“Gr-rr-rah, Gr-rr-rah Gr-rr, ... rr-rah!”  A new Cal song book, Songs of California: The U.C. Berkeley Tradition, has just been published. See story, page six.
Contributed photo
“Gr-rr-rah, Gr-rr-rah Gr-rr, ... rr-rah!” A new Cal song book, Songs of California: The U.C. Berkeley Tradition, has just been published. See story, page six.

Extra

Mourning Cloak Mysteries: The Butterfly that Hibernates

By Joe Eaton
Friday March 07, 2008

Posted Sun., March 9—We were out at Lafayette Reservoir a couple of weeks ago, looking for the bald eagle that wasn’t there. But there was a fair amount of butterfly action: a probable echo blue, some small hyperactive orange jobs, and three or four mourning cloaks, sparring or courting—it’s hard to tell with butterflies. -more-



Page One

Oakland Joins Fight to Halt State Moth Spray Plan

By Judith Scherr
Friday March 07, 2008

Oakland joined a fast-growing collaboration of cities, organizations, legislators and citizens on Tuesday looking for political and legal means to force the state to back off from plans for aerial spraying of pesticide over parts of Northern California to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). -more-



Greenhouse Gas Session Generates Political Heat

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 07, 2008

The draft city Climate Action Plan presented to Berkeley planning commissioners Wednesday night resembles another document in their possession: the proposed new Downtown Area Plan. -more-



School Board Ends Investigation of Vice Principal

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 07, 2008

Margaret Lowry—removed from her position as Willard Middle School vice principal—was placed on special assignment Tuesday with Berkeley Unified School District’s central staff. -more-



Three Policy Victories For Dellums in Oakland

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday March 07, 2008

The administration of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums hit the trifecta on Tuesday, winning City Council passage of two major initiatives and claiming victory in contract arbitration with the powerful Oakland Police Officers Association police union. -more-



Candidates Race for Election Cash

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday March 07, 2008

While candidates decided whether or not to put their toes in the water of several Oakland City Council and Oakland School Board races, announced candidates in the hotly contested state seats of Senate District 9 and Assembly District 14 continued to raise war chests for the June 3 election. -more-



Features

ZAB Approves Center Street Restaurant Permit, BioFuels Station

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 07, 2008

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) gave nods to three big projects last week, which propose to add a restaurant downtown, build a bio fuels station in South Berkeley and permit a child care center for Pixar employees in West Berkeley. -more-


Man Fatally Shot Outside Russell Street Apartments

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 07, 2008

A San Leandro man was fatally shot Monday night on California Street, just seven blocks north of the scene of another murder eight days earlier. -more-


Alta Bates Nurses Vote for Strike

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 07, 2008

Registered Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center have voted to call for a 10-day strike, along with nurses at 10 other Sutter Health facilities. -more-


SF Bay Guardian Wins Big, Heads Back to Court

By Judith Scherr
Friday March 07, 2008

The San Francisco Bay Guardian won a $15.6 million judgment Wednesday against the San Francisco Weekly and its parent company, the 16-paper Village Voice Media, for predatory business practices—but the Guardian’s not counting the big bills yet, says Executive Editor Tim Redmond. -more-


Local Newspaper Group Avoids Layoffs, for Now

By Judith Scherr
Friday March 07, 2008

The menace of layoffs at Bay Area News Group [BANG] newspapers—which now include the Contra Costa Times, the West County Times, the Berkeley Voice, the East Bay Daily News and the Oakland Tribune, among others—has passed for the moment. -more-


News Analysis: Guardian Editor Views Court Victory

By Tim Redmond, Special to the Planet
Friday March 07, 2008

A San Francisco jury found the San Francisco Weekly and its corporate parent guilty Wednesday of illegal predatory pricing and awarded us $6.39 million. -more-


Berkeley Schools Plan to Hand Out Layoff Notices

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 07, 2008

The Berkeley Unified School district will be sending out possible layoff notices to its certified staff by March 15 in the face of the proposed $4.6 billion state education budget cut crisis, district officials confirmed Monday. -more-


BUSD Mulls Fate of 6th Street Site

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 07, 2008

More than 50 seniors, parents with toddlers and teenage moms crammed inside a Berkeley Unified School District conference room Tuesday to voice their support for the LifeLong Health Center at 2031 Sixth St. -more-


‘The Songs of California: The UC Berkeley Traditon’

By Zelda Bronstein, Special to the Planet
Friday March 07, 2008

What venerable UC Berkeley tradition, having fallen onto hard times, has its fans hoping that it’s on the verge of a comeback? -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday March 07, 2008

PESTICIDE SPRAYING -more-


Commentary: Barack and Hillary Vs. King Crab

By Winston Burton
Friday March 07, 2008

I agree with J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s (does he have a shorter name ?) recent column that progressives are left with an embarrassment of riches—two credible, serious candidates, either of whom would be a good choice for president. We are in a win-win position having two Democrats running for office against an opponent, John McCain, who has little or nothing compelling, professionally or personally, that would make someone vote for him besides his service in Vietnam. What might derail a Democratic victory would be unfair and untrue attacks on the part of the candidates and the unspoken competition that exists between different classes and groups in our society. -more-


Commentary: An Update on Nutrition, Gardens and Compost

By Beebo Turman
Friday March 07, 2008

March is “National Nutrition Month” in our schools. The city of Berkeley has long been committed to fitness and nutrition education as chronic disease prevention, and in September the council members kicked off a nine-month campaign to engage the community with their goals, calling it “Be Fit Berkeley.” For the past six years a group of gardeners, Farmers’ Market people, school nutrition advocates, and city staff have met to coordinate various nutrition-education activities. March 8, this Saturday, will be “Be Fit Berkeley Day!” with health screening activities at the Farmers’ Market. Later this month there will be cooking demonstrations at the Tuesday Markets with Kirk Lumpkin, as well as a special Berkeley High School lunch event on March 20th. Certain schools with grants from “Network for a Healthy California” will have events at their schools; for instance Malcolm X will have a Health Fair, LeConte will have a Spring Fair, and there will be mini-farmers’ markets at John Muir, Emerson, and Rosa Parks. Since I am a garden advocate (I run the “Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative”) I want to encourage people to grow their own vegetables, and one way to help gardeners out is to give away city compost on Sat. March 29 at the Farmers’ Market (bring two buckets or one large bag). -more-


Commentary: The Real Facts About Apple Moth Spraying

By Robert Lieber
Friday March 07, 2008

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Kawamura’s recent dog and pony show that he has been trotting out before many city councils and commissions promoting the light brown apple moth (LBAM) aerial pesticide spraying of the Bay Area relies on blatant misrepresentations of the truth, fear-mongering and outright lies. The spray program he defends imperils California’s families, children, pets, and the environment, based on no real science and no solid facts. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: Which of These Things Is Not Like the Other?

By Becky O'Malley
Friday March 07, 2008

There are people who can’t tell the difference between red wine and white wine if they close their eyes. Some can’t tell a pansy from a petunia. If you ask some others (perhaps mostly men) to get a blue towel off a shelf, they won’t be able to decide which is the green one and which is the blue one—and they certainly can’t distinguish between chartreuse and turquoise. Many people think Debussy and Mantovani sound pretty much alike. Half the world, perhaps, would say confidently that Andrea Bocelli is as good as Placido Domingo. And they’d be wrong. -more-


Columns

Column: Undercurrents: Time to Revise Those Judgments of Dellums

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday March 07, 2008

Two of the problems with some of the early scathing criticisms of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums—specifically the charge that he was a “do nothing” mayor—were that they were highly premature, at the very least, and failed to take into account Mr. Dellums' particular operating style. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Telegraph and Durant: From Ritzy Enclave to Commercial Hub

By Daniella Thompson
Friday March 07, 2008
Hotel Carlton was built in 1906-07 on the site previously occupied by the Knowles mansion.

Teeming with pizza, bagel, and t-shirt outlets, surrounded by ethnic-food courts and cheap retail arcades, the intersection of Telegraph and Durant Avenues is inconceivable as an exclusive residential enclave reserved for millionaires' mansions set amidst spacious gardens and fronted by orderly rows of palm trees. -more-


About the House: Why My Floors Are Sloped

By Matt Cantor
Friday March 07, 2008

I live in a slide zone. As I understand it, the land my house is bobbing about on is a colloid of tumbled rock and Cuisinarted soil, the remains of an avalanche, hundreds of years now past. Since this material isn’t “consolidated” or compressed by time into a hard cake, it tends to amble downhill as gravity would have it. (I’m turning 50 and, as my friend Joann would say, my local gravity is also increasing so I know how the house feels). -more-


Garden Variety: Surviving Oaks Still Shade Alden Lane Nursery

By Ron Sullivan
Friday March 07, 2008
Whimsical sculpture at Alden Lane Nursery.

I’ve liked Alden Lane Nursery ‘way out in Livermore since I first set foot in it over ten years ago. The big valley oaks that shade parts of the place won my splintery old heart immediately, and I saw evidence of real community involvement along with the more concrete stuff: primo nursery stock, interesting ornaments, good tools, less-toxic pest controls. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Friday March 07, 2008

A scene from Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris’ film on Abu Ghraib, was part of the Berlin Film Festival.

Berlin Film Festival: From the Stones to Abu Ghraib

By Lewis Dolinsky, Special to the Planet
Friday March 07, 2008


The Theater: Cave and Gwinn’s ‘Romeo & Juliet and Other Duets’

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday March 07, 2008

The Theater: ‘Jukebox Tales’ at La Val’s

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday March 07, 2008

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Friday March 07, 2008

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: Which of These Things Is Not Like the Other? 03-07-2008

Editorial: How to Live Forever 03-04-2008

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 03-07-2008

Commentary: Barack and Hillary Vs. King Crab By Winston Burton 03-07-2008

Commentary: An Update on Nutrition, Gardens and Compost By Beebo Turman 03-07-2008

Commentary: The Real Facts About Apple Moth Spraying By Robert Lieber 03-07-2008

Letters to the Editor 03-04-2008

Commentary: A Way Out of the Spoiler Dilemma By Steven Hill 03-04-2008

Commentary: Some Planners Believe That BRT Will Work By Erina Hong 03-04-2008

Commentary: Clinton’s Duplicity On Michigan, Florida Delegates By Paul Rockwell 03-04-2008

Commentary: Must We Stamp His Footprint Into Nature to Remember Cesar Chavez? By Alesia Kunz 03-04-2008

Commentary: The Danny Hoch Incident By Jean Stewart 03-04-2008

Commentary: A Planning Student’s Perspective on Bus Rapid Transit By Janet Shih 03-04-2008

Commentary: Another Planning Student’s Perspective on Bus Rapid Transit By Juju Wang 03-04-2008

News

Mourning Cloak Mysteries: The Butterfly that Hibernates By Joe Eaton 03-07-2008

Oakland Joins Fight to Halt State Moth Spray Plan By Judith Scherr 03-07-2008

Greenhouse Gas Session Generates Political Heat By Richard Brenneman 03-07-2008

School Board Ends Investigation of Vice Principal By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-07-2008

Three Policy Victories For Dellums in Oakland By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-07-2008

Candidates Race for Election Cash By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-07-2008

ZAB Approves Center Street Restaurant Permit, BioFuels Station By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-07-2008

Man Fatally Shot Outside Russell Street Apartments By Richard Brenneman 03-07-2008

Alta Bates Nurses Vote for Strike By Richard Brenneman 03-07-2008

SF Bay Guardian Wins Big, Heads Back to Court By Judith Scherr 03-07-2008

Local Newspaper Group Avoids Layoffs, for Now By Judith Scherr 03-07-2008

News Analysis: Guardian Editor Views Court Victory By Tim Redmond, Special to the Planet 03-07-2008

Berkeley Schools Plan to Hand Out Layoff Notices By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-07-2008

BUSD Mulls Fate of 6th Street Site By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-07-2008

‘The Songs of California: The UC Berkeley Traditon’ By Zelda Bronstein, Special to the Planet 03-07-2008

Flash: Bay Guardian Wins $15.6 Million Verdict In Predatory Pricing Suit Against SF Weekly By Tim Redmond Special to The Planet 03-04-2008

Man Fatally Shot Outside Russell Street Apartment By Richard Brenneman 03-04-2008

Oakland Weighs Legal Options to Stop State Plans to Spray Moths By Judith Scherr 03-04-2008

West Berkeley Zoning Tour Reveals Land-Use Tensions By Richard Brenneman 03-04-2008

School Board Removes Willard Vice Principal By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-04-2008

Chief Wants Better Policing, New Taxes By Judith Scherr 03-04-2008

Maneuvering Over Dellums’ Police Plan Continues By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-04-2008

Oakland Council Asked to Reconsider Zoning Changes By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-04-2008

Option Contract Signed for Iceland By Riya Bhattacharjee 03-04-2008

Chamber PAC Must File Retroactively By Judith Scherr 03-04-2008

Oakland Schools Face a Rough Road Back to Local Control By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-04-2008

Council Postpones Several Items, Approves Blood House Move By Judith Scherr 03-04-2008

Protesters Shine Light on U.S. Marines in Haiti By Judith Scherr 03-04-2008

BHS Girls Basketball Takes Title Again 03-04-2008

Planning Commission to Hear Climate Plan By Richard Brenneman 03-04-2008

Columns

Column: Undercurrents: Time to Revise Those Judgments of Dellums By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 03-07-2008

East Bay Then and Now: Telegraph and Durant: From Ritzy Enclave to Commercial Hub By Daniella Thompson 03-07-2008

About the House: Why My Floors Are Sloped By Matt Cantor 03-07-2008

Garden Variety: Surviving Oaks Still Shade Alden Lane Nursery By Ron Sullivan 03-07-2008

Column: The Public Eye: The Great Debate of 2008 By Bob Burnett 03-04-2008

Green Neighbors: Pretty Good Tree with a Pretty Dumb Name By Ron Sullivan 03-04-2008

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 03-07-2008

Berlin Film Festival: From the Stones to Abu Ghraib By Lewis Dolinsky, Special to the Planet 03-07-2008

Moving Pictures: Pacific Film Archive Presents the Magic of Orson Welles By Justin DeFreitas 03-07-2008

The Theater: Cave and Gwinn’s ‘Romeo & Juliet and Other Duets’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 03-07-2008

The Theater: ‘Jukebox Tales’ at La Val’s By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 03-07-2008

East Bay Then and Now: Telegraph and Durant: From Ritzy Enclave to Commercial Hub By Daniella Thompson 03-07-2008

About the House: Why My Floors Are Sloped By Matt Cantor 03-07-2008

Garden Variety: Surviving Oaks Still Shade Alden Lane Nursery By Ron Sullivan 03-07-2008

Berkeley This Week 03-07-2008

Arts Calendar 03-04-2008

Berkeley Art Museum Presents Chagoya By Peter Selz, Special to the Planet 03-04-2008

The Theater: Euripides’ ‘The Bacchae’ at Zellerback Playhouse By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet 03-04-2008

Green Neighbors: Pretty Good Tree with a Pretty Dumb Name By Ron Sullivan 03-04-2008

Berkeley This Week 03-04-2008