Extra

Berkeley High School Safety Officer Arrested for Identity Theft

From Sgt. Mary C. Kusmiss, Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer
Monday February 27, 2012 - 04:26:00 PM

“City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) Property Crimes/Fraud detectives arrested William Arthur Keys Jr of Oakland on Thursday, February 23, 2012 for violation of 530.5 PC - Identity Theft. “Billy” Keys as he is widely known was arrested at the Public Safety Building. A BPD detective booked him into the BPD jail at about 11:30 a.m. for the crime, a felony, with a bail of $10,000. The arrest was the culmination of an investigation that was documented on a BPD police report January 24, 2012. Subsequent warrants were secured and probable cause existed to arrest Mr. Keys. There is a possibility that the investigation may be ongoing, thus this is all the information BPD is sharing currently.” -more-


Press Release: Berkeley Police Report that Young Man Injured in Fall From Building

From Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, Berkeley Policce
Monday February 27, 2012 - 02:39:00 PM

“At about 11:34 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, 2012, the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) got a call for service regarding an individual who fell from a the backside of a fraternity at 2395 Piedmont Avenue (N/E corner of Piedmont at Channing Way). BPD patrol officers arrived within four (4) minutes and found a person down on a pathway between 2335 and 2395 Piedmont Avenue. Officers made an initial first aid assessment of the unconscious male, but there was obvious head trauma and a lot of bleeding. City of Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) paramedics responded, tended to immediate medical needs and transported the subject to a local trauma center where he was treated for several injuries including severe head trauma. BPD officers shared that the individual displayed objective symptoms of alcoholic beverage intoxication.” -more-


Head of Security at Berkeley High School Accused of Identity Theft

Sunday February 26, 2012 - 02:17:00 PM

Berkeley High Principal Pasquale Scuderi sent the following letter on Friday to Berkeley High School staff and families:

In an attempt to head off speculation and to be out in front of any rumors, I want to inform the community of a very difficult development that has occurred within the Berkeley High School Community. On Thursday, following a law enforcement investigation, Berkeley High School safety officer William Keys was interviewed and arrested by the Berkeley Police Department on allegations of identity theft. -more-



Page One

New: Judge Orders Competency Report for Berkeley Murder Suspect

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Friday February 24, 2012 - 11:44:00 PM

Criminal proceedings against an Alameda man who's accused of murdering a homeowner in the Berkeley hills have been suspended so that a report on his mental competency can be conducted, prosecutors said today. -more-



Berkeley High Student Shot in Oakland is Recovering

By Scott Morris (BCN)
Friday February 24, 2012 - 07:40:00 AM

A Berkeley High School student shot on the streets of Oakland this morning has had surgery and is resting and recovering this afternoon, a Berkeley schools spokesman said. -more-



Immigrant Steel Workers March in Berkeley Against Unjust Firings

By David Bacon
Thursday February 23, 2012 - 05:45:00 PM

Two hundred immigrant workers, their wives, husbands, children, and hundreds of supporters marched through downtown Berkeley February 17, protesting their firing from Pacific Steel Castings. The company is one of the city's biggest employers, and the largest steel foundry west of the Mississippi River. Starting at City Hall, they walked for an hour past stores and homes, as bystanders often applauded. Teachers and students at a Montessori school along the route even came out to the sidewalk to urge them on. -more-



Editorial

The Berkeley Hills Murder Could Have Been Predicted

By Becky O'Malley
Friday February 24, 2012 - 07:44:00 AM

Anyone who has ever tried to help a friend or a family member connect with appropriate mental health services must feel for the two East Bay families who have been caught up in the tragic death of Peter Cukor. Despite the best efforts of the modern media equivalent of yellow journalism, there are no villains to be found in this story, just a whole list of victims of circumstances unforeseen and unforeseeable. -more-


Columns

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: Iran, Israel & the U.S.: The Slide To War

By Conn Hallinan
Friday February 24, 2012 - 08:24:00 AM

Wars are fought because some people decide it is in their interests to fight them. World War I was not started over the Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination, nor was it triggered by the alliance system. An “incident” may set the stage for war, but no one keeps shooting unless they think it’s a good idea. The Great War started because the countries involved decided they would profit by it, delusional as that conclusion was. -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE: The Republicans’ Rick Santorum Problem

By Bob Burnett
Friday February 24, 2012 - 08:18:00 AM

After Rick Santorum’s surprising victories in the Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri primaries, many observers wonder if he has a chance to wrench the Republican presidential nomination away from Mitt Romney. Santorum does have a chance, but he’s not a winning candidate, someone who can unite the fractured GOP base. -more-


WILD NEIGHBORS: A Lot of Gall

By Joe Eaton
Thursday February 23, 2012 - 05:28:00 PM
Cynipid wasp gall on blue oak.

Ron has begun noticing plant galls. This is fine, since we have a field guide: Ron Russo’s Plant Galls of California and Other Western States, in the estimable UC Press California Natural History Guide series. Galls are the kinds of things you pay attention to when nature is not otherwise cooperative. -more-


SENIOR POWER: Conferences on Aging

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Thursday February 23, 2012 - 05:16:00 PM

A White House Conference is a national meeting sponsored by the Executive Office of the President of the United States with the purpose of discussing a topic of importance to the American public, and they are typically created by specific legislation. Some conferences last for a day, others for several. Typical attendees include experts in the particular field, community leaders, advocates and citizens with an interest in the issue. The President usually speaks to a conference general session. The conference concludes by issuing a report to the President summarizing and making recommendations for executive or legislative action. The First Lady has sometimes hosted White House conferences. The first White House conference was the Conference on the Care of Dependent Children held in 1909 under President Theodore Roosevelt. -more-


ECLECTIC RANT: SWIFT Pressured to Ban Iran Over Nuclear Ambitions

By Ralph E. Stone
Thursday February 23, 2012 - 05:25:00 PM

Under pressure from the United States and the European Union, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), based in Belgium, is expected to ban Iran's forty banks and institutions from using SWIFT to process its financial transactions, which would effect Iran's foreign trade and access to international payments. United Against Nuclear Iran, a powerful U.S.-based group, had been lobbying for the past month for SWIFT to end its relationship with Iran. -more-


Arts & Events

Theater Review: Central Works' 'Mesmeric Revelation' at the City Club

By Ken Bullock
Friday February 24, 2012 - 08:30:00 AM

Beneath a portrait of Marie Antoinette, patroness of the Royal French Academy of Sciences, sits an upright periwigged figure, long coat, embroidered vest, cravat ... The door of the salon opens—and another wigged figure, similarly dressed, steps in the room, as the first's head swivels to fix the second's eye with his gaze—and a tight smile blossoms on both faces ... -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

The Berkeley Hills Murder Could Have Been Predicted 02-24-2012

The Editor's Back Fence

The Planet Website is Back 02-21-2012

Cartoons

Odd Bodkins: Breakfast (Cartoon) By Dan O'Neill 02-23-2012

Bounce: Friends (Cartoon) By Joseph Young 02-23-2012

Public Comment

UC Berkeley’s Black Bloc Tactics By Carol Denney 02-21-2012

News

Berkeley High School Safety Officer Arrested for Identity Theft From Sgt. Mary C. Kusmiss, Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer 02-27-2012

Press Release: Berkeley Police Report that Young Man Injured in Fall From Building From Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, Berkeley Policce 02-27-2012

Head of Security at Berkeley High School Accused of Identity Theft 02-26-2012

New: Judge Orders Competency Report for Berkeley Murder Suspect By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 02-24-2012

Berkeley High Student Shot in Oakland is Recovering By Scott Morris (BCN) 02-24-2012

Immigrant Steel Workers March in Berkeley Against Unjust Firings By David Bacon 02-23-2012

One Victim in String of Oakland Shootings Was Berkeley High Student By Scott Morris (BCN) and Planet 02-23-2012

Updated: Suspect Arraigned for Death of Berkeley Homeowner By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 02-22-2012

As Berkeley Questions BPD Over Hills "Murder," and Cops Blame Occupy, We Offer Some Answers (News Analysis) By Ted Friedman 02-22-2012

Mother of Suspect in Berkeley Murder Says He is Mentally Ill By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 02-21-2012

Press Release: Berkeley Homicide; Updated Information Release From Lt. Andrew Greenwood, BPD 02-21-2012

New: Early Morning Fire Burns West Berkeley Cottage at Art Studio By Bay City News 02-22-2012

Homeless Shelter and Classical Chorus Converge By Lydia Gans 02-21-2012

FIRST PERSON: When to Say "Yes" and When to Say "No" to Panhandlers By Jack Bragen 02-22-2012

Columns

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: Iran, Israel & the U.S.: The Slide To War By Conn Hallinan 02-24-2012

THE PUBLIC EYE: The Republicans’ Rick Santorum Problem By Bob Burnett 02-24-2012

WILD NEIGHBORS: A Lot of Gall By Joe Eaton 02-23-2012

SENIOR POWER: Conferences on Aging By Helen Rippier Wheeler 02-23-2012

ECLECTIC RANT: SWIFT Pressured to Ban Iran Over Nuclear Ambitions By Ralph E. Stone 02-23-2012

EATS, SHOOTS 'N' LEAVES: Fast Company Makes a Major Amyris Fail By Richard Brenneman 02-21-2012

Arts & Events

Theater Review: Central Works' 'Mesmeric Revelation' at the City Club By Ken Bullock 02-24-2012

"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Can a Film about the ELF Win an Oscar? By Gar Smith 02-22-2012

EYE FROM THE AISLE: Berkeley Rep’s Laugh Riot Doctor in Spite of His Hellzapoppin’ Self By John A. McMullen II 02-21-2012

Eye from the Aisle: CCCT “Barefoot” in El Cerrito—dated fare By John A. McMullen II 02-21-2012