News

Posted Mon., April 7—Former 16th District Assemblymember Wilma Chan has filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against 14th District Assemblymember Loni Hancock—Chan’s opponent in the race to succeed termed-out 9th District State Senator Don Perata—charging that Hancock has illegally used her assemblymember officeholder account to pay a campaign staff member. -more-

Posted Sun., April 6—The City of Oakland will honor the legacy of Paul Robeson—one of the giant figures in American History—with an April 9 City Hall reception on the 110th anniversary of his birth. -more-

Posted Sat., April 5—A small but dedicated crowd turned up to mark the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination by reading aloud his Letter from a Birmingham Jail at the downtown Berkeley Public Library on Friday. The event coincided with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council's National Day of Nonviolence, started nine years ago by the organization's former director Jamal Bryant to encourage youth to fight against community violence. -more-

Demolition of the strip mall at the corner of University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way will begin June 1, said developer Chris Hudson. -more-

Commuting Peet-o-philes will no longer have to trudge the block or so from the downtown BART for their morning cup o’ joe. -more-

A state legislator and county officials took sharp issue with the environmental documents prepared in support of a Lake County tribe’s bid to build a casino on industrial land in North Richmond. -more-

After almost a year-long hiatus, the North Shattuck Plaza is back—this time as part of the recently launched public review draft of the Berkeley Pedestrian Master Plan prepared by the city’s Public Works Department Transportation Division. -more-

Whether it’s searching for a new animal shelter site, preserving Berkeley’s architectural heritage, scrutinizing police conduct or making sure schools have emergency caches, commissions do much of the city’s hard work, city staff, commissioners and several councilmembers told the Planet Thursday. -more-

The ten-day strike of registered nurses (RNs) at Sutter Health’s Bay Area hospitals ended Monday with the start of the 7 a.m. shift. -more-

Under “friendly” but pointed pressure from community activists to fulfill a campaign pledge, Oakland Mayor Dellums has set a May 31 deadline to begin removing barriers to the hiring of formerly incarcerated people for City of Oakland jobs. -more-

Advocates for tenants’ rights are hopeful that the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) will keep the water running permanently in multi-family rental properties in foreclosure status and adopt a lien system to collect unpaid bills from landlords. -more-

The company that owns Golden Gate Fields is splitting from its corporate parent, whose directors have been eager to strip their successful firm of its ties with the money-hemorrhaging gambling subsidiary. -more-

The Berkeley-Albany-Emeryville NAACP Youth Council will mark today (Friday) the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King by reading his Letter from a Birmingham Jail at the Berkeley Public Library on Kittredge Street. -more-

UC Berkeley officials have called for new designs to transform the face of Lower Sproul Plaza, the less familiar portion of the university’s most famous public space. -more-

Code Pink had the last laugh on April Fool’s Day, but the anti-war group preferred to call their little prank a “hope” instead of a hoax. -more-

Bay City News -more-

Garage blaze -more-

Posted Thurs., April 3—The Berkeley-Albany-Emeryville NAACP Youth Council will mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King by reading his Letter from a Birmingham Jail at the Berkeley Public Library on Kittredge Street. -more-

Posted Thurs., April 3—Under “friendly” but pointed pressure from community activists to fulfill a campaign pledge, Oakland Mayor Dellums has set a May 31 deadline to begin removing barriers to the hiring of formerly incarcerated people for City of Oakland jobs. -more-

Posted Wed., April 2—Code Pink had the last laugh on April Fool’s Day, but the antiwar group preferred to call their little prank a “hope” instead of a hoax. -more-

Posted Wed., April 2—The ten-day strike that hit Sutter Health's Bay Area hospitals ended Monday with the start of the 7 a.m. shift. -more-

The transformation of Berkeley’s Elmwood commercial district into a trendy amalgam of restaurant row and upscale shopping district may be moving another step forward. -more-

Student power highlighted Cesar Chavez Day celebrations at Malcolm X Elementary School Friday. -more-

Once again the anti-war Code Pink ladies are squaring off with pro-war Eagles Up. This time it’s not dueling demos at the Marine Recruiting Center. -more-

When 90-plus-year-old Fran Rachel came to the Berkeley City Council in February to plead for the body’s approval of an item supporting peace, the speaker caused Councilmember Betty Olds to recall how she and friends had kept their children out of the Vietnam War through subterfuge. -more-

A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Oakland school boardmember Greg Hodge must be placed on the June 3 ballot for the City Council race in District 3, setting up what is expected to be a fierce election challenge to incumbent Councilmember Nancy Nadel. -more-

More than 100 PTA members from the Berkeley public schools discussed ways to counter Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed $4.6 billion state education budget cuts at a Berkeley High School Parent Teacher and Student Association (PTSA) meeting last week. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education voted unanimously on Wednesday to declare the district’s Sixth Street property to be surplus. -more-

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will look at remodeling the facade of the Roy O. Long Co. building at 2122 Shattuck Ave. -more-

For Wolfgang Homburger, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) provides the wrong solution to East Bay traffic and environmental concerns. -more-

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) on Thursday approved the expansion of the Chevron gas station at the intersection of Shattuck and Ashby avenues, which includes turning the 24-hour retail kiosk into a 24-hour mini-mart. -more-

The East Bay Daily News, a free tabloid launched by the Knight Ridder chain in its final days before its takeover by the ANG chain, died a quiet death Saturday, two months before its third anniversary. -more-

Rumors started circulating around 7 p.m. Monday that the Marine Recruiting Center at 64 Shattuck Square had reached an agreement with their landlord Sasha Shamszad and that they would be backing out of Berkeley. These rumors, complete with what purported to be quotes from Shamszad and Michael Applegate, director of the Marine Manpower Plans and Policy Division, were posted on web sites maintained by Code Pink and the nonpartisan coalition group AfterDowningStreet.org, among others. -more-

The North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library is always jumping. Day or evening, most of the chairs in the reading rooms are full and all the computers are in use. Patrons sometimes are two deep at the counter where several of the branch’s 16 staff members check out books or answer questions. -more-

The North Branch occupies a prominent corner on a triangular site bordered by The Alameda, Hopkins and Josephine streets. The Mediterranean-style building, flanked by four gnarled old olive trees, was designed by James W. Placek, the architect responsible for the Central Library. -more-

Come May, the walls of the North Branch Library will be adorned with 50 to 60 quilts—the art pieces of local quilters who are participating in the 27th annual quilt show. “Sign-up will be starting soon,” according to librarian Debbie Carton, who is coordinating the show. “Look for notices at the North Branch; former exhibitors will receive their notices in the mail,” -more-

My friend Peter has mice. Not pet mice, but uninvited ones, who, he tells me on the phone, have snuck into his cupboards and are ravaging his dry goods quick as they can. Until he figures out the best way to get rid of them, do I want some of the food that the critters haven’t discovered yet? I tell him sure, and drive to his house where he loads up big bags of kasha and hot cocoa mix and rice vermicelli and penne pasta and more. I figure the kids will enjoy eating (and drinking) some things I don’t ordinarily buy, and I’ll save money on the grocery bill this month. -more-