News

Reflections on the Washington Peace March by Betty Medsger -more-

The message delivered by thousands of sign-bearing, chanting people at Saturday’s San Francisco march and rally was clear: U.S. out of Iraq. -more-

The Save-the-Oaks community celebrated victory Monday when Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller stopped the University of California from moving forward with its plans to chop down a grove of old oak trees and replace it with a training center for student athletes—atop what is quite possibly a fissure of an active earthquake fault. -more-

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and other city officials held a press conference Monday after the Alameda County Superior Court issued an injunction to stop UC Berkeley’s construction of the new Student Athlete High Performance Center (SAHPC) on the Memorial Stadium grounds. -more-

A jubilant group of south Berkeley residents left the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting at midnight on Thursday after the board voted 6-3 to deny the request of Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications for a use permit to construct a new wireless telecommunications facility to host eighteen cell phone antennas and related equipment atop the UC Storage building at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-

In August, the City of Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission landmarked the site of the 180-foot diameter circular Bevatron building at 1 Cyclotron Road, but not the building itself, opening the door to its demolition by the University of California. -more-

For Bob Sayles, the awakening moment came in May 2005, “when we heard that Bowles Hall was to be for freshmen only.” -more-

In the contest between the interests of his college and his home for three years of college, one famous UC Berkeley alum comes down unequivocally on the side of Bowles Hall. -more-

With proposed high-rise building around the outskirts of Oakland’s Lake Merritt a growing concern among residents, two Oakland City Councilmembers are holding a public meeting this week to discuss the matter. -more-

The team of MKThink and Marta Fry Landscape Architects (both of San Francisco) have been selected by UC Berkeley, to guide a community planning process to help improve People’s Park in the coming months. -more-

The office of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters believes that implementation of Instant Runoff Voting in the county is on schedule for implementation in the fall elections of 2008 and expects software from vendor Sequoia Voting Systems to be delivered sometime this spring. -more-

Robert Reich, former secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton, had more questions than answers when he spoke Thursday afternoon in the new Berkeley City College auditorium, addressing the topic: “Berkeley’s Economic Future—How Can We Compete in the New Economy?” -more-

MEXICO CITY—Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s use of “oil diplomacy” to secure his position as the leading socialist voice in Latin America is upsetting relations with Mexico and threatening to unravel a decades-old Mexico-Venezuela foreign aid program to struggling neighbors. -more-

Berkeley fault lines—literal and legal—dominated long hours of argument Tuesday during an intense hearing in Judge Barbara J. Miller’s crowded Hayward courtroom. -more-

Neighbors of Alta Bates Medical Center denounced what they said was an effort on the part of the hospital on Wednesday to influence the results of a required parking and traffic survey by lowering the number of employees parking in the neighborhood on the days of the survey. -more-

It’s official. The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) is headed back to the ballot box. -more-

The Peralta Community College District’s conversion to running district operations through an information management system purchased from the former PeopleSoft company was hastily managed at the beginning, is two years behind its initial projected completion, and is costing the district millions of dollars in unanticipated consultant fees, according to a report given last week by the district’s information technology office to Peralta trustees. -more-

A massive dog with bared fangs stands atop the blindfolded half-naked man lying face down on the jail-cell floor; an unclothed hooded man is hoisted upside down by the rope tightly tied around his left ankle; a prison guard with large army boots beats and kicks a bound prisoner. -more-

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce political action arm spent $100,000 in a much-publicized attempt to influence local November elections and to direct the path of economic development in the city. -more-

First you see them. Then you don’t. -more-

UC Berkeley’s building boom has chalked up plans for still more construction, with the unveiling this week of the final draft of another Long Range Development Plan (LRDP)—this one proposing to add nearly a million square feet of new construction by 2025. -more-

UC Berkeley is looking for a representative of the Berkeley community to fill a vacant position on the People’s Park Community Advisory Board. -more-

The city has removed median strips in the middle of Telegraph Avenue between Prince and Russell streets, alarming area residents about pedestrian safety. -more-

The Berkeley Planning Commission agreed to continue through February the public hearing for zoning changes on Telegraph Avenue designed to help businesses on the strip which has experienced an economic downturn according to the city. -more-

Victim clings to life -more-