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FCC Threatens Berkeley Liberation Radio By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
The next sound a Berkeley Liberation Radio (BLR) broadcaster may hear just might be the dreaded knock on the door from a federal SWAT team. -more-

Pollster Finds Little Support for Magna’s Proposed Albany Mall By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Albany residents reject a proposed shopping mall at Golden Gates Fields by a convincing margin, according to a poll City Councilmember Robert Lieber submitted to his colleagues Monday night. -more-

School Board Plans Hearing, Vote on Jefferson Name Change By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Two years after a group of Jefferson Elementary School parents and teachers began circulating a petition to change the school’s name because of Thomas Jefferson’s connection to slavery, the general Berkeley public will get its first—and only—opportunity to officially enter the process when the BUSD Board of Education holds a public hearing on the issue prior to Wednesday night’s regular board meeting. -more-

AC Transit Hikes Fares By CASSIE NORTON

Tuesday June 21, 2005
After months of deliberation, AC Transit’s Board of Directors has settled on a fare hike in an attempt to offset a projected $40 million budget deficit. -more-

City Employee Retires at 84 After 50 Years of Service By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday June 21, 2005
After two decades of escorting Berkeley school children across some of Berkeley’s busiest intersections, George Harris—one of the city’s oldest crossing guards—turned in his stop sign Friday. -more-

News

Council Considers Secrecy Ban, Budget, Drayage By MATTHEW ARTZ

Tuesday June 21, 2005
A proposal at Tuesday’s Berkeley City Council meeting could constrain Berkeley’s recent practice of settling city land use lawsuits behind closed doors. -more-

Meetings Target Concerns at Toxic Richmond Sites By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Concerns over a pair of contaminated sites in Richmond will be addressed at two meetings this week and another on June 30. All are being convened by state agencies. -more-

Transportation Commission Declines to Choose Ferry Site By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Berkeley’s Transportation Commissioners refused Thursday to endorse the Waterfront Commission’s June 8 recommendation to choose the dock at the Doubletree Hotel as the future terminal for ferry service. -more-

Brower Center on ZAB, Planning Agendas By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Plans for the new David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza affordable housing complex will be presented at both the City of Berkeley Planning Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) this week. -more-

Correction

Tuesday June 21, 2005
A June 3 story, “Health Officer Charges Department With Misuse of Public Funds,” reported the following: “Berkeley has a track record of misappropriating public health money. In 2000, the city had to backfill the public health reserve fund $2.4 million after the state determined that since 1993 Berkeley had illegally used the money to pay for other city expenses.” In fact, there was never an allegation from the state Department of Health and Human Services of either misappropriation or illegal use of funds. The state agency asked the city to redeposit state funds from its General Fund to a special health fund for accounting purposes. -more-

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Tuesday June 21, 2005
http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work? -more-

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday June 21, 2005
DRAYAGE -more-

Column: The Public Eye: What’s the Matter with Berkeley? By ZELDA BRONSTEIN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Still reeling from the news of the City Council majority’s secret sell-out to the university, I opened the June 20 Nation and read that Berkeley is part of an “urban archipelago” of “progressive cities in a conservative sea.” According to John Nichols’ cover story, progressive agendas, blocked at the federal and state levels, are being advanced in municipal venues around the country. -more-

Column: Love Us Because We’re Fabulous: 50 Ways to Support LGBT By SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Prolific local writer Meredith Maran has added another tome to her long list of writing accomplishments, this time in the form of anthology: 50 Ways To Support Lesbian & Gay Equality (Inner Ocean Publishing, 165 pages, $14.95). Subtitled “The Complete Guide to Supporting Family, Friends-or Yourself,” its short and snappy personal essays are accompanied by tip sheets listing commonsense advice and a myriad of LGBT resources. -more-

Commentary: Why Do City Staff Plug Coporate Development? By GALE GARCIA

Tuesday June 21, 2005
I recently attended a meeting of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), on the topic of mixed-use infill development in Berkeley, hosted by Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks and Planning Manager Mark Rhoades—a truly enlightening experience. -more-

Commentary: SuperBOLD: Library Should Cut Losses By JANE WELFORD

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Matthew Artz makes it appear as though “a truce has been achieved in the war between labor and management” (“Library Budget Spares Jobs, Sunday Hours,” Daily Planet, June 10). As a member of Super Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense (SuperBOLD), I can report that the fight has only just begun. -more-

Commentary: Why My Name Is Burton By WINSTON BURTON

Tuesday June 21, 2005
I was recently at a meeting in the City of Berkeley where a conversation started regarding the Berkeley City Council’s 8-1 decision to review the background of vendors to see if they had any connection to slavery in the United States. Some people thought this was ridiculous… “You see, slavery was so long ago.” Some said, “The council should spend its time on more important issues.” I thought about, “Why my name is Burton.” -more-

Commentary: City Budget: Wasted Windfalls, Overlooked Opportunities By MARIE BOWMAN

Tuesday June 21, 2005
In November 2004 the residents of Berkeley sent the City Council a loud message: -more-

Sumptuous ‘Pearl Fishers’ is a Bargain for Opera Novices By KEN BULLOCK Special to the Planet

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Going up the steps from Van Ness into the lobby of San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House for the opening of Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, past the big floral displays and into the cavernous auditorium, looking up beyond the boxes, the grand tier (beautifully garlanded with white flowers and foliage) and the balcony, I thought of a comment by Bizet’s older contemporary, poet Charles Baudelaire: “The real hero in any theater is the chandelier”—an immense sunburst of glass and light. -more-

Arts Calendar

Tuesday June 21, 2005
TUESDAY, JUNE 21 -more-

Ash Trees Both Strong, Beautiful By RON SULLIVAN Special to the Planet

Tuesday June 21, 2005
Some ash trees are among the last to leaf out in Berkeley every spring—along with certain sycamores—and I’ve caught myself giving up on a few of the oldest specimens every year, supposing them dead at last. So many of our senior trees have been so grotesquely pruned for powerline clearance that I’ve become a bit of a pessimist about them. -more-

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday June 21, 2005
TUESDAY, JUNE 21 -more-

Richard Brenneman: Berkeley Liberation Radio deejay Screwy Lewie points to the notice served on the unlicensed microradio station Friday by agent Glenn Phillips of the Federation Communications Commission two days after the agency issued a cease-and-desist order calling for an end to the station’s broadcasts..
Richard Brenneman: Berkeley Liberation Radio deejay Screwy Lewie points to the notice served on the unlicensed microradio station Friday by agent Glenn Phillips of the Federation Communications Commission two days after the agency issued a cease-and-desist order calling for an end to the station’s broadcasts..

Editorials

BHS Student Artist Wins Congressional Art Award By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Tuesday June 21, 2005
The office of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) announced this week that Berkeley High School student Naomi Drexler is the ninth congressional district winner of the annual Congressional Art Competition, the third time a BHS student has won the award in recent years. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Columnists

Arts & Entertainment

Events Calendar