News

Friday was the last day for candidates for Berkeley city offices to file the requisite paperwork to appear on the November ballot. -more-

A group of at least 37 caregivers at two Oakland nursing homes found out they had been replaced after a five-day union strike that ended this morning, a union spokesman said. -more-

California’s most pre-eminent sculptor of the late 19^th century was both a disabled Berkeley man and one of the first artists from the then-young state to earn international attention and acclaim. -more-

Members of the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) are asking for the community’s help in locating a developmentally disabled woman whose name is Heather Bloom. In June of 2009, Bloom’s mother, who lives in New York called BPD after she had not been able to contact her daughter and Heather’s adult caretaker since 2005. -more-

In memory of the 1945 U.S. led atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hundreds of bay citizens will gather at Aquatic Park in Berkeley Saturday night for the annual Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony. -more-

For the remainder of this week Canadian actor Rick Miller is in town reprising his one-man, many-character, comic farce “MacHomer” at the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. If you are a “Simpsons” fan it’s a do not miss production. -more-

Two couples, one of them from Berkeley, who challenged Proposition 8, California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage, joined their attorneys and other supporters in San Francisco today to voice their approval shortly after a federal judge overturned the initiative. -more-

Between meetings today,Councilman Kriss Worthington told the Planet about his reaction to today’s decision to overturn Proposition 8. -more-

A federal judge in San Francisco today overturned Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the voter-approved initiative violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal treatment and due process. But Walker also issued a temporary stay suspending the ruling until he has had time to consider a request by the supporters of Proposition 8 for a longer-term stay while they appeal his decision. -more-

As the chair of the National Black Justice Coalition and an openly gay City Councilmember in Berkeley, I am elated with the federal court’s decision to overturn Proposition 8. I hope - this ruling demonstrates that this is a matter of basic civil, and human, rights. While this truly is a victory for the LGBT community, I realize that the fight for same-sex marriage will continue and that there is still a long way to go to achieve equality in our society, but I will continue to strive for this goal. -more-

The Blake and Mabel Neighborhood Association (BAMNA) in West Berkeley was one of the 56 Berkeley neighborhood associations which took part in the 2010 National Night Out on August 3rd. -more-

The legal status of medical marijuana, and marijuana generally, is changing in these parts. Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland all have recently made or initiated significant changes in marijuana legislation. November’s state ballot includes Proposition 19, the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010”. Where do these changes lead? -more-

AC Transit is beginning to comply with a judge's ruling that the bus agency must honor its old contract with workers while the two sides engage in binding arbitration for a new contract, district officials said today. -more-

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


— The First Amendment to the US Constitution

In a democracy, how can there be such a thing as an “illegal assembly”? -more-

A judge issued a preliminary injunction today against AC Transit overturning a new contract that the bus agency imposed on its employees on July 18 after contract negotiations collapsed. -more-

A 19-year-old University of California at Berkeley student died in an airplane crash last week while she was traveling to a soccer tournament in her home country of Pakistan, a school spokeswoman said today. -more-

A shadow is hanging over America, the shadow of a wrecked economic system. Tens of millions of unemployed remain despondent about ever finding a job again, an entire young generation despairing of any hope for a good life, while corporate market pundits pontificate that our system creates the best of all societies, and no alternative is possible. A nationwide group gathering in Berkeley this coming weekend is putting the lie to the pundits. -more-