News

Safeway will hold a series of public meetings starting today (Wednesday) at Oakland’s Claremont Middle School in an effort to come up with a different design for remodeling its College Avenue store. -more-

The last tree occupied by Berkeley tree-sitters before their surrender Tuesday afternoon was itself gone by 5:18 p.m. -more-

As a scaffold rose beneath them, section by section, Berkeley’s last four tree-sitters finally surrendered—with Huckleberry, the last holdout, finally setting his bare feet on the earth at 1:33 p.m. today (Tuesday). -more-

UC Berkeley officials are “weighing their options” to end the tree-sit at Memorial Stadium after negotiations ended between university officials, tree-sitters and their supporters on the ground. -more-

Only one tree remained standing at Memorial Stadium Sunday morning of those the University of California had slated for the chainsaw.Perched in the upper branches of the redwood were the four remaining tree-sitters who had taken to the branches in an ultimately doomed effort to save the impressive collection of coast live oaks and other trees marked for destruction by the university. -more-

UC Berkeley brought out the chainsaws Friday, and the air outside Memorial Stadium jittered to the sounds of saws, woodchippers and the earthward crashes of once mighty oaks. -more-

University of California, Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university today began chopping down oak trees next to its football stadium as the first step in a project to build a news sports training center adjacent to the stadium. -more-

A day after winning their battle in court Thursday, UC Berkeley gave Memorial Stadium tree-sitters a 72-hour warning Friday morning that their days in the branches were nearing an end. -more-

At least 11 schools in the Berkeley Unified School District met their Academic Performance Index targets for 2008 according to the state’s 2007-08 Accountability Progress Report (APR) released by State Superintendent Jack O’Connell Thursday. -more-

Protesters—including Free Speech Movement veterans and a Berkeley city councilmember—gathered in Sproul Plaza Thursday to rally against the Aug. 24 UC Berkeley police raid on the Long Haul. -more-

UC Berkeley brought out the chainsaws Friday, and by the time their engines went silent Tuesday, the Memorial Stadium grove was gone. -more-

Oakland police said Wednesday that they have made what they consider a major breakthrough in the city’s restaurant takeover robberies, announcing the arrest of three suspects following a Tuesday night takeover at K&T Nail Salon at 108th Avenue and Bancroft in East Oakland. -more-

The East Bay has been plagued by takeover-style restaurant robberies this summer, with 11 robberies in Oakland, one in El Cerrito, one in Hayward, one in unincorporated Castro Valley, and two in Vallejo. -more-

All hell broke loose at KPFA Radio Aug. 20 when a station volunteer resisted Berkeley police, summoned by station management to remove her from the premises. -more-

When Chef Eddie Blyden took over Henry’s at the historic Hotel Durant last spring he brought more than spaetzle from Munich and deviled duck eggs from San Francisco along with him. He brought a bit of controversy as well. -more-

Supporters of Berkeley’s venerable Long Haul, angered by last Wednesday’s raid, plan to rally at Sproul Plaza today (Thursday) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the wake of the seizure of 13 computers and a collection of disc and hard drives from the group’s offices at 3124 Shattuck Ave. as police searched for the source of what they described as threatening e-mails. -more-

With two months left to go for the November municipal elections, candidates for the Berkeley Board of Education are pushing for endorsements and mobilizing supporters through fundraisers, campaign kick-offs and campaign websites. -more-

The Berkeley Unified School District has not yet met the 9 percent water reduction goal set by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District in May but is working with the agency to install water-saving devices in the city’s 16 public schools, district officials said. -more-

Saeed Olushegun, a former softball coach and math teacher, was named Wednesday as Berkeley High School’s athletic director to succeed Kristin Glencher, who was promoted to vice principal. -more-

The citizens’ group working on an alternative version of the Berkeley city attorney’s draft sunshine ordinance—which promises greater access to open government—will hold a public meeting at the Lutheran Church of the Cross Sept. 9 to get community input on their recently released document. -more-

Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance ---- Draft, September 2008 -more-

FINAL DRAFT -more-

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has issued new guidelines for medical marijuana clubs, but Northern California’s leading cannabis advocate says they don’t represent any major changes. -more-

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board recently asked San Raphael-based Wareham Developers to scale back the size of its 100,000-square-foot project at 740 Heinz St. The applicant proposes demolishing the landmarked Copra Warehouse and building a state-of-the-art biotechnology research center in its place. -more-

The legal battle over UC Berkeley’s building plans at Memorial Stadium is back in the state Court of Appeals for the second time. -more-

Richmond city councilmembers violated state environmental protection law when they approved a $335 million pact to provide road improvements and emergency services for a North Richmond casino. -more-

UC Berkeley officials will present their rehabilitation plans for the student co-op Cloyne Court to the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission today (Thursday). -more-

Carrie Sprague grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Oberlin College. She moved west where she met and married Thomas M. King. After having three children together, they divorced. In 1980, she met Stan and she moved into their little old house on Allston Way. -more-

Sacramento Street barbershop shooting -more-

Back-to-back fires -more-

An Alameda County Superior Court Judge has taken the first vote in the 2008 local general election, ruling that certain portions of AC Transit At Large Board challenger Joyce Roy’s submitted ballot statement were either false or misleading, and ordering them removed. -more-

N’ap bat dlo pou l fé bé (We’re churning water to make it into butter) -more-