News

On Monday, December 13, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee held its annual dinner in Oakland, a group of activists performed a flashmob inside the Marriott hotel to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," addressing Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine. Six Activists and one reporter were arrested: -more-

Berkeley Police are investigating a string of what detectives believe are connected armed robberies that have been occurring in North Berkeley since mid-November. In each of the five robberies, a suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded their phones, wallets, and other valuable items, then fled on foot. All of the victims have described the suspect as a “black male, late teens to 30 years old with a thin build.” -more-

I witnessed a violent mugging this evening on the F line, on the bus that left SF at 6:10 pm. -more-

Parking, Iceland and city staffing were the main topics discussed at Tuesday's Berkeley City Council meeting, preceded by celebrations on behalf of returning councilmembers. -more-

Berkeley City Council held a worksession this Tuesday night, hearing a budget update for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2011 and an assessment and action plan of the Berkeley Mental Health Division. No action was taken by the Council. -more-

Police are investigating an early morning armed robbery of a fast-food restaurant near the Berkeley-Albany border, police said. Officers responded to a 5:24 a.m. report of a robbery at 1198 San Pablo Ave., police said, which is the location of a McDonald's restaurant. According to a business listing on Yelp.com, this outpost of the restaurant chain opens at 5 a.m. on weekdays. No suspects were in custody as of 6:15 a.m., police said, and information about possible injuries was not yet available. -more-

The Berkeley-based Sustainable Business Alliance picked a stellar location for its December 3^rd meet-and-greet — the Space Lounge of the Saturn Café, located at 2175 Allston Way — directly across the street from SBA’s home in the David Brower Center. More than 30 Bay Area green business leaders (and a couple of out-of-staters) assembled to swap stories and business cards while loading plates with mounds of organic salad, tasty entrees, slices of fruit and squares of desert bread. -more-

I want to put a little different twist than that of a CC Times article on the action taken by the City Council last night. I can’t speak for the rest of the Council, but the reason I voted to proceed to considering the Final EIR without additional alternatives is because the entire process of soliciting suggestions of alternatives from the public was fatally flawed. The sooner we put it to bed and move on, the better. -more-

This week saw the North American premiere of Rites of Love and Math, the film by Berkeley mathematician Ed Frenkel. After receiving complaints about the trailer, which features both formulae and naked female flesh, Berkeley's mathematical sciences research institute decided to withdraw its support for the film. -more-

Apparently , notwithstanding all the safeguards imposed by our city, cell phone companies like "T Mobile" can install antennas right smack in front of your living room without even a whimper of an objection. -more-

Why would a Peruvian writer who has never been to Brazil set all his stories in Brazil? Is everyone in Chile a poet? And how could a journalist underground for six months in one of the worst sections of Medellín reject “poverty and violence” as a subject in favor of his neighbors’ and co-workers’ “happy life”?

These questions and many others were addressed by three young writers—the Chilean Carlos Labbé, the Peruvian Carlos Yushimito, and the Colombian Andrés Felipe Solano—at a panel discussion moderated by Peruvian writer Daniel Alarcón at the University of California on Monday. -more-

Ads calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, for the sake of peace and justice for both Palestinian and Israeli peoples, went up this week at three high-traffic stations in Bay Area Rapid Transit system: 12th Street Oakland, Downtown Berkeley, and San Francisco Civic Center. The ads, which will run for four weeks, are the first step in what's expected to be a broader campaign to bring the message to Bay Area commuters in the coming year. -more-