News Updates

Crime from Willard Students Sparks Community Meeting

By Rio Bauce Special to the Planet

Wednesday June 03, 2009

Last Thursday, the LeConte Neighborhood Association held a meeting together with the Berkeley Police Department and Willard Middle School Safety Officer Andre Kellum to discuss the issue of after-school student vandalism. -more-

Berkeley Students Show Decline in SAT Scores, Large Gains in AP Scores

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Wednesday June 03, 2009

Berkeley High School students showed a sharp decline in 2008 SAT math and verbal scores, but large gains in Advanced Placement tests, according to a report prepared by the Berkeley Unified School District. -more-

Flash: Police Find Shooting Suspect in South Berkeley Dumpster

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday June 02, 2009

After a lengthy search, police found the man suspected of firing shots from a car in West Berkeley Tuesday afternoon. -more-

Flash: Search for Suspect Continues in South Berkeley

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday June 02, 2009

Three hours after a young man fired shots from a moving car in West Berkeley, police were still searching for the suspect in South Berkeley after chasing him to a neighborhood near the intersection of Ashby and Shattuck avenues. -more-

Flash: Police Search for Armed Suspect in South Berkeley

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday June 02, 2009

The Berkeley Police Department SWAT team searches for an armed suspect near the corner of Shattuck and Ashby avenues.

Berkeley police cordoned off two blocks near Shattuck and Ashby avenues at 3:30 p.m. to search for a suspect who fired shots earlier today in West Berkeley. -more-

Campanile Undergoes Restoration Work

By Rio Bauce Special to the Planet

Tuesday June 02, 2009

UC Berkeley's Campanile will is undergoing restoration. The work is expected to be completed by the beginning of the fall semester.

On May 26, UC Berkeley began restoration work on Sather Tower (also known as the Campanile) to repair and clean the marble spire, secure the beacon, and repair the roof. The project is expected to be complete by the beginning of the fall semester. -more-

Black Oak Books Moves Out

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday June 01, 2009

Shattuck Avenue lost an icon Sunday. Owner Gary Cornell confirmed Monday morning that Black Oak Books, one of Berkeley’s best-loved bookstores, is moving out. Cornell has been trying to negotiate a lease with landlord Ruegg and Ellsworth for several months. -more-

Counselors Hit Hard by School District Budget Cuts

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Monday June 01, 2009

Teachers, parents and students packed the City Council chambers Wednesday to ask the Berkeley Board of Education to save high school counseling positions threatened by budget cuts. -more-

Harmon Street Apartment Fire

By Richard Brenneman

Monday June 01, 2009

Where there’s smoke—even the sweet-smelling kind—there’s sometimes fire, as the occupants of one Berkeley apartment discovered to their chagrin last week. -more-

AC Transit Takes First Step Towards Projected Bus Line Cuts

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Friday May 29, 2009

AC Transit officials took the first step Wednesday toward eliminating or reducing bus lines. The cuts are expected to be implemented later this year. -more-

Planners Approve Easing of Downtown Business Permits, Look at New Housing Allocations

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 28, 2009

Berkeley planning commissioners finished their adjustments to downtown zoning rules Wednesday night (May 27), easing requirements for entrepreneurs setting up shop in the vacancy-plagued city center. -more-

BART Sets Fare Hike; Changes Take Effect July 1

Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

BART directors voted today to adopt three fare hikes that will go into effect July 1. -more-

Group to Hold Meeting About Possible Reopening of Oakland's Parkway Theater

Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

Community members in Oakland will meet this Sunday to discuss an investment offer made this week to take over the former Parkway Speakeasy Theater in Oakland, which closed earlier this year. -more-

News

Drop in Immigrant Students Leads to Loss of Federal Funds

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 28, 2009

A significant drop in the number of immigrant students in the Berkeley Unified School District has resulted in the loss of federal funding for some services and programs meant to help them. -more-

API Scores Show Growth For State, Berkeley Schools

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 28, 2009

Although the 2008 Base Academic Performance Index (API) report released Thursday, May 21, shows progress for California’s public schools, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell warned that the mounting budget cuts to education could be a major threat to improving student achievement. -more-

Protesters Decry Proximity of Fast Food Outlets, Schools

By Rio Bauce Special to the Planet

Thursday May 28, 2009

Ten Berkeley citizens and leaders of Corporate Accountability International (CAI) protested in front of McDonald’s in downtown Berkeley Tuesday to draw attention to the restaurant’s proximity to schools. -more-

Council Plans Budget Review; Election Fallout Still Unknown

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 28, 2009

While Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz has scheduled an update on the city’s budget for next Tuesday’s City Council meeting, that update will probably not include the impacts of last week’s defeats of ballot measures designed to plug holes in the state’s budget deficit. -more-

Special Election Results Impact Higher Education

By Rio Bauce Special to the Planet

Thursday May 28, 2009

The defeat of five of the May 19 special election ballot initiatives means trouble for the economic future of California’s universities, colleges and community colleges. -more-

Berkeley Couple Challenges Prop. 8 in New Federal Lawsuit

By Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

Police Arrest 150 in SF Protests

By Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

Power Outage Hits 3,880 PG&E Users

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 28, 2009

Biofuels Oasis Opens in South Berkeley

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 28, 2009

Berkeley High Opens Scheduling Meetings to Public

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 28, 2009

City College Graduates Take Stage at Zellerbach

By Rio Bauce Special to the Planet

Thursday May 28, 2009

Plan to Double West Berkeley Rail Lines Fades With Economy

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 28, 2009

Police Arrest Third Suspect in Homicide Cases

Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

Testimony Continues in Mehserle Hearing

Bay City News

Thursday May 28, 2009

First Person: More Thoughts on The Art of Aging

By Rose Green

Thursday May 28, 2009

First Person: O Say, Can We Sing?

By Mary Ford

Thursday May 28, 2009

Rio Bauce

Protesters demonstrate outside McDonald's in downtown Berkeley.

Editorials

One More Time, From the Top

By Becky O’Malley

Thursday May 28, 2009

Never thought I’d hear the word “empathy” used as a pejorative. (Definitions, for the one or two Republicans who might be be reading this: “Empathy: …the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another” and “pejorative: having negative connotations; especially: tending to disparage or belittle.” ) -more-