Page One

Council Approves Loan For Brower Center By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Berkeley city councilmembers voted Tuesday to pledge $4 million in federal funds to pay for community services and affordable housing as collateral for a federal loan to help fund the David Brower Center and Oxford Plaza. -more-

Boom Ends For South Asian Shops Competition Heats Up in Berkeley’s ‘Little India’ By Riya Bhattacharjee Special to the Planet

Friday January 27, 2006
Sitting in his curio shop on University Avenue, Tsewang Khangsar recalls the onerous journey that he had made almost 45 years ago across the Himalayas from Tibet. -more-

Focus on West Berkeley Getting the Job Done By MARTA YAMAMOTO Special to the Planet

Friday January 27, 2006
There’s no denying that Berkeley has a worldwide reputation, not always positive. From humble beginnings in the 1850s, through the turbulent 1960s and up to today, Berkeley’s citizens are seldom shy about voicing their passions. -more-

Density Bonus Committee Explores Retail, In-Lieu Fees By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Members of the joint commission formed to look into the city’s density bonus are moving closer to formulating suggestions for a new ordinance. -more-

Report: Oakland May Be Closer to a Teacher Strike By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday January 27, 2006
A report on negotiations between the Oakland Unified School District and the Oakland Education Association has brought the city closer to a teacher strike or closer to a settlement. -more-

News

Planners Ponder Creeks, Car Dealers, Transportation Fees By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Planning Commissioners tackled creeks, cars dealerships and a proposed transportation services fee Wednesday—long-term issues that will eventually result in new city ordinances. -more-

Captain Yee: The Truth About Guantanamo By Pacific News Service

Friday January 27, 2006
In September 2003, two days after receiving an excellent evaluation, Chaplain James Yee was arrested, charged with espionage and thrown into solitary confinement for 76 days. When he left the Army in 2005 after all charges were dropped, he received a medal. He recounts his journey from Muslim American poster boy to “enemy of the state” in his memoir, For God and Country. Yee was interviewed by Sandip Roy, host of “UpFront,” New America Media's radio program. -more-

The Paper Ceiling By NICK GUROFF Pacific News Service

Friday January 27, 2006
Brenda ran Los Angeles’ citywide marathon representing John Adams Middle School. After finishing at the top of her age group, she felt “on top of the world.” -more-

Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Two-alarm blaze -more-

Police Blotter By RICHARD BRENNEMAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Burglar nailed -more-

Stephan Babuljak: Little Tibet co-owner Tseten Khangsar helps UC Berkeley student Shelley Meabon try on clothing at the shop on Wednesday..
Stephan Babuljak: Little Tibet co-owner Tseten Khangsar helps UC Berkeley student Shelley Meabon try on clothing at the shop on Wednesday..

Editorials

Editorial Oakland’s Charms Often Unappreciated By BECKY O'MALLEY

Friday January 27, 2006
Today’s letters column contains an indignant response from an Oakland booster to a recent commentary from a Berkeley man who seems to think that Oakland will be getting a lot of new residents who won’t have much to entertain them. And also, that Berkeley’s much-hyped new Arts District is entertainment central, but there are not enough downtown residents to enjoy the fun. Oakland has every right to be annoyed. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Editorial Cartoon By JUSTIN DEFREITAS

Friday January 27, 2006

Letters to the Editor

Friday January 27, 2006
TRANSIT VILLAGE -more-

Commentary: Is a Transit Village Economically Feasible? By Robert Lauriston

Friday January 27, 2006
Since I first saw the city’s Caltrans grant application last month, I had the gut feeling that the 50 units per acre it envisioned was nowhere near dense enough to make a for-profit project on the site economically feasible. This week, I finally found the data to back up that guess: a 2004 study performed by the Berkeley consulting firm Strategic Economics for the East Bay Community Foundation. -more-

Commentary: Karl Marx Was Right By Alan Christie Swain

Friday January 27, 2006
Karl Marx was right; he only had to wait a little longer. Marxists once claimed that European capitalism was advancing into its final stages, decadence would overwhelm the West and capitalism’s contradictions would cause the system to collapse. Today, demographic collapse and cultural decadence may finally usher in the end stage of the ancient culture we share with Europe. -more-

Commentary: The Destruction of Lake Merritt By James Sayre

Friday January 27, 2006
Thank you for publishing your Jan. 24 front-page story, “Lake Merritt Tree Supporters Unmoved by Public Works Tour.” It revealed some new and troubling details about the Oakland city staff’s mentality behind its pig-headed plans to “rebuild” the Lake Merritt shorelines by killing more than 200 mature trees. This mentality seems to be “we had to destroy the shoreline to save it.” This would seem to parallel the Bush plan for Iraq: first destroy it and then rebuilt it at an obscene profit, as per the notorious no-bid contracts let to Halliburton. -more-

Columnists

Column: The Public Eye: The Death of the Triumphant Individual By Bob Burnett

Friday January 27, 2006
In a March article in The New Republic, Robert Reich wrote of four essential American stories. One of these is “the triumphant individual,” the little guy who pulls himself up by the bootstraps. Thanks to the Bush administration, that story has died for most Americans. -more-

Column: Undercurrents: Debating the Future of Oakland By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Staff
Friday January 27, 2006
Competitive elections give citizens a rare opportunity: a chance to participate in a discussion that could actually affect the future of their community. -more-

About the House: Detailed Inspections Can Benefit Sellers By MATT CANTOR

Friday January 27, 2006
Eighteen years ago, when I started in the inspection business, my clients were always buyers and never sellers. In fact, sellers and, all too often, their agents, viewed the inspection as an assault on their homes. This was often miserable and I was sometimes foolish enough to take the bait and join in the adversarial tone of the conflict. When sellers insisted on being home, pitch-fork in hand to defend their turf from my unfair assertions, I would debate and even argue on occasion. -more-

Garden Variety: Garden Preparation Means Getting to Know the Dirt By RON SULLIVAN

Friday January 27, 2006
Last week I counseled patience with a newly acquired garden. Honest to Ceres, it really does pay off, or at least cost less in terms of lost plants and ego-damage, to wait a full year before doing anything major and permanent to your land. You don’t have to sit on your thumbs: put in some encouraging annuals, watch when sprouts from whatever was left behind, and get your hands in the dirt in the meantime. You know you want to. -more-

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Friday January 27, 2006
FRIDAY, JAN. 27 -more-

Arts: A Graceful and EvocativeOne-Woman Performance By KEN BULLOCKSpecial to the Planet

Friday January 27, 2006
“Early in the morning, always early, I come to throw dead shoes in the river ... today the river must eat.” -more-

Arts: A Cappella Contest A Treat for the Ears By STEVEN FINACOM Special to the Planet

Friday January 27, 2006
Ah, a cappella. -more-

Events Calendar

Berkeley This Week

Friday January 27, 2006