News

UC Berkeley students held a second teach-in on Friday, protesting budget cuts, staff reductions and the increasing dependence of public education on corporate funds. -more-

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson today granted a defense motion to move former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle’s murder trial away from the county because of the extensive publicity his case has received. -more-

With the battle over West Berkeley zoning nearing an end, planning commissioners Wednesday night focused on the list of uses that would be allowed in areas where they had been previously barred. Acting under orders from the City Council majority, the commission has been hammering out a list of uses and definitions which could change the face of the city’s only haven for industry, manufacturing and artisans. -more-

The ferry is coming to Berkeley. WETA—the Water Emergency Transportation Authority—gave planning commissioners a Wednesday night update on its plans to build a new ferry terminal just south of the fishing pier at the Berkeley Marina. -more-

When a Whole Foods shopper stabbed a would-be carjacker with a pair of scissors, she did more than fend him off: She inadvertently collected the DNA that would lead to an arrest. -more-

UC Berkeley professor Oliver E. Williamson was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics Monday, Oct. 5, along with Indiana University professor Elinor Ostrom for their work in organizational economics. -more-

The City of Berkeley received its first shipment of intranasal H1N1 vaccine from the state Tuesday, Oct. 6, the same day it administered more than 2,000 seasonal flu vaccines to the public. -more-

A group of UC Berkeley law students launched a torture accountability initiative Tuesday, Oct. 13, dedicated to holding the authors of the infamous Bush torture memos accountable, reinstating respect for the prohibition against torture and ending executive abuse of power and impunity. -more-

Berkeley City College students, faculty and staff joined their counterparts at Laney and Merritt colleges to speak out against state budget cuts to public education at the Peralta Board of Trustees meeting in Oakland Oct. 13. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story inaugurates a new Planet category, Partisan Position. It’s not always possible for staff reporters to cover all the news our readers would like to know about, so we’re soliciting submissions from writers who have a personal interest in stories they want to report. We ask them to try to include all relevant information and various points of view, but the Partisan Position warning label tells readers that the story they’re reading might not be completely impartial. -more-

There are probably few progressive people in Berkeley who have never had occasion to visit the Grassroots House in the 40 years since its establishment as a community space. This Sunday afternoon the house is throwing a party, promising great food and entertainment—and a pitch for much-needed donations. -more-

Berkeley Unified School District announced Wednesday that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to boost emergency management plans in its schools. -more-

Anyone over age 25 or so who lived in or near the Bay Area on Oct. 17, 1989, probably remembers where they were at 5:04 p.m. -more-

In one of its briefest meetings in recent memory, the Berkeley City Council deferred staff action on revamping the city’s cellphone tower ordinance Tuesday night, saying that city staff already had too many projects to work on. -more-

The financially embattled AC Transit Bus District, which only two weeks ago decided to risk delay or possible abandonment of its long-planned, signature Bus Rapid Transit project in order to hold off some of its painful January bus service and personnel cuts, saw a glimmer of hope this week that it might be able to keep BRT essentially on track while preventing the worst of the cuts. -more-

With a downtown UC Berkeley biofuel lab on the fast track for development, university officials are busily presenting their plans to the community. -more-

The Office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Monday that it wants to terminate the Point Molate casino project. -more-

October 17, 1989, 5:09 pm -more-