News

The three American hikers, all graduates of UC Berkeley, who were detained by Iranian authorities were charged with espionage Monday, according to reports by national and international media. -more-

Safeway took ownership of the Union 76 gas station site in Rockridge this week and is moving ahead with plans to incorporate it into a proposed remodeling project for its supermarket at the corner of College and Claremont avenues. -more-

Residents and neighbors of Southside Lofts at 3095 Telegraph Ave. are fighting to keep a national retail chain off the property. -more-

Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz introduced Captain Michael Meehan of the Seattle Police Department as Berkeley’s new police chief in a closed session of the Berkeley City Council Tuesday, Nov. 3. -more-

The East Bay Municipal Utility District and Berkeley are in trouble with the Environmental Protection Agency for violating the federal Clean Water Act. -more-

A new report by the Berkeley Police Review Commission found that the majority of complaints filed against police officers are by African-Americans, a fact some city councilmembers view as troubling. -more-

The controversy surrounding cat de-clawing is about to hit close to home for Berkeley, when its City Council votes on whether to approve an ordinance banning the procedure on Tuesday, Nov. 10. -more-

When news of the Bay Bridge closure broke at the Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates asked, jokingly: “Where’s our ferry?” -more-

UC Berkeley has found a way to evade the limitations that are imposed by the Alquist-Priolo Fault Zoning Act on new construction atop earthquake faults. UC has persuaded the California Legislature to add just a few sentences to its 61 page Omnibus Act of 2009. -more-

Although it is widely believed that the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) earns a profit for the Berkeley campus, its financial statements reveal that it significantly outspends its revenues every year, depleting precious campus resources.” -more-

Alexander P. Hoffmann, a well-known Bay Area radical attorney and activist, died Thursday evening at Piedmont Gardens in Oakland at the age of 81, after a long illness. -more-

The photograph of Harold Murphree that ran in the Oct. 29 issue of the Planet was taken by John Reynolds. -more-