A key piece of pre-World War II Japanese history will be lost amid rubble and concrete next week to make way for the development of condos and retail in West Berkeley. -more-
Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller handed UC Berkeley a legal setback Monday evening, denying its claimed exemption from state law governing buildings on earthquake faults. -more-
Berkeley City Councilmem-bers acted illegally a year ago when they handed developer Patrick Kennedy a victory in the ongoing battle over the cultural uses of the Gaia Building. -more-
If you’re going to “dress for less,” you’ll need to spend your money in Emeryville or El Cerrito. The downtown Berkeley Ross for Less store will be shutting its doors in mid-January, according to Ross spokesperson Katie Loughnot. -more-
In an effort to stop liquor stores, bars and restaurants from selling alcohol to minors—and to make sure these establishments meet specific standards set by the city—the City Council voted 8-0 Tuesday to give the city new tools to regulate businesses that sell alcohol. -more-
In a couple of years, the automobile shopper may not have to slog through Berkeley streets to find a new car. There’s likely to be a Volvo/Nissan dealer just a hop off the freeway—and perhaps a Honda dealer will follow. -more-
The Berkeley City Council is getting involved in the case of a Berkeley man who has been screaming at children playing in the Becky Temko Tot Lot on Roosevelt Street for the past six months. -more-
In a special closed session Monday, the Berkeley City Council will consider removing Rent Board Member Chris Kavanagh from office. -more-
Leftover furniture scraps will be hand-crafted into dolls, trains and trucks at the annual Waterside Workshop’s Holiday Sustainability Event this Sunday. -more-
Current and former members of Berkeley’s Sea Scout Ship Farallon and their parents will meet Monday night to discuss resumption of group activities. -more-
A city employee, crossing Solano Avenue at Fresno Avenue Wednesday afternoon was struck and seriously injured by an automobile going east, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, Berkeley Police Department spokesperson. -more-
The first-of-its-kind poll on race relations between blacks, Latinos and Asians, released yesterday in Washington, D.C., revealed that while ugly stereotypes still hold strong between groups, a majority of those in each group said they should put aside their differences to work toward building better communities. -more-
For the second time in two months, some 5,000 nurses are gathered today outside 13 Sutter Health hospitals in the Bay Area, including Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, to advocate issues they say haven’t been adequately addressed since the October strike. -more-
With little fanfare and no dissent, the Oakland Unified School District agreed this week to move forward with the building of a $75.5 million, four-school education complex on 6.5 acres of the district’s East Lake properties. -more-
“He likes hot chocolate,” she said. Feeling cold myself, I approached the local barista and asked her for a large cup of coffee for the seemingly homeless man sitting outside on the cold bench. I say “seemingly” without knowing, but based on the tattered clothes, the unpleasant odor and the worn shoes. “God bless you,” he shyly replied when I offered him the hot drink. It was almost as if he preferred to remain anonymous. -more-
Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller handed UC Berkeley a legal setback Monday evening, denying its claimed exemption from state law governing buildings on earthquake faults. -more-
Once again, changes are afoot for Cody’s Books, with president and three-decade former owner Andy Ross announcing his retirement as president last week and Hiroshi Kagawa, former CEO of the corporation that bought Cody’s, stepping in as interim president and head of a new ownership group. -more-
Like spinning straw into gold, turning apartment buildings into individually owned condominiums could be a dream come true. But the law, intended to benefit property owners, renters-turned homeowners and the city’s affordable housing fund, has yet to turn into anything but a headache, people on various sides of the issue say. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part one of a two-part series. -more-
Berkeley planning commissioners Wednesday will tackle the controversial issue of what the city calls a new policy of “limited flexibility” in West Berkeley zoning. -more-
Suspended Sea Scoutmaster Eugene Austin Evans, charged with multiple counts of abusing youths under his care, was bailed out of jail Friday, pending his arraignment in January. -more-
Breaking with mentor and former boss Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Rep. Barbara Lee announced her endorsement for Sen. Barack Obama for president Monday. -more-
The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve the rehabilitation and alteration of the exterior of the Shattuck Hotel. -more-
The Oakland Unified School District interim state administrator and—with one notable exception—the members of Oakland’s Board of Education have agreed to take up consideration of a proposed $75.5 million education complex on the east lake site currently occupied by the district’s aging and earthquake-unsafe administrative headquarters and five district-run education institutions. -more-
Editors Note: In the months since the inauguration of Ron Dellums as mayor of Oakland, the Dellums administration has been the subject of criticism, most of it from the center and right. Dellums’ most notable criticism from the left—particularly on economic development issues—has come from former Oakland City Councilmember Wilson Riles, charging, for example, that Dellums has turned over his economic policy to the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. -more-
It’s competition vs. cooperation at People’s Park. -more-
Last week at Berkeley High School (BHS) two of the school’s 209 trees, those in front of the on-campus first-floor entrance to the divide between the G and H buildings, were trimmed to prevent growth that would block security cameras. -more-
In a small backroom of the UC Berkeley YWCA, Santa’s little helpers are hard at work. -more-
A prominent environmental attorney and a Berkeley neighborhood activist are asking UC Berkeley to extend the review period for two projects at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. -more-
The State Historical Resources Commission unanimously voted to list the UC Berkeley Extension Laguna Street Campus as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places at its meeting in Palm Springs last month. -more-
Neighbors of the Alta Bates Medical Center at 2450 Ashby Ave. are planning to complain about the hospital staff’s parking violations at the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting Thursday. -more-
Andrew Imbrie, distinguished composer and senior in the Bay Area’s community of composers and teachers of composition, died Wednesday at his home in Berkeley after a long illness. He was 86. -more-
In a renewal of the growing political alliance between moderate Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and progressive Democratic Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Schwarzenegger came to Oakland last week to announce the launching of a pilot project to help Oakland homeowners hit hard by the nation's subprime lending and home foreclosure crisis. -more-
We were talking recently to our new friend, the professor visiting from Spain. We asked what her husband’s job is. He’s a sociologist, she said. And does he teach at your university? Well, he does teach some classes at night, but his day job is working for the government of a small city, about the size of Berkeley, outside of Madrid. -more-
Possibly a weekend front page editor with a sense of irony laid out the big metro daily I saw on Sunday. At the top of the page was an all-to-familiar story about young black men destroyed by absentee parenting and the allure of street life. It featured the obligatory map of Oakland. “OAKLAND: A PLAGUE OF KILLING” was the overline. And the subhead: “Trapped in a bleak world where drugs and violence offer a chance for money and respect, many young black men quickly resort to murder.” -more-
Did you know that by shifting just 10 percent of your purchases to locally owned businesses, you can start a cycle that creates more jobs in Berkeley, lightens the city’s environmental impact, expands your own shopping options, builds a stronger community, and helps keep our city a national innovator? -more-
In a special meeting on Wednesday Dec. 5, the Berkeley Zero Waste Commission approved a controversial bid from a Stockton company to sort all rubbish (dry discards) that now comes through the city’s transfer station at Second and Gilman streets. It would cover about 200 tons a day of the 340 or so now landfilled. After sorting, about half the rubbish would go to landfill, some would be recycled, and some would be burned. -more-
Due to a copyediting error, a figure was misquoted in George Beier’s Dec. 11 commentary, “Option Recovery Services — Fighting the Good Fight.” The article should have stated that eighty percent of Options clients come from Berkeley. -more-
Who “owns” the commons is, indeed, the right question but we must ask it clearly. There are two, relevant meanings of “own” in modern English: Ownership in rights, and ownership in disposition. Children use the latter sense when, for example, one might say “A-ha—I owned you in that videogame,” meaning that the speaker’s skills were so fabulous the competitor couldn’t do much. -more-
Dan McMullan’s charges against Options Recovery (see last Tuesday’s Commentary) are simply baseless and cannot go unchallenged. -more-
Ever since the Bush regime began its escalation of the war in Iraq by sending tens of thousands of more troops this year, media pundits and politicians have been debating whether the “surge” is working. In the last couple months, the administration and it apologists are claiming that the escalation has been working and that more time should be allowed to give the Bush regime the chance to prove that the “new strategy” will be successful. But the debate has been waged entirely on the wrong terms. -more-
We are blessed to live in a community with international renown for having one of the most prestigious universities in the world. We are also blessed in that we nurture some students in our own K-12 schools who are sought after by some of the most elite universities in the country. -more-
Nothing seems quite so odd as the contention made by advocates on both sides of the “waterboarding” issue that the use of torture is against American tradition. -more-
Among the original Northside residences that survived the Berkeley fire of 1923, the Bentley House at 2683 Le Conte Avenue is one of the least assuming. Built in 1900 by the prominent Berkeley contractor and amateur artist A.H. Broad, this modest Dutch Colonial Revival residence is the quintessential “simple home” advocated by Charles Keeler in his 1904 book of the same name. -more-
Some of the best gifts I’ve ever received have been from people’s gardens. -more-
You’re in the last throws of the deal and it’s time for the home inspection. The inspector finds that the water heater is defective and needs replacement now. You’re a little upset, since you’ve just offered more money to buy this house than your parents have in their retirement fund. You expected the house to be perfect for that kind of money and you’re not about to shell out another dime. -more-
During 2007, the major news item continued to be the war in Iraq. On Jan. 4, the 110th Congress convened—the first time during the Bush administration Democrats had controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many of us expected this changing of the guard would produce a shift in Iraq policy, a real plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Sadly, this didn’t happen; the war not only continued, but President Bush upped the number of troops with his “surge” initiative. At year’s end, many Berkeley residents wondered whether it was possible to change anything while Bush was still in office. -more-
One of the several “pagan” plants that appear all over in the midwinter holiday season is one that lives in trees: mistletoe. It’s Frazer’s eponymous Golden Bough. -more-
Tomas Saraceno is a visionary artist who aspires to bridge the gap between art and science. Knowledgeable about principles of physics, chemistry and architecture, he has made use of high technology to design cities in the air. -more-
Brookside Repertory’s Holiday Shorts IV, their annual anthology of short holiday-themed plays by Bay Area playwrights, directed by Robert Hamm in staged readings, will be performed this Sunday afternoon at the Ballroom of the Claremont Resort and Spa. -more-
Siddhartha, the Bright Path, The Marsh Youth Theater production about the life of Buddha, which serves as a kind of alternative holiday show on several levels, opening this Saturday and playing through Jan. 6 at The Marsh in San Francisco’s Mission District, is the result of a collaboration set into motion by Berkeley’s Emily Klion, the creative roots of which trace back years ago to Mills College. -more-
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a huge oak tree stood east of Shattuck Avenue near Strawberry Creek in old Berkeley. It was variously known as Gibbet Oak, Vigilante Oak, and Hanging Oak. -more-
Among the original Northside residences that survived the Berkeley fire of 1923, the Bentley House at 2683 Le Conte Avenue is one of the least assuming. Built in 1900 by the prominent Berkeley contractor and amateur artist A.H. Broad, this modest Dutch Colonial Revival residence is the quintessential “simple home” advocated by Charles Keeler in his 1904 book of the same name. -more-
Some of the best gifts I’ve ever received have been from people’s gardens. -more-
You’re in the last throws of the deal and it’s time for the home inspection. The inspector finds that the water heater is defective and needs replacement now. You’re a little upset, since you’ve just offered more money to buy this house than your parents have in their retirement fund. You expected the house to be perfect for that kind of money and you’re not about to shell out another dime. -more-
The premiere recording of Ferruccio Busoni’s Complete Two Piano Works (EMI/Angel) will be celebrated by the Musical Offering (Bancroft Avenue below Telegraph), this Wednesday 5-7 p.m., with a reception for and signing by pianists Daniell Revenaugh of Berkeley and Lawrence Leighton Smith, currently musical director of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. -more-
“I’m going to do something wrong here ...” Those ominous words, emblazoned on the cover of the program to the Shift Theatre/Berkeley High School Drama production of Michael Frayn’s backstage bungler, Noises Off, telegraph the message of this non-message play clearly. And a great deal is going to be done wrong. Repeatedly. That’s the whole show. -more-
One of the most enjoyable and inspiring films I’ve seen in a long time comes to Berkeley for one day only, this Thursday, Dec. 13 at the California Theater, a benefit for the local Gray Panther chapter. Screenings are at 2 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $10. -more-
Living With Chernobyl: The Future of Nuclear Power, a new documentary by Berkeley filmmakers and journalists Cliff Orloff and Olga Shalygin, will air at 11 p.m. Thursday on KQED Channel 9. -more-
One of the several “pagan” plants that appear all over in the midwinter holiday season is one that lives in trees: mistletoe. It’s Frazer’s eponymous Golden Bough. -more-
