News

Malcolm X Elementary School will reopen Wednesday after a two-day closure due to swine flu concerns, Berkeley public health officials announced Tuesday afternoon. -more-

An 18-year-old man was murdered last night on the 1300 block of 67th Street, according to Berkeley police. -more-

Alameda County health officials said Tuesday morning the county has one confirmed and three probable swine flu cases so far. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to provide as much as 1,900 additional square feet of land to build a pool that’s comparable in size to the existing Berkeley High School warm water pool, if the need arises. -more-

Berkeley has its first probable case of swine flu. A parent of two Malcolm X Elementary School students has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, prompting the Berkeley Unified School District to dismiss classes at the school for a week, city officials announced Sunday. -more-

Health officials have announced Alameda County’s first probable case of swine flu, a 50-year-old woman with no recent travel history to Mexico. -more-

Alameda County Public Health Director and Health Officer Dr. Tony Iton announced late Thursday that the first probable case of swine flu in the county has been identified: a woman in her 50s with no recent travel history to Mexico. She was not hospitalized, is being treated and is recovering well. -more-

If Safeway representatives thought fresh carrots and celery sticks would appease the disgruntled crowd at the Claremont Hotel Wednesday, they were wrong. -more-

Despite concerns voiced by more than two dozen neighbors at a special public meeting Monday, April 27, the Zoning Adjustments Board gave Berkeley Bowl the green light to open a new store in West Berkeley without previously required traffic changes. -more-

Sunday’s 40th anniversary celebration of People’s Park reflected Berkeley in all its passionate quirkiness. More than 1,000 people joined the party, from old- timers who remember the riots when it all started, to students for whom it is all ancient history—and everyone in between. -more-

Aretha Franklin’s hat. Three little words that stirred up a lot of excitement for avid hat buyers in Berkeley last week. -more-

Sunday around 3 p.m., I find myself in People’s Park, at the 40th anniversary celebration, in front of a crowd of at least 500 what, back in the day, we called hippies and freaks, letting their freak flags fly. -more-

Berkeley High School announced Friday it will not charge for each student’s first two tickets to this year’s graduation ceremony at the Greek Theater. -more-

Despite budget constraints, Oakland Unified will stick with the school district’s tradition of not charging for high school graduation tickets this year, district officials said Thursday. -more-

The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday will once again vote on whether to approve the Climate Action Plan for the purpose of environmental review. -more-

His Holiness the Dalai Lama received a rock star welcome at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater Saturday, April 18, his third visit to the campus since taking over as the head and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people in 1937 at the age of 2. -more-

Safeway was set to unveil the latest design for its College Avenue store at a public meeting at the Claremont Hotel Wednesday, April 29, after the Daily Planet went to press. -more-

A coalition of East Bay school districts and two local organizations was awarded a Solar America Showcase grant to explore energy independence, the U.S. Department of Energy announced April 28. -more-

The El Cerrito City Council is expected to decide the future of the Cerrito Theater Monday night, May 4. This will be the council’s first public meeting on the theater since it was revealed that the current operators, Speakeasy Theaters, have fallen behind on rent. -more-

Ashby Flowers is here to stay. For another decade at least. The Berkeley flower shop, which has been battling Whole Foods Market since last year over a lease renewal, announced Wednesday afternoon that both parties had signed off on a 10-year lease. -more-

The year from which figures regarding the Greek Theater in the April 23 story, “Berkeley High Raises Graduation Ticket Prices,”was incorrectly reported. The figures were from 2008. -more-

It’s the corner of Ellis and Woolsey Street in the heart of South Berkeley. A young black male with dreadlocks opens the door of his grey BMW and unloads four plastic bags from the front floor of the car, as his counterparts in the back seat tell jokes and the radio blasts rap music. Dressed in a dark hoody, wearing dirty jeans dangling from his thighs, he opens the back gate to a neighborhood yard and he stashes the bags behind a garden trellis on the house’s patio. He drives off in a hurry. It’s nearly 6 p.m. in the Lorin District where a half block down the street three young black men sit on logs in front of a grey blue house, actively making drug deals this July evening, as their family members have for most of the last 20 years. -more-