A black acacia tree in Live Oak Park, nearly 100 years old and for years home to a family of Cooper’s hawks, was removed Saturday as neighbors looked on. -more-
A member of the Oakland coalition that sought a citizen referendum on the controversial Oak to Ninth project says that the group “is, of course, planning a legal challenge” to an Oakland city attorney’s ruling throwing out referendum petitions. -more-
Both Telegraph Avenue area candidates, incumbent Kriss Worthington and challenger George Beier, wrap themselves in the “progressive” mantle, but the two are distinguished by their support within the community and by their approaches to issues affecting students, particularly public safety and housing. -more-
Just because you don’t plunk down 50 cents for your Daily Planet or your Daily Cal, that doesn’t mean free newspapers are without value. That’s the basis of AB 2612, authored by George Plescia (R-San Diego) and signed by the governor. -more-
Negotiations over the sale of 8.25 acres of Lake Merritt area Oakland Unified School District property will be extended for another 90 days, according to a representative of the East Coast developers involved in the negotiations. -more-
Pacific Steel Casting handed over their emissions inventory report to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District early last week, according to PSC spokesperson Elizabeth Jewell. -more-
“Day to day we all get along,” assures community leader Arturo Ybarra, unintentionally alluding to Rodney King’s famous post-riot plea, “Can we all get along?” -more-
Many readers requested contact information for the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery, following the article in the Sept. 8 issue. The website for the co-op is www.berkeleycog.org. -more-
Sept. 1 was a day of victory for environmentalists, organic farmers, and local government around the state, as a bill that would have barred cities and counties from passing laws that restrict genetically modified foods (GMOs) did not come to a vote in the State Senate, effectively killing the bill. -more-
Could you imagine being a student who didn’t have a math class for five days? Could you imagine being a student desperately trying to switch out of a class of 50 students? Could you imagine being a student who signed up for Latin 5/6, but ended up in Spanish 1/2? -more-
Three generations of Cody’s Books owners—Pat Cody, Andy Ross and Hiroshi Kagawa—sat around a small table Thursday morning at the Fourth Street store. -more-
The city of Berkeley could have a full retail food co-op as early as next year if all goes as planned for a group of residents from Berkeley and Oakland, who are launching the prospective grocery. -more-
Oakland Unified School District trustees passed a resolution Wednesday calling for a multi-grade education center to replace the high-rise condominium tower development being considered for the district’s downtown administration building site. -more-
“We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us,” chanted more than 150 people who rallied for immigrant and workers’ rights on Labor Day at St. Joseph the Worker Church. -more-
Police continue to investigate the murder of Wayne Drummond, 23, who died of a gunshot wound to the torso in the early hours of Sept. 4. No suspects have been arrested. -more-
A Superior Court judge struck down the citizen challenge to Berkeley’s Measure J ballot language following an hour-long hearing on Tuesday, meaning that the legal analysis proposed by the Berkeley City Attorney’s office and approved by City Council on a divided vote will appear on the November ballot. -more-
Just returned from Haiti, participants in a conference of Haitian progressives and international supporters in Port-au-Prince will share their experiences meeting with political prisoners just released from jail and their eyewitness account of a U.N. military operation in a poor neighborhood. -more-
UC Berkeley police arrested three people on felony drug charges today following an incident in which about a dozen students were briefly hospitalized after consuming what are suspected to be marijuana-laced cookies. -more-
Royal Grounds coffee house, underneath the university-owned Manville Apartments for graduate students, was the scene of a hit-and-run accident on Sunday. -more-
At Wednesday’s joint meeting of the Transportation Commission and the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee, board members discussed and debated downtown parking in Berkeley. -more-
Are you a student? Do you need all those extra dimes and nickels to pay your tuition? But, you still need to eat, right? Here are a few restaurants around campus that can keep your stomach and wallet full. -more-
The Planet has received a second commentary (opinion essay) from Kurosh (Cyrus) Arianpour, a student who is Iranian by nationality, Zoroasterian by religion, used to live in Berkeley and is currently studying physics in Bombay and learning English. Publication of his first letter upset many Planet readers and others who saw it quoted elsewhere. Since his second letter is substantially similar to the first one, we will not print it in full. In summary: he says he’s outraged by Israel’s actions in Lebanon and in Gaza, and that many others throughout the world are also angry. He thinks critics of the Planet’s printing his first letter should instead be condemning Israel because of the civilian deaths in Lebanon. He quotes a writer who believes that Zionists are controlling Americans. He repeats the charges from his first letter: that Israel’s current policies are characteristic of the behavior of what he calls “Jews/Zionists” throughout history and around the world, and as such are the cause of anti-Semitism. We’d like to take the opportunity now to set him straight about a few of his most egregious misconceptions: -more-
Among the many depressing news items in a discouraging week was this one, as headlined in the San Jose Mercury News: -more-
History was made in the California State Legislature last month when it sent SB 840 to the governor’s desk! Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s single payer health care bill would extend coverage to all California residents for less than what is spent collectively now by employers, consumers and local, state and federal government. Patients would choose their own doctors or providers, pre-existing conditions would be covered, all needed services, drugs, hospital stays, therapies and medical equipment would be covered, and there would be no co-pays or deductibles for at least the first two years. -more-
This is Berkeley’s season for political endorsements. But there is only one group which is actively inviting all progressives to attend, to debate and to vote, and that is the Berkeley Progressive Coalition. All are invited to the candidates convention from 2-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 at Washington School at MLK and Bancroft. -more-
A recent regional study by the Bay Area Council contains some eye-opening statistics about Berkeley working and commuting patterns. According to the BAC, of Berkeley’s 71,172 jobs in 2005, only a third (33.1 percent) were held by Berkeley residents, meaning two-thirds commuted to work here, while more than half of the city’s 54,421 employed citizens (56.7 percent) commuted to jobs out of town. Taken together, this means that nearly 78,500 workers—not counting students—commute into or out of Berkeley every workday. And the large majority of them still do so by private automobile. -more-
My profound respect and admiration for Executive Editor Becky O’Malley for opening wide a door for so many people to speak up, write letters, discuss important controversial subjects some of which rarely are touched upon, let alone, discussed. She has shown her commitment to the First Amendment of the Constitution and its protection of freedom of speech and the press. -more-
Catching up on my summer reading, I was shocked to read an editorial by Kurosh Arianpour titled “Commentary: Zionist Crimes in Lebanon” in the Aug. 8 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet. While people of good will can debate vigorously over the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors, there is no place for the sickening level of anti-Semitic discourse in Mr. Arianpour’s writing. The commentary in question is a classic example of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have left a stain on the conscience of the world and sadly continue to have life today. Mr. Arianpour seeks to pin the blame of the problems of Jewish people on the Jews themselves, calling them not the “Chosen People” but the “Chosen Murderers.” The hateful and theologically and historically mistaken depictions of the Jewish people Mr. Arianpour presents is a classic expression of the most virulent, and destructive brands of anti-Semitic ideology. His claims for a far-reaching, even global, conspiracy in service of Jewish interests are direct descendents of the blueprint for modern anti-Semitism, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Despite having been conclusively identified as a forgery, The Protocols have inspired both popular and state sanctioned violence and murder against Jews in Tsarist Russia and Nazi Germany. Sadly, the influence of The Protocols is found in anti-Semitic organizations and publications around the globe, from America to South Africa to Egypt, and apparently even to India, from where Mr. Arianpour hails. Although Mr. Arianpour has the right to express his views, I am deeply distressed that the editors of the Berkeley Daily Planet lacked the common sense to refuse to publish what was a patently anti-Semitic diatribe. I seriously question the decisionmaking skills of the editors and their priorities. -more-
As I live in San Francisco, I rarely read the Daily Planet, but an article in the Chronicle last week sent me scurrying to google your web page and read in the Aug. 8 issue the simplistic idiocies of Kurosh Arianpour in his diatribe against the Jews of all times and places. I wanted to be certain that they are as ill-informed, hateful, and stupid as the critics of the Daily Planet allege—they are—but no more hateful and stupid than the demands that Ms. O’Malley apologize for having published his ignorant nonsense, even as she published theirs. -more-
The more articles I read about Cody’s bookstore on Telegraph in Berkeley closing its doors, with all the usual finger-pointing at panhandlers and street artists as the culprits responsible, the more peculiar the story seems. -more-
The phone rang, as it always does on Sunday afternoon. “Susan,” said the voice on the other end of the line, “this is your mother.” -more-
By Joe Eaton -more-
And what is my view from here? As I look out on my street, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, I hear more than see it. The rumble of trucks, the screeching of bad brakes as another pedestrian barely escapes the peril of crossing MLK at Stuart Street. I smell it, too. The toxic exhaust from far too many cars streaming through this residential neighborhood, cutting it in half, covering what used to be delicious, edible frontyard blackberries and plums with scary brown dust. -more-
In the autumn of my 19th year, I was living with a group of friends in a row house in the northwest section of D.C. These were poverty times—on days I could put together a solid dollar bill in my pocket, I felt fabulous. I went out looking for a job each day, with no luck. Finally, embarrassed that I was the only one in the house not bringing anything home for meals, I went into a supermarket and tried to shoplift a steak. Bad idea, like our governor used to say in his movies. I made it as far as the doorway past the checkout stands—after that, it was a fairly short drive down to the D.C. Detention Center and then a visit with the night court judge for arraignment. -more-
Ever dream about living in a neighborhood where spreading trees shade well-tended bungalows? Strong neighborhood school, small attractive parks and retail choices just down the street. Enough variety to satisfy every whim so a day can be enjoyed without requiring a car. Wake up on Saturday morning, feed the pets, throw on some clothes and stroll down the street for coffee and pastries or a full breakfast. -more-
One of the most imposing Victorian-era homes in Berkeley, the Boudrow House at Sea Captain Corner was constructed in 1889, when Berkeley, whose population then numbered about 12,000, was a favorite retirement spot for mariners. -more-
I don’t actually hate Norm, I sort of like the guy. It’s nice to see someone on TV that would never have made it on his headshot and a screen-test. Those other folks on Hometime, now them I hate. They’re all cute and American looking and blond. Kachunk, Blam, Kachunk, Blam. Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like large caliber gunfire to sooth the chakras. -more-
If you find yourself over by Lake Merritt, there’s a nursery tucked into Jean Street on Grand Avenue that’s worth a visit. -more-
Gas Shut-off Valve – Is It Worth It? -more-
By Ken Bullock -more-
By Joe Eaton -more-
A couple hours south of Berkeley by car, the West Coast’s longest-running jazz festival—at 49, the longest-running in the same location in the world—is gearing up to swing the weekend of Sept. 15-17, on the Monterey County Fairgrounds. -more-
In May, the Daily Planet reviewed the theatrical re-release of Carol Reed’s 1948 classic The Fallen Idol, which had opened in San Francisco and was scheduled to open in Berkeley the following week. However, the day the review was published, we were informed that the East Bay engagement had been canceled due to poor attendance at the San Francisco screenings. A few readers were a bit annoyed. -more-
The Global Lens Film Series starts today at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater. Now in its third year, the festival’s mission is to “promote cross-cultural understanding through cinema” by screening narrative films of merit that have been overlooked by U.S. distributors. -more-
Ever dream about living in a neighborhood where spreading trees shade well-tended bungalows? Strong neighborhood school, small attractive parks and retail choices just down the street. Enough variety to satisfy every whim so a day can be enjoyed without requiring a car. Wake up on Saturday morning, feed the pets, throw on some clothes and stroll down the street for coffee and pastries or a full breakfast. -more-
One of the most imposing Victorian-era homes in Berkeley, the Boudrow House at Sea Captain Corner was constructed in 1889, when Berkeley, whose population then numbered about 12,000, was a favorite retirement spot for mariners. -more-
I don’t actually hate Norm, I sort of like the guy. It’s nice to see someone on TV that would never have made it on his headshot and a screen-test. Those other folks on Hometime, now them I hate. They’re all cute and American looking and blond. Kachunk, Blam, Kachunk, Blam. Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like large caliber gunfire to sooth the chakras. -more-
If you find yourself over by Lake Merritt, there’s a nursery tucked into Jean Street on Grand Avenue that’s worth a visit. -more-
Gas Shut-off Valve – Is It Worth It? -more-
