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Berkeley High Teach-In Targets War and Military Recruitment By JUDITH SCHERR

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
The military recruitment budget is $3 billion annually; 90 percent of the people killed in war are civilian noncombatants; 91 percent of Berkeley High students believe the war in Iraq is wrong and illegal; 65 percent of veterans never get their education benefits; 33 percent of homeless men are veterans…. -more-

Eviction Reprieve For Drayage Tenants, But Fight Continues By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday March 25, 2005
More than two dozen tenants of a West Berkeley live-work warehouse that was declared “an extreme fire and life safety hazard” will be able to stay in their homes for two extra weeks under the protection of the Berkeley Fire Department, the city’s fire marshal announced Thursday. -more-

Oakland City Council Candidate Speaks Against Recruitment By JUDITH SCHERR

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Aimee Allison has come a long way from the 17-year-old kid at Antioch High who joined the Army Reserves to get an education. The 35-year-old Stanford graduate and Green Party candidate for Oakland’s District 2 write-in election (to replace a councilmember who quit) spoke at Wednesday’s Berkeley High military recruitment teach-in, explaining how she joined the Army. -more-

Oakland City Council Candidate Speaks Against Recruitment By JUDITH SCHERR

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Aimee Allison has come a long way from the 17-year-old kid at Antioch High who joined the Army Reserves to get an education. The 35-year-old Stanford graduate and Green Party candidate for Oakland’s District 2 write-in election (to replace a councilmember who quit) spoke at Wednesday’s Berkeley High military recruitment teach-in, explaining how she joined the Army. -more-

City Council Votes Not to Bail Out Programs By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday March 25, 2005
As Berkeley seeks to close an $8.9 million budget deficit, the City Council Tuesday voted to ensure that an unanticipated $3.4 million property tax windfall doesn’t bail out threatened programs. -more-

G.O.P Blocks Effort to Name Post Office for Maudelle Shirek By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday March 25, 2005
Opposition from Republican lawmakers has apparently halted a bid to name Berkeley’s main post office after the 93-year-old local civil rights icon Maudelle Shirek. -more-

News

Pumping Concrete By JAKOB SCHILLER

Friday March 25, 2005
Poitier McDaniel, 26, gets his daily exercise Thursday by lifting a chunk of old concrete on Ashby Avenue.. -more-

Slashing Suspect Charged With Attempted Murder; Psychiatric Evaluation Ordered By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday March 25, 2005
The 16-year-old girl charged with slashing the neck of a 75-year-old Berkeley woman will undergo a psychiatric evaluation and remain in custody, her attorney said Thursday. -more-

Eight New Names Offered for Jefferson School By MATTHEW ARTZ

Friday March 25, 2005
After two years of fierce debate, the parents, students and staff of Jefferson Elementary School will decide if they want their building to continue to bear the name of a slaveholder. -more-

American Indian Press Grapples With Red Lake Shootings By DAFFODIL ALTAN

Pacific News Service
Friday March 25, 2005
The story sounds familiar. A teenager shoots five of his fellow high school students, his grandfather, his grandfather’s wife, a security guard, a teacher and himself. Newspapers report he wore a long black coat, and may have posted messages on neo-Nazi websites. It is said he was teased at school. -more-

Letters to the Editor

Friday March 25, 2005
NO BRAINS -more-

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DeFREITAS

Friday March 25, 2005
Click here to view the latest work by Planet cartoonist Justin DeFreitas› -more-

Berkeley Boys Battle for Black GI Joes BY P.M. PRICE Column

THE VIEW FROM HERE
Friday March 25, 2005
We have a break in the rain so I’m sitting out here in my backyard listening to my 10-year-old son and his buddy setting up GI Joes in preparation for war. That Jason even has such a vast army is somewhat startling to this middle-aged hippie who refused to buy him a single toy gun until a few years ago, when I broke down in the middle of an unusually hot summer and bought water pistols for both my son and daughter. Since then, I have been needled, harassed and otherwise tricked into purchasing numerous toy soldiers and their gear, all of which Jason insisted were just for display but I now see are being readied for serious battle. -more-

Police Blotter

Friday March 25, 2005
Cops Take a Blow -more-

Drayage Building Resident Responds To Evictions By VINCE MAZZI Commentary

Friday March 25, 2005
Berkeley Fire Marshal David Orth has classified the Drayage building as an “extremely hazardous situation,” even though he knows of no fire incidents or injuries in the past 20 years connected to the residents living in this “situation.” Mr. Orth brushes off this strong history as “lucky.” -more-

Teachers Want More Money, Smaller Classes By MARY WRENN Commentary

Friday March 25, 2005
Becky O’Malley’s latest editorial demonstrated a surprisingly shallow understanding of the current contract negotiations between teachers and the Berkeley Unified School District and the realities of teaching in Berkeley. -more-

Creeks Task Force to Review Ordinance By HELEN BURKE Commentary

Friday March 25, 2005
The City Council’s decision to create a Creeks Task Force to review the Creeks Ordinance and to make recommendations back to the council provides the City of Berkeley with a great opportunity to protect creeks while at the same time being sensitive to private property interests and concerns. -more-

She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain... By MADELINE DUCKLES

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Well, maybe not driving six white horses, but Jeannette Rankin of Montana will be coming to Berkeley in a performance of the play, A Single Woman, based on the words and the writings of this unique, pioneering woman. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to be elected to Congress in 1916, before universal women’s suffrage; she was a pacifist who voted against entry into World War I; then, gerrymandered out of office, she was re-elected in 1940, and was the lone vote against participation in World War II. She was much reviled for this, but she was a feisty woman and ably defended her decision. -more-

A Melange of Comic Styles Showcased in Berkeley Rep’s ‘For Better or For Worse’ By KEN BULLOCK

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Under the tracery and flaring supports of the Eiffel Tower, there’s a dining room and a fainting couch on the Berkeley Rep Thrust Stage: Kent Dorsey’s design. -more-

Gideon Lazarus: From School To Stage at Berkeley Rep By KEN BULLOCK

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Gideon Lazarus has a lot going on in his life, but discusses it calmly, with flashes of wry humor that make others laugh. -more-

Arts Calendar

Friday March 25, 2005
FRIDAY, MARCH 25 -more-

Walks in the Wilds of Ireland’s Beara and Dingle Peninsulas Walks in the Wilds of Ireland’s Beara and Dingle Peninsulas By MARTA YAMAMOTO

Special to the Planet
Friday March 25, 2005
Ah. Rugged mountains. Creamy porridge. Jagged peninsulas. Irish soda bread. Sparkling blue vistas. Guinness stout. Verdant glens. “Shorties” biscuits. Rolling hills. Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. -more-

Berkeley This Week

Friday March 25, 2005
FRIDAY, MARCH 25 -more-

Judith Scherr: Danielle Schnur, one of the student organizers of Wednesday's Berkeley High teach in, talks to Army recruiter Sgt. First Class Marco Ramos during a break.
Judith Scherr: Danielle Schnur, one of the student organizers of Wednesday's Berkeley High teach in, talks to Army recruiter Sgt. First Class Marco Ramos during a break.

Editorials

Planet Celebrates Two Years Next Friday By BECKY O'MALLEY Editorial

Friday March 25, 2005
This month the United States celebrates National Free Newspaper Week, and on April 1, an auspicious date with lively associations, the Berkeley Daily Planet will be celebrating our second anniversary of revived publication, timed to coincide with the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the city of Berkeley. It’s hard to believe it’s been two years, but here we are, doing well and even expanding. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Columnists

Arts & Entertainment