University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks has resigned after only three years on the job, UC President Janet Napolitano announced today. -more-
One of the two men who were fatally shot outside a birthday party at an art gallery in downtown Oakland early Sunday morning graduated from Berkeley High School in 2014 and played on a youth rugby club and on the school's football team, one of his coaches said today. -more-
Two men who were fatally shot outside a birthday party at an art gallery in downtown Oakland early Sunday morning were identified by police today as 20-year-old Craig Fletcher-Cooks and 22-year-old Terrence McCrary, both of Oakland. A story on berkeleyside.com gave McCrary's last name as Mack, and reported that both were Berkeley High School graduates. -more-
50 years ago, in August 1966, anti-war demonstrators blocked gates to the Concord Naval Weapons Station to halt shipments of explosives and napalm bombs destined to be dropped on the people of Viet Nam. The only news organization on the scene reporting on the protests—and the arrests and violence that shadowed the long-running Port Chicago Vigil—was the weekly underground paper, The Berkeley Barb.
The following reports were collected from the online archives of the Barb, now available to the public for the first time, thanks to a major digital scanning project conducted by Independent Voices, an Open Access Collection of the Alternative Press and Reveal Digital.
The following reports can be found on the new website: www.berkeleybarb.net. The online archives offer a word search function and provide both a visual scan of each page of Berkeley's pioneering weekly and text reproductions of the articles on each page.
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Black student leaders and university officials agreed to create a center to serve the needs of black students on the University of California at Berkeley campus, university officials said Friday. -more-
If a person yells "fire" in a crowded theater, would he be excused from the legal consequences by claiming that he was "just kidding?" Certainly not!
By approving of Russia's hack into Presidential candidate Clinton's email ("Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing"), the Republican standard-bearer is advocating an illegal act, perhaps even treason. This calls for a criminal investigation, possibly leading to prosecution. "Just kidding" doesn't absolve his public statements.
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I don't know how many odd or even number of deaths will stir empathy in the hearts of our legislators. So long as it is others who die, it must be okay to avoid thinking about introducing changes to the Second Amendment. I know crazy minds may still be able to devise ways to acquire guns, but many criminals will be deterred if background checks are thorough and assault weapons are forbidden. -more-
Okay, the summer’s half over, and the news from the presidential election front is surreal. There are options:
1) Send money, but it doesn’t seem that Hillary Clinton really needs it. On the other hand, there are Senate and House races that do, and without congressional support the next president won’t get as much done.
2) Go elsewhere in the country to work for campaigns. I have good friends, middle-aged and older women like me, who have been unfortunate enough to move to purplish states, and they tell me I could go there to register voters and get them to the polls. Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida—which might it be?
3) Make day trips to work in nearby congressional races. Two nearby congressmembers in close races which might be worth some effort: Ami Bera in Sacramento and Jerry McNerny out toward Livermore. I went to a Bera house party last week and was impressed by how smart he is, and he joined the House sit-in for better firearms regs.
4) Stay here and work phone banks. Me, I’m already getting grouchy from way too many phone calls and emails from campaigns I’m already supporting, and I suspect other voters are too. Might it be time to stop this stuff?
And if working in national elections seems unproductive, don’t forget that here in Berkeley local elections were sneakily moved to coincide with the national elections when we weren’t paying attention. This means that this November Berkeley will be choosing a new Mayor and four councilmembers, creating a new majority on the city council which will be with us for four years, like it or don’t.
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An excellent though very sad story on berkeleyside.com about the latest Berkeley victims of gun violence:
Readers should check out the flurry of press releases that came in the last couple of days regarding the aborted city council meeting, supposedly to bless some sort of compromise that various politicians claimed to have brokered regarding the dueling ballot proposals for a Berkeley minimum wage. At this point I can't begin to explain what they all thought they were doing. I'm going to ask around, and if I figure anything out I'll write it up in the editorial space. Meanwhile, the previous editorial still holds: get involved in regime change in Berkeley if you have any time or money to spare. It couldn't get any worse, and it might get better.
Here's the full set of links. Read them and weep. In reverse order of occurrence, roughly.
Betrayal at the Berkeley City Council (Public Comment) Harry Brill 08-11-2016
Flash: No Special Berkeley City Council Meeting Tonight Re Minimum Wage John Caner, CEO Downtown Berkeley Assn. 08-11-2016
Flash: Whole Lotta Shakin' at a special City Council Meeting tonight? Becky O'Malley 08-11-2016
City of Berkeley News: City Council Special Meeting, Thursday August 11 at 6:00PM Councilmember Kriss Worthington 08-11-2016
Press Release: Berkeley City Council to hold special meeting on raising minimum wage Stefan Elgstrand, Office of Councilmember Jesse Arreguin 08-11-2016
Press Release: HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD: Council Special Meeting re MINIMUM WAGE, Tomorrow, Thurs, Aug 11, 6pm, Old City Hall, 2134 MLK Jr. Way. John Caner, C.E.O. Downtown Berkeley Association 08-11-2016
Press Release: Agreement Reached on Berkeley Minimum Wage
Attorney Andy Katz led negotiations for Special City Council vote Thursday Andy Katz, andy@andykatzlaw.com 08-11-2016
Press Release: PROCLAMATION CALLING A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL From Leslie D. Harris, City of Berkeley City Clerk Department 08-11-2016
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If you’re watching the Olympic games, you may have noticed “Hillary for President” ads. She’s bought $13.6 million worth, while Donald Trump has bought none. In fact, since garnering the Republican nomination, he’s spent $0 on TV. Nonetheless, the Trump campaign spent $63m in July. What happened to it? -more-
Affordable and/or subsidized housing, a unit affordable to a person living on Social Security and/or SSI, is an equally important factor in determining the outcome of a mentally ill person as is "compliance" with treatment. In the absence of a decent, safe, affordable, clean, comfortable dwelling, it is improbable that someone with mental illness will get well. Feeling that we are in safe surroundings, an environment in which there is calm, quiet and comfort, and in which there is liberty to do as we please, is a critical factor in our recovery. -more-
Tabloid journalism turned into a raunchy, sensationalist opera is what Thomas Adès’s 1995 chamber opera Powder Her Face is all about. West Edge Opera, in offering the first local staged production of Powder Her Face, has indulged in over-the-top sensationalism for its own sake. I can’t imagine a more blatantly raunchy, pornographic production of this – or for that matter any – opera. As staged by director Elkhanah Pulitzer, Powder Her Face is a farrago of bad taste. -more-
Don't miss this 08-15-2016
What do Berkeley Councilmembers think they're doing, anyhow? 08-12-2016
Investigate Trump's Illegal Acts Bruce Joffe 08-12-2016
Can we develop empathy? Romila Khanna 08-12-2016
UC Berkeley Chancellor Dirks resigns after only three years Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 08-16-2016
Updated: Second Homicide Victim graduated from Berkeley High in 2014 Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 08-15-2016
Two young men killed Sunday identified as Berkeley High alumni Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 08-15-2016
50 Years Ago: Anti-war Protesters Blockaded the Concord Naval Weapons Station Gar Smith 08-12-2016
New: Agreement to create center for UC Berkeley Black community Keith Burbank (BCN) 08-15-2016
THE PUBLIC EYE:Trump’s Missing Money Bob Burnett 08-12-2016
ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Effects of the Affordable Housing Shortage Jack Bragen 08-12-2016
POWDER HER FACE: A Farrago of Bad Taste Reviewed by James Roy MacBean 08-12-2016
and
The March Issue and
The February Issue and
The January Issue and
The December Issue and
The November Issue and
The bit old October Issue
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