Web Update: Hummingbird Mysteries: How They Make the Dive Noise
Posted Sat., Feb. 9—It may be cold outside, but it’s already spring to the Anna’s hummingbird, and courtship and nesting are well under way. -more-
Posted Sat., Feb. 9—It may be cold outside, but it’s already spring to the Anna’s hummingbird, and courtship and nesting are well under way. -more-
If the Berkeley City Council approves an item on Tuesday’s agenda, it will clarify city support for the troops—while continuing to condemn the war—and will rescind the section of the Jan. 29 council item that calls the downtown Marine Recruiting Center “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” that has provoked the ire of conservative bloggers and pundits. -more-
Berkeley wasn’t exempt Tuesday from election-day glitches due to technical and human error. -more-
Berkeley’s Public Works Department submitted a revised work plan for dredging the lagoon at the north end of Aquatic Park to the Regional Water Quality Control Board last week. It is scheduled to go before the city council for approval in March. -more-
Neighbors say they are relieved: There won’t be a 5,000-square-foot restaurant and bar replacing the old Wright’s Garage at the corner of Ashby Avenue, just west of College Avenue. -more-
The Oakland City Council 2008 election dance card all but filled up this week with the announcement that North Oakland public safety activist Patrick Mc-Cullough is running for the District One seat currently held by Councilmember Jane Brunner. -more-
California Highway Patrol officers joined Richmond Police on patrol this week in a three-month concerted effort to stem the bloodshed that has plagued the city in recent months. -more-
Berkeley police have arrested the man they believe stalked elderly men and women leaving grocery stores, then beat them before stealing their valuables. -more-
Under the gun to file its contribution statements with the city of Berkeley rather than with Alameda County, Business for Better Government, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee (PAC), is going out of business. -more-
More than 800 sophomores sat for their California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) at Berkeley High this week. -more-
The Bay Area music community and the world lost an important voice and a respected, beloved teacher on Sunday, when composer Jorge Liderman died in an apparent suicide when he was struck by a BART train at the El Cerrito Plaza station. He had recently taken a leave of absence from the music department at UC Berkeley in order to treat his depression. The news of his death came as a grievous shock to the wide circle of people who knew him and called him a friend. -more-
Progressives disappointed over Barack Obama’s California numbers can be cheered by three critical facts. First, Obama did much better than was projected only a month ago, and California’s delegate selection process minimized Clinton’s popular vote margin. Second, the defeat of Prop. 93 promises to usher in a new era of progressive leadership in Sacramento, with the possibility that a “dream team” of Karen Bass as Assembly Speaker and Darrell Steinberg as Senate pro tem could be installed this session. Third, Prop. 93’s defeat set up contested Democratic primary contests across the state, which will greatly increase voter turnout in June for the campaign to defeat Prop 98, the measure that would abolish rent control. -more-
Super: Excellent, outstanding, great, -more-
My recently published book on presidential primaries started as an independent study project out of the political science department at San Francisco State University in 2003. My advisor on the project, Professor Rich DeLeon, was (and is) an advocate for ranked balloting. “This suggestion is perhaps a bit too far over the horizon of political reality, but I’d like to see a rider attached to your proposed reform requiring all primary victors to win a majority of the vote, either by runoff if necessary or, optimally by some kind of ranked-ballot method, which would also yield terrific in-depth info about a candidate’s strengths in terms of second-place votes received, third-place votes, etc.” -more-
In 2000 Berkeley voters approved a $116.5 million bond to finance the continuation of the schools rebuilding program which had commenced in the early 1990s. Of the projects for which this bond was intended, adding classrooms at Berkeley High was the most urgent and the most expensive. After the election, Superintendent “Great Builder” Jack McLaughlin left the district. The new superintendent’s attention was aimed at budget issues judged more urgent than the commencement of new building projects. While the new superintendent was so consumed, things shifted. The perception of overcrowding at the high school was erased by a significant drop in the high school’s population and by the completion of the new building. Everyone agreed that the high school needed time to adjust to the great changes in its campus. The public lost interest in the overcrowding issue. The district, in turn, launched a master planning exercise—the latest of countless since the 1930s—to decide exactly how to resolve the south of Bancroft portion of the campus. Subsequent construction at the high school was hitched to a slow but accountable decision process. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: Letters regarding the City Council’s ruling on the Marine Recruitment Center are on Page Fifteen. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Planet is only printing letters from locals regarding the ruling on the Marine Recruitment Center. Signed letters from non-locals and letters addressed to third parties will be published on our website. Unsigned letters will not be published. -more-
Sorting out the controversy over the Marine recruiting station will be a long and tedious job, but bear with us, please. -more-
I ran into a good friend of mine on Shattuck Avenue on election day, a longtime Berkeley progressive, hurrying to buy some Chinese food so he could get back home and watch the returns on television. He said that John Edwards had been his first choice, but after Edwards dropped out, he had agonized over who to vote for. He liked Barack Obama’s energy and promise of change, he said, but said that Hillary Clinton is closest to his positions on the two issues he cared for the most, nuclear power and universal health care. He said that even on his way to the polls, he was still agonizing over who to choose. -more-
For seven decades spanning the period from the 1880s to the 1950s, San Francisco was an important hub in the American knitting industry. It became so thanks to one Swiss immigrant: John Jacob Pfister (1844–1921). -more-
I’m listening to the mow-n-blow couple working their way through the neighborhood. I’m about bored with things that roar and go bang, especially in the garden, especially at midday because, surprise, I work right here at home. To judge by the time they’ve spent on the token lawn in front of the apartment next door, the various gas-powered gadgets don’t save much time and they must make the work as hard with their weight as the average push mower, weed whip/scythe, or rake would with just repetitive motion. Don’t get me started on what errant weedwhackers do to tree trunks; I ranted sufficiently last week to keep my diastole high. -more-
One of the most common features in our early 20th century housing stock is that imperishable ruffian of the heating world, the floor furnace. -more-
More Speech, Not Enforced Silence 02-08-2008
Editorial: Now You Finally Have to Make Up Your Mind 02-05-2008
Super(fluos) Bowl, Super(fluos) Tuesday By Thomas L. Turman 02-08-2008
Ranked Voting in Presidential Primaries By Thomas Gangale 02-08-2008
Why BHS Classroom Construction Has Stalled By Bruce Wicinas 02-08-2008
Letters to the Editor 02-08-2008
Letters to the Editor 02-05-2008
Readers Respond to Council’s Ruling on Marine Recruitment 02-05-2008
Commentary: Children’s Hospital Belongs to Us All By Frank Tiedemann 02-05-2008
Commentary: Take Care of Both Neighborhood and Children By Elizabeth O’Hanlon Maier 02-05-2008
Commentary: Why We Will Regulate Military Recruiting in Berkeley By PhoeBe Anne Sorgen 02-05-2008
Web Update: Hummingbird Mysteries: How They Make the Dive Noise By Joe Eaton 02-08-2008
Council to Reconsider Anti-Marine Stance By Judith Scherr 02-08-2008
Berkeley Experiences Election Day Glitches By Judith Scherr 02-08-2008
Aquatic Park Sludge Plan Returns to Council By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-08-2008
Neighbors, City, Gordon Settle on ‘Wright’s Garage’ Project By Judith Scherr 02-08-2008
McCullough Challenges Brunner for Oakland Council Seat By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-08-2008
Violence Marks Start of CHP Fight against Richmond Gangs By Richard Brenneman 02-08-2008
Police Arrest Suspect in Robberies of Elders By Richard Brenneman 02-08-2008
Chamber of Commerce PAC FoldsBy Judith Scherr By Judith Scherr 02-08-2008
Berkeley Students Face Exit Exam, Lower Pass Rate than State Overall By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-08-2008
In Memorium: Composer Jorge Liderman By Michael Zwiebach - San Francisco Classical Voice 02-08-2008
A New Day In California By Randy Shaw 02-08-2008
Gordon, City, Elmwood Neighbors Settle on Wright’s Garage Project By Judith Scherr 02-05-2008
Council to Reconsider Language Against Marine Recruiting Center By Judith Scherr 02-05-2008
Kennedy Draws Oakland Crowd for Obama By Judith Scherr 02-05-2008
Protesters Chain Selves To Recruit Center Doors By Judith Scherr 02-05-2008
Five Members Resign From People’s Park Advisory Board By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-05-2008
Richmond Design Board Gives Qualified Nod to Chevron Plans By Richard Brenneman 02-05-2008
Gill Tract Trees Begin to Fall By Judith Scherr 02-05-2008
New Schools Chief Takes Office By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-05-2008
Housing Commission Eyes City Bonus Laws By Richard Brenneman 02-05-2008
Parking Survey Skewed, Say Alta Bates Neighbors By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-05-2008
County Faces Big Cuts in Governor’s Budget By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-05-2008
As State Bill Dies, Activists Turn to Single Payer Bill By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-05-2008
Progressives Face an Embarrassment of Riches By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-08-2008
The Rise and Fall of a West Coast Knitting Pioneer By Daniella Thompson 02-08-2008
Music to Your Ears By Ron Sullivan 02-08-2008
The Care and Feeding of Floor Furnaces By Matt Cantor 02-08-2008
Column: The Public Eye: Why Not the Best? By Bob Burnett 02-05-2008
An Open Letter to the Men and Women in the Military and to the Citizens of Berkeley By Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli and Betty Olds 02-05-2008
Green Neighbors: Trees Show Their Bones and History in Winter By Ron Sullivan 02-05-2008
Temescal Labs Stages Present a Double Bill By KEN BULLOCK - Special to the Planet 02-08-2008
Jan Faulkner’s ‘Ethnic Notions’ Go Up for Sale By Ira Steingroot - By Ira Steingroothe - Special to the Planet 02-08-2008
Arts Calendar 02-08-2008
The Rise and Fall of a West Coast Knitting Pioneer By Daniella Thompson 02-08-2008
Music to Your Ears By Ron Sullivan 02-08-2008
The Care and Feeding of Floor Furnaces By Matt Cantor 02-08-2008
Berkeley This Week 02-08-2008
Arts Calendar 02-05-2008
The Theater: FoolsFURY Stages ‘Monster in the Dark’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-05-2008
Around the East Bay: Berkeley: A City in History 02-05-2008
Green Neighbors: Trees Show Their Bones and History in Winter By Ron Sullivan 02-05-2008
Berkeley This Week 02-05-2008
Correction 02-05-2008