News

East Bay Activists in Flotilla Clash Coming Home to Bay Area

By Dan McMenamin, BCN
Friday June 04, 2010 - 01:28:00 PM

Two Oakland residents who were part of a flotilla that was raided by Israeli troops as it approached Gaza with a shipment of aid Monday are expected to arrive back in the Bay Area tonight. -more-


New: Injunction Issued Against Gang on Oakland-Berkeley Border

By Jeff Shuttleworth, BCN
Thursday June 03, 2010 - 10:38:00 PM

A judge has issued an injunction that makes it illegal for 15 named members of the North Side Oakland gang to associate within a 100-block area in Oakland. -more-


Updated: Man Charged With Attacking Berkeley Bicyclists in Strawberry Canyon

By Dan McMenamin, BCN and BDP
Thursday June 03, 2010 - 10:36:00 PM

A man suspected of attacking bicyclists with a handsaw in the hills above the University of California at Berkeley campus pleaded not guilty to assault and vandalism charges in Alameda County Superior Court today. -more-


Updated: Homicide in South Berkeley

By Dan McMenamin, BCN
Thursday June 03, 2010 - 10:28:00 PM

A 30-year-old man was fatally shot in Berkeley on Thursday evening, and police are seeking possible witnesses. -more-


Press Release: More Gaza Flotilla Detainees Released; Larudee Badly Beaten But Now Headed to Greece

From Henry Norr, Free Palestine Movement
Wednesday June 02, 2010 - 10:01:00 PM

Dr. Paul Larudee, a passenger on the Freedom Flotilla that was attacked by Israel before it could deliver its cargo of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, was badly beaten and tasered during the Memorial Day commando raid, but according to latest reports he was released from detention late Wednesday night and is now in flight to Greece. -more-


News Analysis: Measure C Supporters Dispel Myths; Leave Questions Hanging

By Thomas Lord
Wednesday June 02, 2010 - 08:51:00 PM
Assorted civic leaders pose for the camera at the press conference held by supporters of Measure C.

Supporters of Measure C, including elected officials, representatives of the Berkeley Pools Campaign, the One Warm Pool Campaign, and warm pool users, gathered at the warm pool on Tuesday to dispel myths they believe are harming Measure C’s chances of passing. Measure C is Berkeley’s only measure on the upcoming June 8thballot. Its purpose as stated on the ballot is “to replace the multiuse indoor Warm Pool, renovate Willard and West Campus pools, construct a multipurpose pool at King [and] levy a special tax,” to increase funding for pool operating costs. -more-


Press Release: Richmond Mayor condemns Israeli assault on humanitarian flotilla to Gaza

From the Office of the Mayor, Richmond
Wednesday June 02, 2010 - 05:01:00 PM

Two Richmond residents, Paul Larudee and Kathy Sheetz, were among the hundreds of unarmed civilians on the Freedom Flotilla that attempted to bring 10,000 tons of medical supplies and building materials to Gaza by sea, when their boats were forcefully seized three days ago by Israeli commandos in international waters. Varying reports have stated that between 9 and 18 flotilla participants were killed and dozens were injured by Israeli forces. The names and nationalities of those who were killed are still unknown. -more-


Report Says That El Cerrito Resident Was Beaten By Israelis

By Jane Stillwater (Partisan Position)
Tuesday June 01, 2010 - 03:47:00 PM

San Francisco Bay Area resident Paul Larudee, who is instrumental in Berkeley's Free Palestine Movement, was taken and detained by Israeli commando forces on Monday. Official Israeli sources are stating that their peaceful boarding parties were met with violent resistance by passengers on the ships they were boarding and that the boarding parties only used force when necessary to protect themselves. -more-


East Bay Citizens Condemn Israel Attack on Gaza Aid Flotilla

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday June 01, 2010 - 02:17:00 PM

A group of East Bay citizens have joined the growing international protest against the Israeli Navy’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, sending out e-mails condemning the action and planning protests scheduled to start as early as 4 p.m. today. -more-


Mayan Refugee Given Two More Weeks Before Deportation

By Janna Brancolini (BCN)
Friday May 28, 2010 - 09:34:00 AM

Immigration officials have declined to reopen the case of a 22-year-old Mayan refugee who is scheduled to be deported in two weeks based upon what his Bay Area lawyers call a miscommunication from 2002. Mario Mendoza's lawyers say he deserves to be granted political asylum in the U.S. because he crossed the border as a young teen and could be attacked if he returns to Guatemala.East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a Berkeley-based group, has been helping Mendoza with his case. -more-


Endangered Species Act: Noah’s Ark or Titanic? (News Analysis)

Craig Collins, Ph.D.
Tuesday June 01, 2010 - 11:49:00 AM

The Endangered Species Act is the equivalent of a tiny bandage on a gaping wound. Congress passed the ESA in 1973 under intense public pressure to save a growing number of species from extinction. Groups like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund fostered sympathy for the plight of cute or charismatic creatures like pandas and blue whales to raise awareness about the extinction crisis. These campaigns were so effective that the media still portrays the struggle to preserve biodiversity as an altruistic endeavor pressed upon society by tree-hugger environmentalists seeking to rescue creatures on the verge of extinction. -more-


Press Release: PRESS CONFERENCE, TUESDAY, JUNE 1, Berkeley Warm Pool

From Robert Collier
Tuesday June 01, 2010 - 12:28:00 PM

What: Condemning the Big Lies against Measure C: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates,former Mayor Shirley Dean, and other City Council and School Board members will hold a press conference denouncing the Karl Rove-style disinformation tactics of the opponents of Measure C in Berkeley's June 8 election. -more-


Press Release: Jewish Voice for Peace urges Jewish leaders to denounce Israel's increasing violations of human rights and dignity.

From Jewish Voice for Peace
Friday May 28, 2010 - 10:59:00 AM

In just 24 hours, over 3,000 sign open letter to Abe Foxman, David Harris and Marvin Hier -more-


Judge Says He Will Issue Injunction Against Gang

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Thursday May 27, 2010 - 08:58:00 PM

The city of Oakland won a legal victory today when a judge said he will grant its bid for a preliminary injunction against a gang that it alleges is notorious for violence. -more-


Press Release: Berkeley Hillside Preservation Group Files Suit to Require Environmental Study of 10,000 Square Foot Structure

From Attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley
Friday May 28, 2010 - 02:04:00 PM

Newly-formed unincorporated association Berkeley Hillside Preservation filed suit today in the Alameda Superior Court against the City of Berkeley, because it exempted its recent approval of a 10,000 square foot residence and 10-car garage at 2707 Rose Street from mandated environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). -more-


Press Release: Orange County Superior Court Rules that County Mapping Database is Exempt from the California Public Records Act

From Dean Wallraff, Vice Chair of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter's Legal Committee
Thursday May 27, 2010 - 09:45:00 AM

Santa Ana, CA - May 21, 2010 - An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled today that mapping data maintained by Orange County is exempt from the California Public Records Act (PRA). The PRA says that state and local agencies must provide copies of public records in their possession to members of the public requesting them, and they must not charge more than the direct cost of making the copy. Ruling on a suit brought against Orange County by the Sierra Club, Judge James J. DiCesare held that mapping database maintained by the County, which details the location and boundaries of land parcels within the county, is a "computer mapping system" and exempted under the software exemption of the PRA. The PRA law provides that software is not a public record, and the Court decided that parcel mapping data stored in a GIS database is included in that exemption. -more-


Harry Dov Weininger
September 28, 1933 – May 31, 2010

Sunday June 06, 2010 - 10:38:00 PM

SeeJune 8 issue. -more-