Opinion

Habits die hard. For almost all of my adult life, or at least as soon as the kids were old enough to fend for themselves at breakfast, I’ve enjoyed taking to my bed with a cup of coffee and the morning paper while it’s still too early to talk to anyone in a civilized way. Of necessity, we’ve stuck with the San Francisco Chronicle all these years, since we just aren’t that interested in reading a lot about Contra Costa County or San Jose. The New York Times is fine for national news, but the last time we subscribed it was delivered at 10 at night, tempting us to stay up too late reading it, and now it’s easier to read it on the Internet anyhow. -more-

The obits are everywhere this week: “Few believe that newspapers in their current printed form will survive. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and, in some cases, their sense of mission at a pace that would have been barely imaginable just four years ago.” -more-

LINCOLN BRIGADE -more-

The trial phase of the lawsuit brought by the City of Berkeley, the Panoramic Hill Association and the California Oaks Foundation against the University of California to stop the building of the new office/gym facility (SAHPC) and a mostly new Memorial Stadium heard its final arguments on March 20. The case is now in the hands of the judge who will give her decision within two months. The stakes couldn’t be higher. We have just seen in our newspapers a study of the probable damage from the severe earthquake expected at any time on the Hayward Fault. These experts are predicting staggering losses to homes and businesses of at least $165 billion. The magnitude of the damage and the rebuilding is hard to imagine. -more-

Barbara Lee said this recently in regard to Bush’s war/occupation in Iraq: -more-

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West Berkeley, according to a West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies (WEBAIC), John Curl, Rick Auerbach and their host of experts at a recent meeting on the West Berkeley Plan and Sustainablity Berkeley, is a thriving industrial area in balance with the economy and the environment, supporting artists and living wage jobs. -more-

It is not good enough for a presidential candidate to have the right views on the issues, they must not associate with anyone deemed offensive. This is the sort of intolerance and witch hunting that the media does in the United States to knock anyone down for any reason. -more-

The town hall forum on the future of Media and the Pacifica Network, beautifully moderated by JR of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC) Block Report and held at Eastside Cultural Center in East Oakland on Friday (March 21) might be a watershed—or it might not. -more-