Page One

Updated: Nobel Prize News Wakes Berkeley Professor

By Jeff Shuttleworth(BCN
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 04:52:00 PM

University of California at Berkeley professor Saul Perlmutter won the Nobel Prize in physics today by being part of a team of scientists who discovered that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating pace. -more-



Berkeley's Northbrae Neighborhood Called One of America's Great Places

Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 05:20:00 PM

The American Planning Association has designated Berkeley's Northbrae neighborhood, the home of Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, as one of "America's Great Places". From the APA website: -more-



Updated: Daniels to be Interim Berkeley City Manager

Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 04:30:00 PM

Rumors escaping from last night's special meeting of the Berkeley City Council,reported this morning, indicated that as widely expected Deputy City Manager Chris Daniel will become Berkeley's Interim City Manager when Phil Kamlarz retires at the end of November. This has now been confirmed in an email from Councilmember Jesse Arreguin forwarding a communication from the city clerk's office.

Councilmember Worthington, seconded by Councilmember Moore, moved to appoint Christine Daniel as Interim City Manager for a period of 6 months, subject to review at that time and to authorize the Mayor to negotiate salary.

The motion, which passed unanimously, was sponsored by Berkeley's two gay councilmembers, possibly because Daniels will be not only Berkeley's first woman city manager, but also the city's first Lesbian and first openly gay city manager. -more-



Press Release: UC Berkeley's Saul Perlmutter awarded 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics

From Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley Media Relations
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 08:23:00 AM
UC Berkeley and LBNL physicist Saul Perlmutter

Saul Perlmutter, who led one of two teams that simultaneously discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe, has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, to be shared with two members of the rival team.

Perlmutter, 52, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), led the Supernova Cosmology Project that, in 1998, discovered that galaxies are receding from one another faster now than they were billions of years ago. -more-



Public Comment

Pepper Spray Times

Grace Underpressure
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 10:27:00 AM

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available. -more-


Official Statement from Occupy Wall Street

Forwarded by Estelle Jelinek
Wednesday October 05, 2011 - 07:02:00 AM

Official Statement from Occupy Wall Street - -more-


Editorial

Using Feudal Succession to Keep Berkeley Twee

By Becky O'Malley
Thursday September 29, 2011 - 11:32:00 AM

It’s one of those tedious on-the-one-hand on-the-other-hand kind of things. Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz is retiring (with a pension uncomfortably close to $300k per year) and he’d like to put his thumb on the scale when the question of the successor to his powerful position is weighed by the Berkeley City Council. Is this good?

In theory, I’ve always been in favor of hiring from within an organization when at all possible. It saves the expense of conducting a national search for a replacement administrator, and the decision-makers (the city council, in this case) are likely to know the virtues and deficiencies of the candidate from first-hand experience.

But in this case, it seems like just another example of how governance of Berkeleyans is looking more and more like feudalism instead of like a democracy. No one in recent memory has succeeded to office, either elected or appointed, without an active link to his or her predecessor. Outsiders just don’t have a chance. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

UC Mines Our Brains for the Sake of Corporate Profit

Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 11:42:00 AM

Here's a particularly juicy post on Richard Brenneman's blog, pointing to a juicy story on another blog: -more-


Columns

My Commonplace Book (a diary of excerpts copied from printed books, with comments added by the reader.)

By Dorothy Bryant
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 09:22:00 AM

Separation

Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle.

Everything I do is stitched with its color.


—W. S. Merwin, b. 1927 -more-


Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins: The Happy Couple

Dan O'Neill
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 10:36:00 AM

Arts & Events

Eye From the Aisle: PHAEDRA at Shotgun Players—heart-rending, masterful drama

By John A. McMullen II
Tuesday October 04, 2011 - 09:42:00 AM
Patrick Alparone and Catherine Castellos

Taking a play that most literary folk know the myth of and turning it contemporary is a tricky undertaking. Adam Bock has masterfully accomplished this in his new play PHAEDRA produced by the Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage across from the Ashby BART. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Using Feudal Succession to Keep Berkeley Twee 09-29-2011

The Editor's Back Fence

UC Mines Our Brains for the Sake of Corporate Profit 10-04-2011

This is the Weekend Issue 10-01-2011

Bill Gutting CEQA Passed in Sacramento, Signed by Brown--
Skinner and Hancock Voted Yes
09-30-2011

Cartoons

Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins: The Happy Couple Dan O'Neill 10-04-2011

Cartoon Page: BOUNCE: Internet Gnomes By Joseph Young 09-28-2011

Cartoon Page: Bake-sale vs. Buffet By Gar Smith 09-28-2011

Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins: The Miracle Dan O'Neill 09-28-2011

Public Comment

Pepper Spray Times Grace Underpressure 10-04-2011

Official Statement from Occupy Wall Street Forwarded by Estelle Jelinek 10-05-2011

Who has the Right to Remove Benches At Bus Stops? A Bus Stop Bench Story By Lydia Gans 10-03-2011

Laura's Law Revisited: Response to Ralph Stone By Jack Bragen 10-01-2011

Tom Friedman Tries to Scapegoat Baby Boomers -- He Should Remember That We Helped Forge American Prosperity By Ruth Rosen 09-30-2011

Letters: Mental Illness Column; Pension of City Manager; What is the Peak Democracy Open Town Hall Costing Us? 09-29-2011

News

Updated: Nobel Prize News Wakes Berkeley Professor By Jeff Shuttleworth(BCN 10-04-2011

Berkeley's Northbrae Neighborhood Called One of America's Great Places 10-04-2011

Updated: Daniels to be Interim Berkeley City Manager 10-04-2011

Press Release: UC Berkeley's Saul Perlmutter awarded 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics From Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley Media Relations 10-04-2011

Press Release: Public Meetings Planned for AC Transit Redistricting Process From Clarence Johnson, AC Transit Media Affairs Manager 10-03-2011

Does Signing a Petition Give Parents a Voice in Schools? By David Bacon 10-03-2011

Dr. Toy's Best Toys By Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. 10-03-2011

Tree-Sit Resumes to Protect People's Park Trees as University Fells Nearby Tree, Threatens to Buzz-Saw Tree Hosting the Sit By Ted Friedman 09-29-2011

Bake Sale Generates Debate, Peaceful Protests By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 09-28-2011

Baked Goods and Arguments Retailed on Sproul Plaza By Steven Finacom 09-28-2011

Columns

My Commonplace Book (a diary of excerpts copied from printed books, with comments added by the reader.) By Dorothy Bryant 10-04-2011

On Mental Illness: The Expectation of Employment By Jack Bragen 10-03-2011

The Public Eye: There is No Political Middle Ground By Bob Burnett 09-30-2011

Senior Power… My Generation’s War By Helen Rippier Wheeler 09-30-2011

Eclectic Rant: Response to Jack Bragen By Ralph Stone 09-29-2011

My Commonplace Book (a diary of excerpts copied from printed books, with comments added by the reader.) By Dorothy Bryant 09-28-2011

Arts & Events

Eye From the Aisle: PHAEDRA at Shotgun Players—heart-rending, masterful drama By John A. McMullen II 10-04-2011

BAY AREA CHILDREN’S THEATRE brings MAGIC SCHOOL BUS to life at Freight and Salvage thru Oct 23 By John A. McMullen 10-02-2011

Don't Miss This in October By Dorothy Snodgrass 10-01-2011

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! Film review by Gar Smith 09-30-2011

Eye From the Aisle: Lucrezia Borgia at SF Opera—Star Vehicle for a Celestial Soprano By John A. McMullen II 09-29-2011

Opera Review: Gounod's Romeo et Juliette at Livermore Valley Opera By Ken Bullock 09-28-2011

Film Review: Raul Ruiz's Mysteries of Lisbon at Shattuck Cinemas By Ken Bullock 09-28-2011

Book Review: Heart of a Soldier Reviewed by Dorothy Snodgrass 09-28-2011