News Updates

Safeway to Unveil Latest Design for College Avenue Store

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday March 31, 2009
Safeway will unveil the latest design for its College Avenue store April 29 at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland, even as neighbors complain that they are being left out in the cold. -more-

Another Month of Media Job Losses

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday March 31, 2009
In 2008, reports Paper Cuts, a weblog that tracks U.S. newspaper closings and staff reductions cost, the country’s papers lost at least 15,859 jobs. -more-

Last Three Home Invasion Suspects in Custody

Bay City News
Tuesday March 31, 2009
The last three suspects in a home-invasion robbery and torture case in the Berkeley hills last month have turned themselves in, Berkeley police spokesman Andrew Frankel said today. -more-

Berkeley Students Honor Cesar Chavez

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 27, 2009
Malcolm X first graders dig for bugs during gardening class Monday.
“Determination” was the word-of-the-day at Malcolm X Elementary School Monday, the eve of Cesar Chavez’s 82nd birthday. -more-

Berkeley’s Adult Education Program Faces Severe Budget Cuts

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Saturday March 28, 2009
State budget cuts will force Berkeley Unified School District to cut more than $1 million from its adult education program. -more-

Thursday Night Power Outage Darkens Downtown Berkeley

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 27, 2009
A two-hour power outage dimmed the lights for 7,393 Berkeley residents and businesses Thursday night, starting at 10 p.m. and ending just before midnight. -more-

Spate of Accidents Prompts School District to Launch Traffic Safety Campaign

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday March 27, 2009
Citing a sudden rise in accidents involving Berkeley Unified School District students, Superintendent Bill Huyett announced at the Berkeley Board of Education meeting Wednesday that the district would work with traffic safety groups to educate children about bicycle and pedestrian safety issues. -more-

Berkeley Man Raised to County Judgeship

Bay City News
Friday March 27, 2009
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced the appointment of Paul D. Seeman of Berkeley to a judgeship on the Alameda County Superior Court bench. -more-

Final Downtown Plan Draft, Ferry Hearing Face Planners

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 27, 2009
Planning commissioners are scheduled to complete their final revisions to the Downtown Area Plan during their meeting Wednesday night, April 1. -more-

West Berkeley Skyline Could Sprout If Planning Staff Proposal is Approved

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 27, 2009
City planning staff have dropped a bombshell on anxious West Berkeley activists: a proposal that would double the height of new buildings and potentially open the area to office complexes. -more-

Golden Gate Fields Owner Nixes Annual Report

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 27, 2009
Magna means “big” in Latin, but the adjective doesn’t apply to the value of Magna Entertainment Corporation—which has dropped to pennies a share—nor to its annual financial report. -more-

News

Grading Controversy Roils Berkeley High School

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009
A letter to the editor in last month’s Jacket, Berkeley High’s bi-monthly student newspaper, questioning grading practices at the high school, has created much controversy and prompted Berkeley Unified School District officials to look into adopting a consensus for grading procedures. -more-

Council Raises Parking Fees, Puts Developer Fees on Hold

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Wednesday March 25, 2009
With almost a complete lack of controversy or public dissent, the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved a staff recommendation Tuesday night that will raise most parking citation fines $5 across the board, but significantly higher on University of California football game days. -more-

Reimbursement From Office Depot? Get in Line

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Wednesday March 25, 2009
Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz said Tuesday night that his office has asked for the return of more than a quarter of a million dollars Berkeley claims it is owed by office supply giant Office Depot. But to get the money, Kamlarz and the city are going to have to stand in a long line of government officials from around the country. -more-

Final Curtain for the Parkway Theater

By Justin DeFreitas
Wednesday March 25, 2009
The Parkway Theater is dark once again. Oakland’s beloved neighborhood movie theater shut its doors Sunday, March 22, possibly for good. -more-

Judge Halts Construction at National Laboratory Site

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009
A federal judge has ordered a halt to work on a $113 million computer lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), saying UC officials may have tried to evade federal environmental law. -more-

Planners Refine Area for Tallest Downtown Buildings

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

BP Chief Scientist Named Undersecretary of Energy

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

District 5 City Council Race: Hahn Led Capitelli in Fundraising; Incumbent Led in Developer Dollars

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

The Brower Center, right, will house nonprofits, while Oxford Plaza, left, will provide affordable housing.

Oxford Plaza Opens, Brower Center Near Completion

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Chamber of Commerce Dismisses CEO

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Zoning Board to Thai Temple: Keep the Noise Down

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Vandals Strike Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Armed Robbers Accost Oakland Tech Students On Campus

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Judge Hikes UC Murder Suspect’s Bail to $2.5 Million

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Fire Department Log

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

NASDAQ Issues Formal Order Delisting Magna

By Richard Brenneman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Deede Sloan

A Tribute to Dorothy-Ann ‘Deede’ Sloan

By L A Wood
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Lise Blumenfeld, 1931-2009

By Neal Blumenfeld
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Fifth Suspect Surrenders in Home Invasion Robbery, Torture Case

Bay City News
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Berkeley Historical Society Spring Walking Tours

By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

A Few More Local Garden Events

By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Parkway Theater supporters line up for a farewell gathering Sunday.
Richard Brenneman
Parkway Theater supporters line up for a farewell gathering Sunday.

Editorials

Is Berkeley Squeezing Newspapers to Subsidize Developers?

By Becky O'Malley
Wednesday March 25, 2009
It wasn’t despair, exactly, but it was with a feeling akin to despair that I watched the clueless City Council majority on Tuesday night enthusiastically endorse a program to make loans to wannabe developers who couldn’t even come up with the standard city permit fees to get their projects started. -more-

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday March 25, 2009

Three Gentlemen from Parma Visit ‘Green’ Berkeley

By Beebo Turman
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Churches and Proposition 8

By Robert Brokl
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Responding to Sexual Violence

By Betty Green
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Does Barbara Lee Still Speak for You and Me?

By Henry Norr
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Can Buses Save the Berkeley Ferry?

By Paul Kamen
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Columnists

Dispatches From the Edge: Europe’s Crisis: The Kraken Wakes

By Conn Hallinan
Wednesday March 25, 2009

UnderCurrents: Trying to Make Sense of the MacArthur Shootings

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Green Neighbors: Simple Is Not Always Ideal in the Real World

By Ron Sullivan
Wednesday March 25, 2009

About the House: Can You Light Your Water Heater?

By Matt Cantor
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Wednesday March 25, 2009

‘Twobird’ a Leisurely, Mesmerizing One-Man Show

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Wild Boys of the Road (1933) is a drama of juvenile hoboes wandering the country.

Pacific Film Archive Shines Light on Depression-Era Cinema

By Steven Finacom Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Gamelan Sekar Jaya Marks 30 Years with Benefit Show

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Two Staged Play Readings Ready to Draw Back the Curtain in Berkeley

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Wednesday March 25, 2009

Events Calendar

Community Calendar

Wednesday March 25, 2009