The Berkeley Federation of Teachers union has announced what amounts to a work slow-down in response to Berkeley Unified School District’s latest contract proposal. -more-
All four colleges of the Peralta Community College District are in danger of losing their accreditation if deficiencies are not corrected within two years, according to a warning by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). -more-
Berkeley has $3.5 million more than it had anticipated, but $7.5 million less than it needs to get its recurring expenses in line with its recurring revenues, city officials reported at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. -more-
Oakland diocese officials, under tough questioning from a crowd numbering over 250 at Berkeley’s St. Joseph The Worker Church, this week clarified earlier statements that allegations of sexual misconduct against Pastor George Crespin were “credible.” -more-
A group of six African-American women who are Emeryville city employees have accused city management of discriminating against them based on their race. -more-
Plans for a new Berkeley Bowl at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue hit a stumbling block at the last Planning Commission meeting and have forced the developer to submit a revised project application. -more-
BARRD, the RPA—and a capacity crowd in council chambers—want DTSC, UCB doesn’t, CSV wasn’t saying and the Richmond City Council’s working it out. -more-
The Oaks Theater hadn’t even officially changed hands Thursday when the projectionists’ union announced a labor action at the 1875 Solano Ave. movie house. -more-
Berkeley Unified School District Directors approved this week a revamping of Berkeley High’s Academic Choice program, as well as the high school’s fourth small school. -more-
Zoning Adjustments Board members gave their final approval to building plans that will transform a landmarked automotive showroom into a Buddhist studies center. -more-
Buddhist references to Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown tend to get stale from overuse. Still, you just can’t help saying that it’s karma when the man who sat on his hands and did nothing while the Oakland public schools were being seized by the state is now in danger of having his upcoming state attorney general candidacy put in some difficulty by a threatened federal court takeover of the Oakland Police Department. -more-
Dale Smith’s column in the Feb. 11 Daily Planet grossly misrepresents Ecole Bilingue’s position on the proposed Berkeley Bowl expansion by implying that EB is trying to “derail” the project. -more-
We need to create a new Voter’s Internet Party. With every passing day it is becoming painfully more obvious to all but the most fanatically partisan of us that the vast majority of the senators and representatives from both of the two major political parties are irrevocably corrupted by the unseemly influence of major corporations and the wealthy ruling elites. Therefore, we, the vast majority, who want clean honest open government, need to form a new political party that will serve our interests, and not those of the ruling wealthy corporate elites. Therefore, may I suggest that we create a new Voter’s Internet Party to honor the ideal of a traditional count-all-the-votes democracy. -more-
I can’t suffer in silence anymore! I know there are worse problems in this world—the stupid war, tsunami disaster, starvation, AIDS, etc. etc., but right now I MUST say something about the stupid, even dangerous new buses AC Transit has unleashed on our streets. -more-
When I think of my great-grandfather, Walter Gordon, two memories come to mind. One of them was when I was in the fourth grade attending Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley. Our class had planned a Grandparents Night and invited all of our grandparents to attend a potluck dinner and celebration. Before the event I had proudly told my teacher that my great-grandfather was the first black police officer in Berkeley. -more-
The 11th Other Minds Festival will present programs of new and unusual music, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 24-26, at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center—including a centennial tribute to 20th-century political composer Marc Blitzstein (best-known for his pro-labor 1937 musical, staged by Orson Welles, The Cradle Will Rock), and a 60th birthday salute to composer, long-time music director of KPFA-fm and co-founder of Other Minds—Charles Amirkhanian. -more-
Upon the death of Arthur Miller the American media began a steady repetition of the theme that has always been utilized to define and eviscerate the significance of Miller’s work: As the San Francisco Chronicle typically intoned in prose designed both to eulogize and pacify the power of Miller’s work, he “exposed the flaws in the fabric of the American dream.” A great many writers have condemned the American dream and it is not completely false to hold that Miller also exposed its pathology. But it is, nevertheless, extremely misleading. -more-
Unless you’re a graduating fifth grader, it’s hard to find a compelling reason to leave Oxford Elementary School. -more-
Beneath its tranquil surface, the Berkeley Public Library is rife with tension. -more-
Freedom of information advocates got a boost this week when national media company Bloomberg Financial Markets joined the Berkeley Daily Planet’s action to unseal California Wal-Mart records filed in a class action lawsuit. -more-
A Berkeley High School student accused of inadvertently bringing a gun on campus in her backpack is entitled to an expulsion hearing before the school board which could limit her punishment, expel her for a full year, or find her innocent, according to a youth rights expert. -more-
Blocked from showing first-run art films by the collective clout of Berkeley’s two major theater operators, Allen Michaan has given up the Oaks Theater at 1875 Solano Ave. -more-
UC Berkeley Monday asked the Richmond City Council to derail a proposed council resolution that calls for stricter oversight of the ongoing toxic waste cleanup at the Richmond Field Station (RFS). -more-
Question: How can an election in which women are not allowed to run or vote, which is restricted to the municipal level and in which voters are allowed to elect only half of their city councils be vitally important? -more-
Small schools, diversity, and the achievement gap between white and minority students—issues that have been driving Berkeley public school policy for several years—will be highlighted Wednesday at the Berkeley Unified School District board meeting. -more-
The Berkeley City Council meets today (Tuesday) with a single-minded focus on how to deal with the city’s estimated $7.5 million deficit. -more-
A group of local environmentalists kicked off their bid Tuesday to pressure U.S. Congress and the Bush administration to ratify the Kyoto Protocol one city at a time. -more-
“Everything happened so quickly,” says Pradeep, a tall, trim real estate agent based in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, recalling his first nervous meeting with Madhu, his bride-to-be, at a four-star hotel in New Delhi on Christmas 2002. -more-
Now that the movie Million Dollar Baby has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, and conservative groups and some members of the disabled community are openly criticizing the subject matter covered within the film, I think it’s safe to talk about its plot in this column. However, if you haven’t seen this flick and would like to be surprised by the ending, read no further. I’m about to disclose the final moments of the film and my reaction to it. -more-
Do you think Strom Thurmond loved his baby mama? Did he love her gentleness, her sense of humor, the look of her luscious brown skin or the feel of her soft, cottony hair? Or was she just a booty call? No, those are generally consensual. And how could a poor, black, teenaged maid consent to have sex with her wealthy, white, adult employer in the 1920s, and in South Carolina, no less? If it wasn’t statutory rape, perhaps it was just another case of American family values, Southern Christian style. -more-
In 1984 George Orwell described a Ministry of Truth, which operated a system of mind control, Newspeak, used to keep the citizens of Oceania under the thumb of a totalitarian regime headed by the ubiquitous Big Brother. The slogans of the Ministry were: “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery” and “Ignorance is Strength.” -more-
MONTREAL— Before last year’s election, lots of blue-state Americans said they'd leave for Canada if Bush was re-elected. Then the unthinkable happened. But the word on the street is that few have left. -more-
Saturday, Jan. 22 marked the 32nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which abortion rights supporters celebrated as necessary for women’s equality and well-being. Here in the Bay Area, a new Roe tradition began on that day—a first ever Walk for Life in honor of those whose lives were ended before birth, and in support of women and men who bear the scars of abortion. -more-
Gov. Schwarzenegger has broken his promise to protect schools and students from harmful budget cuts. His recent budget proposals undermine the education funding protections California voters supported through Proposition 98. We cannot allow this to happen. Just in the last several years, California schools have suffered more than $9.8 billion in cuts. This means that schools across the state have had to shut down, increase their class sizes, layoff many wonderful teachers and support staff They suffer from a shortage of needed librarians, counselors, nurses, custodians, and grounds keepers. Gov. Schwarzenegger is content with California’s ranking 43rd in the nation for per-pupil funding. By under funding our education he is forcing our schools to go without basic supplies and instructional materials, cut art and music programs, extracurricular activities and, after-school programs. -more-
When Rita Kimball became the principal of Washington Elementary School seven years ago, she says, it was an institution in crisis. Morale was low, test scores were down and teachers argued bitterly in staff meetings. -more-
Fledgling theater troupe Ragged Wing Ensemble has plucked a triumph from a famous exercise in physical theater in their first production, Jean Claude Van Itallie’s The Serpent, originally created for The Open Theater (Joe Chaikin’s group) in New York, 1968. -more-
It’s still mid February, but by some measures it’s already spring. The wildflowers are popping up—half a dozen species on the coastal bluffs at Point Reyes last week, and fetid adder’s-tongues and trilliums among the redwoods. I’ve seen reports of returning swallows in the East Bay: not just the predictably early tree swallows, but a couple of barn and cliff swallows as well. And some birds are well into their nesting seasons, the calendar be damned. -more-
We’ve gotten a lot of mail in the past few weeks about the Berkeley Public Library’s plans for introduction of radio frequency identification devices (RFID) in a time frame close to proposed staff reductions. Library managers contend that there’s not a causal link; Library Director Jackie Griffin sent the Planet a copy of a letter to someone who raised the issue in which she said “the reduction in hours is a financial reality given our budget deficit as is the reduction in staff. Reducing the staff is not caused by RFID nor was the decision made to purchase RFID taken with reducing staff as a goal.” On the other hand, the initial technology buy for RFID is at least half a million dollars, probably more, and the money has to come from somewhere. Proponents suggest that implementing this kind of mechanized system, which enables readers to check out their own books, will save money by reducing workers’ compensation costs, but they haven’t supplied data which backs up this hypothesis. It’s not surprising that there are still some skeptics out there. -more-
“This is the story of a thousand people drinking Shirley Temples and smoking candy cigarettes, and they all think they’re in a back room with their Scotch and cigars.” -more-
