Page One

Flash: Lau Resigns from Zoning Adjustments Board, Continues as Aide to Councilmember Moore

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday March 18, 2010
Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board member and City Council Aide Ryan Lau has resigned from the zoning board following a report in the Daily Planet last week which revealed that he had violated the city’s permit process. -more-

Berkeley Building Inspector Halts Lau Building Project

by Fred Dodsworth
Thursday March 18, 2010
While Berkeley City Council District 2 representative Daryl Moore says his aide, Ryan Lau, made a mistake in replacing an old funky garage with a larger living structure without obtaining permits or zoning approval, it appears the mistake is much bigger, more expensive and more problematic than simply paying a higher fee. Lau was ordered to cease construction on Monday, March 15, 2010, by Building Inspector Greg Heidenreich. -more-

New: Berkeley Swims to Save Its Swimming Pools

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday March 18, 2010
Swim to save the swimming pools. That’s the unofficial motto of the Berkeley Pools Campaign at least for Friday, when they launch a 24-hour swimathon to raise funds to upgrade and expand the city’s pools. -more-

Students Leave Berkeley for March for America

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday March 18, 2010
Father Crespin blesses the delegation on the steps of St. Joseph The Worker Church Wednesday morning before the journey.
A busload of Berkeley students left for Washington D.C. Wednesday morning for the March 21 March for America demonstration at the National Mall. -more-

City Council Opens Debate on Bus Alternatives

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday March 18, 2010
The City Council is scheduled to discuss a "Build" option at their meeting. Above, a AC Transit Rapid bus on Telegraph Avenue.
Bus Rapid Transit lovers, haters and skeptics are getting ready to make their case at the Berkeley City Council Tuesday, when the council discusses whether to decide on which “Build” alternative if any to forward to AC Transit for environmental review. -more-

Updated: Rash of Violence at Berkeley High

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday March 18, 2010
New details emerged Tuesday about the string of violent incidents that took place in and around Berkeley High School last week. -more-

News

Persian New Year Festival in Berkeley

VIDEO by Mike O'Malley
Thursday March 18, 2010
Celebrators of the Persian New Year, “Chahrshanbeh Souri”, jumped over a bonfire on Tuesday, at Berkeley’s Persian Center, in order to shake off the darkness of winter and welcome the lightness of spring, a Persian ritual passed down since ancient Zoroastrian times. -more-

Police Ask Help to Identify North Berkeley Burglar Suspect

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Berkeley police said Wednesday that they want the community’s help to identify a suspect responsible for a series of North Berkeley residential burglaries. -more-

Obituaries

Charles Muscatine, 1920-2010

From UC Berkeley Media Relations
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Editor’s Note: Like many before and after me, I had the great privilege and pleasure of studying Chaucer with Mr. Muscatine. In the olden days, those who taught in the college of Letters and Sciences at Cal (never “UC Berkeley” or “Berkeley”) prided themselves on being just plain Mr., or occasionally Mrs. or Miss. Titles like Doctor or Professor were thought to pertain to lesser institutions where teachers boasted of their research achievements with their titles, but in the English Department at least it was taken for granted that everyone was a scholar. But not everyone was a born teacher, as was Mr. Muscatine. -more-

Edgar Tietjen Monk, 1917-2010

By Edith Monk Hallberg
Tuesday March 16, 2010
Edgar T. Monk was born February 29, 1917 in Cowley Wyoming. His mother, Augusta Tietjen Monk died when he was 10 and he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents, devout members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was a cowboy on his grandfather’s ranch until 1937, when he became an elder in the Church and went on missions to Norway and the UK until his return in 1939. -more-

The Carpenters’ Union was picketing the Safeway at College and Claremont on the Berkeley-Oakland border on Tuesday to publicize a dispute with the grocery corporation over the alleged use of non-union carpenters on a San Jose building site, which is now being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.
Nancy McKay
The Carpenters’ Union was picketing the Safeway at College and Claremont on the Berkeley-Oakland border on Tuesday to publicize a dispute with the grocery corporation over the alleged use of non-union carpenters on a San Jose building site, which is now being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

Editorials

Where We Are This Week, and What You Can Do About It

By Becky O'Malley
Thursday March 18, 2010
It’s time for a bit of housekeeping, to clear up questions we’ve been getting around town and in letters. Many faithful Planet readers have inquired about the absence online of familiar features they knew and loved in the printed paper. In the last few weeks we’ve gotten a better understanding of the peculiar situation in which we find ourselves, and now it’s time to share it with the public. -more-

Editorial Cartoons

Odd Bodkins

By Dan O'Neill
Wednesday March 17, 2010

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Thursday March 18, 2010

Regarding Mr. Ryan Lau

Paola Laverde
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Hello there Daily Planet, I'm sending you a copy of the letter I wrote to Berkeley City Auditor Ms Hogan this morning (3-16-10) It is regarding the reckless behavior of Ryan Lau, the ZAB board member and aide to Councilman Moore. -more-

An Open Letter to Darryl Moore

By Thomas J. Towey
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Dear Mr. Moore: I am an architect residing in your district in Berkeley, as is my wife and business partner. I have had occasion to work with you and Mr. Lau in regard to the BUSD's ill-fated plans for the Adult School site, and (with your important support) in turning that project around, creating a much better outcome for all concerned. -more-

The Richmond Chamber of Horrors

By Tom Butt
Tuesday March 16, 2010
The Richmond Chamber of Commerce, erstwhile defenders of land speculators and global oil corporations, just can’t let go of politics. They should rename themselves “Richmond Chamber of Horrors.” -more-

Ending the Shore Wars

By Jim Rogers
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Like Star Wars, Richmond's Shore Wars are a lengthy drama with a familiar cast of characters and endless battles. -more-

The Snub Heard Around The World

By Ralph E. Stone
Wednesday March 17, 2010
In President Obama’s June 2009 Cairo Islam speech, he called for a Palestinian state and a freeze on Israeli settlements. The Obama administration seemed to be announcing a neutral U.S. policy in all things Middle East or at least a less pro-Israel approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. How naive we were. -more-

Columnists

THE PUBLIC EYE: Dangerous Visions for Desperate Times

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday March 16, 2010
The good ship USA is sailing through an iceberg-laden sea, severely damaged and taking in water. Beset by an array of daunting problems, including a failed economy and global climate change, Americans have two choices. We can ignore how bad our situation is or we can fight to save our democracy. For those of you who feel like taking action, here are ten dangerous visions. -more-

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: The Iranian Tsunami

By Conn Hallinan
Wednesday March 17, 2010
Earthquakes, like the recent Haitian and Chilean monsters, are not subtle events: They flatten buildings, crush houses, and turn infrastructures into concrete and steel confetti. But earthquakes can also generate a power that remains largely unseen until a huge tsunami rises out of the sea and obliterates a coastline. -more-

SENIOR POWER: Old Age

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Wednesday March 17, 2010
“Old age comes on suddenly, and not gradually as is thought.” Emily Dickinson -more-

Arts & Entertainment

Berkeley Arts Festival Calendar Selections

By Bonnie Hughes
Thursday March 18, 2010
Look here for an ongoing guide to selected arts events in Berkeley compiled by the producer of the Berkeley Arts Festival. -more-

Onstage, Roundabout

By Ken Bullock
Thursday March 18, 2010
Theater continues apace in Berkeley and environs, in an almost continual outpouring. -more-

Oakland East Bay Symphony Presents Buster Keaton's The General

By Justin DeFreitas
Thursday March 18, 2010
Buster Keaton as Johnnie Gray, an engineer determined to reclaim his locomotive from the Union soldiers who stole it, in the great silent comedy <i>The General.</i>
In 1998, amid an orgy of end-of-the-millenium top 100 lists, the American Film Institute released its list of the 100 best American films, a list that included three Charlie Chaplin movies but, inexplicably, no Buster Keaton films, despite the fact that several of his works, most notably The General (1926), rank among the silent era’s best and frequently hover near the top of many critics’ lists of the best films ever made. -more-

Events

Berkeley’s historic, hand-built, Finnish Hall will be featured on the March 27 Berkeley Historical Society walking tour.

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours Start March 27

By Steven Finacom
Thursday March 18, 2010