The Week

UC Berkeley students camped on a lawn near California Hall to take part in a hunger strike protesting Arizona's new anti-immigrant law.
UC Berkeley students camped on a lawn near California Hall to take part in a hunger strike protesting Arizona's new anti-immigrant law.
 

News

New: UC Workers Join Student Hunger Strike

From AFSCME 3299 Press Release
Thursday May 06, 2010 - 12:58:00 PM

Saying the University of California's sharply misguided priorities call for unprecedented and unified action, two University of California employees represented by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 have joined students in a hunger strike at the UC Berkeley campus. Today's action comes after workers last week called on prominent graduation speakers at UC campuses statewide to refuse to deliver their commencement addresses unless workers' demands are met (see list of demands below). -more-


New: UC Berkeley hunger strike negotiations break down when administration tries to split students and workers

From the organizers' press release
Thursday May 06, 2010 - 10:31:00 AM

On Wednesday evening, it appeared a resolution was within reach to end the three-day hunger strike by students, workers and other members of the UC Berkeley community. The strike began Monday with demands of denouncing racist legislation in Arizona, creating a sanctuary campus and ending retaliation against student and worker activists (see next page for complete demands). As five negotiators were entering California Hall; Tanya Smith, the lone UC employee on the team, was denied entry into the building. “The police blocked the door and indicated that no union members would be allowed to enter,” said Smith; who also is the campus President of U.P.T.E., a UC union. “Then Isaac Castro, a fellow negotiator, came to join me outside and the police lost control”. -more-


New: Jury Starts Deliberations in UC Berkeley Student Murder Case

By Bay City News
Wednesday May 05, 2010 - 05:19:00 PM

An Alameda County Superior Court jury today began deliberating the fate of a man charged with murder for the stabbing death of University of California at Berkeley senior Christopher Wootton near campus two years ago. -more-


New: Oakland: Council Votes to Boycott Arizona over Immigration Law

By Bay City News
Wednesday May 05, 2010 - 05:17:00 PM

The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday night to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based businesses to protest the state's tough new immigration law -more-


New: Berkeley Today: Wednesday

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday May 05, 2010 - 05:06:00 PM

In the news today: Berkeley City Council postpones new marijuana regulations, tables fine proposal for large daycares, approves a proposal for amendments to Telegraph late night zoning; hunger strike at UC Berkeley against Arizona immigration bill strengthens;Berkeley Rep plays get Tony nominations and Berkeley police ask for help on missing teen. -more-


Berkeley City Council Rejects "Full Build" BRT for EIR, Endorses "Reduced Impact"

By Joyce Roy (Partisan Position)
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 01:08:00 PM

Last Thursday night the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the “Reduced Impact Alternative” BRT that is similar to “Rapid Bus Plus” as the “Locally Preferred Alternative.” It rejected the “Build Alternative” which would have removed traffic lanes and placed boarding stations in the middle of the street even though AC Transit sent a letter saying, more or less, that it was obliged to choose that alternative. This meeting with Bus Rapid Transit the only agenda item ended after 11:00 pm. Sixty-six members of the public were against the “Build Alternative,” twenty-three in favor and five asked all alternatives to be studied. Here are the alternatives. -more-


Rabbi's Berkeley Hills Home Vandalized

From a Tikkun Magazine Press Release
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 12:56:00 PM

[Editor's Note: This information was received as a press release at 3 on Monday afternoon. Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Jamie Perkins confirmed that the crime at Rabbi Michael Lerner's home in the 900 block of Cragmont was reported at 11:40 on Monday, and she said Monday at about 6 p.m. that police had no suspects as yet.]

Berkeley police today confirmed that the attack on Rabbi Lerner's home late Sunday May 2nd or early morning Monday May 3rd was in fact a crime and was being investigated. The attackers used a powerful form of glue to attach posters to his door and around the property of his home attacking Lerner personally, and attacking liberals and progressives as being supporters of terrorism and "Islamo-fascism." -more-


Berkeley News Roundup

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 12:53:00 PM

In the news since the last issue: Zoning changes for Panoramic Hill and Telegraph, fines for daycare centers proposed, new marijuana regulations, 155-unit apartment complex for South Shattuck, credit card fraud, a music club in financial trouble, students begin hunger strike to protest immigration law. -more-


Arizona’s Immigration Law Spurs Copycat Legislation

By Marcelo Ballvé, New America Media
Monday May 03, 2010 - 07:19:00 PM

Arizona’s new get-tough immigration law has emboldened other state capitols to follow suit. -more-


New: Ex-Letter Carrier Tries to Run Down Postal Supervisor in Albany

By Bay City News
Wednesday May 05, 2010 - 10:20:00 PM

A former letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service has been accused of trying to kill his former supervisor by ramming the victim with a car over the weekend. -more-


UC Berkeley Students in Second Day of Hunger Strike

By Bay City News
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:44:00 PM

A group of about 25 University of California at Berkeley students entered the second day of a hunger strike today asking the university to publicly oppose Arizona's new immigration law. -more-


Family Mourns Son Murdered a Year Ago Today--Crime is Still Unsolved

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 06:54:00 PM

A year ago today, on the night of May 4, 2009 at about 11:30, neighbors reported hearing gunfire in the 1300 block of 67th Street. Berkeley police officers found Maurice Robertson, 18, of Berkeley, dead from gunshot wounds in the backyard of a home there. -more-


Berkeley High Community Members Weigh in on Principal Selection Process

By Raymond Barglow www.berkeleytutors.net
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 07:15:00 PM

About 25 parents and other community members met at the Berkeley High School Library last Tuesday evening to present to the district board their ideas about what they are looking for in a high school principal. -more-


Closing Arguments in UC Berkeley Stabbing Trial

By Bay City News
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 12:44:00 PM

A defense attorney told jurors today that "it's been a long and demanding ride" for a man charged with murder for the stabbing death of University of California at Berkeley senior Christopher Wootton near campus two years ago today. -more-


New: Berkeley Today: Monday

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Monday May 03, 2010 - 05:18:00 PM

In the news today: Zoning changes for Panoramic Hill and Telegraph, fines for daycare centers proposed, new marijuana regulations, 155-unit apartment complex for South Shattuck, credit card fraud and a music club in financial trouble. -more-


Flash: Rabbi Lerner's Home in the Berkeley Hills Attacked by Right-Wing Zionists

From a Tikkun Magazine press release.
Monday May 03, 2010 - 04:40:00 PM

[Editor's Note: This was received as a press release at 3 on Monday afternoon. A more complete article will follow. Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Jamie Perkins confirmed that the crime at Rabbi Lerner's home in the 900 block of Cragmont was reported at 11:40 today, Monday, and she said at about 6 p.m. that there were no suspects as yet.]

Berkeley police today confirmed that the attack on Rabbi Lerner's home late Sunday May 2nd or early morning Monday May 3rd was in fact a crime and was being investigated. -more-


New: Partisan Position:What the Berkeley City Council's Rejection of "Full Build" Will Mean

By Joyce Roy
Friday April 30, 2010 - 03:04:00 PM

Last night the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the “Reduced Impact Alternative” BRT that is similar to “Rapid Bus Plus” as the “Locally Preferred Alternative.” It rejected the “Build Alternative” which would have removed traffic lanes and placed boarding stations in the middle of the street even though AC Transit sent a letter saying, more or less, that it was obliged to choose that alternative. This meeting with Bus Rapid Transit the only agenda item ended after 11:00 pm. Sixty-six members of the public were against the “Build Alternative,” twenty-three in favor and five asked all alternatives to be studied. Here are the alternatives. -more-


New: Berkeley Today: Friday

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday April 30, 2010 - 03:21:00 PM

In the news today: -more-


NEWS ANALYSIS: Walking or Driving While Brown-- Arizona’s New Immigration Law

by Ralph E. Stone
Friday April 30, 2010 - 08:51:00 AM

"Driving while Black." "Walking while Black." These are phrases in the contemporary vernacular for racial profiling, which is defined as the inclusion of racial or ethnic characteristics in determining whether a person is considered likely to commit a particular type of crime or an illegal act or to behave in a "predictable" manner. Arizona's new immigration law will now target those "walking or driving while Brown." -more-


Court Rejects Chevron Appeal of EIR Requirements

By Bay City News
Friday April 30, 2010 - 07:57:00 AM

A state appeals court in San Francisco on Monday upheld a lower court decision that the environmental report for Chevron's Richmond refinery expansion project is inadequate under state environmental laws. -more-


Berkeley News Roundup

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday April 30, 2010 - 07:50:00 AM

In the news since the last issue: -more-


Berkeley Council Rejects "Full Build" BRT, Votes for Hybrid Solutions

By Becky O'Malley
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 11:40:00 PM

In a late night vote on Thursday, the Berkeley City Council voted to support hybrid alternatives to AC Transit's Bus Rapid Transit proposal which eliminate dedicated bus lanes and bus boarding stations in the center of the street. According to AC Transit spokesperson Cory LaVigne this plan can’t be considered as part of the environmental impact study currently underway, making it effectively a "no build" alternative at this point. -more-


Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Repair

Maile Urbancic
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 08:02:00 PM
Ellie, 5, fixes a vacuum cleaner.

The usual catch-phrase for environmental responsibility is "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." However, on Earth Day, in a small computer lab in University Village, Albany, a local group added "Repair" to the list. Toolbox open, my daughter grinned as she unscrewed the base of our long-broken vacuum cleaner. In a corner, two of my friends leaned over the disassembled guts of a malfunctioning laptop. Broken cameras, microwaves, and electronics filled the tables near their hopeful owners as tools were passed around and volunteers guided each project and offered advice. -more-


New: Berkeley Today: Monday

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Monday May 03, 2010 - 05:18:00 PM

In the news today: -more-


Opinion

Editorials

A Hate Crime with a Religious Motive

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 12:21:00 PM

The email from the Tikkun organization which the Planet received yesterday with the news that vandals had pasted up threatening messages at the home of founder Rabbi Michael Lerner said this: “The police say that this is not a "hate crime" because the attackers were not attacking Rabbi Lerner for his religion, but for his politics.” With all due respect, the police have it exactly backwards. It’s his religion, not just his politics, that infuriates the crazies. -more-


What's the News Today? Or, Skipping EIR on 2707 Rose Might Cause Berkeley Council Future Problems

By Becky O'Malley
Friday April 30, 2010 - 07:58:00 AM

The question of how to provide a sustainable information source for a small city in a metropolitan area is ongoing around here. It’s a subset of what now constitutes news, since even on a national level the main “news” outlets are increasingly aggregators (an insider word meaning collectors) of news stories created in other media. The ratio of “new news” to repeats on sites like the Huffington Post is small. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

New: BP's in Berkeley Too

Wednesday May 05, 2010 - 05:37:00 PM

Anyone who's worried about BP's seeming lock on a lot of space and people here in Berkeley had better read this :"...from my investigation, BP has figured out a very low-cost way to prepare for this task: BP lies. BP prevaricates, BP fabricates and BP obfuscates. That's because responding to a spill may be easy and simple, but not at all cheap. And BP is cheap. Deadly cheap." -more-


Cartoons

Odd Bodkins -- The Miracle

By Dan O'Neill
Monday May 03, 2010 - 11:25:00 PM

Pepper Spray Times

By Carol Denney
Friday April 30, 2010 - 12:22:00 AM

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Monday May 03, 2010 - 10:42:00 PM

Against BRT: Streets are for People, Not Buses

By Peter Smith
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 08:44:00 AM

Proponents of bus rapid transit (BRT) have often engaged in a form of propaganda known as 'Lying by omission'--omitting important facts to deliberately leave someone with a misconception. It is common in our history textbooks, and on Fox News. -more-


First Person: The Metamorphosis and Evisceration of Islamic Progressivism

By Rizwan Rahmani
Monday May 03, 2010 - 10:39:00 PM

While I was brought up in a very traditional Muslim environment during my early childhood years, my views on religion have changed drastically. Now I am more of an agnostic who is verging on atheism. I don’t believe there are going to be multitude of Hoors (indescribably gorgeous women of paradise) in the offing for me after I die and go to heaven eventually – I am sure I have to endure some fire and brimstone! Having been brought up traditionally, I do have a unique perspective of looking from inside out without really being an insider. -more-


The Dementia of Petroleum Addiction?

By Craig Collins, Ph.D.
Monday May 03, 2010 - 09:42:00 PM

Petroleum executives assure us that their giant tankers and offshore oil rigs pose no danger to the environment; coal company CEOs insist that their mines are safe and that blasting away mountaintops is ecologically benign; natural gas companies insist that “fracking” deep underground geological formations will not contaminate fresh water aquifers; and nuclear power promoters tell us not to worry about core meltdowns or the disposal of millions of tons of highly radioactive waste.

Do we have S-T-U-P-I-D written on our foreheads? Or do we just choose to swallow these lies because, like addicts everywhere, we need these pushers to provide us with our daily energy fix? -more-


Signs of Our Time

By Steve Martinot
Monday May 03, 2010 - 09:36:00 PM

On Mayday, I participated in the march and rally in SF for immigrant rights. I do this because I think that people should come before profits, human rights before property rights, and if those principles held true, we wouldn't need borders in the first place. -more-


The Berkeley Divestment Campaign and the Problem of Antisemitism

By Ronald Hendel
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 02:28:00 PM

In the wake of the emotional debate about the divestment bill in the Berkeley Student Senate (titled, “A Bill In Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes”[1]), a number of antisemitic incidents have occurred on campus. Most notably, last week there were two instances of large swastikas drawn on the walls of student dorms. We don’t know if the perpetrators were mischief-makers or sociopaths. During the official public discussion of the bill, some participants uttered offensive speech. One woman accosted a yarmulke-clad man and said, “You really look like a Nazi.” Later that evening a male student shouted to a group of Jewish students, “You killed Jesus.” On the one hand, the perpetrators of these and other recent antisemitic gestures are exceptions to the normal standard of behavior at Berkeley, which generally prizes tolerance of ethnic, racial, and religious minorities. On the other hand, tolerance for the rights of others has taken a beating during this emotion-laden debate. -more-


Letters to the Editor

Thursday April 29, 2010 - 08:09:00 PM

04-30-10 Letters to The Editor -more-


Students Respond to Governor’s Pledges to Higher Education

By University of California Student Association
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 07:23:00 PM

Everyone's celebrating the Governor's "pledge" to save the Cal Grant... everyone except for students, that is. The pledge to save the Cal grant doesn't save anything at all. In fact, it hurts low income students and their families. -more-


Columns

SENIOR POWER:"Age Strong! Live Long!"

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 07:12:00 PM

May is Older Americans Month. Older than what?, I ask and receive a dull look. 55? 60? 65? It all depends… -more-


Nice Day in Berkeley Draws a Thousand Tourers to BAHA, Natives Events

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 07:10:00 PM
Historian Betty Marvin, in the persona of Julia Morgan, visited the houses on the BAHA Tour answering questions about her work.  Here she discusses the 1905 Kofoid House, with copies of her architectural drawings on hand.

Hundreds of Berkeleyans and visitors to town turned out in picture-perfect spring weather on Sunday, May 2, 2010 to attend two tours. -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE: The Jobs Problem

By Bob Burnett
Friday April 30, 2010 - 08:09:00 AM

The latest polls indicate that if the mid-term elections were held today, Democrats would lose seats in Congress because of dissatisfaction about the economy, particularly high rates of unemployment. Over the next six months, what should the Obama Administration do to solve the jobs problem? -more-


Dispatches From the Edge:Mexico: Tales of Chrysler & Cocaine

By Conn Hallinan
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 07:55:00 PM

So what does being stranded in the middle of the high Mexican desert have to do with Chrysler and cocaine? Well, it was a Chrysler that got Anne and me into the mess—a model aptly named Attitude (“all attitude,” as one of my kids would say). But there was no cocaine or other assorted drugs in the tiny town of Bondojito Huichapan Hidalgo, just a hardware store, a minuscule tienda, and, of course, a church. -more-


SENIOR POWER: Meet some not-young members of the community.

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 11:34:00 PM

Part 2: “…go with the flow.” -more-


WILD NEIGHBORS: The Koa’e ‘Ula Hula

By Joe Eaton
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 02:40:00 PM
Pair of  wedge-tailed  shearwaters at nest  site.

Kaua’i is an extraordinary place to see seabirds. Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge on the North Shore hosts nesting Laysan albatrosses, red-footed boobies, and wedge-tailed shearwaters. The boobies occupy a wooded slope above the ocean; we watched them bringing in twigs as nesting material. The albatrosses, mostly unpaired adolescents and supersized chicks, use a nearby hill. Almost literally underfoot, the shearwaters had excavated burrows right at the edge of a paved path. Great frigatebirds, long-winged piratical creatures, nest elsewhere but come to Kilauea to steal fish from the hapless boobies. -more-


Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour this Sunday

By Steven Finacom
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 02:47:00 PM

Spring showers will give way to local, native, wildflowers this weekend as a number of local homeowners invite the public into their gardens. -more-


Arts & Events

CLASSICAL MUSIC-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:05:00 AM

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE -more-


POPMUSIC-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:24:00 AM

CLASSICAL MUSIC-SAN FRANCISCO THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:14:00 AM

CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH -more-


PROFESSIONAL DANCE-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 10:56:00 AM

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST BAY (HAYWARD CAMPUS) -- -more-


READINGS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 10:55:00 AM

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -more-


STAGE-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 10:53:00 AM

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY -more-


GALLERIES-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:18:00 AM

AMES GALLERY -more-


EXHIBITS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:16:00 AM

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, CENTRAL BRANCH -more-


DANCE-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:15:00 AM

ELKS LODGE, ALAMEDA -more-


STAGE-SAN FRANCISCO THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 10:28:00 AM

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER -more-


A Reader Recommends: Jerusalem, the East Side Story

By Annette Herskovits
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 12:41:00 PM

“Jerusalem: the East Side Story” -more-


A Reader Recommends: La Fiesta

By Dorothy Snodgrass
Monday May 03, 2010 - 09:40:00 PM

"South of the Border, down Mexico Way" might well be the theme song of one of Berkeley's favorite restaurants, "La Fiesta." Entering through the handsome gates of this marvelous Mexican restaurant, one indeed feels transported to old Mexico. With its Spanish revival furniture and Diego Rivera reproductions lining the walls, dining at La Fiesta is a joy, -more-


Nice Day in Berkeley Draws a Thousand Tourers to BAHA, Natives Events

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 07:10:00 PM
Historian Betty Marvin, in the persona of Julia Morgan, visited the houses on the BAHA Tour answering questions about her work.  Here she discusses the 1905 Kofoid House, with copies of her architectural drawings on hand.

Hundreds of Berkeleyans and visitors to town turned out in picture-perfect spring weather on Sunday, May 2, 2010 to attend two tours. -more-


OUTDOORS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:24:00 AM

OUTDOORS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16 -more-


MUSEUMS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:22:00 AM

GENERAL-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:19:00 AM

KIDS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:21:00 AM

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-


HIGHLIGHTS-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:20:00 AM

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -more-


GENERAL-SAN FRANCISCO THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:19:00 AM

CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY -more-


MUSEUMS-SAN FRANCISCO THROUGH MAY 16

Tuesday May 04, 2010 - 11:23:00 AM

ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Asian Art Museum-Chon-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture recently unveiled its new building in San Francisco's Civic Center. The building, the former San Francisco Public Library, has been completely retrofitted and rebuilt to house San Francisco's significant collection of Asian treasures. The museum offers complimentary audio tours of the museum's collection galleries. -more-


GENERAL-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 9

Friday April 30, 2010 - 11:22:00 AM

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -- Kathi Goldmark and Sam Barry, May 8, 7 p.m. The authors talk about "Write That Book Already! The Tough Love You Need to Get Published Now.'' -more-


STAGE-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 9

Friday April 30, 2010 - 11:19:00 AM

AURORA THEATRE COMPANY -- CLOSING -- "John Gabriel Borkman," by David Eldridge, through May 9, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. After serving eight years in prison for embezzlement, Borkman plans a comeback. $15-$55. -more-


CLASSICAL MUSIC-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 9

Friday April 30, 2010 - 11:01:00 AM

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE -- -more-


SEAGULL SOARS AT SHOTGUN –See it by Sunday!

by John A. McMullen II
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 10:54:00 PM
Trish Mulholland.

A century ago, theatre changed. The first “modern” play was The Seagull by Anton Chekhov. The usual theater fare then was melodrama which was considered to be high art. The Seagull was people just talking, expressing their innermost longings, mired in incontrovertible conflicts of the heart, and locked in a “union of opposites.” When it opened in St. Petersburg, the audience response was hostile. The actress playing Nina was so frightened that she lost her voice mid-performance, and Chekhov hid backstage after the first act. But fellow playwright and producer Nemirovich-Danchenko saw the play’s potential and three years later in 1898 convinced C. Stanislavski to direct it for their Moscow Art Theatre. The rest is history. The MAT brought its work to NYC in the ‘20’s, the crowd gasped when actors just behaved and engaged in such startling and ground-breaking staging as turning their back on the audience while conversing. It overwhelmed the audience with a naturalism that set a new tone and mode which would be the forefather of film acting. The crest of the Moscow Art Theatre still bears a seagull. -more-


Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt

Reviewed by Dorothy Bryant
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 02:27:00 PM

Tony Judt is a distinguished scholar, historian, writer, and academic, born in England and based mostly in America. Of his thirteen earlier books, I have read only one. Presently, I am working my way through his 2005 masterpiece Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945. I am more familiar with his highly informed and probing reviews and essays in the New York Review of Books. One of those NYReview essays (December 17, 2009) grew into this book. -more-


WILD NEIGHBORS: The Koa’e ‘Ula Hula

By Joe Eaton
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 02:40:00 PM
Pair of  wedge-tailed  shearwaters at nest  site.

Kaua’i is an extraordinary place to see seabirds. Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge on the North Shore hosts nesting Laysan albatrosses, red-footed boobies, and wedge-tailed shearwaters. The boobies occupy a wooded slope above the ocean; we watched them bringing in twigs as nesting material. The albatrosses, mostly unpaired adolescents and supersized chicks, use a nearby hill. Almost literally underfoot, the shearwaters had excavated burrows right at the edge of a paved path. Great frigatebirds, long-winged piratical creatures, nest elsewhere but come to Kilauea to steal fish from the hapless boobies. -more-


Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour this Sunday

By Steven Finacom
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 02:47:00 PM

Spring showers will give way to local, native, wildflowers this weekend as a number of local homeowners invite the public into their gardens. -more-


TOURS AND ACTIVITIES-EAST BAY THROUGH MAY 31

Friday April 30, 2010 - 11:28:00 AM

BAY AREA RAIL TRAILS -- A network of trails converted from unused railway corridors and developed by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. -more-


The Berkeley Arts Festival Opens with Sarah Cahill and the Dazzling Divas

By Bonnie Hughes
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 08:22:00 PM
Left to right: Kathleen Moss, Eliza O'Malley, Pamela Connelly

Highly acclaimed pianist Sarah Cahill will inaugurate the Berkeley Arts Festival at 8 pm on Saturday, May 1, performing a program of exciting piano music, including of Annie Gosfield's Five Characters Walk Into a Bar (2010), Eve Beglarian's Night Psalm (2009), Terry Riley's Fandango on the Heaven Ladder (1994), Balinese Ceremonial Music arranged by Colin McPhee/Evan Ziporyn (2007), Tania Leon's Mistica (2003), selections from Larry Polansky's B'midbar (2009), Guy Klucevsek's Don't Let the Boogie Man Get You (2005), and selections from Mamoru Fujieda's Begonia in My Life (2009). -more-


Wine and Chocolate at Community Garden on Saturday

By Steven Finacom
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 07:56:00 PM

Any old messiah can turn water into wine. But wine into water? That takes a community effort. -more-


Adobe building event Sunday, May 2

By Steven Finacom
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 07:37:00 PM

If you want to get dirt under your fingernails in a productive cause, there’s an opportunity this weekend. -more-


Theater Around and About

By Ken Bullock
Thursday April 29, 2010 - 03:00:00 PM

With previews starting Friday, April 30 at 8, at the Berkeley City Club: TERRORISTKA, a new play by Rebecca Bella, directed by Jessica Holt for Threshold Theatre (which began in a Berkeley directors workshop), based on a true story Bella heard while a Fulbright Fellow in Russia, of a young Chechen woman, recruited to be a suicide bomber, journeying to Moscow, told in verse and song. With sound design by Greg Scharpen and costumes by Tammy Berlin, both of Central Works. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p. m.; Sundays at 5 2315 Durant Ave. $12-$29. (415) 891-7235; thethresholdproject.blogspot.com -more-