News

General Assistance recipients will once again gather outside Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 a.m. to ask the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to rescind severe cuts to their funding. -more-

The City of Berkeley Monday announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect charged with murdering a Richmond man in West Berkeley. -more-

If the City of Berkeley has its way, pot in Berkeley might just get a wee bit more expensive. -more-

An internal review by the U.S. Department of Justice released Friday said that the lawyers who authorized waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques under the Bush administration showed “poor judgment” but were not guilty of professional misconduct. -more-

Check out this astounding chain of links from the Bay Guardian and Fog City Journal, complete with action photos. -more-

AC Transit’s proposal for Bus Rapid Transit in Berkeley is inching forward despite vehement opposition from residents, commuters and at least two business improvement districts. -more-

The battle over the future of Berkeley’s downtown is headed back to the City Council on Feb. 23. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates is proposing to rescind the most recent version of the controversial Downtown Area Plan, which was approved by the council last July but was stayed by a successful referendum campaign to put it on the ballot for voters to decide in a future election. The mayor said Monday that he wants to put his own new plan on the November ballot instead. -more-

Despite having fought off a slew of lawsuits, threats and angry neighbors, the project which will house Trader Joe’s grocery in downtown Berkeley is not yet off the hook. -more-

Despite a $10 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year, the Berkeley City Council made a commitment to the Black Infant Health Program at its Tuesday meeting. -more-

The City Council will hold a special 5 p.m. Feb. 23 workshop to discuss the city’s refuse revenue deficit. -more-

February is African-American History Month, honoring struggles past and present to overcome slavery, segregation, and poverty, and recognizing African-Americans’ economic, cultural, and political contributions to the nation. -more-

Strikes, occupations, petitions and sit-ins couldn’t save the two vendors fighting to hold on to their leases at UC Berkeley’s Bear’s Lair food court. -more-

BART’S $492 million Oakland Airport connector plans hit a snag Friday after the agency failed to convince federal authorities that it could complete studies showing the project’s impact on minority communities in a timely manner. -more-

Berkeley’s Hesperian Foundation is working around the clock to help earthquake victims in Haiti. -more-

Berkeley police are still looking for Berkeley resident Kevin Aaron Alvarado in connection with last Thursday’s fatal stabbing. -more-

There are no vegetables I can think of that are eaten as fruits, although many fruits are eaten as vegetables. The tomato seems to me the fruitiest of vegetables. Chilis are fruits. All squash including cucumbers are fruits. If the eggplant, a fruit, is truly the king of vegetables, then its crown prince must surely be the avocado. Like many heirs to the throne, avocados have riveting love lives too. -more-

A story in the Feb. 11 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet incorrectly reported the City Council’s final vote on the pools ballot measure. The 5-4 vote reported in the story was a straw vote; the final vote was unanimous. -more-

An activist group filed suit in federal court in Oakland today in a new bid to overturn a controversial 1996 state ballot initiative and restore affirmative action in admitting students to the University of California system. -more-

Curtis Martin III pleaded not guilty today to charges that he murdered his girlfriend and their baby in November. -more-

Many wonderful buildings that once defined the cultural landscape of Berkeley have vanished, recalled today only in photographs and written memories. One such, “an ornament to Berkeley,” was the original Newman Hall, a stately Tudor Revival edifice. It was dedicated just off the UC campus in March 1910. -more-