Page One

New: Trucks Lined up Outside Port of Oakland as Protesters Block Entrance

By JeffShuttleworth/ScottMorris (BCN)
Monday December 12, 2011 - 09:51:00 AM

Protesters have blocked at least two entrances to the Port of Oakland this morning as part of a planned all-day West Coast port blockade. -more-



Diesel Fuel Spill on Berkeley Campus Contaminates Strawberry Creek and Bay

By Bay City News
Sunday December 11, 2011 - 10:04:00 PM

Around 1,700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a tank in a University of California at Berkeley building Saturday evening, causing a spill that reached Strawberry Creek and San Francisco Bay. -more-



New: U.C. Berkeley Oil Spill into Strawberry Creek Still Evident on Sunday Morning (Reader Report)

By Linda Franklin
Sunday December 11, 2011 - 09:57:00 PM

Last night UCB spilled some kind of fuel oil or diesel into Strawberry Creek. When my son came home at 2 am, he noticed a pervasive smell of gasoline, which he had first noticed about 10 pm that evening. His home in on Strawberry Creek in the flats, and he investigated and found thick reddish brown oil in the creek. He flagged down a police officer who said that UC Berkeley had experienced a leak or spill but had "everything under control." Doubting that, he went out to the mouth of the creek at the Seabreeze cafe to see if UCB had put up containment to keep the fuel out of the bay... they had not. He then traced back up the creek, and found pools of fuel at various spots, and a large amount of fuel in the creek below the Undergraduate Library. No clean up crew was there...

When we went back there at 8:30 am Sunday morning, there was a cleanup crew pumping out the remains of the oil. What was the spill, why didn't UCB act to contain the spill before it left the creek and entered the bay? Why did it take so long to get a clean up crew out? -more-



Press Release: U.C. Berkeley Says Oil Spill Was Contained at 9 on Saturday

From Janet Gilmore, UCB Public Information Officer
Sunday December 11, 2011 - 10:07:00 PM

Emergency crews on Sunday, Dec. 11, removed hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel from a University of California, Berkeley, building where equipment failure caused a diesel tank to overflow. On Saturday evening, Dec. 10, about 1,700 gallons of fuel spilled within Stanley Hall, with some fuel reaching Strawberry Creek and a smaller amount making its way to San Francisco Bay. -more-



Press Release: City of Berkeley Police Clarify Reports of Youth Prostitution

From Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, BPD
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:02:00 PM

Since 2010, the number of juvenile prostitution cases investigated by the Berkeley Police Department (BPD) throughout the City of Berkeley has fallen from seven in 2010 to four in 2011, a decline of over 40%. The population of Berkeley is approximately 112,000. -more-



Occupy Movement Plans Port Shutdown--Union Leaders Not All Supportive

By Scott Morris (BCN)
Friday December 09, 2011 - 02:49:00 PM

Inspired by the Nov. 2 shutdown of the Port of Oakland by Occupy Oakland protesters, Occupy movements across the country are seeking to disrupt port and shipping activities, particularly along the West Coast on Monday, including at the Port of Oakland. -more-



Features

Of Mice and Men; Micah and Me (First Person)

By Ted Friedman
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:04:00 PM
Micah M. White, center in white shirt,  a founder of Occupy Wall Street movement, and a new Berkeley resident.

When I was a kid, I read "Ben and Me," a 1939 children's bio of Ben Franklin, purportedly written by Franklin's mouse, Amos. In this story, I am the mouse, and Micah M. White, credited by the New Yorker as a key founder of the Occupy movement, is Ben.

Micah is famous at the moment, and I, a mere mouse who roars at the Planet. We both live in Berkeley; me for 40 years, Micah since last year. -more-


Public Comment

December Pepper Spray Times

By Grace Underpressure
Friday December 09, 2011 - 04:57:00 PM

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


Editorial

What's in Berkeley's Future--and Does Anyone Care?

By Becky O'Malley
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:54:00 PM

Whither local government? In view of recent more-than-dire predictions about the burden of unfunded liabilities faced by cities like Berkeley, it’s a hard question to address, let alone answer. -more-


Columns

Eclectic Rant: Abolish the Death Penalty, Replace With Life Without Parole

By Ralph E. Stone
Friday December 09, 2011 - 04:34:00 PM

The death penalty should be abolished in the United States because life without parole is more humane, less discriminatory, and a less costly alternative – and it avoids the risk of executing an innocent person. -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE: Elizabeth Warren: Voice of the 99 Percent

By Bob Burnett
Friday December 09, 2011 - 02:56:00 PM

Wednesday evening, December 7th, senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren met with Bay Area progressives. Some of us recalled a comparable meeting four years earlier with presidential candidate Barack Obama. At the time Obama was a rising star; now Warren is the rising star. While the two have similarities, there is one crucial difference. -more-


SENIOR POWER…It’s Called Gray divorce.

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:16:00 PM

Famous and infamous, great and not so great. Divorce quotes abound… -more-


Odd Bodkins: Newt

By Dan O'Neill
Friday December 09, 2011 - 05:03:00 PM

Arts & Events

Theater Review: Yussef el Guindi's 'Language Rooms'

By Ken Bullock
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:25:00 PM

"I know we're of different religions here, so I will refer to a generic god." -more-


AROUND AND ABOUT THEATER: Christmas Mystery Play Adapted at st. Mark's This Saturday

By Ken Bullock
Friday December 09, 2011 - 03:27:00 PM

'The Mary Play, or Gabriel's Message,' an Advent play adapted from English Mystery Plays, will be presented at St. Mark's Episcopal Church this Saturday afternoon from 3 to 4, followed by a festive reception. The public is invited. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

What's in Berkeley's Future--and Does Anyone Care? 12-09-2011

The Editor's Back Fence

A Pair of Tantalizing Tales 12-06-2011

Cartoons

Odd Bodkins: Newt By Dan O'Neill 12-09-2011

Public Comment

December Pepper Spray Times By Grace Underpressure 12-09-2011

Tax Breaks for Millionaires in Berkeley at City Council Tonight By Paul M. Schwartz 12-06-2011

Demolition Ordinance Before Berkeley City Council Neglects Tenants By Igor Tregub, Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner 12-06-2011

News

New: Trucks Lined up Outside Port of Oakland as Protesters Block Entrance By JeffShuttleworth/ScottMorris (BCN) 12-12-2011

Diesel Fuel Spill on Berkeley Campus Contaminates Strawberry Creek and Bay By Bay City News 12-11-2011

New: U.C. Berkeley Oil Spill into Strawberry Creek Still Evident on Sunday Morning (Reader Report) By Linda Franklin 12-11-2011

Press Release: U.C. Berkeley Says Oil Spill Was Contained at 9 on Saturday From Janet Gilmore, UCB Public Information Officer 12-11-2011

Press Release: City of Berkeley Police Clarify Reports of Youth Prostitution From Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, BPD 12-09-2011

Occupy Movement Plans Port Shutdown--Union Leaders Not All Supportive By Scott Morris (BCN) 12-09-2011

Of Mice and Men; Micah and Me (First Person) By Ted Friedman 12-09-2011

Press Release: Telegraph and Haste Open to Traffic From Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, City of Berkeley Public Information Officer 12-07-2011

Contractor Error Completes Destruction of Most of Berkeley Building By Dave Blake 12-06-2011

Occupy Berkeley Survives—For Now!(News Analysis) By Ted Friedman 12-06-2011

Berkeley Councilman Says Growing Encampment is Creating More Issues By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 12-06-2011

Columns

Eclectic Rant: Abolish the Death Penalty, Replace With Life Without Parole By Ralph E. Stone 12-09-2011

THE PUBLIC EYE: Elizabeth Warren: Voice of the 99 Percent By Bob Burnett 12-09-2011

SENIOR POWER…It’s Called Gray divorce. By Helen Rippier Wheeler 12-09-2011

WILD NEIGHBORS: Deception on the Lek BY Joe Eaton 12-07-2011

MY COMMONPLACE BOOK: (a diary of excerpts copied from printed books, with comments added by the reader.) By Dorothy Bryant 12-06-2011

ON MENTAL ILLNESS:Conclusion By Jack Bragen 12-06-2011

Arts & Events

Theater Review: Yussef el Guindi's 'Language Rooms' By Ken Bullock 12-09-2011

AROUND AND ABOUT THEATER: Christmas Mystery Play Adapted at st. Mark's This Saturday By Ken Bullock 12-09-2011

AROUND AND ABOUT THEATER: Inferno Theatre's 'Adoration of the Magi' at South Berkeley Community Church By Ken Bullock 12-06-2011

AROUND AND ABOUT MUSIC : Berkeley Symphony--Sarah Cahill plays Lou Harrison By Ken Bullock 12-06-2011

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS:Chase the Holiday Yuck with Yule By John A. McMullen II 12-06-2011