Students at UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law staged a rally supporting affirmative action on Monday, hours after the nation’s high court ruled to uphold the basic tenets of race preferences in college admissions. -more-
Wow. Just, “Wow.” -more-
The City Council will take action on one of two proposed library tax increases Tuesday. Both are designed to help the library bridge a $1.3 million budget deficit. -more-
The following letter was addressed to Mayor Tom Bates and the Berkeley City Council: -more-
As the debate surrounding proposed AC Transit fare changes and service reductions intensifies, a restructuring plan adopted in February will take effect next week. -more-
For an hour on Friday night, Cody’s Books on Fourth Street sold more than three books a minute. During the same time period, Pegasus Fine Books in downtown Berkeley had a line of 100 people—more than had ever been in the store at one time. -more-
The city manager’s next report on the ongoing neighborhood dispute over the 3045 Shattuck Ave. house expansion is expected to address the issue of backyard space, a debate which has pitted two city commissioners against the city’s planning staff. -more-
Two recent resignations have hamstrung the Transporation Department’s ability to keep up with pending projects, according to Deputy City Manager of Transportation Peter Hillier. -more-
After two shootings in two days last week, Berkeley police increased patrols throughout southwest Berkeley, resulting in 15 arrests, including six for illegal possession of a firearm. Other arrests were for probation, parole and drug violations. -more-
KARACHI, Pakistan—U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials have reportedly met with Taliban leaders in an effort to devise a political solution to an escalating guerrilla war in Afghanistan. -more-
Money buys happiness for some, but misery for others, according to a new UC Berkeley study. -more-
The City Council meetings of June 17 were a nightmare. -more-
Berkeley’s City Hall and Corporation Yard were once located at Sacramento and University avenues. City Hall was moved to an appropriate, prominent location in the heart of the city. The Corporation Yard moved to an established residential neighborhood at Allston, Acton and Bancroft. Houses were moved to accommodate the yard. -more-
Spiritual enlightenment can hurt sometimes. A man meditating in a tree in the Berkeley hills learned this the hard way Sunday, June 22, when he fell 30 feet to the ground, then tumbled 50 feet down a steep ravine, said Chief Mike Migliore of the Berkeley Fire Department. -more-
On Tuesday, the City Council will finalize the budget, vote on a contract with a parking meter parts company and consider a new fountain on the Berkeley-Kensington border. -more-
On Saturday night around 11 p.m. police received a call from a motorist who said he was driving eastbound on Marin Avenue near Santa Barbara Street when he heard something hit the right rear window of his car. -more-
Benicia is well worth exploring, partly because no one else is exploring it. -more-
The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-
When people hear Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek deliver a public address in the City Council Chambers, they take a second look to make sure the prodigious voice is actually emanating from the elderly woman with the short gray afro and cherubic face. -more-
Two weeks after newly appointed Berkeley High School principal Patty Christa abruptly resigned, the school district named the runner-up from this spring’s principal search to the high-profile post Thursday. -more-
The mayor has convened an advisory task force taking on the difficult task of trying to make our planning process better. I offer the following comments to spur public input into this process. To me, there are two “big picture” problems with Berkeley’s planning process: -more-
A recent straw poll taken by the political advocacy group MoveOn.org named Dennis Kucinich, John Kerry and Howard Dean as the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination among its members. -more-
China has yet again outdone itself in its legacy of terrorism against humanity—this time by forcefully deporting two weeks ago 18 Tibetans to Tibet from nearby Nepal, which otherwise was for these hopeful refugees their doorstep to the outside world, to freedom in exile. -more-
The evening of Jan. 6, 2003, was supposed to be a homecoming for Jennifer Medina and Omar Khan. The couple, wed only 15 months before, was returning to the States after spending Christmas with Khan’s family in England. Khan is a 26-year-old British citizen who had just been in his homeland to finish up his college coursework. He was to return to his new home in Berkeley to begin building a life with Medina, a UC Berkeley graduate and local soccer celebrity. He had a public relations job lined up at a local startup animation company, and was considering a high school teaching career. -more-
The City Council Chambers were overflowing on Tuesday with concerned parents, art-toting children and worried non-profit directors during the last public hearing on the city’s budget proposal. -more-
Two brazen daylight shootings in the past week have shaken Berkeley and prompted police to step up patrols in the area. -more-
At the Grand Lake in Oakland there is still one large theater that has not been chopped down to postage stamp size. Painted on the ceiling above the huge screen is a medallion, tarnished with the breath of decades of expectant audiences. On it is depicted a seated woman wearing a toga. She was a woman with no arms. Or so it seemed to my daughter’s friend, who tells us that as a child she would stare up at the ceiling, searching in the gloom for the missing appendages. -more-
After a year of heavy cuts, the Board of Education passed a final, $85 million 2003-2004 budget Wednesday night, leaving $6 million to be chopped the following year to balance the books. -more-
The Board of Education’s newest member, student representative Bradley Johnson, has been a politician since his freshman year at Berkeley High School. -more-
Once again the local, legendary rock band Metallica is in the news. Last year they made headlines in their lawsuit against Napster. This time they’re in the media because one of their members, James Hetfield, has returned to the band after a year off for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. -more-
I met Gregory Peck once. And of course he did not remember it. That’s how it is for famous people— the moment you meet them is blazoned into your mind, and for them, they cannot remember your face the minute they let go of your hand. This must be doubly true for legends, and Gregory Peck was a legend. -more-
The Berkeley Community Fund has announced that Berkeley Symphony Orchestra conductor Kent Nagano has been selected as the recipient of this year's Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal. -more-
A man in his late teens or early 20s robbed two homes on Wednesday morning, according to police. A resident of the 800 block of Mendicino Avenue reported stolen items valuing $20,000. It was unclear whether anything was missing from the second home, on the 1700 block of San Lorenzo Avenue. -more-
Part One: The California Legislature, possibly to ensure the re-election of Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, fails that year to enact that combination of spending cuts and tax increases necessary to deal with the problems of the dot-com bust and the energy company rip-off. As a result of delaying what seemed obvious to the casual observer, the Legislature causes the budget deficit to explode the next year to almost $38 billion. But instead of passing a constitutionally mandated balanced budget by the constitutionally mandated deadline of June 15, the Legislature goes home. -more-
Sometimes it takes more than a village to raise a child. Sometimes, it takes the Village People. -more-
The world has been way, way too much with me lately. I have been rather beset by Issues, the details of which I am not at liberty to discuss (but be sure to ask if you bump into me on the street); I do confess, however, to some tossed curls, stamped feet, slammed doors, perhaps even a tear or two—and that’s just how my therapist has been behaving. The whole situation has left me feeling rather wrought, and longing for an appropriate venue to which I can repair to repair. I want a stylish backdrop that lends itself to the channeling of my inner diva. And, not that I’m picky or anything, but really good food and drink should be offered, too. -more-
It may not be the next Paris. Or even the next Rockridge. -more-
BDP Website Info for Downtown Berkeley Association -more-
Windmills that pumped water from wells up to a holding tank were once common backyard structures, not just in the countryside but also in urban settings such as Berkeley, and they appear in many old photographs. -more-
Laurie Wilkie’s UC Berkeley Summer Session class does not take place in a lecture hall. -more-
