News


People's Park Chain Massacre Snapped
When Park Good Samaritan Intervenes

By Ted Friedman
Monday April 18, 2011 - 01:05:00 PM

A potential People's Park crime disaster—a man lashing out with a chain in a crowd—was snapped by a good Samaritan park camper late Thursday. -more-


Dick Whittington Plays Piedmont Piano on Monday

By Ken Bullock
Thursday April 14, 2011 - 03:28:00 PM

There's jazz cats ... And in Old London Town there was Dick Whittington and his cats ... Now Dick Whittington's coming back to the East Bay to put it all together at Piedmont Piano in Oakland Uptown. -more-


Students and Faculty Occupy a Building in Protest at California State University East Bay

by David Bacon
Thursday April 14, 2011 - 11:30:00 AM

HAYWARD, CA 4/13/11 -- Students and faculty at California State University, East Bay, marched to the administration building on the campus and then occupied the building in protest. Organized by Students for a Quality Education and the California Faculty Association, the civil disobedience protested budget cuts and fee increases for students, and cutbacks on staff and benefits, while administrators' salaries are increased. -more-


Updated: Planning Commission "Holds Nose" and Adopts Southside Plan

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday April 12, 2011 - 10:13:00 PM
Citizens line up to speak during the Southside Plan Public Hearing.  Most offered specific criticisms of the draft document.  The Planning Commission majority adopted a single one of the recommendations of the public hearing speakers.

Like a hungry restaurant customer deciding to gorge immediately on a stale and possibly rancid dish rather than waiting while it is sent back to the kitchen for improvement or replacement, Berkeley’s Planning Commission majority “held its nose”, complained profusely, then voted in favor of what several members called a flawed draft Southside Plan at its Wednesday, April 6, 2011 meeting. -more-


Berkeley's Animal Care (Humane) Commission to Discuss Shooting of Dog

Wednesday April 13, 2011 - 02:55:00 PM

The City of Berkeley Humane Commission/Animal Care Commission will meet Wed., April 19, at 7 pm at the North Berkeley Senior Center to discuss the shooting of a dog by the Berkeley Police on April 2. -more-


Spy-cam Spied at Berkeley's Cafe Med;
Hotbed of Radicalism Shocked, Shocked;
J.Edgar Hoover Finally Scores

By Ted Friedman
Wednesday April 13, 2011 - 11:57:00 AM
Craig Becker readies for leap of faith. Big Brother--tiny spy-cam--can be seen atop audio speaker.

What a concept. Berkeley's famous Cafe Mediterraneum on-line in videos filmed by the founder of the F.B.I., J. Edgar Hoover.

In a "revoltin development" the Med’s 50 year ban on tourist photography and ESPECIALLY an alphabet soup of spying agencies like F.B.I., C.I.A., C.B.S., N.B.C., O.N.I.--has sputtered. -more-


Local Connections Forgotten
150 Years after Civil War Began

By Steven Finacom
Tuesday April 12, 2011 - 10:22:00 PM
Today, Berkeley’s only identifiable Civil War monument is the Grand Army of the Republic redwood tree on the UC Berkeley campus.  It's the large tree in the center / rear of this photograph.

This seems to be a portentous week in history. The first man went into space 50 years ago as a special Google logo reminds us. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died April 12 in 1945. The Titanic rendezvoused with its fatal iceberg April 15, 1912. -more-


"Here We Are, And We’re Not Going Away” Berkeley’s Ed Roberts Campus Dedicated

By Steven Finacom
Wednesday April 13, 2011 - 12:21:00 PM

A throng of well-wishers turned out on a sunny Saturday, April 9, 2011 to formally dedicate the Ed Roberts Campus adjacent to the Ashby BART station in Berkeley. -more-


Press Release: Chevron Donates $100,000 for U.C. Scholarships

From Mindy Maschmeyer, Project Manager, Marketing & Communications, Cal Alumni Association
Wednesday April 13, 2011 - 11:13:00 AM

At Saturday’s 2011 Charter Gala event honoring United States Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu, the Cal Alumni Association of the University of California, Berkeley announced a partnership with Chevron to promote science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) education through a contribution of $100,000 to the association’s Achievement Award Program. -more-


Press Release: Berkeley North Branch Library Temporary Closure for Renovations and New Construction

From Alan Bern
Monday April 11, 2011 - 03:23:00 PM

Beginning Monday, April 25, 2011, the North Branch will be closed for approximately 12 to 16 months. -more-


Press Release: Sylvia McLaughlin to be Honored at Berkeley Meadow East Shore Dedication

From Isa Polt-Jones
Friday April 08, 2011 - 04:39:00 PM

The East Bay Regional Park District, in cooperation with California State Parks, will host an Earth Day dedication of the Berkeley Meadow at Eastshore State Park on Saturday, April 16 at 11:30 am. Sylvia McLaughlin, one of the leading community supporters of the park and meadow, will be the guest of honor. East Bay Regional Park District Board Member Whitney Dotson will emcee the event and elected officials including Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, and Mayor Tom Bates are scheduled to speak. Following the dedication, staff will lead an interpretive walk in the meadow. -more-


Jerry Brown Is Still Optimistic about Budget

By Janna Brancolini (BCN)
Tuesday April 12, 2011 - 08:47:00 PM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown expressed optimism today that he can garner Republican support for his plan to help balance the budget with tax extensions, despite months of failed attempts at reaching across the aisle. The $13.5 billion in revenue generated by the tax extensions would be coupled with more than $11 billion in spending cuts passed last month to close a $26 billion budget deficit. -more-


Press Release: Sanders Calls Budget Deal Robin Hood in Reverse

From the office of Senator Bernie Sanders
Tuesday April 12, 2011 - 05:23:00 PM

WASHINGTON, April 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today he will vote against a bill that cuts more than $38 billion from programs that help working families without calling for shared sacrifice by the wealthiest Americans.

Bush-era tax breaks for the very rich were extended and expanded last December – driving up the deficit. “Today, in order to reduce deficits that Republicans helped create, they now are slashing programs of enormous importance to working families, the elderly, the sick and children,” Sanders said. “At a time when the gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider, this budget is Robin Hood in reverse. It takes from struggling working families and gives to multi-millionaires. This is obscene.” -more-


Press Release: ACLU Says UC Davis May Have Spied on Student Protesters

From ACLU press office / Debra Reiger
Monday April 11, 2011 - 03:23:00 PM

DAVIS, Ca. – High-ranking University of California, Davis administrators – including several vice chancellors – and campus police may have conspired to monitor and control constitutionally-protected fee hike protests at the university, according to internal documents uncovered by students involved in the demonstrations. -more-


Press Release: Three New Scientific Studies Confirm Lead Poisoning of Wildlife Due to Hunting Ammunition;
Condors, Eagles, Vultures Exposed to Toxic Lead from Hunting

From Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity
Friday April 08, 2011 - 09:59:00 AM

Three new scientific studies by University of California researchers confirm that lead poisoning of endangered California condors and other wildlife is due to scavenging animals ingesting fragments of spent lead hunting ammunition. One study also demonstrated that the 2008 California ban on lead ammunition in condor habitat has been effective in removing lead from the environment, as evidenced by a significant reduction in lead exposure in golden eagles and turkey vultures soon after the new regulation took effect. -more-