Ted Friedman

Newly appointed treasurer for Occupy Berkeley will secure donations-in-a-jar that are paying the protest's bills. No one has heard from the star hip-hopper who offered to pay for "everything." Perhaps the check is in the mail

Page One

New: Berkeley has Long term Chronic Problems with its Storm Drain System --and Lacks Funds to Fix Them

By Thomas Lord

Saturday October 15, 2011 - 08:48:00 AM

On October 25, the Berkeley City Council will meet in special session to receive the 2011 Watershed Management Plan from the Public Works Department. The full report is available on the City's web site in the agenda for the special session.

The always-evolving report is the city's comprehensive overview of the state of Berkeley's watershed. It explains that "The mission of the Watershed Management Plan (WMP) is to promote a healthier balance between the urban environment and the natural ecosystem, including the San Francisco Bay." The report aims to help guide city efforts to protect water quality, reduce urban flooding, preserve natural waterways and habitat, and re-use rainwater as a resource.

There is much to digest in the weighty report (100 pages plus another 86 pages of appendices). There is far too much to simply summarize here. Nevertheless, we found off the bat a few facts we think our readers will be glad know:

The city's storm drain pipe infrastructure comprises nearly "100 miles of buried pipelines, and their attendant appurtenances."

Much of that infrastructure is "over 80 years old and well past its useful life expectancy." -more-

Day 6: Will Saturday's Demo Put Berkeley 0n U.S. Map of Anti-Wall Street Protests?

By Ted Friedman

Friday October 14, 2011 - 01:20:00 PM

John Holzinger, 20, with mike, a facilitator, who later previewed his Saturday speech. "Sister" back to camera was facilitator for the meeting. "Urban strider" to right has been trying to get the occupiers to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples

With anti-Wall Street protests in large cities hogging headlines, will the now tiny "Occupy Berkeley" action bolster Berkeley's radical image—or bury it—as the legendary revolution-to-come happens without a major role for Berkeley? -more-

Occupy Richmond Launched

By Laura Dixon (BCN)

Friday October 14, 2011 - 11:02:00 AM

The now nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement that has sprung up throughout the Bay Area in recent weeks kicked off in Richmond yesterday afternoon, with the support of city leaders and police. -more-

Public Comment

Press Release: March and Rally for "Jobs Not Cuts" in Oakland Today

From the Wellstone Democratic Club

Saturday October 15, 2011 - 11:17:00 AM

October 15, 2011

Jobs Not Cuts

Work Not War

MoveON AFL-CIO

Saturday, October 15th

March and Rally

Gather at Laney College at 1PM

Lake Merritt BART

Join the rebellion of the 99% to force the 1% to do their part in supporting the common good. It's time. Let's all march together.

Join With:

Danny Glover

Jean Quan, Mayor of Oakland

Tom Bates, Mayor of Berkeley

Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of Richmond

Josie Camacho, Alameda Labor Council

Support the Contract to Rebuild the American Dream:

http://contract.rebuildthedream.com/?rc=rtd_home

Meet at Laney College at 1PM (Lake Merritt BART)

March to

Frank Ogawa Plaza (12th St. BART)

for a short rally with compelling speakers

this is a BART to BART march

cosponsored by: Alameda and San Francisco Labor Councils, MoveON,Oakland Rising,Global Exchange,Peace Action West, Oakland Education Association, Code Pink, New Priorities Campaign, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, US Labor Against the War, Sierra Club - East Bay, among many others

for more information:

http://jobs-not-cuts.org/

Please volunteer to be a monitor or help with the tasks of the march and rally. Please arrive at Laney College by 11:30AM

-more-

Editorial

Planning More of Those Robot Apartments for Berkeley

By Becky O'Malley

Wednesday October 12, 2011 - 02:29:00 PM

Much to my surprise, last week’s New Yorker cover seemed to be devoted to Berkeley’s in-the-works new Downtown Area Plan.

Thanks to sometime Planet contributor Tom Lord, we’ve learned that cover artist Eric Drooker, who lives in downtown Berkeley, seems to have been riffing on an animation he did to go with a film version of Alan Ginzberg’s Howl—the sinister figure at the top of the skyscrapers is Ginzberg’s Moloch:

"Moloch whose Soul is electricity and banks!"
"Moloch whose Poverty is the specter of Genius"
"Moloch whose fate is a cloud of sexless hydrogen"
"Moloch whose name is the Mind. Robot apartments"

Drooker’s visual imagery reprises Fritz Lang's 1927 expressionist film, Metropolis.

Oh sure, you say. Well, I had the misfortune to watch as much as I could stand of yesterday’s city council workshop on “development fees”, and let me tell you, it was all about building robot apartments with souls of electricity and banks. -more-

Columns

The Public Eye: Who Killed the US Economy? Accounting Parasites

By Bob Burnett

Friday October 14, 2011 - 10:57:00 AM

As the US Economy stagnates and 14 million Americans remain unemployed, Washington politicians play familiar blame games. Republicans believe our problems stem from too much government and claim the economy would right itself if there were fewer taxes and regulations. Democrats assert the economy failed because of faulty government that permitted egregious corporate behavior and promoted economic inequality. But the real culprit lies deep within the bowels of modern corporations: parasitic accountants who have subverted America’s entrepreneurial spirit and jeopardized the common good. -more-