News

Posted Thurs., Jan. 24—Full implementation of AC Transit District’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line ran into a potential chokepoint Wednesday night when dismayed district board members learned that the planned bus-only lanes may not be possible in a 1,000-yard stretch in the heart of Oakland. -more-

Posted Wed., Jan. 23—The little town of Albany stood up Tuesday night, first to the University of California and then to the California Food and Drug Administration and the CFDA partner, the U.S. Department of Agriculture. -more-

Berkeley’s official design review panel gave a scathing review to developer Ali Kashani’s five-story condo complex planned for a corner of one of the city’s busiest intersections. -more-

Berkeley Design Review Committee members gave a qualified thumbs up Thursday night to plans for a controversial and long-delayed condominium project on University Avenue. -more-

While Albany is preparing to take an aggressive stand in opposition to aerial spaying intended to eradicate the light brown apple moth—epiphyas postvitattana—Berkeley has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. -more-

Oakland teachers fired the first shot in the upcoming Oakland Unified School District contract negotiations, with more than 100 representatives braving chilly afternoon temperatures last Thursday to present their contract proposals at a press conference in front of Castlemont High School in East Oakland. -more-

Berkeley Public Works officials told the Aquatic Park subcommittee that they expect to turn in a revised dredging work plan for the Aquatic Park lagoon to the Regional Water Quality Control Board this week. -more-

The National Register of Historic Places granted the Berkeley High campus the status of a historic district, the National Park Service announced last week. -more-

More than two months after HazMat experts replaced local volunteers to clean up the gunk left over from the Cosco Busan oil spill, city officials declared the Berkeley shoreline reopened Wednesday. -more-

Berkeley Planning Commissioners begin their review of the proposed Downtown Area Plan Wednesday, when DAPAC Chair Will Travis formally presents the document for their critique. -more-

AC Transit bus drivers and mechanics voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike in the event ongoing contract negotiations break down, but no strike appears imminent. -more-

The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the 55 Laguna mixed-use project last week. It proposes to develop the historic UC Berkeley Extension site for private use. -more-

The Berkeley Democratic Club could not agree on a presidential candidate to endorse at its meeting on Thursday night. The vote was: Obama 15, Clinton 13, Edwards, 4 No endorsement, 2. -more-

California voters who have not registered with any party can vote in next month’s Democratic presidential primary if they request a ballot from their local Registrar of Voters office. -more-

This is hard. To write about a dear friend’s passing before her absence has fully sunk in is quite a challenging task. What I can easily write about is what I know about Rae; who she was and what she meant to me and so many others in the arts community. -more-

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), in which voters are allowed to rank their second and third choices in a multi-candidate election rather than waiting for a possible runoff between the top two vote-getters, will almost certainly not be held in Oakland and San Leandro June municipal elections in 2008 as was anticipated. -more-

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) on Thursday will hear a project proposed for 1923 9th St. and 1920 10th St. involving the demolition of five rent-controlled units to allow construction of a 15-story condominium project. -more-

Christopher Rodriguez, a 10-year-old Oakland boy who likely will be partially paralyzed for the rest of his life after being struck by a stray bullet while taking a piano lesson, “has a rough road in the future,” Dr. Jacob Neufeld said last week. -more-

Posted 1/21—Berkeley Design Review Committee members gave a qualified thumbs up Thursday night to plans for a controversial and long-delayed condominium project on University Avenue. -more-

Posted 1/20—Concord, New Hampshire, Thursday, Jan. 3, 8:30 a.m., 4°F. It’s hard to believe we actually get votes and elect presidents this way—standing on street corners waving signs and yelling, driving miles and walking miles and missing three dozen people, talking to a dozen more who aren’t even slightly interested just so we can talk to one or two people who might possibly, with a lot more coaxing and contact, be persuaded to vote our way. -more-

Posted 1/19—While Albany is preparing to take an aggressive stand in opposition to aerial spaying intended to eradicate the light brown apple moth—epiphyas postvitattana—Berkeley has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. -more-

Faced with some two dozen irate small business owners, the Berkeley City Council reversed itself Tuesday, backing away from a December decision to charge bars, restaurants and liquor stores $467 each year to inspect for -more-

The mayors of Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville, along with the UC Berkeley chancellor and the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, met under the TV cameras’ glare in early December to unveil the East Bay Green Corridor Part-nership. -more-

Berkeley city officials turned thumbs down on a request by UC Berkeley officials to build yet another fence surrounding the tree-sitters encamped near Memorial Stadium. -more-

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums flipped the script in his first State of the City address Monday night—as the hip-hoppers like to say—focusing on policy recommendations for the coming year rather than on listing accomplishments for the old, and largely abandoning the rhetorical flourishes for which he is best known, replacing them with a more sober and businesslike recitation of details. -more-

Brandishing posters, placards and signs at the Berkeley Board of Education meeting Wednesday, more than 30 Berkeley High School teachers urged board members to construct the new classrooms approved for the high school by August. -more-

Rebuilding Berkeley’s therapeutic warm pool hit troubled waters Tuesday, when a City Council majority balked at expressing its intent to place a bond measure for the pool on the November ballot without first having details on operational costs. -more-

Last month, Berkeley lost one of the individuals who make Berkeley Berkeley. Robert “Bob” (to some) Kinzie Ewing passed on to the great atheistic beyond. He was 75. A Berkeley resident since 1957, Robert spent a quarter century among the “old men” at Peet’s on Vine and on “The Bench” at Fat Apples debating the Constitution, the press and human rights. -more-