Page One

Fire Forces Evacuation of Regent Street Apartments

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
A second-floor bedroom fire led Berkeley Police to evacuate a large three-story apartment building on Regent Street on Monday morning as firefighters fought to contain the flames. -more-

People’s Park Tree-Sit Ends With Holiday Reprieve

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The threatened acacia trees are fenced off at People’s Park.
Berkeley’s latest tree-sit ended the same day it began last week when campus police signed a Christmas truce that spares—for the moment—two acacias in People’s Park. -more-

Round and About

By Jerry Cote
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Virginia Bakery… Virginia Cleaners… Virginia Street—it’s all right there on two short blocks in a small north Berkeley neighborhood. As I jog past the bakery’s storefront, the scent of warm bread and joy from inside drifts out into the street deliciously. -more-

Finding Berkeley’s Center

By Ted Friedman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
In 1950s Springfield, Illinois, we often settled arguments with the absurd challenge: “If you’re right, I’ll kiss your hiney [although we pronounced it differently and spelled it with only three letters] at Fifth and Monroe.” Why there? It was the center of town, at least to us. -more-

Updates

Sink Hole Closes Tunnel Road

Wednesday January 07, 2009
 Tunnel Road westbound will be closed from Highway 13, as will the intersection of Vicente and Tunnel Road, this morning and afternoon due to a large sink hole caused by a water main break, according to Berkeley police. -more-

Treesitting Pair Occupies Acacia at People's Park

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday January 06, 2009
The treesitters are back on UC Berkeley’s turf, this time occupying the branches of an acacia at People’s Park. -more-

Burning Body Found Near Berkeley Shore

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday December 30, 2008
Berkeley police and firefighters rushed to the shoreline early Tuesday morning, where they discovered a body burning inside a container. -more-

Post-Christmas Fire Claims Berkeley Cats

By Richard Brenneman
Monday December 29, 2008
Two cats died on Friday from smoke inhalation in a slow-burning fire in a rented home at 1367 La Loma Ave. -more-

Buried Body in Wall Identified by Police

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
A crime scene cleanup technician finishes donning his protective gear as he prepares to work on the Ashby Avenue room where police found a body buried behind a wall.
The dramatic suicide of a Berkeley man last week led police to a second gruesome discovery two days later, a badly decomposed male corpse walled up inside the first floor laundry room. -more-

News

Remembering Rose

By Joanne Kowalski
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Rose Eve Patterson, July 20, 1942-Dec. 17, 2007.
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home...[in] the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. -more-

Louise and George, Helen and Lloyd

By Andrea Carney
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Recently sitting in our backyard, Louise knitting, me browsing through a collection of political essays called The Power to say No, the sun slowly starting its descent, Louise looked up thoughtfully and said, “You know, George, this house is awfully large for the two of us now that the children are grown.” -more-

Wine Tasting Class

By Ray Saturno
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Here are the results of a recent wine tasting class held at the El Cerrito Recreation Department. This was a “blind tasting” of four California Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. Each member of the class had a score card with four categories; color, odor, taste and after taste. Each category had maximum of two points. With this system, a top score would be eight points. The class was led by Ray Saturno who has worked in the wine industry for 10 years and has been teaching wine tasting classes for 30 years. -more-

Poem

By Iris Crider
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Mountain cold steaming -more-

Jolly Folly: Why an Atheist Keeps Christmas

By Sonja Fitz
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Local (San Jose) boy-turned-preacher Rick Warren recently made the rounds of morning talk shows to promote his latest book, The Purpose of Christmas (released in November, naturally—just in time for holiday shopping!). (Christmas too commercial, you moan? Please, that’s so last year. We’re in an economic crisis: it’s our duty to shop.) It set me thinking yet again about my giddy love for this holiday. Me, a devoted atheist and card-carrying secularist, one of the annoying holly-festooned carolers sending out handmade Christmas cards in an era of eCards and text greetings. -more-

Holiday Bikes for Kids

Tuesday December 23, 2008
Claudia Medina of the Alameda County Office of Education smiles Monday as she looks over the bikes her agency arranged as holiday gifts for youths at Berkeley’s Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency family shelter on Harrison Street. -more-

Murky Waters Run Deep in the Reservoir of Memory

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Tuesday December 23, 2008
We were something like a family for five years, 1926-1931. In a memory-snapshot of the three of us standing at the foot of my father’s little bed in his little room, in front of the closet that was so small the hangers hung flat against the wall on hooks. I have trailed my parents in there and am observing. They are arguing. He takes down a gray cardboard carton, and heaves it onto the foot of the bed. The throw causes it to bounce, and the lid comes off. Inside is a new doll, Betty, a Christmas gift and the second of my three dolls. -more-

Stolpersteine

By Laura Bushman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
-more-

The Joys of Life on Two Wheels

By Laura McCamy
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The Jack Kerouac of this generation would write a very different version of On the Road. Stalled freeways and clogged cities don’t provide the adventure he went in search of. Today’s seeker might find the freedom of the road in a different mode: on a bicycle. As I glide past stuck cars on city streets or match the speed of the freeway on the bike path that parallels I-80, I feel liberated and exhilarated—a little bit of a modern-day Kerouac. -more-

25 Below

By Sandra J. Whittaker
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Blazing sun dogs rise ... -more-

Family Tree

By Roopa Ramamoorthi
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Few weeks ago I spent two days in Mendocino -more-

The Poor Wee Birdies (spoken in Scottish brogue)

By Sandra J. Whittaker
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Oh, I would na’ be a birdie -more-

Christmas Story

By Richard Cormack
Tuesday December 23, 2008
There is a homeless man whose daily station is a bench in front of an espresso shop near the UC Berkeley campus. He’s a gray shell of a man now, crippled and aged, but his life once mattered. In his younger years he sat in a comfortable office and made decisions that affected people. -more-

December

By Annie Kassof
Tuesday December 23, 2008
A few years ago I drove to OSH so my kids, at their request, could get me my Christmas present. I remember this as an especially poignant moment—sitting in my car watching the two of them walk through the crowded parking lot. I was already pretty sure what they were getting me. I’m not materialistic, but as on other holidays I’d cobbled together a list anyhow. Though far from glamorous, first on the list was a new toilet seat; something we could use at the time. -more-

The Timid Ones

By Lowell Moorcroft
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The Timid Ones -more-

Seeing

By Marcia Craddock
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The L.A. night was sullen. Low clouds reflected the hundreds, thousands, millions of neon lights and produced an angry red glare in the compressed sky. The air was still and the traffic noises muffled, almost muted. -more-

In Search of French: From Tahiti to Nice

By Tony and Laura Bushman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Where can you learn French in the winter where it is warm? In Tahiti. So we set off for French Tahiti. The weather in Tahiti was sticky and hot, but the water was perfect. The yellow and red hibiscus plants were captivating and the azure ocean was stunning. We lay on the beaches, swam among the coral and admired double-breasted white-throated warblers. With all this beauty surrounding us, it was clear we would not be learning much French in Tahiti. Two weeks were up before we got fully acclimated in our search for French lessons. France seemed the better place to learn French. The trip from Tahiti to France was a three-day nightmare, which left us dizzy from lack of sleep. We were met at the airport in Nice by Christian, our host, with a very warm welcome. -more-

Sunday

By Jerry Cote
Tuesday December 23, 2008
sunday -more-

Up a Tree Without a Ladder

By Mary Spivey
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Christmas is, generationally, stressful. My parents’ mantra was “...in my day we were happy to get an orange and an apple in a stocking...” My comments “... seems like it should be practical and meaningful.” Watching television ads now seems like light years away from a Christmas culture I recognize. -more-

Last Licks

By Linda Rose
Tuesday December 23, 2008
I kissed my beloved canine companion on the lips yesterday and let her tongue lick all over me. Something I would never let her do if I had lipstick on. -more-

The Little Engine That Wanted To

By Kathy Horn
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The Little Engine
1955. Little Girl dreams Roller Coaster lives outside her bedroom window. -more-

The Ache of Christmas

By Dorothy V. Benson
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Do I remember turkey and all the trimmings -more-

The Little Christmas Tree That Almost Didn’t Get to Celebrate Christmas

By James K. Sayre
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Once, not long ago, there was a small Douglas Fir tree named Sarah that grew up on a Christmas tree farm near Woodland, Washington. When she was 5 years old, she was already almost six feet tall, so the owners of the Christmas Tree Farm decided to have Sarah and all her identically-genetically-cloned brothers and sisters cut down and shipped to California in early December. -more-

Come Walk With Me

By Kay Y. Wehner
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Come walk with me, -more-

Flamenco Puro

By Ruth Guthartz
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Because the seasons changed early that year, I chose an early spring cleaning. Armed with large plastic bags, a brown cardboard carton and a dust cloth, I tackled my bedroom closet. Determined to be sensible and unsentimental, I started by tossing away much of the footwear. -more-

Bikini

By Esther Stone
Tuesday December 23, 2008
I confess. Guilty as charged. I’m an inveterate and unrepentant pack rat. -more-

Winter Clouds Over Berkeley Marina

Tuesday December 23, 2008
Brisk, cold winter winds kept the San Francisco Bay waters choppy off the Berkeley Marina, just north of one of the two sites proposed for a ferry terminal. -more-

Mrs. Perle

By Dana Chernack
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Mrs. Perle, my sixth-grade teacher, was an unnatural woman given to transports. Her transports had teeth, rather fangs. She was certainly venomous. Mrs. Perle tapped into something twisted within us all. Are we not all sadists and masochists in various degrees at various times? Yet, we hold ourselves back; we are self-aware, or aware of God. Mrs. Perle is mostly likely in hell now, that part reserved for petty tyrants, the ones without a saleable ideology. -more-

Season of Hope

By Mary Wheeler
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Christmas, for me, is the season of hope, as I believe it is for many people. Historically, it started with the Solstice, when people celebrated the return of longer days and more sunlight. Bonfires were lit to represent hope of new light and warmth. With Christianity came the hope of a new birth: shepherds and wisemen following a star in hopes of greeting a new king. Now, for children, there is Santa Claus. What child does not await Christmas morning with hope and excitement that the long-wished for toy is lying wrapped under the tree? -more-

A Box of Hope Tied with a Ribbon of Patience

By Pamela McNab
Tuesday December 23, 2008
I told my husband I wanted to skip Christmas that year; all I wanted was a box of hope tied with a ribbon of patience. -more-

Vanguard City

By Dana Chernack
Tuesday December 23, 2008
We moved to Vanguard City, Calif., in June of 1973. Brooklyn had turned toxic. We came to V.C., as we referred to it back then, to be with the other dope smokin’ Godless Commies. We came to have a great time and build a just society. -more-

Election Haiku Diary

By Judy Wells
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Feb. 1 -more-

In Their Pace ... In The Closet

By Garrett Murphy
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The majority in times past -more-

My 2009 Resolutions — for Other People

By Scott Badler
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Normally, I make New Year’s resolutions for myself. It hasn’t worked. For example, last year’s resolutions to “avoid the social ramble,” eat more gefilte fish and try to like people fell by the wayside shortly after President’s Day (oddly, Washington and Lincoln are two of my least-favorite presidents). -more-

Wildlife in My House

By Sherry Bridgman
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Boys between the ages of seven and nine have a great affection for reptiles. They catch’em, cage’em and talk constantly about them. Could a boa constrictor swallow a VW car, Mom? -more-

Regarding the Spanish Civil War

By Peter Loubal
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Civil wars are extremely uncivilized, their political aftermath even filthier. To put a human face on The Planet’s recent Lincoln “Brigade”—Spanish Civil War (Bermack /Jarach) debate, the story of my aunt. -more-

Hope Is Never Silent

By Tracie De Angelis Salim
Tuesday December 23, 2008
“This is my identification,” he said, clutching a hand painted picture of ancient olive trees, pointing at it, exclaiming “This is it! Without this, I lose hope!” -more-

Craven

By Joseph Stubbs
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Craven was a frog upon my bog -more-

Listen

By Cherrie Williams
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Winter Frost, 2003
From the tree watch, listen! -more-

Richmond Plans Threaten Point Isabel

By Rosemary Loubal
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Richmond’s Planning Commission voted to rezone Point Isabel to accommodate a Kohl’s department store with 400 parking spaces. Local developer Oliver, who owns the land, has already vacated the existing stores and offices on the corner of Central Avenue and Rydin Road. There is constant traffic from Costco and USPS trucks. The dog-park lots are often full. Hundreds of people daily use the area for hiking, cycling, dog walking, bird watching. Thousands at weekends. Ever more traffic and pollution will further worsen already major traffic and access issues for park visitors and trail users, and damage the bird habitat and the vegetation of this world-class shoreline, a major segment of the Bay Trail, s fantastic regional asset that is to eventually completely circle the bay. -more-

Bookstore Blues

By Roopa Ramamoorthi
Tuesday December 23, 2008
I looked at my watch. My husband had just dropped me off at the Berkeley BART station. I had 15 minutes to catch the train to San Francisco to meet Bernadette. We were to join some of our classmates for a beach barbecue reunion of our “Human Factors and Team Dynamics” class. -more-

Giving Love for Christmas

By Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Christmas is coming and along with the joy most of us experience the stress of not having finished our buying. This year most of us are also suffering through the pangs of not having enough money to buy the gifts that would we would normally give. -more-

Night at the Musée d’Orsay

By Judy Wells
Tuesday December 23, 2008
If the curators knew -more-

I’d Like to Live in Paris

By Judy Wells
Tuesday December 23, 2008
I’d like to walk along the Seine -more-

Crackpot Rules

By Don Anderson
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Having visited Berkeley many times since 1939, I thought it would be a good retirement colony. So I hired a 26-foot moving van, engaged my daughter and stepdaughter and drove north from Idyllwild on Nov. 2. -more-

Call Center

By Roopa Ramamoorthi
Tuesday December 23, 2008
“Hello, this is Sandy speaking, how can I help you?” I pushed the words up my nose, tried to manufacture the twang we are encouraged to have, to make us sound more American. It could have been Sally. But doesn’t Sandy sound closer to my name Sandhya? -more-

Backyard Photo

Tuesday December 23, 2008
A squirrel eating a fig. -more-

On Passing

By Randy Fingland
Tuesday December 23, 2008
past the window & doors that mask the offal smells from -more-

Going to and from Work in Downtown Berkeley on a Friday of the First Rain

By Mike Palmer
Tuesday December 23, 2008
My alarm is the morning news at 6:30; -more-

Paulina

By Dana Chernack
Tuesday December 23, 2008
The air hangs heavy this particular April afternoon as Paulina Rabinovich parks her orange Volvo on Bonita Street. -more-

Three Poems

By (s.b.r) Soul-1990
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Dissent -more-

UC Berkeley gained a pair of new treesitters Monday morning in one of two acacias at People's Park designated for the ax by university officials.
By Richard Brenneman
UC Berkeley gained a pair of new treesitters Monday morning in one of two acacias at People's Park designated for the ax by university officials.

Editorials

Editorial Cartoons

Lighting Up The Neighborhood

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday December 24, 2008

Insects in the Grill

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday December 24, 2008

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Monday January 05, 2009

Columnists

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Tuesday December 23, 2008
TUESDAY, DEC. 23 -more-

Chabon, Carroll Meet to Benefit Park Day

By Ken Bullock
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Michael Chabon
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Berkeley resident Michael Chabon will join San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll, “an East Bay local,” for an evening of conversation to benefit the academic and financial aid programs at Park Day School in North Oakland, 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5 at Berkeley Rep. -more-

Book Review: A People’s History of Australia

By Estelle Jelinek
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Don’t waste your money on the romantic-epic film Australia, but rush out and buy Berkeley writer Celeste Lipow MacLeod’s Multiethnic Australia. Conn Hallinan has written in these pages of the country’s increasing cooperation with the United States, from sending troops to Iraq, allowing the U.S. to build a military base on Australia’s west coast, and agreeing to let the country become the world’s nuclear waste dump with its reward: joining a nuclear-technology information clearing house. -more-

Reflections on Holiday Music

By Ken Bullock
Tuesday December 23, 2008
Holiday music, usually canned, has become the audible public hallmark of the season, with all the homogenized commercialism this time of year. -more-

Tuesday December 23, 2008
A house on the 1300 block of Ashby Avenue is decked out for the holidays.
-more-

Home & Garden

About the House: Slavery Lite

By Matt Cantor
Wednesday December 17, 2008
I recently received a letter from a reader (Let’s call him PR) about his experiences with a local contractor and his illegal help. His concern, which is to be commended, is in regards to the pay and working conditions afforded his helper, whom he pseudonymously called Gem (presumably his feelings about the worker, which he effused copiously in a letter which is too long to include herein). -more-

Events Calendar

Community Calendar

Tuesday December 23, 2008