Opinion

A couple of sort-of-newby sort-of-techies have started a blog where others similarly situated have been pooling their enthusiasms for the many virtues of their new home in Berkeley. You can find out, for example, that there are 10 restaurants within walking distance of College and Ashby that are pretty darn good, and (there’s a connection) that houses in Elmwood (near the same corner) are pretty darn pricey. By and large, their excitement is sweetly touching, kind of like kids at Christmas. Santa’s left all this great stuff for us! -more-

GUTSY INVESTIGATION -more-

REACHING ACROSS THE AISLE -more-

Terry Kalahar’s job title as a City of Berkeley employee—Assistant Men-tal Health Clinician—tells you little about his job. You are likely to see him arrive at work in jeans, flannel shirt, heavy shoes, helmeted on his bicycle, which he parks inside a shared windowless office at one of the city’s senior centers. -more-

I found the Daily Planet’s in-depth coverage (June 4th edition) of the organized campaign to “reform” your newspaper or drive it out of business thought-provoking, disturbing, and a reflection of the conservative and fearful times we live in. -more-

There are some shocking and disturbing misconceptions among some humans in Berkeley that desperately need to be debunked, among them: that any type of development is progress, no matter how inappropriate and ill-conceived; that Berkeley residents get special favors to protect them from said development; that Berkeley residents mysteriously do not have a right to participate in the process, that it is our responsibility to “get out of the way.” -more-