Gina Sasso, Michael Delacour, Angelina,  Ann Fagan Ginger and others stage a small demonstration on Telegraph.
Ted Friedman
Gina Sasso, Michael Delacour, Angelina, Ann Fagan Ginger and others stage a small demonstration on Telegraph.

Extra

Keep an Eye on the Berkeley City Council Tonight

By Becky O'Malley
Tuesday February 15, 2011 - 10:54:00 AM

You can’t tell the players without a scorecard—and you can’t understand what the Berkeley City Council is doing without an agenda. Even with one it might be hard, but in any case, you can find it here -more-


Berkeley Officer Injured by Fleeing Suspect

By Bay City News
Tuesday February 15, 2011 - 10:49:00 AM

A Berkeley police officer was injured early Saturday morning when his patrol car was struck by a car driven by a man evading police officers. -more-


Press Release: Berkeley City Council to Vote Today to Resettle Cleared Guantánamo Detainees in Berkeley

From Cynthia Papermaster, Code Pink
Tuesday February 15, 2011 - 10:43:00 AM

Guantánamo detainees would be able to resettle in Berkeley, according to a resolution to be considered today by the Berkeley City Council. -more-


Press Release: Cast Album from Berkeley Rep's American Idiot Wins Grammy Award

From Terrence Keane, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Sunday February 13, 2011 - 10:45:00 PM

Tonight, at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, American Idiot – the raucous show that was born at Berkeley Repertory Theatre before bursting onto Broadway – won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Produced by Billie Joe Armstrong, the recording features Green Day and the original Broadway cast, who performed together on national television during last year’s Grammy ceremony. Reprise Records released the album on April 20, 2010, the same day the show began its Broadway run. The musical features music from Green Day’s most recent albums, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, both of which won Grammy Awards as well. -more-


Berkeley's Blake Wake Revives Memories
as Telegraph Braces for Another Closing;
Bona Fide Hippies Dance to Dixieland

By Ted Friedman
Saturday February 12, 2011 - 09:50:00 PM

Reporters and cameramen outnumbered dancing (historic) hippy celebrants as Larry Blakes on Telegraph Avenue was laid to rest Saturday. Cause of death may have been suicide. -more-


Flash: Berkeley Reacts to News from Egypt

By Saul Sugarman (BCN)
Friday February 11, 2011 - 09:27:00 AM

The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today was considered a favorable action by several Bay Area professors and residents who have been affected by recent events in the Middle East. -more-


Berkeley Council Continues West Berkeley Hearing, Advises KPFA Factions to Mediate Dispute

By Charlotte Perry-Houts
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 01:32:00 PM

The Berkeley City Council continued its public hearing on proposed amendments to the West Berkeley Plan this Tuesday, carried over from the January 25th meeting. Sixty speakers came to the podium to comment on the proposal, which is aimed at increasing the amount of economic activity in West Berkeley, especially research and development. It is focused on the reuse of existing buildings, the development of large multi-parcel sites, and start-up of new types of industrial activities. There is concern about the proposed 75-foot height limit for buildings and the preservation of the arts in the area. Council moved to carry over the public hearing once again to the regular meeting on February 22. -more-



Page One

Berkeley's Telegraph Ave. Saturday Demonstration:
It was Small, But It Re-writes Berkeley Street Politics

By Ted Friedman
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 10:57:00 AM

In a dueling megaphones cacophony last Saturday in Berkeley between Jesus freaks on Haste Street and Michael Delacour demonstrating outside Moe's Books, a new chapter in Berkeley street politics emerged. -more-



America’s Legacy of Mutagenic War (News Analysis)

Gar Smith, Environmentalists Against War
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 12:47:00 PM

A series of disturbing reports from Iraq and Vietnam (backed up by a horrific collection of videos) have exposed a hidden legacy of war — weapons that continue to create victims years after the conflict has ended. -more-



Landmarks Commission Approves Three Projects--
Debates Procedures for Landmarking McDuffie Estate

By Steven Finacom
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 10:24:00 AM
The landmark Mobilized Women of Berkeley building on the 1000 block of University Avenue was originally a community service structure built to a design influenced by Bernard Maybeck.

Berkeley’s Landmarks Commission held a lengthy—more than four hour long—meeting Thursday February 3 with an ultimately productive set of results. -more-



Features

Press Release: Attempted Strong Arm Robbery: 2700 Block of Bancroft Way

From the UC Berkeley Police Department
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:33:00 PM

On Sunday, February 6, 2011 at approximately 3:10 a.m. the two victims, a -more-


Boy Robbed by Teen with BB gun

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:36:00 PM

On Sunday, January 30, around 9:00pm, three 13 year old boys were playing on McKinley Avenue near Bancroft in the Washington school portable building area when some teens, described as African-American males between 15-18 years old, accosted them with a gun. One of the older boys held the gun to the head of one of the 13 year olds and demanded his things. He searched through the younger boy’s pockets and stole everything, including keys, wallet and other items. The thieves then ran off southbound on McKinley. -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 03:36:00 PM

Library Branch Van; Football Injuries; Wood Burning; Modern Art; Affordable Care; Control the Insurance Companies -more-


This Jew Supports the Struggle of the Egyptian Opposition to Mubarak

By Julia Ross
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 12:39:00 PM

The explosion at the end of January 2011 in Egypt is raising huge identity crises for Jews. And it should be. -more-


An Open Letter to the Berkeley City Council about West Berkeley

By Jesse Townley
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 03:09:00 PM

I lived for 10 years at 6th and Gilman, and have spent 21 years volunteering at 924 Gilman Street, the all ages volunteer run art space/music venue at 8th and Gilman.

My wife has worked at Berkeley East Bay Humane Society for years, and I have recorded at many West Berkeley recording studios, including Fantasy Studios. I was an enthusiastic patron of the original Berkeley home of The Crucible art & educational space, as well as many other current & former art spaces, screen-printing shops, and artisan workshops across West Berkeley. Uniquely Berkeley landmarks like Urban Ore, the skate park, Ashby Lumber, and the Sculpture Garden have added to the neighborhood's singular mix of industry, creativity and green businesses.

Two words- economic diversity- have been key to West Berkeley's successes. Unlike the rest of Berkeley, there is more than just residential and retail zoning available. -more-


Never Mention Tree Sit Trojan Horse again: A Grander Vision for the Heart of Parkness

By Wendy Schlesinger
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:01:00 PM

Let's be kind and say the unwanted tree sit was an unwitting Trojan horse that brought bad juju to People's Park temporarily. It started by muddled minds seeking publicity ostensibly to avoid harm to the park, but the violence and weapon and damage involved clearly brought much more harm to the Park's reputation than would have happened if they just let it be. -more-


Pharmacists Behind the Scenes

By Anna S. Jan, Student, UCSF School of Pharmacy
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:01:00 PM

“You’re going to have it so easy. Don’t you just sit around counting pills?” I cannot even come close to counting the number of times I have heard this comment. It’s a remark I hear often during a nice brunch out with friends or a casual dinner with the boyfriend’s family. I was so irritated at first. How could people not understand what I do for a living? I am simply offended to hear how little my loved ones think I am capable of. Was it not obvious? I then realized the answers to my own questions. The public really has a hard time seeing beyond the image of the pharmacist in the white coat, behind the counter at their local Walgreens or CVS. -more-


Protest to Resistance, and Rebellion to Revolution?

By R.G. Davis, Ph. D.
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 03:56:00 PM

To hear descriptions of yet another demonstration, especially in foreign Arab countries, why, who cares? Tunisia's 500,000 or Egypt’s million, all over the country if not in the main square, so what? What has that to do with anything in the U.S.? The U.S. had a million-man march organized by the Black Muslims and others. The U.S. had a million people on the streets protesting the Republican and Democratic Party's invasion Iraq. (Everyone voted for it except one other person. Or was that the Patriot act?) A million person protest on the street in the U.S.: so what? -more-


Editorial

Further Blips on The News Screen Portend...What?

By Becky O'Malley
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 01:35:00 PM

More milestones this week in the big ongoing quest for The Future of Journalism. Arianna Huffington leapt gleefully into bed with AOL.com, prompting a friend, a journalist with long experience who has been covering environmental issues from the Midwest for HuffPo’s Green Page, to write “Bummer, really, and somewhat disgusting that Huffington et al have made millions on the unpaid work of HuffPo bloggers....”

She has a point, and yet the discussion could be turned on its head:

Only some of these writers, the ones who are paid for work published elsewhere, are providing something of value for free. But the Huffington Post has been providing hundreds of otherwise unpublished writers with a platform at absolutely no charge to them. Just sayin’.

And there’s a third, often ignored, perspective, that of the readers, also known as the seekers after information. They don’t need to care who’s making and who’s losing money as long as the information (or entertainment) continues to flow in their direction. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

Check Out These Links

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 10:45:00 AM

Reader Victor Herbert suggests three new links, and we found more:

The Daily Cal looks into Berkeley's very slow start getting pot measures S & T into action.

Have we succeeded in keeping those Rapid Transit buses out of Berkeley? In the East Bay Express, J.Douglas Allen-Tayor thinks so.

Anna McCarthy tells where all those Berkeley bingo "non-profit" millions ended up. A sordid story, indeed, from the Express.

And here's a scary story from the El Cerrito Patch: Albany high school kids have ended up in the hospital after eating cannabis brownies—and the proposed new Albany pot super-store hasn't even opened yet.

From Nate Pitts::The man who brought down the tree sit is in Santa Rita awaiting trial for battery. Austin White, the accuser of the People's Park tree sitter Matt Dodt, was arrested in People's Park on Monday Jan 8th. He had threatened violence towards three people, and punched and punched a fourth man in the head, mere feet away from UC police. The entire case against Matt is based on the testimony of this violent individual, who claimed he was a peacekeeper. Austin White claimed he was almost murdered by Matt, a story which the judge did not believe. Dodt faces an assault charge, not attempted murder as White and the UC police had requested. Indymedia has an account. -more-


Columns

Wild Neighbors: Holes in the Lid

By Joe Eaton
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 12:21:00 PM
The Ceanothus silk moth has a brief adult life.

Last week I foolishly offered to try to identify a moth. There are only 4500 named moth species in California. Piece of cake, right? -more-


The Public Eye: Global Climate Change: Missing in Action

By Bob Burnett
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 11:17:00 AM

Despite the fact that 2010 tied for the warmest year on record, President Obama made no mention of Global Climate Change in his January 25th State-of-the-Union remarks. That wasn’t a surprise; last summer an attempt to fashion a bi partisan Climate Change bill floundered in the Senate and since then prospects for Congressional action have dwindled. Global Climate Change hasn’t gone away, but the political will to take action has disappeared. Why? What can you and I do about this tragic situation? -more-


Eclectic Rant: Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom

By Ralph E. Stone
Monday February 07, 2011 - 03:23:00 PM

Since 1976, Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in February. While it is a celebration, it should also be a remembrance of slavery, the dark side of Black history in this country. -more-


On Mental Illness: Incorrect Labeling

By Jack Bragen
Monday February 07, 2011 - 03:30:00 PM

A few years ago, I was offended when I was referred to as "a psychotic" on someone's website. The perpetrator was attempting to discredit me and my defense of the Berkeley Daily Planet. In the process of this attempt at mudslinging, the authors of this website showed their true bigotry and hypocrisy. -more-


Senior Power: PC Stands For Personal Computer

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Monday February 07, 2011 - 03:34:00 PM

PC also stands for personal and pleasant communication! Cognitively stimulating activity is among the lifestyle factors that may help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. And yet only 3% of persons age 74 and older use the Internet. Technology use among elderly Americans is low, relative to the rest of the population. -more-


Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins, BOUNCE

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 12:39:00 PM

Arts & Events

Book Review: Smoking Typewriters

By Bob Patterson
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:58:00 PM

Seeing a copy of Smoking Typewriters (by John McMillan Oxford University Press Copyright 2011) for sale over the weekend, inspired us to see if the Berkeley Public Library had that book available in its new releases section because we were curious about how far one would have to delve into it before encountering any reference to the Berkeley Barb. When we learned that the Library would be glad to take a suggestion that they acquire that particular work, we sped back to Moe’s Book Store on Telegraph Ave. and overcame the cheapskate aspect of our personality and bought a copy of the new book with the subtitle: “The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America.” -more-


Silent Film Festival Presents La Boheme, L'Argent, and Chaplin's Early Masterpieces

By Justin De Freitas
Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 01:22:00 PM
Charlie Chaplin in The Adventurer.

Even today, more than three decades after his death and nearly 100 years since he first stepped before a motion picture camera, Charlie Chaplin is still one of the most recognizable people in the world. The dandified Tramp, with his brush mustache, ill-fitting clothes, wicker cane and derby hat, is an iconic figure, but one whose familiarity has to some extent undermined his art. -more-


Arts Listings

Stage-San Francisco Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:59:00 PM

Readings-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:58:00 PM

Professional Dance-San Francisco Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:57:00 PM

Classical Music-San Francisco Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:36:00 PM

Classical Music-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:31:00 PM

Popmusic-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:56:00 PM

Events Listings

Tours And Activities-East Bay Through February 28

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:59:00 PM

Outdoors-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:55:00 PM

Museums-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:54:00 PM

Museums-San Francisco Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:52:00 PM

General-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:39:00 PM

Kids-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:39:00 PM

Exhibits-San Francisco Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:38:00 PM

Exhibits-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:37:00 PM

Dance-East Bay Through February 20

Wednesday February 09, 2011 - 02:37:00 PM

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Further Blips on The News Screen Portend...What? 02-09-2011

The Editor's Back Fence

Check Out These Links 02-09-2011

Cartoons

Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins, BOUNCE 02-09-2011

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 02-09-2011

This Jew Supports the Struggle of the Egyptian Opposition to Mubarak By Julia Ross 02-09-2011

An Open Letter to the Berkeley City Council about West Berkeley By Jesse Townley 02-09-2011

Never Mention Tree Sit Trojan Horse again: A Grander Vision for the Heart of Parkness By Wendy Schlesinger 02-09-2011

Pharmacists Behind the Scenes By Anna S. Jan, Student, UCSF School of Pharmacy 02-09-2011

Protest to Resistance, and Rebellion to Revolution? By R.G. Davis, Ph. D. 02-09-2011

News

Keep an Eye on the Berkeley City Council Tonight By Becky O'Malley 02-15-2011

Berkeley Officer Injured by Fleeing Suspect By Bay City News 02-15-2011

Press Release: Berkeley City Council to Vote Today to Resettle Cleared Guantánamo Detainees in Berkeley From Cynthia Papermaster, Code Pink 02-15-2011

Press Release: Cast Album from Berkeley Rep's American Idiot Wins Grammy Award From Terrence Keane, Berkeley Repertory Theatre 02-13-2011

Berkeley's Blake Wake Revives Memories
as Telegraph Braces for Another Closing;
Bona Fide Hippies Dance to Dixieland
By Ted Friedman 02-12-2011

Flash: Berkeley Reacts to News from Egypt By Saul Sugarman (BCN) 02-11-2011

Berkeley Council Continues West Berkeley Hearing, Advises KPFA Factions to Mediate Dispute By Charlotte Perry-Houts 02-09-2011

Berkeley's Telegraph Ave. Saturday Demonstration:
It was Small, But It Re-writes Berkeley Street Politics
By Ted Friedman 02-09-2011

America’s Legacy of Mutagenic War (News Analysis) Gar Smith, Environmentalists Against War 02-09-2011

Landmarks Commission Approves Three Projects--
Debates Procedures for Landmarking McDuffie Estate
By Steven Finacom 02-09-2011

Press Release: Attempted Strong Arm Robbery: 2700 Block of Bancroft Way From the UC Berkeley Police Department 02-09-2011

Boy Robbed by Teen with BB gun 02-09-2011

Columns

Wild Neighbors: Holes in the Lid By Joe Eaton 02-09-2011

The Public Eye: Global Climate Change: Missing in Action By Bob Burnett 02-09-2011

Eclectic Rant: Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom By Ralph E. Stone 02-07-2011

On Mental Illness: Incorrect Labeling By Jack Bragen 02-07-2011

Senior Power: PC Stands For Personal Computer By Helen Rippier Wheeler 02-07-2011

Arts & Events

Stage-San Francisco Through February 20 02-09-2011

Readings-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Professional Dance-San Francisco Through February 20 02-09-2011

Classical Music-San Francisco Through February 20 02-09-2011

Classical Music-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Popmusic-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Book Review: Smoking Typewriters By Bob Patterson 02-09-2011

Silent Film Festival Presents La Boheme, L'Argent, and Chaplin's Early Masterpieces By Justin De Freitas 02-09-2011

Tours And Activities-East Bay Through February 28 02-09-2011

Outdoors-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Museums-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Museums-San Francisco Through February 20 02-09-2011

General-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Kids-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Exhibits-San Francisco Through February 20 02-09-2011

Exhibits-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011

Dance-East Bay Through February 20 02-09-2011