few Thoughts on the Anti-Marines Protests

By Alan Swain
Tuesday February 19, 2008

I would like to make just a few simple comments about the Marine Corps recruiting office stand-off. First, the U.S. Marine Corps is a military organization with a long history, dating back nearly to the time of the Continental Army. The Marine Corps has been involved in all of the nation’s conflicts since the revolution. The Marine Corps has a proud record of fighting with dignity that compares favorably to any other military organization in the world. It is an all volunteer force that draws its officers and men from across America and responds and is directed by the elected government of the United States. In other words, the Marine Corps is America and America is the Marine Corps. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Much Ado About Not Much In the End

By Becky O'Malley
Friday February 15, 2008

One benefit of being a woman of (or even over) a certain age is that you can be invisible when you want to be. Women sometimes complain that after they pass 55 no one notices them, which is often true, but the good news is that this phenomenon allows you to assume a “cloak of invisibility” worth of a Harry-Potterish heroine when you’d like to know what people are up to. Wearing nondescript clothes and not too stylish glasses, you can go anywhere and overhear anyone. -more-


Columns

Column: Mary Dean Owes Me Three Bucks

By Susan Parker
Tuesday February 19, 2008

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I’m fixated on keeping privately run Children’s Hospital Oakland (CHO) from eating me and my neighborhood alive. Soon there’ll be nothing left of me but a small oil slick in front of my 100-year-old house. That should make it easier for the bulldozers to roll down Dover Street. At least there’ll be no me to run over. -more-


Column: The Politics of the Oscars

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday February 19, 2008

It’s always dangerous to read too much into trends in popular culture. Nonetheless, there seems to be a strong relationship between the five movies nominated for best picture of 2007 and polls showing 67 percent of Americans believe the United States is headed in the wrong direction. -more-


Green Neighbors: Still Pruning? Take Care of Your Wildlife

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Plumblossoms, a male lesser goldfinch, and an old nest-not his; this one’s probably a squirrel’s.

Never mind that it’s caught me unarmed and ill-prepared, as usual; I love this sample of early spring we’re getting. We didn’t have it quite the same way last year, I guess. As happened, I was ‘way out of town and in another climate for most of last February on a most urgent and unfortunate errand, so I’m only guessing. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday February 19, 2008

The Theater: Aurora Theatre Stages Diana Son’s ‘Satellites’

By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday February 19, 2008

First Person: From My Window

By Dorothy Snodgrass
Tuesday February 19, 2008

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Much Ado About Not Much In the End 02-15-2008

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 02-19-2008

Commentary: Does Berkeley Need Better Alcohol Regulation By Lori Lott 02-19-2008

Commentary: The Farce of Using Biocrops for Energy By James Singmaster 02-19-2008

Commentary: The UC Berkeley Tree-Sit By David Weinstein 02-19-2008

Commentary: A Few Thoughts on the Anti-Marines Protests By Alan Swain 02-19-2008

Letters to the Editor 02-15-2008

Readers Respond to Council-Marine Recruiters Controversy 02-15-2008

Commentary: The Death of Sgt. Van Dale Todd By Daniel Borgström 02-15-2008

News

Cody’s Books to Move Downtown, Close Fourth St. Store By Judith Scherr 02-19-2008

University Takes Down Tree-sitter’s Platform By Richard Brenneman 02-19-2008

Video: UCPD Raid on Oak Grove By Berkeley Citizen 02-19-2008

Richmond Improvement Agency Offers a Faith-Based Approach By Richard Brenneman 02-19-2008

Police Officer Kills Berkeley Woman From Bay City News and news reports 02-19-2008

School Board Investigates Willard School Asst. Principal By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-19-2008

Council Begins Discussions of November Tax Measure By Judith Scherr 02-19-2008

Children’s Hospital Representatives Meet with Neighbors By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-19-2008

County Superintendents, Students Protest State Cuts By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-19-2008

New Superintendent Welcomed, Lobbied by Community Groups By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-19-2008

Protests Continue at Recruiting Center In Berkeley — And in Mountain View By Judith Scherr 02-19-2008

Candidates Begin Filing for June Races By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-19-2008

West Berkeley Zoning Tour Opens to Public By Richard Brenneman 02-19-2008

Police Officer Kills Berkeley Woman From Bay City News and news reports 02-15-2008

Children's Hospital Representatives Meet with North Oakland Neighbors; No Resolution in Sight By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-15-2008

Council Begins November Ballot Tax Measure Discussions By Judith Scherr 02-15-2008

Facing Cheers, Jeers, Council Softens Anti-Marine Stance By Judith Scherr 02-15-2008

Heavy Police Presence Felt At City Hall Marine Protests By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-15-2008

Pacific Steel Workers Urge City to Defend Plant’s Presence in Berkeley By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-15-2008

Council Drops ‘Insensitive’ Language, Refuses Apology By Judith Scherr 02-15-2008

Oakland May Deadlock On Affordable Housing By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-15-2008

Density Bonus Fracas Flares at Planning Commission By Richard Brenneman 02-15-2008

BRT, Parks, Southside Evoke Heated Response By Richard Brenneman 02-15-2008

Hamill Talks About Rumors of Running for Oakland Council By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-15-2008

Council Nixes Preserving Property for Industrial Use By Judith Scherr 02-15-2008

Fire Log By Richard Brenneman 02-15-2008

Columns

Column: Mary Dean Owes Me Three Bucks By Susan Parker 02-19-2008

Column: The Politics of the Oscars By Bob Burnett 02-19-2008

Green Neighbors: Still Pruning? Take Care of Your Wildlife By Ron Sullivan 02-19-2008

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: Challenging a Unipolar World By Conn Hallinan 02-15-2008

Column: Undercurrents: A Proposal to Close the ‘Blue Gap’ Becomes a Political Struggle By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-15-2008

Garden Variety: Deer Friendly in Fairfax By Ron Sullivan 02-15-2008

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 02-19-2008

The Theater: Aurora Theatre Stages Diana Son’s ‘Satellites’ By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet 02-19-2008

Green Neighbors: Still Pruning? Take Care of Your Wildlife By Ron Sullivan 02-19-2008

Berkeley This Week 02-19-2008

First Person: From My Window By Dorothy Snodgrass 02-19-2008

Arts Calendar 02-15-2008

The Theater: ‘Savage Arts” at the Marsh By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet 02-15-2008

Hope Briggs Brings ‘A Musical Valentine’ to Herbst Theatre 02-15-2008

Garden Variety: Deer Friendly in Fairfax By Ron Sullivan 02-15-2008

Berkeley This Week 02-15-2008

First Person: The Story of a Gift By Paul Brumbaum 02-15-2008