New: Trucks Lined up Outside Port of Oakland as Protesters Block Entrance
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-
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-
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-
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?
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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-
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-
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-
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.
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Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available. -more-
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-
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-
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-
Famous and infamous, great and not so great. Divorce quotes abound… -more-
"I know we're of different religions here, so I will refer to a generic god." -more-
'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-
What's in Berkeley's Future--and Does Anyone Care? 12-09-2011
A Pair of Tantalizing Tales 12-06-2011
Odd Bodkins: Newt By Dan O'Neill 12-09-2011
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
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
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
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