New: Interview: New Owners of the Oaks Theater
It might take five men from India to save Berkeley’s historic Oaks Theater. -more-
It might take five men from India to save Berkeley’s historic Oaks Theater. -more-
A lawsuit filed by a Berkeley neighborhood group over UC Berkeley’s controversial Memorial Stadium expansion project has been settled out of court. -more-
A candlelight vigil for Kyle Strang, who died in a car accident in Richmond Wednesday, was held at the park next to Strang's house on Acton Street and University Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Friday. -more-
The family and the climbing partner of an Oakland man who was found dead on Mt. Shasta this morning released a statement today detailing the climb and recalling their loved one. -more-
Tired of watching the same old Hollywood blockbusters or even independent flicks at your local Berkeley Theater? Well, starting very soon, the historic Oaks Theater will be showing foreign fare—Indian, Korean and even Mexican—and perhaps serving dinner and drinks with it. -more-
For Berkeley High School students Prentice Gray and Kyle Strang, the end of their incredible friendship came too soon. -more-
Berkeley Police Department fraud detectives are currently looking at approximately 10 cases where community members say they have been victims of credit card skimming scams. -more-
Berkeley police Saturday arrested alleged members of the city’s notorious Westside gang after being alerted by witnesses who said gang members had committed a robbery. -more-
A rift between science teachers at Berkeley High School and the administration deepened at the end of 2009, when the School Governance Committee (SGC) approved Principal Slemp’s recommendation to eliminate science lab instruction being offered before and after regular school hours (in the 0th and 7th periods). This decision resulted in a campaign by parents and other members of the school community, including a group of parents calling itself “Science and Equity,” to preserve the labs. School district superintendent Bill Huyett intervened personally and met with school administrators and teachers, coming up with a compromise plan to reduce but not eliminate the labs. That compromise plan is currently not being implemented by the school administration, according to SGC parent representative Peggy Scott and science department head Evy Kavaler. -more-
Nat Bates is at it again. He wants to wipe out Point Richmond’s wild turkey flock and even go after the stragglers in North and East. -more-
Pacific Steel Casting has agreed to release certain parts of its Odor Management Plan, which it had previously declined to do, after arriving at a settlement agreement in February with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. -more-
A new study by the UC Berkeley and Davis law schools concludes that forced deportation of lawful immigrant parents convicted of minor crimes can be harmful to U.S. children. -more-
Picketers claiming that Alice Waters, known worldwide as an advocate of organic foods and gardens, supports “growing food on toxic sewage sludge” appeared today at noon in front of her Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley. The protestors, from the Organic Consumers Association, say as well that the Executive Director of Alice Water’s Chez Panisse Foundation, Francesca Vietor, is a Vice President of the PUC, which has been giving away the sludge “compost” to gardeners in the Bay Area. -more-
Berkeley may have finally found a way to regulate offending newsracks. -more-
A suspected drug deal investigation Wednesday morning set off a chain of crashes in Berkeley, sending a woman to the hospital with minor injuries -more-
The Berkeley City Council recently sent out letters to President Barack Obama, Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressperson Barbara Lee recommending amnesty for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan war military resisters and veterans. -more-
University of California President Mark Yudof at a Board of Regents meeting last week outined a series of actions to address recent racist incidents on campus. -more-
A Berkeley woman was killed in a solo-motorcycle crash on Interstate Highway 80 in Richmond last Thursday night, according to the California Highway Patrol. -more-
Berkeley police arrested a Berkeley High School student in downtown Berkeley last Thursday in connection with a robbery. -more-
Southside Lofts residents were back Tuesday to make one last plea to the Berkeley City Council to deny a laundromat a permit to move into their building, or so they thought. -more-
Kyle was born July 4th 1993 in Berkeley California, son of Craig Strang and Sharleen Harty, stepson of Persis Karim and brother of Niko Karim-Strang. Kyle and his dear friend and neighbor Prentice Gray, Jr. died in an automobile accident on March 31, 2010. -more-
Some interesting links to relevant pieces appearing elsewhere: -more-
The great pitcher and philosopher Satchel Paige (may he rest in peace) used to say “Don’t look back—something might be gaining on you.” That’s advice I’ve always liked, but once in a while looking back can’t be avoided. Last Saturday Peter and Mary, old and dear friends from Ann Arbor in the 60s, who’ve been in central Pennsylvania even longer than we’ve been in Berkeley, unexpectedly came to town, and we met them at the Farmers Market for a lavish Berkeley breakfast of Blue Bottle coffee and crepes. -more-
The Planet has always needed a gossip column, and here's the perfect item to kick it off: -more-
Dean Metzger's March 23 commentary on the proposed Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance (BSO) provides a summary list of changes it would bring to Berkeley civics in the cause of "open government." Most of them sound indisputably attractive. But as usual the devil is in the details -- the degree and extent of the specific changes -- and what those details add up to for the way we want to manage our city. Almost all of us are for more-open government. But as my mother used to say, more of a good thing is not necessarily a better thing -- not if it goes too far. -more-
The big debate on Bus Rapid Transit in city council has finally begun. The games began in earnest on March 23 in Council chambers when Mr. Bates and possibly others delivered their first stomach blow to the public by scheduling the item in such a way as to guarantee it would not come up until about twenty minutes to midnight, after droves of people had waited four to six hours to speak and many had left. This was acknowledged by councilmember Kriss Worthington, who referred to it as profoundly "disrespectful" to the public, and moved that an entire council meeting be dedicated to this important subject. So, on April 20 at 8pm the public will get their hearing, and on April 27, the Council will vote on whether to submit the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in its current form to AC Transit for official study in the Environmental Impact Report. -more-
I find it humorous to read about the so-called Tea Party movement and their cry to return to core conservative values. Why the outcry now as they work to place more fiscally irresponsible Republicans back in office? -more-
For almost two years - nomination through fourteen months in office - Barack Obama has occupied center stage. Usually that would be time enough for every interested voter to see where he stands and decide what he’s likely to accomplish. This has not happened. Instead his position is hard to figure out which has no doubt caused his approval ratings to plummet. -more-
On December 30, 2009, my little boys landed on the planet with pre-existing conditions. They were born at twenty-five weeks of gestation — three months early. They have been in the hospital for the last eighty-two days, racking up a combined sub-total of two million dollars in hospital bills. And that’s just for the first forty-five days. -more-
You've heard of me but we've never met. I've been part of America's political landscape for around 60 years. You might call me one of the original Baby Boomers. Like other boomers, I'm at the age when I can expect to look forward to retirement and the enjoyment of my government pension. But I'm not your typical Boomer. -more-
As a mentally ill and yet hopefully a studious person, I have had some exposure to Carl Jung’s philosophy both through reading some of his books and talking with Jungian therapists. Some of his ideas are applicable to phenomena occurring in Obama’s presidency. -more-
In this short thought piece I repeat the phrase “food sovereignty“ a few times to see if it can replace “food security,” “food choice,” “slow food,” “gourmet food,” and “sustainable agriculture.” -more-
When Israeli Minister without Portfolio Yossi Peled said recently that a war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah was “just a matter of time” and that such a conflict would include Syria, most observers dismissed the comment as little more than posturing by a right-wing former general. But Peled’s threat has been backed by Israeli military maneuvers near the Lebanese border, violations of Lebanese airspace, and the deployment of an anti-missile system on Israel’s northern border. -more-
If there was every any doubt, the rowdy passage of the Healthcare Bill indicated we have begun the mid-term elections campaign. Building upon the momentum from their healthcare victory, Dems need to challenge Republicans with a series of bold initiatives to create jobs. -more-
There it was, on the March 22 TV news. Reportage of events associated with the Elmwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (2929 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley) once again brought nursing homes and caretakers, and thereby, elder abuse, into the news. Briefly. -more-
Joana Carneiro takes up the baton again tonight, Thursday, April 1, when the Berkeley Symphony performs a triple bill: Jorg Widmann's “Con brio”, in its West Coast premiere; Samuel Barber's Knoxville, “Summer of 1915”, sung by exquisite soprano Jessica Rivera, the Symphony's artist in residence; and Brahms' First Symphony. -more-
Orson Welles staged a voodoo Macbeth and a fascist Italian Caesar in the 1930s. Now, Shakespeare's plays are set in Victorian garb, the Wild west, outer space ... Marco Bellochio's TV movie of Chekhov's The Seagull seems to subtly shift locale to Italy, and Andre Gregory's modern dress show for Louis Malle's camera fulfills its title: Vanya on 42nd Street. -more-