Extra

Updated: Citizens and Applicant Appeal Downtown Project Approvals to the Berkeley City Council

Becky O'Malley
Wednesday October 28, 2015 - 03:30:00 PM

Multiple appeals were filed on Tuesday to decisions by the Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board and the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow construction of a complex of three structures, the tallest of which would be more 18 stories high, on the landmarked site of the Shattuck Hotel and the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas. There would be more than 300 market rate apartments in the project, but no on-site affordable or low-income units. -more-


New: The Berkeley City Council "Hopes" for Housing (Opinion)

Steve Martinot
Thursday October 29, 2015 - 10:19:00 AM

At the Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday night, they considered a measure proposed by District 8 Councilmember Lori Droste to relieve developers of the necessity to put parking spaces in new buildings, hoping that the developer will use that space for more affordable housing. The word heard during the discussion from a number of councilmembers was indeed "hoping." The developer would still have the option to use the space for market rate housing (according to the law, i.e. the Palmer decision).

During public comment, I mentioned that since "affordable" housing is especially for working people of the city (among others), many of whom commute to their jobs, a place to keep a car is still necessary. Given the state of public transportation in Berkeley, as District 6 Councilmember Susan Wengraf pointed out, travel to jobs is most often very problematic. The impression I got from the stony-faced look of the councilmembers was, “well, those aren’t the kind of people we want in this town any more anyway.” -more-


Irish President Thanks Berkeley Balcony Collapse Responders

Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Wednesday October 28, 2015 - 10:41:00 PM

The President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, came to Berkeley today to meet and thank emergency crews who responded to the collapse of an apartment balcony that killed five Irish students in June. -more-


Pedestrian Hit by Car at Berkeley's Gilman Off-Ramp

Dennis Culver (BCN)
Saturday October 24, 2015 - 12:56:00 PM

A pedestrian suffered major injuries Friday after being struck by a vehicle in Berkeley. -more-



Page One

Press Release: Jesse Arreguin Announces Candidacy for Berkeley Mayor-- Two-Term Councilman Running to Make Berkeley Work for Everyone

from the Jesse Arreguin for Mayor Campaign
Friday October 23, 2015 - 04:28:00 PM

Today two-term Berkeley City Councilmember and longtime community leader Jesse Arreguin announced he will be a candidate for Berkeley Mayor in the November 2016 election. Councilmember Arreguin launched his candidacy with an email to supporters this morning and with a new campaign website at www.Jesse.vote.

“We need a Berkeley that works for everyone,” said Councilmember Arreguin. “That’s why I’m running for Mayor. As I’ve done on the City Council and throughout my career, I’ll bring our city together and get results, so Berkeley moves forward and carries on our tradition of strong progressive leadership.”

Arreguin cited the affordability crisis as the number one challenge facing the next Mayor. -more-



State Building Commission Considers Changes Responding to Berkeley Balcony Collapse

Stefan Elgstrand
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:30:00 PM

In the wake of the tragic balcony collapse at 2020 Kittredge Street in Berkeley that claimed the lives of six people, the California State Building Standards Commission, which has authority over all state building codes, is considering changes to strengthen standards for balconies and other exterior elevated elements. -more-



Motorcyclist Killed by Rear-Ending Minivan

Daniel Montes (BCN)
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:32:00 PM

A motorcyclist was killed when he rear-ended a minivan on Interstate Highway 80 in Berkeley this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. -more-



Features

Trying to Get Rid of A Couch

Jesús Iñiguez
Friday October 23, 2015 - 04:19:00 PM

I have a couch that I want out of my apartment.

It's not the best couch, it's kinda ugly and a bit weathered down. Needs a makeover of sorts. Not gonna lie: it's kind of not the greatest couch. Kept it for so long because of sentimental (though mostly financial) reasons, but absolutely ready to let it go as much as it (doesn't) pain me. -more-


Public Comment

Drone attacks – death by Metadata

Jagjit Singh
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:49:00 PM

One of the most secretive military campaigns in U.S. history has come under intense scrutiny by investigative reporters of the Intercept who recently published its report, “The Drone Papers”

The White House assassination program commenced in 2002 with the drone strike that killed six civilians in Yemen including one US citizen. Condoleezza Rice, a senior advisor to President George Bush alleged that the White House reserved the right to assassinate anyone in the world based on actionable intelligence “that the president could never reveal in public”. Thus, nobody could ever be held accountable - how convenient! Under the Obama administration, drone attacks in Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan have intensified with hundreds of civilians, including many children, being blown apart – using highly faulty intelligence as the Intercept report revealed. -more-


Berkeley City Council Jeopardizes Your Health

Harry Brill
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:28:00 PM

By refusing to pass paid sick leave legislation for working people, the majority of the Berkeley City Council have been jeopardizing your health. Many low income workers, who cannot afford to lose any pay, feel compelled to come to work sick. Whether customers are exposed to a sick waiter or waitress, eat from dishes set by a sick employee, or eat the food prepared by an ill cook, customers are unknowingly endangering themselves by being exposed to contagious diseases. -more-


The Invisible Man – A CIA Vendetta

Tejinder Uberoi
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:46:00 PM

Jeffrey Sterling is the first African-American case officer to file a suit against the CIA for racial discrimination. The CIA countered with its own suit charging Sterling with nine felony counts including espionage. They accused Sterling of passing on details of a botched up CIA effort to derail the Iran nuclear program to James Risen of the New York Times. Risen reported that the CIA details may have actually aided the Iranian government nuclear program and stubbornly refused to reveal his source. The CIA counter-suit appears to have little to do with protecting national security but more to do with punishing Sterling for filing his discrimination suit. Sterling’s case is the subject of the documentary short, ‘The Invisible Man’. -more-


Selection of the Speaker

Romila Khanna
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:40:00 PM

It is very important for members of Congress to recognize that the speaker has a difficult job. A good speaker must have the capacity to unite its members behind legislation that will be good for the nation. But we have had a divided congress for the past many years and the speaker could not get the members of his own party to agree. It may be a lesson for the person will put on former speaker John Boehner's hat. -more-


Obituaries

George Stickle Oram, 1935-2015

Georgina Stuart Oram
Friday October 23, 2015 - 04:12:00 PM

George Stickle Oram, Berkeley, California, died on Saturday October 3rd. He was just three weeks shy of his 80th birthday.

My dad was a big man with a big heart. It was probably the muscle he exercised the most often. Those who knew him well could recount many stories in which he took a chance on a person or a place and threw his entire trust into that endeavor because his heart told him to do it. When describing him to friends, I say he’s like Forrest Gump. He lived a long life and was around for a number of pretty remarkable things. He is going to be severely missed by his family, friends, and the large community that grew around him. -more-


Editorial

The Chase Commences in Berkeley

Becky O'Malley
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:51:00 PM

Well, the gong just sounded for the opening of the Berkeley hunting season. No, it’s not a gun-totin’ hunt, nor are foxhounds on the program, and I’m not sure that hunts of any description start with a gong, but you get the idea. Jesse Arreguin is off and running for the job of Mayor of Berkeley, and the rest of the pack can’t be far behind.

Time was that Councilmember Laurie Capitelli would have been leading the pack at the heels of the first entrant, but that looks a little sketchy at the moment. It seems clear that he took some sort of kickback on the sale of a house to Police Chief Michael Meehan, after voting for the city to give Meehan a half-million dollar loan. The exact details of Red Oak Realty’s internal accounting don’t make much difference—the point is that Capitelli shouldn’t have taken a cent on the deal, regardless of what his payment was called in the books, or how much it was. As we said at length last week, it all just demonstrates poor judgement, not something Berkeley needs in a mayor.

Which kind of opens things up a bit, doesn’t it? -more-


The Editor's Back Fence


Columns

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Some Amount of Comfort is a Necessity

Jack Bragen
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:38:00 PM

If someone is stuck in a delusional system or otherwise psychotic, or is in a severe manic or depressed state, it is too much to ask, if you are expecting them to come out of it, medicated or not, if their environment is adverse. -more-


DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE:Turkey’s Election Turmoil

Conn Hallinan
Friday October 23, 2015 - 04:31:00 PM

As Turkey gears up for one of the most important elections in its recent history, the country appears, as one analyst noted, to be coming apart at the “seams”: -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE:The End of the Republican Party

Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:35:00 PM

The latest Huffington Post Poll of Polls estimates that three “outsider” Republican presidential candidates (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Donald Trump) account for more than 50 percent of primary votes. We’re witnessing a civil war within the GOP. Is this the end of the Republican Party? -more-


Arts & Events

Jafar Panahi's Taxi—A Taxi to the Light Side By

Gar Smith
Wednesday October 28, 2015 - 04:18:00 PM

Opens October 30 at the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas

Taking in Jafar Panahi's relaxed manner and sweetly smiling face, you wouldn't judge him to be an enemy of the state. You might not take him to be a world famous film director, writer and producer either. The truth is, Panahi is Iran's most renown film artist. The rest of the truth is deeply ironic: most Iranians have never seen his work. It's been banned.

-more-


Press Release: Dazzling Divas Sing Opera Favorites at Le Bateau Ivre on Wednesday

Arlene Giordano
Saturday October 24, 2015 - 01:15:00 PM

This week, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Le Bateau Ivre welcomes The Dazzling Divas. -more-


Press Release: San Francisco Chamber Orchestra: IN PRAISE OF LOVE

Saturday October 24, 2015 - 01:08:00 PM

Free Concert on Sunday

On their first Main Stage program of the season, concertmaster Robin Sharp takes center stage to perform Leonard Bernstein's 1954 Serenade, inspired by Plato's famous symposium on the nature of love. An earlier experiment in sound and color was Claude Debussy's 1904 Danses Sacrée et Profane, written for harp and strings. Three short, captivating works for multiple percussionists round out this wide-ranging program.

Benjamin Simon, conductor, Robin Sharp, violin, Meredith Clark, harp

Sunsay, Oct 25, 3pm @ First Congregational Church, Berkeley -more-


Truth: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford and the Swift-boating of Dan Rather and CBS News

Gar Smith
Friday October 23, 2015 - 03:42:00 PM

Opens October 23 at the Century 9 and Sundance Kabuki in SF

Opens October 30 at the Shattuck Landmark in Berkeley

As if Jeb Bush didn't have enough to worry about, Sony Pictures has started airing TV commercials reminding America that his brother, W, "may have gone AWOL from the military," "He never even showed up." The ads are promoting a new movie called Truth that examines how George W. evaded serving in Vietnam and how a CBS exposé wound up taking down the most respected journalist in America.

Screenwriter and first-time director James Vanderbilt signals his intensions from the first scene: Get ready for some intense verbal clashes in a high-stakes clash between political power and the First Amendment. The film starts with a combative meeting between embattled 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and her attorney. Blanchett quickly gets ticked off and angrily pops a Xanax. It's a Blue Jasmine moment. Like her Oscar-winning performance in Woody Allen's 2014 film, this is Blanchett in another rip-roaring, pedal-to-the-metal, emotional road-race. Robert Redford (as iconic CBS anchor Dan Rather) is just along for the ride.

-more-


Cypress String Quartet Plays Beethoven at Maybeck Recital Hall

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Saturday October 24, 2015 - 01:12:00 PM

Celebrating their 20th Anniversary as a group, the Cypress String Quartet opened their 2015-16 season with two concerts at Berkeley’s Maybeck Recital Hall in their salon series. The first concert, on Friday, October 16, featured String Quartet No. 6 by George Tsontakis and Beethoven’s majestic Op. 130 Quartet, which latter was performed with its original finale, Die Große Fugue. For the second concert, which I attended on Friday, October 23, Beethoven’s Op. 18, No. 1 Quartet replaced the Tsontakis and was followed after intermission by the Op. 130 Quartet. -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

The Chase Commences in Berkeley 10-23-2015

The Editor's Back Fence

Don't Miss This 10-23-2015

Public Comment

Drone attacks – death by Metadata Jagjit Singh 10-23-2015

Berkeley City Council Jeopardizes Your Health Harry Brill 10-23-2015

The Invisible Man – A CIA Vendetta Tejinder Uberoi 10-23-2015

Selection of the Speaker Romila Khanna 10-23-2015

News

Updated: Citizens and Applicant Appeal Downtown Project Approvals to the Berkeley City Council Becky O'Malley 10-28-2015

New: The Berkeley City Council "Hopes" for Housing (Opinion) Steve Martinot 10-29-2015

Irish President Thanks Berkeley Balcony Collapse Responders Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 10-28-2015

Pedestrian Hit by Car at Berkeley's Gilman Off-Ramp Dennis Culver (BCN) 10-24-2015

Press Release: Jesse Arreguin Announces Candidacy for Berkeley Mayor-- Two-Term Councilman Running to Make Berkeley Work for Everyone from the Jesse Arreguin for Mayor Campaign 10-23-2015

State Building Commission Considers Changes Responding to Berkeley Balcony Collapse Stefan Elgstrand 10-23-2015

Motorcyclist Killed by Rear-Ending Minivan Daniel Montes (BCN) 10-23-2015

Trying to Get Rid of A Couch Jesús Iñiguez 10-23-2015

George Stickle Oram, 1935-2015 Georgina Stuart Oram 10-23-2015

Columns

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Some Amount of Comfort is a Necessity Jack Bragen 10-23-2015

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE:Turkey’s Election Turmoil Conn Hallinan 10-23-2015

THE PUBLIC EYE:The End of the Republican Party 10-23-2015

Arts & Events

Jafar Panahi's Taxi—A Taxi to the Light Side By Gar Smith 10-28-2015

Press Release: Dazzling Divas Sing Opera Favorites at Le Bateau Ivre on Wednesday Arlene Giordano 10-24-2015

Press Release: San Francisco Chamber Orchestra: IN PRAISE OF LOVE 10-24-2015

Truth: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford and the Swift-boating of Dan Rather and CBS News Gar Smith 10-23-2015

Cypress String Quartet Plays Beethoven at Maybeck Recital Hall Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 10-24-2015