Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

Brazen Room Robbery At Clark Kerr Campus

By Richard Brenneman

Wednesday October 01, 2008

A pair of brazen bandits staged a “hot prowl” heist at UC Berkeley’s Clark Kerr campus early Tuesday morning, climbing in through an open kitchen window to rob a pair of students. -more-

Teenage Bank Bandits Busted

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday September 30, 2008

Two boys, ages 13 and 14, and their 18-year-old companion were arrested by Berkeley Police on Friday after their were caught staking out a Shattuck Avenue bank. -more-

Was McCain A Key Player In Point Molate Casino?

By Richard Brenneman

Monday September 29, 2008

Is Republican presidential nominee John McCain the key player in the behind-the-scenes maneuvers which may turn the East Bay into California’s first urban gambling resort? -more-

Cody’s Books Former Employees Charge Bookstore With Contract Violation

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday September 29, 2008

Two former employees of the now-defunct Cody’s Books have filed a complaint with the state Labor Commission alleging that the bookstore violated its contract with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) by not paying its workers paid time off when the store closed down in June. -more-

Dellums Proposes Layoffs, Fine Increases, And Possible One-Day Shutdowns To Cut Oakland's Deficit

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Saturday September 27, 2008

With the nation's attention focused on the national credit crisis and President George Bush's proposed $700 billion bailout package, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums released his proposals to address Oakland's fiscal crisis, a $37.5 million shortfall in the 2008-09 budget. -more-

City Tells Thai Temple, Angry Neighbors To Reach Middle Ground

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Friday September 26, 2008

Fans of authentic Thai cuisine must wait till Nov. 13 to find out if the city will allow Wat Mongkolratanaram to continue to serve Sunday brunch or ban it. -more-

Backlog Forces Commissioners To Double Up Planning Meetings

By Richard Brenneman

Friday September 26, 2008

Berkeley planning commissioners are working on two parallel projects that will reshape the city center—the new Downtown Area Plan and the proposed route and configuration for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). -more-

BRT Proposal Raises Questions, Fewer Answers at Commission

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

Planning commissioners Wednesday confronted what Chair James Samuels called “a chicken/egg problem”: How to define a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route without knowing its full impacts. -more-

New Budget Makes Major Cuts to BUSD’S Cost of Living

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

California’s long overdue state budget signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday leaves the Berkeley Unified School District’s budget virtually unchanged from last year, but forces it to grapple with the rising cost of living, district officials said Thursday. -more-

News

Racism Motivated Tree-Sit, Chancellor Tells Donor

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

“[R]acism against our minority student athletes ... underlies much of the opposition to our student athlete high performance center,” declared UC Berkeley Chancel-lor Robert Birgeneau in a letter sent to two major donors to the school. -more-

Anti-Israel Graffiti Found Near Campus

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

A poster promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace at an AC Transit bus stop in front of UC Berkeley’s Eshelman Hall has been repeatedly vandalized with anti-Semitic slogans and swastikas, authorities said. -more-

UC Berkeley Fund-Raising Drive Seeks $3 Billion

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announces the fund-raising drive on Friday.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau kicked off the public phase of a $3 billion fund-raising drive Friday, seeking funds for scholarships, campus improvements, faculty salaries, research—and $600 million for buildings. -more-

Community Crime Meeting Reveals Sharp Tensions

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

Beneath the heated rhetoric and sharp divisions, one fact emerged from a Monday night meeting between Berkeley police, city officials and residents: the desire for a police force that is engaged with the community on a day-to-day basis. -more-

Off-Campus Hazing Escalates at Berkeley High

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

It’s called the case of the “Freshman Fridays” at Berkeley High: seniors tossing eggs at ninth-graders when they leave school or sports practice, sometimes hitting them in the face. -more-

Council Tackles Condo Conversion, Wood Smoke and Recreation Fees

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday September 25, 2008

It was a busy, eclectic night at Berkeley City Hall Tuesday, with the Berkeley City Council moving forward on a range of issues, including changing the city’s condominium conversion mitigation fees, establishing citizen nuisance wood smoke abatement procedures, and raising recreation fees. -more-

Downtown Berkeley ‘Urban Shield’ Drill Draws Fire

By Ali Winston Special to the Planet

Thursday September 25, 2008

UC Berkeley Says Fire Hazard Shut Down CampusLink

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

Thai Temple Asks Zoning Board to Allow Year-Round Sunday Brunch

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

Berkeley Double Murder Sparks Police Call for Public Assistance

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

School District Examines Mixed Results For State, Federal Test Scores

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday September 25, 2008

Analysis of Regional Ballot Measures

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday September 25, 2008

Commissioners Add Two New High-Rises To Downtown Plan Environmental Study

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday September 25, 2008

Frugal Foodies Learn the Magic Of Cooking on the Cheap

By Kristin McFarland

Thursday September 25, 2008

Ali Winston

Members of the UC Berkeley police ascend the stairs of a former university laboratory on Berkeley Way as part of the Sept. 12 exercise that was part of Urban Shield, the largest Homeland Security drill in the country.

Editorials

The Sky is Falling But We Still Have to Vote

By Becky O’Malley

Thursday September 25, 2008

With the world economy collapsing around our ears and before our eyes, it’s difficult to focus on local level considerations. But focus we must, because the election is upon us. Absentee ballots will be mailed next week. Candidates are amassing war chests and soliciting endorsements. -more-