Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

East Bay Tibet Stores Close to Protest Torch Relay

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Posted Wed., April 9—As pro-Tibet groups and supporters of the Beijing Games engaged in a war of words during the Olympic Torch Relay in San Francisco today (Wednesday), Tibetans in Berkeley kept their businesses closed to join in a movement very close to their heart. -more-

Healthcare Union Challenges Parent

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Posted Wed., April 9— The United Healthcare Workers-West members who met with the press outside the San Francisco Federal Building Tuesday are in a fight—but this time it’s not with their corporate bosses. -more-

Sewage Spills into Aquatic Park

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Posted Tue., April 8—A sewage spill discovered at Bayer Healthcare's Berkeley campus at noon Monday prompted the city’s Division of Environmental Health to prohibit human contact with water in a section of the Berkeley Aquatic Park. -more-

News

Berkeley Skate Park Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be

By Judith Scher

Tuesday April 08, 2008

A five-year-old city skateboard park that was to cost $200,000 and ended up costing four times that amount today is splitting at the seams. -more-

Group Marks 40th Anniversary of King’s Death

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday April 08, 2008

A small but dedicated crowd turned up to mark the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination by reading aloud his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” at the downtown Berkeley Public Library on Friday. The event coincided with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council’s National Day of Nonviolence, started nine years ago by the organization’s former director Jamal Bryant to encourage youth to fight against community violence. -more-

Portions of Oakland’s Strip-Search Policy Ruled Unconstitutional

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday April 08, 2008

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the Oakland Police Department’s street strip-search policies are generally constitutional—though portions of it are not—but trials in individual cases must be held before the court can determine whether constitutional rights have actually been violated. -more-

June 1 Demolition Will Pave Way For Trader Joe’s Building

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Demolition of the strip mall at the corner of University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way will begin June 1, said developer Chris Hudson. Some preliminary dismantling of the building is already visible. -more-

School Board Discusses Re-Use of BHS Old Gym

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday April 08, 2008

The Berkeley Board of Education will discuss a report recommending adaptive re-use of the Berkeley High School Old Gym on Wednesday. -more-

Disability Advocates Settle Lawsuit with State Education Dept.

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Chan Charges Hancock With Illegal Use of Officeholder Funds

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Fight Against Moth Spray Gains Boots on the Ground

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Months Still Remain Before Richmond Casino Decision

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Density, BRT Dominate Planning Commission Meetings

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Judith Scherr

A young skater takes part in the city’s spring break skateboarding day camp at the park at Fifth and Harrison streets in West Berkeley.

Editorials

Editorial: Learning From the King Legacy

—Becky O’Malley

Tuesday April 08, 2008

Reminders of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, 40 years ago on Friday, were everywhere last week. His sonorous voice was replayed again and again on every radio station—his picture was in every paper. For me, the most immediate and vivid memories of that dreadful week in 1968—indeed, of that whole dreadful year—came flooding back at the Tuesday farmers’ market, to which Full Belly Farms brought huge fragrant bunches of lilacs. -more-