News

Posted Wed., Feb. 27—The state secretary of agriculture failed to convince the Berkeley City Council Tuesday night that aerial spraying of a pesticide to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) is either necessary or benign. -more-

Tears, sobs, angry words, whispered remembrances and promises of action punctuated Thursday night’s gathering in a South Berkeley church to honor the memory of a grandmother fatally shot by police on the night of Feb. 16. -more-

Five assemblymembers introduced a swarm of resolutions Friday aimed at changing state rules that give the agriculture department secretary the authority to order aerial pesticide spraying after declaring an emergency due to the invasion of a pest. -more-

Callers flooded the police switchboard moments before midnight Sunday with reports of shots fired in the 1500 block of Harmon Street. -more-

After Move America Forward took aim at a Berkeley City Council item approved Jan. 29 asking the city manager to write the Marines saying their recruiters were “unwelcome intruders” in Berkeley—and council supporters took to the streets to face off with MAF and to ask the council not to back down—the council softened its language, agreeing not to write the letter. Instead, on Feb. 12, it publicly reiterated support for the troops and opposition to the war. -more-

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has run into a City Council delay in fast-tracking an Oakland Police Department enhanced recruitment plan, but it remains to be seen how much that delay is due to political, policy, or fiscal concerns, and how long that delay will last. -more-

In a plea agreement Friday, former Rent Stabilization Boardmember Chris Kavanagh pleaded no contest to one felony count of improperly registering to vote in Berkeley, when he actually lived in Oakland. -more-

Three Berkeley youths, the youngest a 6-year-old, have been criminally charged with setting the blaze that nearly destroyed a vacant home at 2050 Lincoln St. on Feb. 17. -more-

In addition to the discussion of the Light Brown Apple Moth and Councilmember Gordon Wozniak’s item to hear resolutions from the Peace and Justice Commission twice (see page one), the council will be looking at a number of other critical issues at its meeting tonight. -more-

West Berkeley could soon be home to a child care center for Disney Pixar employees if the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) approves a variance for the proposed project Thursday. -more-

Developer Patrick Kennedy will ask Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board for a blanket use permit Thursday to establish a 13,974-square-foot full-service upscale restaurant and bar at the former location of the Act 1&2 Theatre. -more-

UC police tried to physically prevent food, water, and supplies from reaching treesitters on Feb. 19, but failed in the face of determined efforts by grandmothers, students, and community members. Officers pushed, shoved, and used pain compliance techniques before giving up, as supporters sent supplies to the treesitters and sang “We shall not be moved.” -more-

Berkeley Unified School District officials and parents will be in Sacramento Wednesday to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger’s proposal to slash school funding by $4.8 billion over the next 18 months. -more-

What a difference a weekend makes in politics. -more-

Surely the healthiest diet in the world is vegetarian, the one which balances the complementary proteins found in whole grains and legumes, which features a wide variety of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and which is augmented by judicious amounts of dairy products. -more-

Posted Mon., Feb. 25—Paul Robeson was something of a Renaissance man. A singer, actor, lawyer, writer, civil rights advocate, all-American athlete and political activist, Robeson was a powerful and eloquent spokesman for racial justice well before Martin Luther King, Jr., or Malcolm X, yet these successors have eclipsed him in the annals of history. -more-

Posted Sat., Feb. 23—Tears, sobs, angry words, whispered remembrances and promises of action punctuated Thursday night’s gathering in a South Berkeley church to honor the memory of a grandmother fatally shot by police on the night of Feb. 16. -more-

The battle of attrition between UC Berkeley and the Memorial Stadium tree-sitters flared again Tuesday morning. -more-

Flowers, small stuffed animals and a tight cluster of votive candles offered a silent tribute to the life of a Berkeley woman killed Saturday night in a controversial police shooting. -more-

Berkeley’s Police Review Commission and Copwatch are among the groups demanding answers to why five-year Berkeley Police Officer Rashawn Cummings used deadly force on Anita Gay, a 51-year-old South Berkeley grandmother. -more-

Despite public outcry, the state agriculture department is determined to use a controversial aerial spray to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). -more-

Berkeley police arrested two men they say killed 23-year-old Wayne Drummond Jr. of Oakland in 2006 following a fight outside a Telegraph Avenue bar. -more-

Cody’s is leaving Fourth Street for downtown Berkeley. -more-

The Oakland City Council appeared tantalizingly close to a possible compromise on the city’s divisive affordable housing issues Tuesday night, but while the outlines for such a compromise have begun to take shape, it was unclear who would be brokering a possible agreement, or the logistics of how it would take place. -more-

Longtime Berkeley resident and business woman Mabel Bolton has left Thousand Oaks Elementary School $150,000 as part of her will. -more-

The expected and the unexpected have joined the Oakland City Council and Oakland Unified School District Board of Directors party, adding to what is looking like an increasingly crowded slate for the June 3 elections. -more-