News

Posted Mon. Feb 18, 2008--An officer responding to reports of a domestic disturbance at a south Berkeley apartment building Saturday night used deadly force on a woman who allegedly confronted the officer with a knife, according to the Berkeley Police Department. -more-

Posted Sun., Feb. 17—Representatives of Oakland’s Children’s Hospital and many of the hospital's North Oakland neighbors danced around each other at a North Oakland Senior Center community meeting for two hours last Wednesday night, with neither side seeming to be sure what music was being played, or even if the band had stopped altogether. -more-

Posted Sat., Feb. 16—Pools, police, pipes, fire prevention, youth services: fulfilling city needs will take new funding—perhaps $30 million. And that greatly surpasses the dollars flowing into Berkeley’s coffers. -more-

After being called “idiots,” thanked profusely, having their manners upbraided, told alternatively during a three-hour public hearing that they were unpatriotic and true patriots, the Berkeley City Council softened rhetoric of a Jan. 29 council item that would have had staff write the Marines, saying their recruiters are “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” in Berkeley. -more-

For a brief moment Tuesday, the warpaint and angry threats outside Maudelle Shirek Old City Hall gave way to sporadic bursts of festivity. -more-

The angry cries of several hundred Pacific Steel workers eclipsed the sound of bullhorns and jeers from the pro- and anti-war demonstrators outside the Old City Hall Tuesday to hear the Berkeley City Council rescind their resolution on the Marine Recruiting Center. -more-

At around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, a weary council passed a motion 7-2 which effectively reversed the council’s vote to tell the Marines they are “unwelcome intruders.” They refused, however, to issue an apology to the Marines. -more-

One of the councilmembers most associated with the drive to increase affordable housing in Oakland believes that after more than a year, the council may be deadlocked on the issue and unable to make any changes. -more-

A sharp schism between city staff and veterans of the panel charged with formulating policies for a new city density bonus law revealed itself at the Planning Commission Wednesday night. -more-

Southside Berkeley residents came to the Planning Commission Wednesday to call for more parks and protest Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). -more-

The longtime District One (North Oakland) representative on the Oakland Unified School District board confirmed that she is not running for re-election but denied rumors that she is running for the Oakland At-Large City Council seat. -more-

Rich Robbins of San Rafael-based Wareham Properties won one more victory at City Hall Tuesday, when the City Council voted 5-1-3 to demolish structures at Robbins’ property at 1050 Parker St. -more-

A Molotov cocktail hurled at a UC Berkeley fraternity forced the evacuation of 50 residents from the Sigma Pi house during the predawn hours Saturday. -more-

Posted Wed., Feb. 13—After being called “idiots,” thanked profusely, had their manners upbraided, told, during a three-hour public hearing they were unpatriotic and true patriots, the Berkeley City Council softened rhetoric of a Jan. 29 council item that would have had staff write the Marines, telling them their recruiters are “uninvited and unwelcome” in Berkeley. -more-

As many as 300 Native Americans and their supporters marched on Sproul Plaza Monday morning after a gathering at the Memorial Stadium Grove. -more-

Since voting Jan. 29 to support protests at the downtown Marine Recruiting Center and asking staff to write a letter telling the Marines they are “unwelcome intruders,” the Berkeley City Council has been skewered on-line and in print, excoriated in thousands of e-mails, and threatened by Republicans in Congress and state legislature with the loss of government funds. -more-

While most eyes on tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council meeting will be on the council item that would rescind the Jan. 29 directive to staff to write the Marines and tell them they are unwelcome in Berkeley, the council has a full plate of other tasks before it. -more-

The captain of the newly formed Oakland Police Department Area One told North Oakland residents on Saturday that the rash of recent shootings in their community is the result of a turf war between the Ghost Town gang and the Acorn Gang of the Lower Bottom, and he intends to “plant the flag” in the Ghost Town section as an immediate step to abate the problem. -more-

An illegal demolition of a building on University Avenue has made local preservationists question Berkeley’s demolition ordinance yet again. -more-

The Berkeley Neighborhood Antenna-Free Union (BNAFU) filed a lawsuit in the Alameda County Superior Court last week to stop the installation of 11 cell phone antennas on top of UC Storage at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-

Planning Commissioners will weigh in Wednesday on building size rules and get their first look at a three-story building UC Berkeley plans for the courtyard adjacent to its law school. -more-

There are several opportunities in Berkeley this week to engage with the peace process in Israel-Palestine. -more-

With at least two incumbent Oakland Unified School District board members choosing not to run for re-election this year, the OUSD board is guaranteed new faces just at the time it is regaining a measure of local control. -more-

Housing Advisory Commissioners are weighing in on one of Berkeley’s hottest political potatoes, laws that grant developers bigger buildings in exchange for including affordable units. -more-

Chris Kavanagh has stepped down from his seat on the Rent Stabilization Board, resigning retroactive to Feb. 1. -more-

The Berkeley City Council will decide whether the odors from Pacific Steel Casting should be considered a nuisance during a meeting at the Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, today (Tuesday). -more-