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Nervous Council Tinkers With Parcel Tax Measure

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday November 07, 2003
Amidst a growing uneasy restlessness throughout the city over Berkeley City Council’s proposed March money-raising ballot measure, an almost eerie quiet settled over the issue at this week’s Council meeting. Only a handful of citizens showed up to take advantage of what Mayor Tom Bates defined as “Your chance to weigh in on the issue.” -more-

Berkeley This Week

Friday November 07, 2003
FRIDAY, NOV. 7 -more-

Letters to the Editor

Friday November 07, 2003
RENTAL LAWS -more-

Unusual Play Probes Neighborhood

By Ira J. Spitzer Special to the Planet
Friday November 07, 2003
Elia Arce was leading a rehearsal with five artists at San Francisco’s Galeria de la Raza on a recent Thursday evening when a trio of street musicians walked by, playing Mexican Norteño music. -more-

Berkeley Lawyer Fights To Restore Civil Rights

By Jakob Schiller
Friday November 07, 2003
With civil rights in retreat in the wake of the Patriot Act and the prosecutorial zeal of Attorney General John Ashcroft, venerable Berkeley activist/attorney Ann Fagan Ginger has launched a counterattack, starting with a contest to identify the most egregious examples of trampled rights in the Bush era. -more-

Arts Calendar

Friday November 07, 2003
FRIDAY, NOV. 7 -more-

Report Puts ‘Escaped’ Tax At $267,957

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday November 07, 2003
Berkeley failed to bill more than $250,000 for what city staff calls “escaped” property tax assessments over the past four years on seven city developments, according to a report given City Council this week by Acting City Manager Phil Kamlarz. -more-

Does City’s ‘Planner Wanted’ Ad Reveal Too Much?

By SHARON HUDSON
Friday November 07, 2003
A current job recruitment ad for a Berkeley city planner states that in Berkeley, “planners set the pace.” As one who once thought that the citizens and their elected representatives “set the pace” in Berkeley, I ask: Is this marketing hype, wishful thinking, or remarkable honesty from our enthusiastic planners? Is our planning department really a self-directed agency intent on implementing its own vision, an extreme version of “smart growth,” instead of Berkeley’s plans and laws? Let’s see… -more-

Neighbors Defeat Disputed Seminary

By Matthew Artz
Friday November 07, 2003
Score one for the neighbors. After a dogged two-year battle, the American Baptist Seminary of the West has pulled its application to demolish two turn-of-the-century cottages and replace them with a five-story building. -more-

First Time Homebuyer Loans Turn Into Economic Trap

Kent Brown
Friday November 07, 2003
The following letter was read during public comment at City Coucil’s Nov. 4 meeting. -more-

Homeless Survey Totals Provoke Hope, Surprise

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday November 07, 2003
There are fewer homeless people in Berkeley than previously believed, according to initial findings released Thursday from an Alameda County homeless survey. -more-

Kamlarz Picks Key Aides for New Era at City Hall

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday November 07, 2003
The aftershocks surrounding former City Manager Weldon Rucker’s September retirement announcement continue to rumble at Berkeley City Hall. -more-

News

Police Blotter

By MATTHEW ARTZ
Friday November 07, 2003
Newspaper thefts -more-

Singer, Mayor Join Forces to Honor Berkeley Veterans

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Friday November 07, 2003
In a city well-known for opposing wars, Tuesday’s upcoming Veteran’s Day ceremony has been designed to maintain the city’s traditional stance while ensuring that veterans are honored for their service to the community. -more-

Berkeley Hills Firestation Proposal Survives Couple’s Legal Challenge

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Friday November 07, 2003
Proponents of the proposed Berkeley Hills firehouse scored a victory Wednesday when an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled against two homeowners suing to stop construction. -more-

Berkeley Hills Firestation Proposal Survives Couple’s Legal Challenge

By JAKOB SCHILLER
Friday November 07, 2003
Proponents of the proposed Berkeley Hills firehouse scored a victory Wednesday when an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled against two homeowners suing to stop construction. -more-

Franklin School Plan Approved

Matthew Artz
Friday November 07, 2003
The Berkeley Unified School District Board unanimously approved changes to the site plan of the Franklin Adult School at their Wednesday meeting. -more-

UnderCurrents: Heed the Meaning, Not Dean’s Clumsy Remarks

J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Friday November 07, 2003
A small sandy-haired boy was throwing stones at the master’s recently invented (and highly successful) plow. Benignly Jefferson watched the boy…who was now periously climbing a tree. -more-

Telegraph Tour Looks Back Through History

By STEVE FINACOM Special to the Planet
Friday November 07, 2003
150 years ago, when the first American settlers were arriving in what would become Berkeley, the area now south of the university campus was a grassy slope with views in all directions and perhaps a few of the Peralta family’s cattle wandering through. -more-

Erik Olson: Erik Landes-Brenman, city union representative, listens glumly as Council considers reopening the existing labor contract.
Erik Olson: Erik Landes-Brenman, city union representative, listens glumly as Council considers reopening the existing labor contract.

Editorials

French Cuisine, Free Wi-FiAwait Bateau Ivre Patrons

By Becky O’Malley
Friday November 07, 2003
So you’re writing a novel. Or you wish you were writing a novel. Right away, you come up against Virginia Woolf’s famous Hard Saying: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Men as well as women have read that sentence, looked around at their living space, and abandoned worthwhile writing projects. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Columnists

Arts & Entertainment