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Pool Community Protests Demotion Of Popular Water Aerobics Instructor

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 01, 2007
They were singing along with the well-known Calypso tune, feet flying off the swimming pool floor and back again, weighted arms lifting high over their heads as they swayed to the rhythms pulsing from the boom box out across the water. -more-

UC: No Fault Under New Gym Location

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 01, 2007
No active faults lie beneath the site of the high-tech and highly expensive gym UC Berkeley hopes to build next to the landmarked Memorial Stadium. -more-

Perspective: SF Opera Cast Change Stuns Fans of Local Singer

By Becky O’Malley
Friday June 01, 2007
From David Gockley’s narrow point of view, the press release probably said it all in the first sentence: “After the final dress rehearsal for Don Giovanni, San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley, in consultation with Music Director Donald Runnicles and members of the artistic staff, made the decision that soprano Hope Briggs was not ultimately suited for the role of Donna Anna in this production.” -more-

Shipyard, City Struggle to Reach Compromise

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 01, 2007
Berkeley’s Shipyard has been granted a reprieve—but for some artists, it may have come too late. -more-

Downtown Panel Wonders How High

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 01, 2007
The citizen panel helping to chart the future of downtown Berkeley confronted the crucial questions of how high and how many, looking for answers that will shape the future face of the city center. -more-

News

DAPAC Endorses Priority Development Declaration

By Richard Brenneman
Friday June 01, 2007
In a lop-sided vote Wednesday night, DAPAC members voted to urge the City Council to declare downtown Berkeley a Priority Development Area (PDA). -more-

OUSD Board Looks at Moratorium on School Closures

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 01, 2007
An Oakland School Board member has introduced a resolution calling for a moratorium on Oakland public school closures while the state remains in charge of the Oakland Unified School District. -more-

AC Transit Bus Route Changes Postponed Until June 24

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 01, 2007
Major changes in AC transit bus service originally scheduled for June 3 have been postponed until June 24, according to district officials. -more-

UC Student End-of-Year Clean-Up Gets Mixed Reviews

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday June 01, 2007
The biggest weekend of the UC Berkeley move-out is over. Students have emptied their dorms for the summer. This year for the first time they had the option of dispensing their trash in allocated dumpsters instead of dumping it on the sidewalk. -more-

Library Board Selection Process Leaves Out Committee

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 01, 2007
Berkeley Councilmember Kriss Worthington criticized the library administration for announcing a process for selection of a new trustee—Trustee Laura Anderson’s eight-year term expires in October—without direction from a council-library committee established to create a new selection process. -more-

Peace and Justice Committee Looks At Its Own ‘Racist Propaganda’

By Judith Scherr
Friday June 01, 2007
One might anticipate little tranquility at Monday evening’s Peace and Justice Commission meeting, when commissioners address an item placed on the agenda by Commissioner Elliot Cohen: -more-

Swanson to Host Oakland’s State of Black California Event

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 01, 2007
The State of Black California will be the subject of a Saturday afternoon town hall meeting at Oakland City Hall hosted by Oakland Assemblymember Sandré Swanson. -more-

Yassir Chadly energizes water aerobics students at the West Berkeley Swim Center on Tuesday. Photograph by Judith Scherr.
Yassir Chadly energizes water aerobics students at the West Berkeley Swim Center on Tuesday. Photograph by Judith Scherr.

Editorials

Editorial: The New East Bay Express: Who’s in Charge?

By Becky O'Malley
Friday June 01, 2007
On Wednesday we sent this letter to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ website and to East Bay Express editor Stephen Buel: -more-

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Friday June 01, 2007

Commentary; When Dog Attacks Become Personal Attacks

By Jill Posener
Friday June 01, 2007
Sally Tarver’s commentary “People Injured in Pit Bull Attack” is an example of a justifiable emotional response to a distressing situation, transforming into a nasty personal attack. -more-

Commentary: Berkeley’s Retrofit Mess

By Larry Guillot
Friday June 01, 2007
This is in response to the May 15 article by Judith Scherr, regarding earthquake retrofit standards in Berkeley. I am very happy the city is finally recognizing that a lack of standards has seriously compromised the safety of our community. However, I do not believe Ms. Scherr’s article sufficiently explored the consequence of this fact. -more-

Commentary: In Remembrance of Fallen Walkers

By Wendy Alfsen
Friday June 01, 2007
This Memorial Day season we remember Berkeley’s fallen walkers. (It was called Remembrance Day in years gone by). Pedestrians killed on Berkeley streets by vehicle driver s nearly exceed all other killings, including murder. -more-

Columnists

Column: The Public Eye: On a Collision Course Over Iraq

By Bob Burnett
Friday June 01, 2007
Here on the left coast, there’s such strong opposition to the war in Iraq that the May 24 Democratic capitulation to President Bush came as a shock. We thought that Dems won back control of Congress because of their opposition to the war, so we didn’t understand why they pulled the requirement for troop deployment timelines out of the military appropriations bill. Fortunately, this isn’t the last vote on the war; it’s merely another skirmish in an extended battle between Congressional Democrats and the warmonger-in-chief. -more-

Column: Undercurrents: The Deepening Crisis of the Iraq War

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 01, 2007
One of the old lessons we are relearning through the Iraq war experience is that in any conflict, the faction which is less concerned about catastrophic consequences resulting from their actions has a decided advantage over the faction which has those worries. -more-

East Bay Then and Now: The Slater-Irving Connection Was Sealed in Paraffine

By Daniella Thompson
Friday June 01, 2007
When Captain John Slater died in January 1908, a newspaper obituary declared him to have been “part owner in steamship companies with Captains Dudreau and Miles [sic]” and his family “among the largest property owners in the north end.” Slater’s employers were captains Boudrow and Mighell, owners of the California Shipping Company and residents of 1536 and 1533 Oxford Street, respectively. The writer of the obituary may have exaggerated Slater’s role within the Boudrow & Mighell company, just as Slater’s land holdings appear to have been inflated beyond their actual extent. -more-

Garden Variety: Getting to Know Your Neighbor’s Garden

By Ron Sullivan
Friday June 01, 2007
It’s summer—a month from St. John’s Eve, but no longer quite the juvescence of the year—and time to take a deep breath. If you’re more organized than I am, as most humans are, you’ve got almost everything in the ground and watered and fertilized, at least sufficiently for the time being, and things are hinting at bearing fruit. -more-

About the House: The Trouble with Damp Basements

By Matt Cantor
Friday June 01, 2007
Some things are always a bad idea. Karaoke with your boss, bell bottoms on chain driven motorcycles, long-haired thoracic surgeons or pesto-flavored ice-cream. -more-

Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday June 01, 2007
“Triangle of Life” – Watch Out! -more-

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Friday June 01, 2007
FRIDAY, JUNE 1 -more-

Moving Pictures: Gaia Arts Center Hosts Disability Film Festival

By Justin DeFreitas
Friday June 01, 2007
The Superfest International Disability Film Festival, the world’s longest running film festival dedicated to films by and about the disabled community, takes place this weekend at the Gaia Arts Center in downtown Berkeley. -more-

Benefit Rounds Up West Coast Jazz Talent

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday June 01, 2007
Bay Area percussionist and educator Babatunde Lea will host a benefit Monday with a stellar lineup of West Coast jazz musicians to raise money for medical treatment for his middle daughter, championship athlete Tanya Lazar-Lea. -more-

Berkeley World Music Festival Hits Telegraph

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Friday June 01, 2007
By KEN BULLOCK -more-

Events Calendar

Berkeley This Week

Friday June 01, 2007