Berkeley firefighters battled a two-alarm fire in a vacant West Berkeley office building after the blaze was first reported at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday. -more-
If good fences make good neighbors, Dan McLoughlin doesn’t think the folks who are moving next door look too promising. -more-
Health care patient advocates have filed two class action lawsuits in Bay Area state courts against hospital conglomerate Sutter Health, asking the court to halt what they call the corporation’s “price-gouging” of uninsured patients and return “unfair” profits back to the public. -more-
The ninth-annual How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade and Festival will run in conjunction with the city’s first Car Free Day on Sunday. -more-
A proposal to transfer control of the El Cerrito High School educational radio station to a private non-profit has sent shockwaves through the West Contra Costa School District. -more-
With a taxpayer revolt mounting, Mayor Tom Bates is trying to shore up voter support for three proposed tax hikes, arguing that Berkeley has been a model of fiscal discipline during its prolonged budget crisis. -more-
Despite rumors to the contrary floating around the city in recent days, UC Berkeley and powerhouse hotelier Carpenter & Co. are continuing to hammer out a deal that would add yet another tower to the tallest intersection in Berkeley. -more-
Growing corn in America’s heartland, distilling it into alcohol and mixing it with gasoline to power vehicles may sound like an ingenious way to be freed from dependency on foreign oil, cut down on air pollution and begin the transition to a renewable energy source. -more-
At least three of the 10 fourth-grade students who scored in the “far below basic” category in California Standards Test (CST) taken at Berkeley’s John Muir Elementary School last spring were deaf students who received higher grades on that test, but were placed in the lower category because the test had to be signed to them. -more-
Skateboard Triggers Grass Fire -more-
Frustrated Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) members Monday night blasted city planning staff for failing to forward the commission’s critical comments to Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) members before they voted on a controversial project in a newly created city historic district. -more-
Large contingents from the arts community and supporters of the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society turned out for the airing of a proposal to landmark two vintage West Berkeley buildings owned by the humane society and occupied, in part, by the artists. -more-
KATHMANDU—While world attention is preoccupied with the Middle East, Nepal is falling apart. -more-
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard told the U.S. Congress, “America has no better friend anywhere in the world than Australia.” This might soon change. -more-
I write to a friend in Maryland this week, asking her how the presidential election is going there. -more-
The people who fought against the king of England and his armies in order to establish the United States of America quickly declared, in writing, that they had rights that must be respected by their new government. They were building on the Magna Charta of 1215 in England and the Petition of Right of the English Parliament in 1628. -more-
George Santayana, the great Spanish-American philosopher, told us that those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it. This profound observation has been invoked out of context ad nauseam. Nevertheless, its real meaning stays fresh because it was intended for events like the Holocaust and for situations like ours today in Iraq. Many Americans didn’t learn the lessons of Vietnam, and so here we are, trapped in that genuine rarity, a disaster in which history repeats itself. The parallels between the two wars are breathtaking. -more-
Among the legislation sitting on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature is a bill that takes an important step towards the establishment of a system of universal access to preschool in California. -more-
Darvag, the East Bay theater company now staging Bahram Beyzaie’s Death of Yazdgerd at Ashby Stage through this weekend, has produced plays since 1985, often in Farsi. -more-
As a way to voice their concern about the murders this summer in Berkeley, community members, city officials and several youth organizations turned out to Wednesday evening rallies held at the site of three different killings. -more-
It’s daybreak at Berkeley’s Ohlone Dog Park and the pressure is on Rebecca Denison. -more-
An article in Sept. 14-16 edition of the Daily Planet about the Berkeley Bohemia exhibit incorrectly stated the title of Charles Keeler’s collection of poetry. The correct title is “The Simple Home.” -more-
Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board members authorized a key document last week paving the way for the tallest structure to rise in downtown Berkeley in decades, the nine-story Seagate Building slated to replace four 1920’s era low-rise structures on Center Street. -more-
Recovering from surgery, Councilmember Dona Spring planned to spend Thursday night in front of her television set watching one of the most important Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) meetings of the year. -more-
Facing widespread public opposition, UC Berkeley announced Monday it will postpone submitting its Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) to the UC Board of Regents. -more-
Councilmember Maudelle Shirek will mount a write-in campaign to keep her City Council seat, sources close to her said Monday. -more-
With Mayor Tom Bates scheduled to unveil a financial recovery plan today, the city’s latest budget projections show Berkeley falling further into the red. -more-
A watchful Berkeley Police officer and a crew of beefy private security guards kept a tight reign on revelers gathered Friday night during the second of in a series of “Battle of the Bands” events sponsored by a popular Shattuck Avenue tavern. -more-
Uninsured patients are scheduled to hold a press conference today (Tuesday, September 14) to announce two class action lawsuits against Sutter Health, the corporate conglomerate that owns Alta Bates Summit Medical Center as well as hospitals throughout Northern and Central California and the state of Hawaii. -more-
Area residents will have the opportunity to pick up a free digital thermometer near the UC campus during an end-of-September promotion for National Pollution Prevention Week. -more-
Supporters of Academic Choice, a controversial program at Berkeley High School, packed the Little Theater Thursday and elected four of their own to the School Site Council that had been critical of the program since it began three years ago. -more-
A legal challenge to Berkeley’s school integration plan that made national headlines last spring has died a quiet death. -more-
On Election Day 2004, everyone’s attention will turn toward Florida—the quintessential battleground state which marred the reputation of the electoral system for many voters, especially blacks. But months before the actual casting of ballots, the black m edia have been reporting that Florida already is embroiled in an electoral controversy rooted in discrimination. -more-
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s exuberant speech at the Republican National Convention suggested that the Governator may be less the moderate Republican than advertised. Hailed by some during the convention as the Obama of the right, the California governor came across as a devout, rock-ribbed Bush lover. -more-
“Are you getting enough sleep?” asked Pearl, peering into my eyes over the Scrabble board. -more-
Elevated House Takes Tumble -more-
As a result of the actions by the U.S. Government after 9/11, what is the reality in the “war against terrorism” three years later? -more-
It seems everyone—politicians, voters, letter writers and editorial columnists—expressed surprise—shock even—at the process by which a small San Pablo card room could morph into a super-size slot machine mecca. -more-
When the Democratic National convention ended, on July 30, John Kerry had a slight lead in the presidential polls and George Bush had a negative approval rating. By the time the Republican National Convention ended, on Sept. 2, Bush had taken a lead in the polls and had gained a positive approval rating. What happened during the month of August that explains this reversal? -more-
The roots of what might be called Berkeley’s counter-culture reputation go back long before the 1960s. -more-
There have been plenty of docudramas based on interviews or on confessional monologues, even a glut in recent years, but The Faith Project (playing Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ashby Stage) stands alone on this familiar ground. -more-
Sycamores are among the West’s most biologically useful trees. They line creek-cut canyons in the desert, extending a green and gracious welcome to the human traveler and to whole plant and animal communities with their shade and shelter and, not least of all, the holes in their trunks. -more-
A week or so ago the Planet received an invitation to a fundraiser for realtor Laurie Capitelli, who’s running for Berkeley City Council in District 5. It had been re-sealed and re-addressed to us, which seemed odd, and when we opened it a little slip of paper fell out with an anonymous typed note: “The Developers’ Ball? They are urging a vote for their pro-development candidate. Interesting cast of endorsers.” -more-
Sunday’s Solano Stroll was a typically festive Berkeley event. It started out cold and windy, but eventually the fog burned off and citizens came out to stroll in more than respectable numbers. The Planet was lucky—because we’d contributed space to the S olano merchants’ association for advertising the event, we got space across from Andronico’s to set up a table and chairs with a sunshade, where we could sit with our grandchildren and enjoy the passing throng. -more-
