UC Berkeley Police raided the Memorial Stadium grove tree-sit Tuesday morning, cutting down the lines that linked trees and removing equipment used by the activists who are protesting the planned axing of the collection of Coastal Live Oaks and other trees to make way for a four-level high tech gym and office complex. A Daily Planet reporter was shoved in the back by one officer after he had been ordered away from the stadium rim, the only place offering a clear view of the activities below. The same officer confronted Doug Buckwald, a supporter of the tree-sitters. The stadium rim, as well as the sidewalk in front of the grove on Gayley Road, had been declared crime scenes, police said. A large crowd had gathered, thanks to phone calls and emails sent by supporters of the protest. An Alameda County Superior Court judge is expected to rule Wednesday on a lawsuit that has challenged the gym and other projects planned in the southeast area of the campus.
By Richard Brenneman
UC Berkeley Police raided the Memorial Stadium grove tree-sit Tuesday morning, cutting down the lines that linked trees and removing equipment used by the activists who are protesting the planned axing of the collection of Coastal Live Oaks and other trees to make way for a four-level high tech gym and office complex. A Daily Planet reporter was shoved in the back by one officer after he had been ordered away from the stadium rim, the only place offering a clear view of the activities below. The same officer confronted Doug Buckwald, a supporter of the tree-sitters. The stadium rim, as well as the sidewalk in front of the grove on Gayley Road, had been declared crime scenes, police said. A large crowd had gathered, thanks to phone calls and emails sent by supporters of the protest. An Alameda County Superior Court judge is expected to rule Wednesday on a lawsuit that has challenged the gym and other projects planned in the southeast area of the campus.

Extra

Flash: Judge Halts UC Memorial Stadium Gym Project

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday June 18, 2008 - 12:30:00 PM

An Alameda County Superior Court judge’s ruling has forced a halt to the planned construction of a gymnasium complex next to UC Berkeley’s California Memorial Stadium. -more-


Flexibility Out, New Numbers Needed As West Berkeley ‘Project’ Continues

By Richard Brenneman
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:55:00 PM

Forget flexibility: It’s now the “West Berkeley Project.” -more-


Bared Breast Provokes Arrest at Marine Recruiting Station

By Judith Scherr
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:57:00 PM

Pam Bennett of Code Pink was arrested Friday when she bared her breasts in front of Berkeley's downtown Marine Recruiting Station. -more-


Moratorium on Panoramic Hill Development Goes to Council

By Judith Scherr
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:57:00 PM

Jerry Wachtal describes the Panoramic Hill area where he lives as “a rare paradise,” where you can get to downtown Berkeley in seven minutes and be at home with “trees, birds and wild animals.” -more-


MediaNews East Bay Newsrooms Go Union in Narrow Vote

By Richard Brenneman
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:56:00 PM

By a narrow margin, journalists at East Bay newspapers owned by the Bay Area News Group-East Bay (BANG-EB) voted to unionize Friday. -more-


Missing Rice University Student’s Car Found in West Berkeley

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:58:00 PM

The Berkeley Police Department is helping Houston police investigate the disappearance of a 21-year-old student who has been missing since Dec. 15 from his off-campus Houston apartment, authorities said Friday. -more-


AC Transit Puts Off Fare Hike

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Monday June 16, 2008 - 05:00:00 PM

Trying to strike a balance between budgetary necessities and political realities, the AC Transit Board of Directors put off consideration of a proposed across-the-board fare increase until after the November general election last week, opting instead to begin the process of putting a parcel tax increase measure on the fall ballot. -more-


New Candidates Collecting Signatures for Berkeley Elections

By Judith Scherr
Monday June 16, 2008 - 04:54:00 PM

Three candidates for local offices added their names on Friday to the list of those collecting signatures for Berkeleyl elections on Nov. 4: Beatriz Levya-Cutler for school board and Robert J. Evans and Eleanor Walden for Rent Stabilization Board. -more-


Berkeley Police Exonerate Officer in Shooting Death; DA Yet to Weigh In

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 13, 2008 - 09:40:00 PM

The February shooting death of Anita Gay, 51, by Officer Rashawn Cummings was justified, Berkeley police say. -more-


Commissioners Hear BRT Fears, Praise; Plan More Discussions

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 13, 2008 - 09:41:00 PM

The ongoing battle over bus rapid transit (BRT) smoldered anew when Berkeley’s planning and transportation commissions took their second joint look at the concept Wednesday night. -more-


Planning Commissioners Tackle Downtown Plan

By Richard Brennema
Friday June 13, 2008 - 09:44:00 PM

The Berkeley Planning Commission continues its look at the Downtown Area Plan Wednesday night, with three separate chapters on the agenda for the 7 p.m. session. -more-


Berkeley Firefighters Defeat Two Blazes, Tackle a Third

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 13, 2008 - 02:50:00 PM
A helicopter drops water scooped from Lake Temescal onto the smouldering embers of a fire that consumed two acres of hillside Thursday near the site where the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire ignited.

Berkeley firefighters found themselves fighting flames on two fronts Thursday, one at the site of the disastrous 1991 hills fire, the other in West Berkeley. -more-


Berkeley Planning Search for New City Attorney

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 13, 2008 - 01:04:00 PM

City Manager Phil Kamlarz has told a number of councilmembers, including Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Dona Spring, that he is planning a nationwide search for a permanent replacement for former City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque after the budget has been put to rest. -more-


BUSD School Board Rescinds Lay-Offs of Teachers

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday June 13, 2008 - 01:04:00 PM

The Berkeley Unified School District announced this week that all teachers who received lay-off notices as a result of proposed education budget cuts will be able to keep their jobs. -more-


No Plea From Hoeft-Edenfield in UC Stabbing Case

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday June 13, 2008 - 01:03:00 PM

Berkeley City College student Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield—charged with the murder of UC Berkeley nuclear engineering student Chris Wootton—did not enter a plea during an appearance Thursday at the Alameda County Superior Court. -more-



Page One

Point Molate Casino Gets Fast-Track Status

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:53:00 AM
Casino developer James D. Levine listens as Navy officials describe their plans for an expedited handover of the Point Molate site where Levine and the Guidiville Band of Pomos hope to build a resort complex.

Reports of its death having been greatly exaggerated, Rich-mond’s Point Molate casino is not only alive—it’s being fast-tracked by state and federal agencies. -more-



Berkeley Juneteenth Festival Called Off for this Year

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:53:00 AM

It will be a Juneteenthless June for Berkeley residents this year, after what some event organizers said was a myriad of restrictions imposed by city officials just months before the big weekend of the 22-year-old tradition. -more-



B-Tech Grads Look to the Future

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:54:00 AM
Berkeley Technical Academy students celebrate their graduation June 5.

Berkeley Technology Academy Principal Victor Diaz summed up the school year at the 2008 graduation ceremony at UC Berkeley’s Alumni Hall on June 5: “It was a year of extreme highs and extreme lows—a crazy, crazy year.” -more-



Violent Crime Skyrockets on UC Berkeley Campus

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:54:00 AM

UC Berkeley became a much more dangerous place last year, according to crime figures released by campus police. -more-



Council Postpones a Number of Decisions at June 10 Meeting

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:58:00 AM

No one showed up from the Firefighters Union to speak to the issue of putting a fire safety/disaster relief bond measure on the November ballot, so councilmembers decided to put off discussion on the measure until they could hear from the union at the June 17 meeting. They also took no action regarding a possible library bond measure. -more-



Pools Won’t Be on Berkeley’s November Ballot

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:57:00 AM

A ballot measure to fund a new warm pool and rehab neighborhood pools was taken off the table at the Berkeley City Council’s Tuesday night meeting. -more-



Features

Washington Elementary Reaches Out to Family of Drowned Boy

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:56:00 AM
Jamon Lewis

Nearly a month after Washington Elementary first-grader Jamon Lewis drowned in the Don Castro Regional Recreation Park on May 18, the school is still struggling to recover from his death. -more-


Berkeley High Hires New Soccer Coach after Parents Complain

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:55:00 AM

Berkeley High School replaced its soccer coach Tuesday because of what some community activists said were complaints filed against him for disrespectful and racist behavior. -more-


West Campus Rehabilitation Plan Presentation Delayed

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:56:00 AM

Plans to rehabilitate the red brick building at the West Campus will be presented to the Berkeley Board of Education on June 18 before this issue comes out, Berkeley Unified School District officials said. -more-


November Elections for Berkeley On Deck

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:59:00 AM

With hard-fought but largely ignored June primaries behind them, voters will be setting their sights on the Nov. 4 presidential election and, locally, on races for the Berkeley City Council, school board and Rent Stabilization Board. -more-


Ballot Measure Would Put BRT Vote to the People

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 09:59:00 AM

Who will decide if buses get their own lanes on Telegraph Avenue? If Bruce Kaplan and Dean Metzger get their way, the people will. On May 28, Kaplan and Metzger submitted a petition to the City Clerk with 3,240 signatures of Berkeley voters in order to place on the Nov. 4 ballot an initiative “to require voter approval before dedicating Berkeley streets or lanes for transit-only or HOV/Bus-only use.” -more-


Registrar Responds: Peace and Freedom Partymembers Get Non Partisan Ballot

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:00:00 AM

A number of Peace and Freedom Party members were given “non partisan” rather than Peace and Freedom Party ballots on Tuesday in Alameda County, registrar Dave Macdonald acknowledged Thursday in an interview with the Daily Planet. -more-


Hamill Answers Charges Over Public Safety ‘Scare Tactics’

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:08:00 AM

The race to succeed Henry Chang as Oakland’s at-large city councilmember is going forward with scarcely a pause following last week’s primary elections, with Oakland District One School Board member Kerry Hamill responding to charges by AC Transit At-Large Director Rebecca Kaplan that public safety “scare tactics” employed by Hamill during the primary campaign may have “backfired.” -more-


Oakland School Board Member Avoids Runoff Vote

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:00:00 AM

A quirk in the way in which the Alameda County Registrars Office posts online election results caused the Daily Planet to misreport one of last week’s races. -more-


U-Haul Defies Council, Judge’s Order to Stop Renting Trucks, City Attorney Says

By Judith Scherr
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:02:00 AM

U-Haul Berkeley was doing a brisk business last Thursday afternoon, with customers maneuvering trucks in and out of the lot at Addison Street and San Pablo Avenue, workers cleaning up the vehicles and people queuing up five deep at the indoor customer-service counter. -more-


Downtown Bank of America Robbed Wednesday

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:06:00 AM

A man held up the Bank of America branch at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and escaped with cash, Berkeley police said. -more-


Reader Report: No Water Shortage for UC

By Paul Glusman
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:42:00 AM

While most people are refraining from washing cars or watering lawns, taking shorter showers, and flushing only when they really need to, the UC Berkeley is pouring water down the drain like it was—well—2007. -more-


Bill Gates Dumps His Stock in Berkeley Biofuel Partner

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:43:00 AM

Bill Gates, the money man behind the company that has formed the first corporate/UC Berkeley ethanol partnership, is dumping his shares. -more-


Two Strawberry Canyon Trees Felled for Safety Reasons

By Richard Brenneman
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:44:00 AM

Despite fears that Lawrence Berkeley National Lab was rushing ahead Tuesday with construction of a new road leading to the site of a proposed controversial new lab, crews were taking down two trees in Strawberry Canyon for safety reasons, not roadway building. -more-


T-Mobile Resubmits Plan for University Ave. Cell-Phone Antennas

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:44:00 AM

T-Mobile will be back today (Thursday) to ask the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) to approve a permit for constructing a new wireless telecommunication facility on the roof of the Affordable Housing Associates-owned building at 1725 University Ave. -more-


Election Section

Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson Stanley Kept on Track

By Jonathan Wafer Special to the Planet
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:59:00 AM
Trina Thompson Stanely

When Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson Stanley was growing up in West Oakland, she faced her share of challenges that could have deterred her life’s journey. She credits her success, becoming the first African American woman elected to the bench in Alameda County, on listening to and following the right people, those she calls her “guardian angels.” -more-


Why Cuts?

By Margot Pepper
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 11:03:00 AM

My second-grade students want to know the answer to that question and they’ve written a poem to elicit an answer. Each year my Spanish dual-immersion students at Rosa Parks produce laminated poetry bookmarks as part of our “Pepper Ink” labor unit. This year students chose their topic on the way back from the school library, after learning that their beloved librarian, Deborah Howe, might be in peril from the governor’s budget cuts—a deficit he cunningly created by rebating part of the vehicle license fee when he first took office. -more-


Correction

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:02:00 AM

The name of a a in the May 29 article about a string of East Bay robberies was incorrect. The correct name is De Afghan Kabob House, located at 1160 University Ave. -more-


Clarification

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:01:00 AM

The front-page story on June 5, “Big Win for Skinner, Hancock in State Elections,” mistakenly reported that Loni Hancock had been elected to the State Senate and Nancy Skinner had been elected to the State Assembly. They won the Democratic primary in those races for the November election. -more-


Public Comment

Storm Drain Project Threatens Tidal Lagoons

By Mark Liolios
Tuesday June 17, 2008 - 03:59:00 PM

In the past decade, Berkeley’s Aquatic Park has been undergoing a striking renewal. Dreamland for Kids and the Addison Street bicycle/pedestrian bridge bring new life to the park, as do the community organizations that have established programs in park buildings. Habitat restoration along the bay shoreline has created new shelter for wildlife. However, these biologically rich tidal lagoons are at risk of repeated toxic contamination if the Berkeley City Council approves plans for a $2 million storm drain construction project. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Monday June 16, 2008 - 11:59:00 AM

Letters to the Editor

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:48:00 AM

JUNE 3 RESULTS -more-


Shining Stars of Activism Don’t Fade, But Ignite Next Generation of Activism

By Karen Pickett
Tuesday June 17, 2008 - 03:56:00 PM

June 12 marked the one-year anniversary that our friend and comrade Hal Carlstad left us. He was well known and is missed by a great many people in the Bay Area peace, environmental, social justice, anti-death penalty, Unitarian, and anti-nuclear communities. Hal was everywhere. I first met him in the mid-1980s through Earth First! activities. He said he liked Earth First! because it was “less talk, more action.” It is the rare individual who, literally, every time he blinks his eyes he is thinking not of himself, but rather about what he can do next to bring about change, to build a more compassionate and just world. Hal was that rare individual. -more-


Dumbed Down Democrats

By Thomas Gangale
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:48:00 AM

One of my international relations instructors at San Francisco State knew the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of Massachusetts, and characterized him as a raging alcoholic. OK, I’m Irish on my mother’s side, that goes with the territory. But, he also said that Moynihan was smarter dead drunk than most of his colleagues were sober. Would that we had more Democrats like him these days. -more-


Why Loni Hancock and Nancy Skinner Won Big

By Randy Shaw
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:49:00 AM

Pick up a copy of the Berkeley Daily Planet and you are almost certain to find a letters to editor/opinion page filled with complaints about Berkeley city government. While such reader feedback is not a scientific sample, it does show that there are many, many people dissatisfied with one or more aspects of Berkeley’s quality of life. -more-


A Tale of Two Cities

By Sharon Hudson
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:50:00 AM

Around noon on Friday, May 16, I waited at Telegraph Avenue and Dwight Way to board the new 1R bus (Rapid Bus) to San Leandro. My goal? To see for myself why AC Transit chose the Telegraph Avenue/International Boulevard route for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). To do this, I would ride the BRT route to San Leandro, and several unfamiliar bus routes (Bancroft, MacArthur) back to Berkeley. -more-


KPFA’s Current Dialing for Dollars Plan Is At Odds with Pacifica’s Mission

By Richard Phelps
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:51:00 AM

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second part of a critique of KPFA’s current management’s “selling” and not playing public affairs. The first part appeared in the Daily Planet on May 22 and can be found at www.berkeleydailyplanet.com. -more-


ENRONed Again

By James Sayre
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:52:00 AM

We’re being ENRONed again: this time by oil futures contracts speculators who are unnecessarily and very profitably driving up the price of crude oil and hence retail gasoline prices. Curious as to why you are suddenly paying over four dollars a gallon for gasoline? No, it’s not due to “supply-and-demand,” no, it’s not due to “OPEC,” nor is it due to “peak oil.” It’s due to totally unregulated electronic oil futures trading in world markets. Check out the very lucid article that explains the unseen financial machinations in oil futures markets written by F. W. Engdahl on May 2, entitled, “Perhaps 60 Percent of Today’s Oil Price is Pure Speculation.” It may be viewed at www.financialsense.com/editorials/2008/0502.html. -more-


Message to Governor: State Needs More Revenue

By Sam Frankel
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:52:00 AM

I was at a meeting the a few weeks ago at the local high school. It had been called by the president of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), as a city-wide PTA meeting. One of the parents who attended has a son in elementary school, and this afternoon had been his very first little league game. His mom left before the game was over to attend this meeting. Parents should not need to make decisions between watching their children play ball and working to secure adequate funding for our schools, yet that is exactly what this mother had to do. Her choice was to work for better funding for education, reasoning that there will be other games to watch, and only one education to worry about. -more-


Questions About the Memorial Stadium Oak Grove

By Doug Buckwald
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:53:00 AM

With the judge’s decision imminent in the lawsuits over the university’s plan to cut down the Memorial Stadium oak grove and build a gymnasium/office complex at the site, the atmosphere is crackling with tension—or is that just the wind rustling through the leaves? It has been one and a half years since this issue leapt onto the local and national stage with a dramatic Big Game tree-sitting protest, and the conflict remains as compelling to this day. There are some persistent questions that have remained in my mind over this period of time, and I want to present them to your readers in the hope of creating a safe atmosphere to engage in a reasonable discussion of the conflict over the proposed construction in the oak grove. -more-


Editorial

Learning to Take a Graceful Bow

By Becky O’Malley
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:47:00 AM

June is a month of final acts: graduations, performances, recitals. We’ve gone to several recitals in the last two weeks and enjoyed every one. Nothing beats the sight of a bunch of fresh-faced kids polished until they shine and on their best behavior, enjoying themselves—albeit with a bit of tension—making music or dancing. And if the music sounds good, or if the dancing delights, that’s a plus, but it isn’t really about the product, it’s about the process. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

Whose Party Is It Anyway?

By Becky O'Malley
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 11:30:00 AM

Now that the election's behind us, I finally had time to sort through my mail this morning. I pulled out all of the glossy color postcards from the big pile of junk, leaving behind twelve Land's End catalogs and several offers of free trips to Las Vegas to shop for condos. -more-


Columns

The Public Eye: Hillary’s Judgment

By Bob Burnett
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:45:00 AM

On June 3, at the end of an epic contest, Democrats nominated Barack Obama as their presidential candidate rather than Hillary Clinton. Sixteen months ago, few would have predicted that a relatively unknown African-American senator would defeat the famous wife of the 42nd U.S. president. While many factors contributed to the outcome, the grueling campaign highlighted a critical difference between the candidates: Obama demonstrated better judgment than did Clinton. -more-


Undercurrents: Obama’s Negotiating Skills Will Be Put an Early Test

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:46:00 AM

Does Baraka Obama—if and when he is president of the United States—have the skills to go head-to-head with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadi-nejad and come to some agreement of mutual benefit to both countries as well as to the Middle East and to the rest of the world? -more-


Green Neighbors: Mayten, a Tree Refugee

By Ron Sullivan
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 12:22:00 PM
A street row of maytens in San Francisco.

Chilean mayten, Maytenus boari, has for quite a while been touted as a substitute for “California” peppertree, Schinus molle, since the latter has been ravaged by scale insects and disease. The peppertree was supposedly introduced by Spanish missionaries, who brought it up from South America. It’s been in the California landscape a long time, so we have some senior specimens. It’s a pity to lose them wholesale, and I don’t see mayten as filling that same aesthetic niche as peppertree’s gnarled black trunk dressed in such unlikely, graceful foliage. -more-


The Dream Ticket

By Justin DeFreitas
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 01:13:00 PM

Obama's First Lesson

By Justin DeFreitas
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 01:02:00 PM

Oil Weight

By Justin DeFreitas
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 01:03:00 PM

Arts & Events

WILDE IRISH BLOOMSDAY CELEBRATION

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:58:00 AM

Home & Garden

About the House: Why Your Dryer Is Trying to Kill You

By Matt Cantor
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 12:21:00 PM

Clothes dryers seem innocuous enough but actually, it turns out that they’re killers. More accurately, I should say, they’re arsonists, because they cause about 15,000 fires a year. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:53:00 AM

CalShakes Presents ‘Pericles’

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:54:00 AM

Baroque & Beyond: Sheli Nan at the Giorgi Gallery

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:55:00 AM

One-Act Opera ‘Trap Door’ at The Lab in San Francisco

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:55:00 AM

Erik Lyngen and Nick Raymond’s shop is the latest addition to Telegraph Avenue’s string of eclectic bookstores.

Book Zoo: North Oakland’s Newest Used Bookstore

By Ralph Dranow Special to the Planet
Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:57:00 AM

Events Listings

Community Calendar

Thursday June 12, 2008 - 10:07:00 AM

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Learning to Take a Graceful Bow 06-12-2008

The Editor's Back Fence

Whose Party Is It Anyway? 06-12-2008

Cartoons

The Dream Ticket By Justin DeFreitas 06-12-2008

Obama's First Lesson By Justin DeFreitas 06-12-2008

Oil Weight By Justin DeFreitas 06-12-2008

Public Comment

Storm Drain Project Threatens Tidal Lagoons By Mark Liolios 06-17-2008

Letters to the Editor 06-16-2008

Letters to the Editor 06-12-2008

Shining Stars of Activism Don’t Fade, But Ignite Next Generation of Activism By Karen Pickett 06-17-2008

Dumbed Down Democrats By Thomas Gangale 06-12-2008

Why Loni Hancock and Nancy Skinner Won Big By Randy Shaw 06-12-2008

A Tale of Two Cities By Sharon Hudson 06-12-2008

KPFA’s Current Dialing for Dollars Plan Is At Odds with Pacifica’s Mission By Richard Phelps 06-12-2008

ENRONed Again By James Sayre 06-12-2008

Message to Governor: State Needs More Revenue By Sam Frankel 06-12-2008

Questions About the Memorial Stadium Oak Grove By Doug Buckwald 06-12-2008

News

Flash: Judge Halts UC Memorial Stadium Gym Project By Richard Brenneman 06-18-2008

Flexibility Out, New Numbers Needed As West Berkeley ‘Project’ Continues By Richard Brenneman 06-16-2008

Bared Breast Provokes Arrest at Marine Recruiting Station By Judith Scherr 06-16-2008

Moratorium on Panoramic Hill Development Goes to Council By Judith Scherr 06-16-2008

MediaNews East Bay Newsrooms Go Union in Narrow Vote By Richard Brenneman 06-16-2008

Missing Rice University Student’s Car Found in West Berkeley By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-16-2008

AC Transit Puts Off Fare Hike By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-16-2008

New Candidates Collecting Signatures for Berkeley Elections By Judith Scherr 06-16-2008

Berkeley Police Exonerate Officer in Shooting Death; DA Yet to Weigh In By Judith Scherr 06-13-2008

Commissioners Hear BRT Fears, Praise; Plan More Discussions By Richard Brenneman 06-13-2008

Planning Commissioners Tackle Downtown Plan By Richard Brennema 06-13-2008

Berkeley Firefighters Defeat Two Blazes, Tackle a Third By Richard Brenneman 06-13-2008

Berkeley Planning Search for New City Attorney By Judith Scherr 06-13-2008

BUSD School Board Rescinds Lay-Offs of Teachers By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-13-2008

No Plea From Hoeft-Edenfield in UC Stabbing Case By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-13-2008

Point Molate Casino Gets Fast-Track Status By Richard Brenneman 06-12-2008

Berkeley Juneteenth Festival Called Off for this Year By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

B-Tech Grads Look to the Future By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

Violent Crime Skyrockets on UC Berkeley Campus By Richard Brenneman 06-12-2008

Council Postpones a Number of Decisions at June 10 Meeting By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Pools Won’t Be on Berkeley’s November Ballot By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Washington Elementary Reaches Out to Family of Drowned Boy By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

Berkeley High Hires New Soccer Coach after Parents Complain By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

West Campus Rehabilitation Plan Presentation Delayed By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

November Elections for Berkeley On Deck By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Ballot Measure Would Put BRT Vote to the People By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Registrar Responds: Peace and Freedom Partymembers Get Non Partisan Ballot By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Hamill Answers Charges Over Public Safety ‘Scare Tactics’ By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-12-2008

Oakland School Board Member Avoids Runoff Vote By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-12-2008

U-Haul Defies Council, Judge’s Order to Stop Renting Trucks, City Attorney Says By Judith Scherr 06-12-2008

Downtown Bank of America Robbed Wednesday By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

Reader Report: No Water Shortage for UC By Paul Glusman 06-12-2008

Bill Gates Dumps His Stock in Berkeley Biofuel Partner By Richard Brenneman 06-12-2008

Two Strawberry Canyon Trees Felled for Safety Reasons By Richard Brenneman 06-12-2008

T-Mobile Resubmits Plan for University Ave. Cell-Phone Antennas By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-12-2008

Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson Stanley Kept on Track By Jonathan Wafer Special to the Planet 06-12-2008

Why Cuts? By Margot Pepper 06-12-2008

Correction 06-12-2008

Clarification 06-12-2008

Columns

The Public Eye: Hillary’s Judgment By Bob Burnett 06-12-2008

Undercurrents: Obama’s Negotiating Skills Will Be Put an Early Test By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-12-2008

Green Neighbors: Mayten, a Tree Refugee By Ron Sullivan 06-12-2008

About the House: Why Your Dryer Is Trying to Kill You By Matt Cantor 06-12-2008

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 06-12-2008

CalShakes Presents ‘Pericles’ By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 06-12-2008

Baroque & Beyond: Sheli Nan at the Giorgi Gallery By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 06-12-2008

One-Act Opera ‘Trap Door’ at The Lab in San Francisco By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 06-12-2008

Book Zoo: North Oakland’s Newest Used Bookstore By Ralph Dranow Special to the Planet 06-12-2008

WILDE IRISH BLOOMSDAY CELEBRATION 06-12-2008

About the House: Why Your Dryer Is Trying to Kill You By Matt Cantor 06-12-2008

Community Calendar 06-12-2008