News

Early this morning an arrest warrant was issued for the suspect believed to be responsible for a home invasion sexual assault. Wanted for rape, sodomy, false imprisonment, oral copulation, burglary, and sexual battery is Omar Sosa, 6-22-1983, of Berkeley. -more-

[Editor’s note: A reader has forwarded this email from Councilmember Linda Maio.] -more-

This morning at 6:11 a.m., Patrol officers from the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) responded to a residential sexual assault which occurred on Evelyn Street in North Berkeley. -more-

The University of California Board of Regents this morning approved an 8 percent undergraduate tuition hike for the 2011-12 academic year. -more-

KPFA LISTENERS WILL CONVERGE outside of Pacifica's offices in Berkeley (next door to KPFA) for a DRAMATIC PUBLIC READING of some of the thousands of letters they have sent to Pacifica's executive director Arlene Engelhardt, urging her to return the Morning Show, the bay area's only locally-produced non-commercial morning news and information program, to the airwaves. WELL-KNOWN VOICES will be on hand to participate. -more-

With Mayor Bates on vacation for the month, Councilmember Linda Maio presided over the second City Council meeting of November on Tuesday evening. After ceremonial matters and public comment, the bulk of the meeting was spent on the year-to-date crime report, a status report from the city's information technology department on an old software program (FUND$), and an update on employee safety and workers' compensation from human resources. The only action taken Tuesday night was to unanimously approve a resolution to endorse BevMo's United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 5 campaign. -more-

[Editor's note: At the end of this video can be seen the infamous Dan Spitzer, the notorious persecutor of Berkeley Daily Planet advertisers.]

What began as a peaceful Sunday evening gathering at the South Berkeley Senior Center erupted into verbal conflict and political clashes that eventually drew the attention of the Berkeley police who dispatched a half-dozen squad cars and a fire-truck to the scene.

The Bay Area chapter Jewish Voice for Peace had intended to host a presentation by several young activists who had disrupted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before the Jewish Federation’s General Assembly in New Orleans on November 8. But the Berkeley event started to go off-the-rails even before the meeting was officially convened. -more-

I do not think that many people noticed the pepper-spraying incident when it first happened. … The attendees were visibly shaken, and wisely cautioned against people walking back to their cars alone. The two JVP members who were pepper-sprayed recounted their stories and one asked to leave as her face was all red and her contact lenses were burning. They informed us that the offender had been handcuffed for a few moments but the police had then determined there was no sufficient evidence to arrest or press charges. That the options were either to perform a citizen’s arrest – at which point everyone involved gets arrested – or for both to walk free, since it is one word against another, forget about the pepper-sprayed face. … I offered to walk the pepper-spray victim to her car outside. -more-

Last night, up to a dozen members of San Francisco Voice for Israel/StandWithUs, a right-wing Israeli advocacy group with a documented track record of aggressively taunting and intimidating grassroots peace activists , attended a Bay Area Jewish Voice for Peace community meeting at a South Berkeley Senior Center with the intention of disrupting, intimidating and possibly assaulting Jewish Voice for Peace members.

Jewish Voice for Peace is the largest U.S. Jewish peace group dedicated to a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on democracy and full equality --- the Bay Area chapter is the founding chapter of the organization. Approximately 50 to 60 people were at the meeting, and numerous witnesses are available to corroborate the events. Eyewitness testimonies are here and here -more-

About 200 University of California students and faculty have gathered at UC San Francisco's Mission Bay campus this morning to protest proposed student fee hikes and changes to employee retirement plans. -more-

On Friday, November 12, a constellation of legendary reporters from the Bay Area and beyond gathered at the Metreon’s City View auditorium to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Pacific News Service/New America Media. Since it’s founding in 1968 by Franz Schurmann and Orville Schell, two UC Berkeley professors, PNS has distinguished itself by reporting from the world’s forgotten neighborhoods — from distant battlefronts to local barrios. Many of journalism’s brightest stars were on hand to honor Sandy Close, PNS’ guiding light and Franz Shurmann’s partner in life and work. -more-

Six years ago we wrote about the Berkeley flea market in the Planet and its history and unique place in the community are worth telling again. Unlike a corporation operating for profit, the Berkeley flea market is run by Community Services United (CSU), a consortium of non profit Berkeley organizations which receive quarterly payments out of the income generated by the flea market. These organizations each send a representative to the Board of Directors which meet monthly to oversee and set policy for the market. The funds given to these organizations make it possible for them to carry out their programs in the community. -more-

Today, over 500 students and workers are demanding a stop to unnecessary fee increases and benefits cuts. Protesters are blocking entrances to the UC Regents meeting. Three students have already been arrested for demanding entrance to the meeting to carry their message to the Regents. Police have used pepper spray on the crowd. Some barricades have been knocked down as protesters push toward the entrances. -more-

Midnight Matt, the 53-year-old tree sitter, looked out over People's Park Sunday from his forty foot high redwood tree and pronounced it "cool." -more-

Born in Manhattan in 1946, Dorien Ross was a well loved writer, teacher and clinical psychologist. -more-

This Monday I woke earlier than usual— the added hour from the end of daylight savings helped me to do that—when surprisingly, at 7 am, just a few moments after I plugged in my telephone, it began to ring. "Hi Susan, I'm Evan," the voice said, "I'm sorry to say I have tragic news." Since I had just taught a workshop on the weekend and spent most of the day Sunday in bed recovering, I had a long list of tasks to accomplish before picking up my grandson in the afternoon. But suddenly another reason to rush had fallen into my life. -more-