City Councilmember Dona Spring uses the AccessMobile’s manual fold ramp to exit the van during a test drive Friday evening. City CarShare will launch the nation’s first wheelchair-accessible CarShare van today (Tuesday) in partnership with the City of Berkeley at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center.
Riya Bhattacharjee
City Councilmember Dona Spring uses the AccessMobile’s manual fold ramp to exit the van during a test drive Friday evening. City CarShare will launch the nation’s first wheelchair-accessible CarShare van today (Tuesday) in partnership with the City of Berkeley at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center.

Extra

Council Postpones Sunshine Hearing To October, Grants 90-day Extension to Citizens’ Group

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday April 24, 2008 - 12:44:00 PM

Posted Thurs., April 24—The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone the public hearing on the Berkeley city attorney’s draft sunshine ordinance—which promises greater access to local government—to October and granted the citizens’ group working on an alternate draft a 90-day extension to complete their work. -more-


North Oakland Man Shoots Intruder

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday April 22, 2008 - 06:10:00 PM

Posted Tue., April 22—Oakland Police are investigating a Tuesday morning shooting in which neighbors say a North Oakland man shot an intruder breaking into his 59th Street home. -more-



Page One

CarShare Now Offering Wheelchair-Accessible Vans

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Dona Spring dreams of visiting Point Reyes, something the 55-year-old Berkeley councilmember has never done before. After rheumatoid arthritis left Spring wheelchair bound in 1972, weekend getaways have been few and far between. -more-



Assembly Candidates Vie For Major

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday April 22, 2008

In a crowded field in which candidates are trying to distinguish themselves from one other—such as in the current four member June 3 Democratic primary to succeed Loni Hancock as California Assemblymember from the 14th Assembly District—individual and group endorsements can be a key factor in victory or defeat. -more-



Council Takes Up Sunshine, Density Bonus, Tax Survey

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 22, 2008

The Berkeley City Council will meet today (Tuesday) with a busy agenda, including putting tax measures on the ballot, the city’s proposed sunshine ordinance, competing density bonus provisions, its position on spraying to thwart the Light Brown Apple Moth and a proposal to charge for evening street parking downtown. -more-



Subprime Crisis Hits Berkeley, Exact Dimensions in Dispute

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Foreclosures nationwide soared 57 percent in March, and rates may be running even higher in Oakland as East Bay cities are caught in the turmoil of the subprime mortgage disaster. -more-



Berkeley Man Dies in Crash on The Alameda

Bay City News
Tuesday April 22, 2008

A Berkeley peace activist, thwarted in one suicide attempt, apparently succeeded in another, more dramatic bid to end his life Friday. -more-



Features

Planning Commission Tackles Southside Plan EIR

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Berkeley planning commissioners will holding hearings Wednesday on the Southside Plan’s draft environmental impact report (EIR) and proposed amendments to the city’s wireless ordinance. -more-


Pacific Steel Appeal of Court Decisions Begins

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Pacific Steel Casting’s appeal of a small claims court decision which went against the company in November began last week and is expected to go on for the next two months, a spokesperson for the steel foundry told the Planet Friday. -more-


First Person: Show Me the Street Money

By Winston Burton
Thursday April 24, 2008 - 03:55:00 PM

We were standing on the corner in front of Rice’s Barbershop. There were about six of us between the ages of 18 and 21, African American males who had grown up together in the same West Philadelphia neighborhood. A black Chevy slowly approached and someone from inside the car rolled down the window leaned out the passenger side and shouted, “The Republicans are paying $75, go to the Overbrook High gym; the Republicans are paying $75!” -more-


Election Section

Earth Day Thoughts on Loss and Limits

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Thursday April 24, 2008 - 03:47:00 PM

“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds,” Aldo Leopold wrote long before the first Earth Day. He was thinking about land abuse in the Southwest, but his words have a much broader resonance. -more-


Food Riots Have Deeper Roots

By Christopher McCourt
Thursday April 24, 2008 - 03:58:00 PM

For anyone who has been ignoring the news as of late food is an enormous issue this year. Prices are up 83 percent since 2005, sparking riots in countries around the globe including Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. In Haiti the unrest has even led to deaths and the fall of the government. -more-


Biofuels: Our Latest and Greatest Band-Aid

By Elizabeth Jean Dow
Thursday April 24, 2008 - 03:58:00 PM

As a graduating Berkeley student majoring in the biological sciences, a left leaning member of the San Francisco Bay Area and a voter wishing to make informed decisions, not a day goes by that I don't hear something on campus or in the news about biofuels. Biofuels are the controversial topic of conversation today, and with politicians voicing their support and violent food riots occurring in Haiti, perhaps it is time to seriously question the merits of biofuels and take some time for self reflection. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday April 22, 2008

THE MAYOR’S -more-


Commentary: Mayor Bates Shuts Real Sunshine Out

By Sunshine Committee Members
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Most of us hold an unshakable belief that an informed citizenry is the very heart of democracy. Motivated by this belief, our citizens group is drafting a Sunshine Ordinance intended to make the workings of our local government transparent. Similar ordinances have already been adopted by several Bay Area cities, but the effort has been repeatedly delayed here. Who in Berkeley could possibly oppose this idea? Not surprisingly, officials who benefit from keeping the public ill-informed have for years resisted shedding light on City business. Now, however, these sunshine-obstructionists, led by Mayor Bates, have sprung into action; they are promoting a weak, so-called “Sunshine Ordinance” in an effort to preempt our proposal. -more-


Commentary: Hillary: Another Feminist Perspective

By Laura Santina
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Chelsea Clinton recently forwarded me an article by New York feminist Robin Morgan in support of her mother’s candidacy. Though Chelsea and I have never met, I somehow ended up on one of her thousands of listserves. Morgan’s piece listed contemptible misogynistic behaviors practiced in various locations around the world and in different periods of history. By way of somewhat questionable logic, she bundled them all together as proof that Hillary is the best candidate, and angrily denouncing naysayers, fired it off. -more-


Commentary: An Open Letter Regarding Professor John Yoo

By Paul Glusman
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Dear Christopher Edley Jr., Dean of UC Berkeley Law School: -more-


Commentary: How Blocking U.S.-Colombia Agreement Will Protect Colombians and the United States

By Natalie Danielle Camastra
Tuesday April 22, 2008

House Democrats’ decision to delay consideration of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the next administration represents a move to protect the rights of the Colombian indigenous communities and U.S. national security interests. The decision comes after President Bush sent the controversial trade agreement to the House, which under presidential “fast track authority” requires an up or down legislative vote after ninety days. “Free trade” has most recently been a thorny topic, especially among Democrats, with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent dismissal of a top advisor, Mark Penn, for his work on the Colombia deal. Although the White House claims that the trade pact will “enhance national security” by “strengthening a key democratic ally” in the region and “bring economic gains to both sides,” the reality of the situation is quite another matter. -more-


Editorial

Editorial: A Holiday, a Change, a Party—Let the Sun Shine

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Today is the 38th anniversary of the first Earth Day, a media event created in the United States with the sponsorship of a senator, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. In other countries around the world, Earth Days coincide with the vernal equinox, around March 20, but in this country it’s been April 22 since it started. (The DAR once spread the scurrilous rumor that the date was chosen because April 22, 1969, was the centennial of Lenin’s birth.) -more-


Columns

News Analysis: Economic Outlook: High Hopes, Low Expectations

By Richard Hylton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Ben Bernanke has a lot in common with the next president. The pinnacle of his career will mostly involve cleaning up someone else’s mess. When he took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in 2006, Bernanke stepped into a quagmire so deep and wide that he sometimes has that stunned, wide-eyed look of a drowning man. -more-


The Public Eye: Why Should We Care About Iraq?

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday April 22, 2008 - 03:46:00 PM

On April 8, General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker told the Senate the president’s Iraq surge strategy has “worked” and, therefore, current troop levels should be maintained. The hearings came at a time when public attention has shifted from the occupation to the economy. Given the looming recession, why should Americans care how long our troops stay in Iraq? -more-


Wild Neighbors:

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday April 22, 2008
An Alameda whipsnake, looking alert.

Last week’s column gave an overview of expansion plans by the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, including two huge new buildings in Strawberry Canyon: the Computation Research and Theoretical Facility (CRT) and the Helios Facility. A group called Save Strawberry Canyon is fighting the expansion for a whole litany of reasons: earthquake and fire risks; impacts on air and water quality and greenhouse gas emissions; damage to a significant cultural landscape; procedural flaws in the lab’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP); and, not least, endangered species issues. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday April 22, 2008

El Cerrito’s Contra Costa Civic Theatre Stages ‘Foxfire’

By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet
Tuesday April 22, 2008

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday April 22, 2008

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Editorial: A Holiday, a Change, a Party—Let the Sun Shine 04-22-2008

Editorial: Being Green: It Ain’t All That Easy 04-18-2008

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 04-22-2008

Commentary: Mayor Bates Shuts Real Sunshine Out By Sunshine Committee Members 04-22-2008

Commentary: Hillary: Another Feminist Perspective By Laura Santina 04-22-2008

Commentary: An Open Letter Regarding Professor John Yoo By Paul Glusman 04-22-2008

Commentary: How Blocking U.S.-Colombia Agreement Will Protect Colombians and the United States By Natalie Danielle Camastra 04-22-2008

Letters to the Editor 04-18-2008

Commentary: Will the Sun Shine in Berkeley? By Dean Metzger 04-18-2008

Commentary: Why John McCain Can’t Win By Randy Shaw 04-18-2008

Commentary: Pedestrian Amenities on North Shattuck Avenue By Laurie Capitelli 04-18-2008

Commentary: What North Shattuck Needs By Fred Dodsworth 04-18-2008

News

Council Postpones Sunshine Hearing To October, Grants 90-day Extension to Citizens’ Group By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-24-2008

North Oakland Man Shoots Intruder By Richard Brenneman 04-22-2008

CarShare Now Offering Wheelchair-Accessible Vans By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-22-2008

Assembly Candidates Vie For Major By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-22-2008

Council Takes Up Sunshine, Density Bonus, Tax Survey By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-22-2008

Subprime Crisis Hits Berkeley, Exact Dimensions in Dispute By Richard Brenneman 04-22-2008

Berkeley Man Dies in Crash on The Alameda Bay City News 04-22-2008

Planning Commission Tackles Southside Plan EIR By Richard Brenneman 04-22-2008

Pacific Steel Appeal of Court Decisions Begins By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-22-2008

First Person: Show Me the Street Money By Winston Burton 04-24-2008

Earth Day Thoughts on Loss and Limits By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet 04-24-2008

Food Riots Have Deeper Roots By Christopher McCourt 04-24-2008

Biofuels: Our Latest and Greatest Band-Aid By Elizabeth Jean Dow 04-24-2008

Pacific Steel Appeal of Court Decision Begins By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-18-2008

Downtown Parking Meters Might Be Enforced at Night By Richard Brenneman 04-18-2008

Judge Gives Green Light To ‘Trader Joe’s’ Project By Richard Brenneman 04-18-2008

Hancock-Chan Race Gets a Little Testier By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-18-2008

Sunshine Law Draft Heads to Hearing By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-18-2008

UC Berkeley Faculty and Students Demand Open Textbooks By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-18-2008

35 BUSD Teacher Layoffs Rescinded By Riya Bhattacharjee 04-18-2008

Berkeley Mother Sentenced For Murdering Her Son, 9 By Richard Brenneman 04-18-2008

Density Bonus Measures Returns to City Council Agenda By Richard Brenneman 04-18-2008

Planet Reader Report: Bills on LBAM Spray Get Hearing in Capitol By Lynn Davidson and Jane Kelly 04-18-2008

Wells Fargo Building Sold to Hills Bros. Coffee Heirs By Richard Brenneman 04-18-2008

Columns

News Analysis: Economic Outlook: High Hopes, Low Expectations By Richard Hylton, Special to the Planet 04-22-2008

The Public Eye: Why Should We Care About Iraq? By Bob Burnett 04-22-2008

Wild Neighbors: By Joe Eaton 04-22-2008

UnderCurrents:Better Way Needed to Meet a Crowd of Good Candidates By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 04-18-2008

East Bay, Then and Now: Marshall-Lindblom House Was the ‘Prettiest Home in Berkeley’ By Daniella Thompson 04-18-2008

Garden Variety: Sating an Ancient Hunger By Ron Sullivan 04-18-2008

About the House: When Flue Gases Condense Inside Your Furnace By Matt Cantor 04-18-2008

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 04-22-2008

El Cerrito’s Contra Costa Civic Theatre Stages ‘Foxfire’ By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet 04-22-2008

Wild Neighbors: By Joe Eaton 04-22-2008

Berkeley This Week 04-22-2008

Arts Calendar 04-18-2008

‘Horsewomen of the Apocalypse’ in SF By Ken Bullock, Special to The Planet 04-18-2008

Berkeley Poet Wins Pulitzer Prize By JAIME ROBLES Special to the Planet 04-18-2008

Moving Pictures: Three Films Examine The German Conscience By Justin DeFreitas 05-01-2008

East Bay, Then and Now: Marshall-Lindblom House Was the ‘Prettiest Home in Berkeley’ By Daniella Thompson 04-18-2008

Garden Variety: Sating an Ancient Hunger By Ron Sullivan 04-18-2008

About the House: When Flue Gases Condense Inside Your Furnace By Matt Cantor 04-18-2008

Berkeley This Week 04-18-2008

What Do You Mean ‘It’s Green’? Crucial Questions By Alisa Rose Seidlitz 04-18-2008

Mobilizing to Take Back Our Food Systems in the Post-Peak Oil Era By Miguel Altieri 04-18-2008

The Force Through the Green Field Dives the Hiker By Ron Sullivan 04-18-2008