After racking up 50,000 periods of unexcused absences last year, Berkeley High students are sure to show up Wednesday evening when the school board considers adopting a policy that will automatically lower the grade of chronic absentees. -more-
Berkeley voters ran into a number of glitches Tuesday when the machines that clear voter cards after they are used malfunctioned throughout the day, forcing several precincts to move to paper ballots which quickly ran out and had to be re-supplied by the county. -more-
In the midst of widespread speculation that District 2 Councilmember Margaret Breland will be leaving Berkeley City Council at the end of her term this year, an aide to the ailing councilmember said that Breland will make a decision in the next few weeks on whether she will run for re-election. -more-
Three years after the Gaia Building opened, the first tenant may soon be moving into the ground floor space developer Patrick Kennedy built to help him win city approval to add extra floors to one of the city’s most controversial buildings. -more-
Three years after the Gaia Building opened, the first tenant may soon be moving into the ground floor space developer Patrick Kennedy built to help him win city approval to add extra floors to one of the city’s most controversial buildings. -more-
Berkeley voters, at least those who showed up to the polls Tuesday, won’t need a second ballot to let the city and county know how they feel about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). By a whopping 72 percent, Berkeley passed Measure I, which—if ever implemented—would allow Berkeley voters to rank candidates by preference in the general election and eliminate the need for costly runoff elections. -more-
All hope is not lost for Berkeley Extension’s English Language Program that was terminated by campus officials in January. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: Johnny (last name withheld for his safety), 18, is a former youth reporter with Radyo Timoun (Children’s Radio) 90.9 FM in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This week rebels looted and burned it along with the Aristide Foundation For Democracy in which the station was located. Johnny told his story to PNS contributor Lyn Duff via telephone from Port-au-Prince. -more-
Like most Americans, I find that I know very little about Haiti. -more-
SANA’A, Yemen—The expensive, new U.S. television channel aimed at Arabs in this part of the world, looks like a bust. Since beginning Feb. 14, the station’s limited broadcasting time, tacky promos, and documentaries in English with clumsy Arabic subtitles, have all contributed to a growing sense of disappointment among viewers with the latest, and most expensive, U.S. overture to the Arab world. -more-
In a performance straight out of Alice in Wonderland, Seagate Corporation came before the Civic Arts Commission at our February meeting to deliver a message: “We are here to show you something we do not want you to examine” and “we are asking for your approval which we assure you we do not care about.” And, as if the message were not sufficiently clear, they brought a visual aid in the form of an enormous, expensive, elaborate model of their project and its environs which was designed not to be seen. -more-
Director Doran, you are wrong. -more-
Although interest rates continue to be astonishingly low, the conservative 30-year fixed rate loan seems to be going the way of the Brontosaurus. According to the folks at Cohn’s Loans in North Berkeley, roughly two thirds of buyers are choosing alternatives to the 30-year fixed loans. Buyers are attracted to the low rates and flexible programs offered by adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). This low cost financing gives consumers greater buying power. -more-
George Thomson, an otherwise sensitive, highly intelligent artist, collects tapes of Perry Mason episodes. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) Does he see a pinnacle of thespian excellence in Raymond Burr’s work? No, his interest has to do with the similarity between the structure of the TV show and Haydn symphonies: -more-
All right, this is going to sound like heavy duty stuff—and, in a way it is, of course. -more-
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series about people and businesses that make things in Berkeley. -more-
Jazz is more than a passing fancy for Anna De Leon, a singer/composer who is currently wrapping up the mixing of her latest CD. The restaurateur/perfomer also holds two UCLA degrees in painting, and she was president of the Berkeley arts commission for three years. She also holds a law degree and once headed the Berkeley school board. -more-
Sitting in Albany Bowl last Wednesday, watching several life-long friends enjoying their weekly bowling leagues, Nobu Asami remembered a time when bowling was one of the few recreational sports Japanese Americans were allowed to participate in after World War II. -more-
By Matthew Artz -more-
The deposed President of the Caribbean island nation of Haiti has charged that he was forced out of office by a United States-orchestrated coup d’etat, and that view has been affirmed by Bay Area Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). On Sunday of this week, under pressure from a rebel army which Lee characterized as “thugs,” Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Haiti under U.S. military escort. From temporary asylum in the Central African Republic, Aristide told CNN that “I was told that to avoid bloodshed, I’d better leave.” Aristide repeated that charge in telephone conversations Congressmembers Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel (both members of the Congressional Black Caucus) as well as with Randall Robinson, a respected African-American expert on African affairs. -more-
Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, which owns many of the greatest recordings from the Golden Age of jazz, is for sale, according to a report in Billboard magazine. -more-
A headline in last Friday’s Commentary section incorrectly stated -more-
Neighbors of the defunct Franklin Elementary School have reached a tentative settlement with the Berkeley Unified School District, clearing the way for BUSD’s plan to shift its Adult School to the Franklin campus this fall. -more-
The Zoning Adjustment Board gave the green light Thursday to Library Gardens—the largest development ever planned for the city center. But a ruling on the equally controversial Blood House development was postponed for two weeks while city staff analyze an independent proposal to spare a Berkeley landmark. -more-
By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR -more-
“I’ve enrolled Jernae in gymnastic class,” I said to my friend David. “I think she has potential.” -more-
Climb down the stairs inside La Val’s Subterranean Restaurant on Euclid Avenue (half a block away from the university’s North Gate) and you might think you’ve abruptly space-traveled into one of New York’s Off-Off Broadway theaters. It’s the kind of place where you wouldn’t be overly surprised to see a version of “Hamlet” in which Laertes is played by a golden retriever. (I swear I saw that performed in New York in what could have passed for the Subterranean’s twin sister.) -more-
The UC Berkeley committee overseeing changes to the student code of conduct voted Thursday night to accept revisions that would prevent students from using lawyers to represent them in on-campus cases—unless it was deemed necessary by the University. -more-
For two weeks running the Daily Planet has run sensational and inflammatory headlines about the Berkeley Public Schools while, in my mind, burying the real stories. Is it the Daily Planet’s intention to turn our community against the Berkeley public schools or is it to try and constructively report the conditions under which public education must exist in this time of declining revenues and state and federal support? On Feb. 20 you ran a story about the schools, “BUSD Kills Program For Teen Mothers.” Then on Feb. 27 your story reads “ BUSD Losing Big Bucks On Food Service Program.” Both stories highlight and focus on one aspect of what happened and fails miserably to give the public the main thrust of the events being reported. -more-
Six cowhide trivets. Five napkin rings. Four serving trays, three yearbooks, two end tables…and a photograph of Yosemite. -more-
By freeway from Berkeley, take I-880 south past Downtown Oakland and exit at the Fruitvale/29th Avenue ramp. As you reach the bottom of the exit make a hard right onto Derby. The WES warehouse is two blocks ahead (and a block long) at the edge of the water. Parking is very limited. Quite possibly you’ll need to walk blocks. Make sure you park legally, and don’t block driveways or other cars. -more-
• Dedicated shoppers arrive early to get close-in parking and good places in the line, which can swell to hundreds before the doors open. You can come later and avoid the long line, although the selection will be smaller. Just be sure to give yourself a few hours inside because the place is big. -more-
El Cerrito resident Charles Amirkhanian is a composer with an impressive resume. He’s been at it a long time, and has broken new ground along the way. He’s also one of those rare artists who acts as more than a champion of his own work. His considerable skills as a communicator and organizer have been harnessed to advance a great deal of daring music by others. As director of the Speaking of Music series at the Exploratorium in San Francisco from 1983 to 1992, then as music director of KPFA from ‘69 to ‘92, he’s been in the trenches for a long time, fighting the good fight. In other words, he’s in favor of music that doesn’t sound like everything else. And that’s what the Other Minds Festival is all about. -more-
The Scottish seaside town of Stonehaven, birthplace of the deep-fried Mars bar, now has a second claim to fame. Mike Newman, an Aberdeen bus driver and amateur palaeontologist, recently discovered the fossil remains of the oldest known land animal there. The half-inch-long creature has been named Pneumodesmas newmani in his honor. Although some might not consider it an honor: P. newmani is, after all, a millipede. -more-
A proposal has emerged that will certainly engage the attention of thoughtful Berkeley residents. Should Jefferson School be renamed because Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder? -more-
The pages of the Daily Planet have been full of controversies about what constitutes appropriate speech in the past month or so. To partisans in the various discussions, their own case probably seems unique, but there are common threads which unite them. -more-
Alice Strang spoke last Sunday at the Berkeley community memorial for her late brother, Fred Lupke. It was held at the Berkeley Public Library, one of the many good causes he supported. Lupke, also a dedicated volunteer for the Berkeley Daily Planet, was killed last September when a car struck his wheelchair as he traveled in the street on Ashby between Harper and Ellis. Disabled activists charged at the time that he had been forced into the street because the sidewalk on that block was sloping and badly cracked. The city of Berkeley has recently completed repairs to the sidewalk. -more-
