Mourners Remember a Life Of Adventure and Challenges By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
A remarkable cross section of Berkeley gathered beneath a gingko tree Saturday morning to mourn the death of Carla-Helen Toth and celebrate her remarkable life. -more-
A remarkable cross section of Berkeley gathered beneath a gingko tree Saturday morning to mourn the death of Carla-Helen Toth and celebrate her remarkable life. -more-
Father George Crespin abruptly retired from his post as pastor of Berkeley’s St. Joseph The Worker parish last week amid an accusation that he sexually abused a parishioner 30 years ago. -more-
A former employee at the Oakland Animal Shelter has detailed what she says are systemic abuses by shelter management. The list of wrongdoings include euthanizing dogs that were cleared for adoption, euthanizing dogs without sedatives and in one case mistakenly leaving a live dog in a freezer in a barrel with dead dogs. -more-
North Oakland and South Berkeley residents got their first glimpse Saturday of a little-known tribe’s plans to build a major casino next to an environmentally sensitive stretch of shoreline near Oakland International Airport. -more-
An early windfall courtesy of Sacramento and Wall Street could erase a chunk of the city’s looming budget deficit. -more-
A memorial service for Karl Linn is planned for March 20 at Northbrae Community Church on The Alameda in Berkeley from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. -more-
The City Council Monday named Sara Cox as Berkeley’s new city clerk. -more-
There were few dry handkerchiefs Friday evening as Berkeley firefighters said their final goodbyes to their loyal partner and best friend. -more-
A controversial proposal to develop Laney College properties and the Peralta Colleges Administration Building land ran into a significant setback last week when a meeting designed to win over Laney College support instead appeared to stiffen opposition. -more-
Planning commissioners will conduct their third hearing Wednesday on plans to build a second Berkeley Bowl near the heavily traveled intersection of Ashby Avenue and Ninth Street. -more-
Following approvals by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, marsh excavations have resumed at the waterfront edge of Richmond’s Campus Bay. -more-
Three days before Christmas I had to fire the two people who helped me with my husband’s care. I broke out in hives the moment I asked them to leave. It was not a good sign. -more-
Blaze Erupts During Concert -more-
The Berkeley Daily Planet, in the Feb. 1-3 edition, ran two lengthy opinion pieces critical of the attempts to close Derby Street by the School Board and city in order to accommodate a full size baseball field. -more-
With regard to closing Derby Street, it doesn’t serve the community to have the Berkeley Daily Planet highlighting letters (such as Dorothy Bryant’s and Peter Schorer’s) which give the illusion of informed knowledge but in truth are factually inaccurate. Given that the Daily Planet is used by many of us to become educated about local issues, letters like these do us all a disservice. -more-
What’s so impossibly sad about the vitriolic editorial comments in the Daily Planet about the East Campus/Derby Street project, attacking the city, the School Board, and the writers’ fellow Berkeley citizens, is not just that their listed objections have almost no basis in reality. In fact, there is no intended “commercial” use of the proposed facilities, other than of course the use for a commercial “Farmers Market” by a private business, the Ecology Center (which everyone agrees should stay on site); t here are no planned night games or night field lighting; there is no plan for any amplified sound system (other than the Farmer’s Market request for an “entertainment” space to host music); any field, of any size, will need to be fenced for safety reasons; any field, of any size (including a regulation baseball diamond that includes a multi-purpose field) will be available for all of the dozens of sports that boys and girls play in this city; any field, of any size, will bring according to the city’s Envi ronmental Impact Report only a minimal increase in traffic; replacing the dilapidated, vermin infested portables on site now with a field of any size can only increase, not decrease, property values. -more-
The February-March issue of Nick Jr., the national educators’ magazine operated by Nickelodeon children’s channel, lists Berkeley’s LeConte School as operating one of the 10 best elementary school cafeterias in America. -more-
In Mary Shogren’s kindergarten class at LeConte Elementary School, some students can’t understand a single word she says. Sitting on the floor with wide-eyed gazes, they stare at her as she reads a children’s book aloud. Some seem to understand everything, while others look puzzled. -more-
The title for this piece is taken from the Fêtes de la Nuit that I saw in the gardens at Versailles several years ago—fetes that were supposed to recall the sorts of entertainments that Louis XIV staged for his own pleasure ... full of huntsman, hunting dogs, courtiers, ballet dancers, and fireworks. Needless to say, my Fêtes are very different: they are the modern world, the democratic world, the world as seen, not through the eyes of a king, but through the eyes of a citizen. -more-
The San Pablo City Council meets Wednesday at noon to consider building plans from the Lytton Band of Pomos for the 2,500-slot machine casino they plan to build at the site of the current Casino San Pablo card room. -more-
I’m interrupting the trees-of-Berkeley series for a short rant. Nice words about our city’s trees will resume in two weeks. -more-
A Berkeley High School student found with a gun last week on campus was arrested and has been expelled, said district officials, who added that the student’s actions were apparently inadvertent and it did not appear that the student intended to use the weapon. -more-
BHS Student Expelled For Bringing Gun to School By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-08-2005
How Wells Fargo Took Betty Bunton’s SSI Money Before She Died By BECKYO'MALLEY Editorial 02-04-2005
Mourners Remember a Life Of Adventure and Challenges By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
St. Joseph’s Priest Resigns Amid Sex Allegations By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-08-2005
Whistleblower Accuses Oakland Animal Shelter of Systemic Abuse By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-08-2005
North Oaklanders Blast Airport Casino Plan By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
City Eyes Early Delivery of VLF Funds By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-08-2005
Linn Memorial 02-08-2005
Sara Cox Named New City Clerk By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-08-2005
Fire Department Pays Respect to Rescue Dog By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-08-2005
Laney Developer Fails to Win Support for Plan By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-08-2005
Berkeley Bowl Tops Planning Agenda By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
Feds OK Continuing Campus Bay Cleanup By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
Letters to the Editor 02-08-2005
Editorial Cartoons By JUSTIN DeFREITAS 02-08-2005
Learning to Tolerate Almost Anything By SUSAN PARKER Column 02-08-2005
Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
School Board’s Stance on Derby By TERRY DORAN Commentary 02-08-2005
Clearing Up Derby Street Misconceptions By DOUG FIELDING Commentary 02-08-2005
Derby Field Debate Leaves Kids Out of the Loop By FRIENDS OF DERBY STREET PARK Commentary 02-08-2005
LeConte’s Top Ten Cafeteria No Match for its Cooking School By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-08-2005
LeConte Builds on Dual Immersion Language Program By SCOTT DEN HERDER Special to the Planet 02-08-2005
Mee’s Parisian Feast at Berkeley Rep By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 02-08-2005
Arts Calendar 02-08-2005
Lytton Band, San Pablo Council Meet Wednesday on Casino Plan By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-08-2005
Landscaping Fails When it Disregards the Real World By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet 02-08-2005
Berkeley This Week 02-08-2005
Berkeley Gardener Leaves Rich Legacy By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-04-2005
UC Unveils Stadium, Academic Commons Construction Plans By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-04-2005
Greenlining Institute Looks to Redraw Political Landscape By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-04-2005
Berkeley: The Left’s Test Lab By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-04-2005
School Board Blasts Governor’s Education Cuts By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 02-04-2005
State Mediator Calls Off UC-Union Negotiations By JAKOB SCHILLER 02-04-2005
Campus Bay Inspires Legislation By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-04-2005
Brennan’s, Nexus Gallery Top Landmarks Agenda By RICHARN BRENNEMAN 02-04-2005
Richmond Council Derails Campus Bay Panel By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-04-2005
Feds Want City to House Students By MATTHEW ARTZ 02-04-2005
Editorial Cartoons By JUSTIN DeFREITAS 02-04-2005
Letters to the Editor 02-04-2005
Mayor Brown Takes Wrong Turn with Parolee Curfew By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR Column UNDERCURRENTS OF THE EAST BAY AND BEYOND 02-04-2005
Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 02-04-2005
Why Not Create A Berkeley Night Life District? By ELLIOT COHEN Commentary 02-04-2005
Changes at California Monthly Threaten Magazine’s Independence By GRAY BRECHIN Commentary 02-04-2005
The Wrong Advice By ZELDA BRONSTEIN Commentary 02-04-2005
Berkeley’s Hidden Lodges Revealed in Lecture Series By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet 02-04-2005
TheatreFIRST Unveils the Colors of Fronteras Americanas By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet 02-04-2005
Arts Calendar 02-04-2005
Arts Lead Way to Learning At Berkeley Magnet School By JEFF KEARNS Special to the Planet 02-04-2005
Berkeley This Week 02-04-2005