Opinion

Gray Brechin's fine piece on the Berkeley post office notes that "The building has, over the years, managed to escape the tacky remodelings that the USPS has inflicted on other historic properties such as Oakland’s main post office." This is not because of luck. When the USPS threatened to remodel the lobby with its latest interior decoration ideas--formica countertops, etc.--the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association complained to Ron Dellums, then our representative in Congress. His office arranged some meetings with the regional USPS office in San Carlos. It was a frustrating meeting with some of the most stubborn bureaucrats one could imagine, but plans were revised, and the lobby remains. -more-

Some of you who have struggled for permits of various kinds will find it unfair that the Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) has acquired not just one permit for amplified sound, but what appears to be an eternal permit for the prime territory near the BART Station on Shattuck Avenue. But consider that, as the most powerful political group in town, they really, really want to control what goes on there. -more-