Police are investigating a fire that caused major damage to the cafeteria of an Oakland middle school this morning as arson. -more-

If you wonder what happened, the Daily Cal has posted an excellently edited vido which says it all: -more-

The world is taking a terrible beating these days. Climate change is wreaking havoc—from the East Coast Snowpocalypse to the California Drought. Oceans are becoming carbonized. Coral reefs are dying, starfish are dissolving, fish are vanishing. It is estimated that human activity already has lead to the disappearance of 25% of the world's species. Around the world, elephants, lions, rhinos, tigers and polar bears are all in decline.

Scientists are now calling this The Sixth Mass Extinction.

So I sat down and wrote my first online petition . . . to save a butterfly. -more-

"High Rises" are appearing all around downtown, dwarfing the feel and look of what is left of the charm, uniqueness, and diversity of Berkeley.

These towering buildings grow larger and larger block sunshine, views, dwarf people, and create feelings of being crowded, overshadowed/overpowered by the sheer size of the planned edifices.

We like the city as it is now, with reasonable heights, that don't overwhelm. Reasonable heights can be built in less time, be more energy efficient, and cause less damage. What is being planned does not fit. -more-

GLOBAL WARMING ON PARKER STREET

From my experience working on environmental issues, there are two different approaches to combating global warming. One is to support projects that science shows will help the environment. The other is to support any project that anyone claims is green, even when the science shows it won't help.

I am a strong supporter of projects backed up by science, but I am an equally strong opponent of greenwashed projects that won't help the environment. This has frequently brought me into conflict with people who, for some reason, support such worthless projects.

I suspect they support these projects because they have a financial incentive to do so, or because they don't have the technical knowledge to know a bad project from a good one.

This is a major issue in the fight against global warming, not just in Berkeley but across the country and around the world. If we as a species are going to do anything about greenhouse gases, we are going to have to learn to recognize and support effective projects. -more-

It is with great sorrow that the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee announces the passing of the Congresswoman's beloved mother, Ms. Mildred Parish Massey. -more-

21 months before the 2016 presidential election, Republicans are struggling to find a candidate who will be conservative enough to win their nomination and moderate enough to appeal to sensible voters. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton appears to have nailed down the Democratic nomination. Surprisingly, President Obama’s approval ratings have improved to the point where he may be able to boost her campaign. -more-

In the aftermath of last month’s Greek election that vaulted the left anti-austerity party Syriza into power, armies of supporters and detractors—from Barcelona to Berlin—are on the move. While Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble was making it clear that Berlin would brook no change in the European Union’s (EU) debt strategy that has impoverished countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland, left organizations from all over Europe met in Barcelona to drew up a plan of battle. -more-

It was all the way back in the mid 1980's, thirty years ago, from which I remember a very good counselor talking about "the revolving door." Mental illnesses are serious illnesses, and when people don't come to terms with the need for treatment, you get a number of repeated episodes of the illness, with each round making the mental health consumer more debilitated. -more-

John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles was first given at New York’s Metro-politan Opera back in 1991; but aside from a Chicago Lyric Opera production two decades ago, it has henceforth been presented only in scaled-down versions at various music festivals. On Saturday, February 7, 2015, Los Angeles Opera opened an extravagant, full-scale production in Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of The Ghosts of Versailles, which received its West Coast premiere. This work was dubbed by composer Corigliano as a “grand opera buffa.” Grand it certainly is – and expensive to produce -- sporting a huge cast, an enormous orchestra, lavish sets, an opera-within-an-opera, and a wild Turkish embassy scene with a mock elephant. -more-