Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

Challenges to Oakland Council Incumbents Fizzle as Veterans Avoid Run-Offs

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Wednesday June 04, 2008

A campaign season that began with the possibility of a major overhaul of the Oakland City Council’s old guard ended quietly in the status quo early Wednesday morning, as two incumbent Councilmembers avoided run-offs against what had been expected to be stiff opposition, and two others easily swamped their opponents. -more-

Skinner, Hancock Win Big in State Elections

By Judith Scherr

Wednesday June 04, 2008

The champagne was flowing last night at victory parties for Nancy Skinner, elected to the State Assembly with 46.8 percent of the vote and Assemblymember Loni Hancock, elected to the State Senate with 56.5 percent of the vote. -more-

Derby Street’s Arsenic Signs Are Principally Precautionary

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday June 03, 2008

The city has closed a lot on the 1400 block of Derby Street, across the street from a day care center, because of potentially dangerous levels of arsenic. -more-

UC and Workers Back at Bargaining Table

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday June 03, 2008

University of California service employees, working for 10 months without a contract, have scrapped plans to walk off the job for two days this week and are back at the bargaining table. -more-

Oakland Port Rail Proposal Impacts May Hit Berkeley Landscape, Traffic

By Richard Brenneman

Monday June 02, 2008

Is Berkeley being railroaded? -more-

Governor Tells Locals: Budget Deficit Due to Health, Schools Overspending

By Judith Scherr

Monday June 02, 2008

-more-

Berkeley High Athletic Scams Reported in Oakland and Kensington

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday June 02, 2008

Berkeley Unified School District officials said they uncovered an athletic fundraising scam on Friday, when a resident of Glenview in Oakland called to report that a young man was going door to door saying he was raising money for the Berkeley High School baseball team to visit Maui. -more-

Freeman Plea Delayed in Durant Avenue Murder

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Friday May 30, 2008

Berkeley resident Nathaniel Curtis Freeman, 19, who was charged with murdering Maceo Smith on Durant Avenue on May 13, did not enter a plea as he was scheduled to do at the Alameda County Superior Court today (Friday). -more-

Planners Approve Condos, Haggle over Density Bonus

By Richard Brenneman

Friday May 30, 2008

Berkeley planning commissioners voted 8-1 Wednesday to approve a key legal document that paves the way for construction of a long-delayed 24-unit condominium building at 2701 Shattuck Ave. -more-

Dellums Proposes City Shutdown Days to Close Budget Gap

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Friday May 30, 2008

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums proposed $14.4 million in cuts to the City of Oakland budget this week to offset a projected $15 million deficit in the next fiscal year, including calling for the closing down of non-essential city services for 12 days each year. -more-

University Museum Plans Slash Downtown Parking

By Richard Brenneman

Friday May 30, 2008

While UC Berkeley’s new downtown museum may attract praise from architecture critics, downward-directed thumbs may come from those already frustrated with the hunt for downtown parking. -more-

Reedley Says OK to Spray Bay Area

By Judith Scherr

Friday May 30, 2008

With some 30 cities and 80 organizations on record opposing the state agriculture department’s plan to spray coastal cities and the Bay Area to eradicate the light brown apple moth (LBAM), one city is bucking the trend. Reedley, a Fresno County agricultural community of around 24,000, has stepped up to support the state. -more-

Code Pink Organizer Accused of Police Officer Battery

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 29, 2008

Zanne Joi, organizer for Code Pink, was arrested this afternoon (Thursday) on charges of trespassing, battery on an officer and resisting arrest at the downtown Marine Recruiting Center. -more-

Superintendent Points Out Discrepancies in District’s API Rankings

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 29, 2008

The Berkeley Board of Education took an in-depth look at Berkeley Unified’s 2007 Academic Performance Index (API) rankings at the school board meeting Wednesday. -more-

South Berkeley Homicide Is City’s Eighth for 2008

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

A 29-year-old Berkeley man was shot and killed Wednesday night as he stood on a sidewalk near the corner of California and Tyler streets. -more-

News

Oakland Council Candidates Accepted Contributions From City Vendors

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 29, 2008

Oakland City Council incumbents running for re-election are taking in campaign donations from individuals who regularly require City Council approval for the business they do with the City of Oakland. While the practice is, for the most part, not illegal, it violates the spirit of the 1997 Oakland Campaign Reform Act, which sought to prevent a connection between City Council decisions and campaign donations to city councilmembers running for re-election. -more-

Incumbents Lead Fundraising in Oakland City Council Races

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 29, 2008

In the tightly contested June 3 races for the Oakland City Council, incumbent councilmembers are predictably winning the important fund-raising battles, with 5th District Councilmember and Council President Ignacio De La Fuente leading the way. -more-

Candidates Face Questions on Immigration, Education, Health Care

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 29, 2008

The questions posed to Senate and Assembly candidates at Tuesday evening’s forum presented by the Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action came from real life. -more-

Berkeley High Students Take Stand Against Local Immigration Raids

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 29, 2008

What seemed like typical lunch-time ruckus to visitors at Berkeley High School last week was in fact an act of solidarity with immigrants across the nation. -more-

Carjacking Suspects Elude Manhunt In Berkeley Hills

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

A massive manhunt scoured the Berkeley hills Friday afternoon as officers closed Highway 13 along Tunnel Road while they searched for the men who carjacked a San Ramon man in Oakland. -more-

Newspaper Theft Increases, New Law in the Works

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 29, 2008

LaRouchites Try for a Foothold in County

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 29, 2008

Zoning Board Postpones Decision on Cell Phone Antennas for T-Mobile

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 29, 2008

Most Speakers at AC Transit Hearing Oppose Fare Increases

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 29, 2008

Berkeley Sea Scout Leader Faces New Charges in Sex Case

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

UC System Workers Vote to Strike

By Bay City News

Thursday May 29, 2008

Sunday Blazes Keep Firefighters Hopping

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

‘Lone Gunman’ Continues to Rob Berkeley Businesses

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

Regents Greenlight BP Lab, LBNL Computing Center

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

Construction of $10 Million BUSD Transportation Facility Underway

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 29, 2008

BUSD Unveils West Campus Plan Tonight

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 29, 2008

Downtown Plan Hits Rough Waters in Commission Discussions

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 29, 2008

Clarification

Thursday May 29, 2008

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Berkeley High Principal Jim Slemp cheers on more than 3,000 high school students who formed a human chain around the campus last week to protest immigration raids by ICE agents in Berkeley.

Editorials

The Editor Endorses:

By Becky O'Malley

Thursday May 29, 2008

State Senate District 9: Wilma Chan -more-

Let the Sun Shine in Berkeley

By Becky O'Malley

Thursday May 29, 2008

If you sometimes read the Planet online (and we hope you do) you will have seen our new experimental web-only feature, The Editor’s Back Fence. It’s a collection of items too small or too silly to dignify with print, and will appear randomly at the executive editor’s pleasure. Of course it has another goal, to motivate readers to check out the really-Daily-online Planet each and every day so that they don’t miss anything. This week I answered a teacher’s complaint that our education reporter didn’t talk to a school principal for a story she did. That’s one of those “thank you for asking” questions, and you can see the full reply online. But it also served the purpose of opening up a larger topic that can’t be addressed too often or too seriously. -more-