After 16 years of wandering through the desert of homelessness, Berkeley’s only conservative Jewish congregation, Netivot Shalom, finally took shelter in their half-acre of promised land Friday on University Avenue. -more-
In order to get enough money to build what has been billed as the greenest project in Berkeley, the city may have to ask federal officials to designate part of the downtown as a brownfield—a term that typically applies to contaminated industrial sites. -more-
In a setback for medical marijuana users, on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a seriously ill Oakland woman seeking to grow and use marijuana without fear of federal raids. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District notified families last week that it has reached a settlement in the Smith v. BUSD Board of Education case, a 2004 class action suit filed on behalf of three minority Berkeley students—two African-Americans and one Latino—who claimed that their education at Berkeley High was disrupted by improper expulsions. -more-
Tensions are heating up over impending changes at both East Bay Alta Bates hospitals. -more-
Two weeks after the Berkeley Unified School District reached tentative contract agreements with three of its five unions, the BUSD Board of Directors on Wednesday will get back to the business of finding the money to pay for those pacts. -more-
An aide to Mayor Tom Bates promised Thursday to help neighbors of BUSD’s West Campus who have fought plans to move some district services and added parking lots to the University Avenue site. -more-
The Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday will consider the addition of a fourth story to the recently landmarked Frederick H. Dakin Warehouse at 2750 Adeline St. -more-
French and Dutch voters’ rejection of the European constitution wasn’t a fluke, as some European statesmen would have us believe, but it isn’t the death of the European Union either, as some doomsday prophets on both sides of the Atlantic predict. It is, however, the most serious crisis the union has faced since its inception in 1995. -more-
A photograph caption for the June 3 article about Adagia restaurant mistakenly described a meal among workers from Cal Performances as a good-bye meal for Matt Patrone. Another co-worker was leaving the company; Patrone said he intends to stay with Cal Performances for a long time to come. -more-
Due to a copyediting error, the following letter ran incorrectly in the June 3-6 Daily Planet. -more-
Back in New York last week, I thought I wouldn’t have a problem finding literary inspiration. I went to the Catskills to look for excitement, adventure, and column topics. No surprise though, there wasn’t any there there—not even a piece of borderline artwork to recognize the condition. -more-
Berkeley once was a place where ideals were pursued, where movements to make the world greener and more just were rooted, where openness and free speech were championed. -more-
Reading the May 31 article and seeing the photo of driftwood/junk structures which might be removed if the Albany Bulb becomes part of the Eastshore State Park, I was taken back years and years to—does anyone remember?—the Mudflat Sculpture in the tidela nds beyond the Eastshore Freeway before it was expanded and “improved.” -more-
On May 26, the Zoning Adjustments Board ruled that an application to construct a three-story mixed-use building with two apartments over ground-floor commercial space at 3045 Shattuck Ave. (aka the “Flying Cottage”) could be approved by city planning staff on a zoning certificate. This type of staff-level approval requires no public hearing and cannot be appealed by neighbors to ZAB or City Council, as would be the case if ZAB had ruled that one or more use permits were required. -more-
The mood was somber when FBI officials recently dug up the body of Emmett Till in suburban Chicago. The mood should have been downright grim. If ever there was a racial lynching case that screamed for federal action it was the Till case. And there are more. -more-
Two years after La Peña was founded in the same place where it is today in South Berkeley, I arrived to the East Coast as an exile. Not escaping but expelled from Pinochet’s Chile, one of the bloodiest military dictatorship in the continent. I was a youn g rebel, a bit of poet and musician who loved the political process that in 1970 opened minds giving us a deep sense of latinoamericanismo. -more-
On Saturday La Peña Cultural Center will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a free street festival at the corner of Prince Street and Shattuck Avenue. -more-
“Perhaps we exploit the past for what the present lacks.” ... -more-
This year’s Midsummer Mozart Festival kicks off a month ahead of schedule with a sneak preview Mozart at a garden party this coming Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 1140 Arlington Blvd. in El Cerrito. -more-
When we import all those magnificent oaks—gracious eastern red oaks, ziggy little pin oaks, stately English oaks—to line our streets and grace our gardens and public places, we’re joining an old tradition. It’s a globalization that dates back to some of the earliest human explorations: we’ve moved taro, breadfruit, and later pineapples throughout Polynesia; coffee between Africa and Asia and South America. -more-
Stalled plans in Richmond are giving Berkeley the edge in the effort to land the East Bay’s first new ferry stop in years. -more-
The Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) Board of Trustees voted last week to replace 45 staff doctors at John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro with contracted psychiatrists and physicians, but a motion for a preliminary court injunction filed by the employees’ union could scuttle the deal. -more-
Berkeley’s outgoing health officer has charged that her bosses have mismanaged a bloated department and are jeopardizing services by using public health funds to pay for unnecessary bureaucracy. -more-
With students leading the way, 57 percent of the Jefferson Elementary School community voted Tuesday night to change the name of the school to Sequoia Elementary. -more-
A few tossed chairs and a sidewalk showdown are the latest signs that Berkeley’s peace-loving, left-wing radio station, KPFA, is in the throes of another civil war. -more-
Hamaseh Kianfar, the former mental health worker at Alameda County Juvenile Hall, pled not guilty Wednesday to charges that she helped a teenage girl flee after slashing a 75-year-old woman in the throat outside the Berkeley Rose Garden in March. -more-
The Berkeley school district released its master plan for its West Campus site along University Avenue Thursday without major alterations, angering several neighbors who had demanded several revisions to the plan’s draft. -more-
Troubled by the city’s bloody history of black-on-black youth violence, the Richmond Improvement Association is sponsoring an all-day conference Saturday aimed at ending city murders within three years. Rev. Andre Shumake Sr., who heads the organization modeled after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Montgomery Improvement Association, said the community-wide gathering is focused on solutions to the city’s notoriously high murder rate. -more-
When it comes to the environment, Berkeley has won the bronze medal. -more-
DEAD SEA, Jordan—In a region where hardly anyone can agree with anyone about anything, the governments of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority recently signed an agreement to save the magnificent and strangely silent desert sea where Jesus once walked. -more-
Berkeley High has produced a number of outstanding individuals over the years and Joel Kaji is no exception. After graduating from BHS in 1981 Joel attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1985 with a degree in political science. -more-
Malcolm Gladwell. Ever heard of him? He’s been written up in several national publications, all applauding this bright young New Yorker staff writer and his unique analysis of why and how we think. His two books, The Tipping Point and Blink—which explore the value of first impressions—have become bestsellers. -more-
Well, you absolutely knew this one was coming, didn’t you, friends? -more-
The agreement we recently approved with UC Berkeley does much more than simply end a lawsuit. It welcomes a new era of cooperation between our city and the campus. -more-
As members of BudgetWatch we carefully monitor the development and adoption process of each budget cycle. We appreciate the work that city staff and the City Council must undertake to balance each budget. That being said, we want to say that we were st unned by the council’s action on April 19 to eliminate the Citizens Budget Review Commission. We strongly protest this action on the following grounds: -more-
I think we were right to attack the former Iraqi regime because: -more-
Suddenly they’re everywhere. After weeks of heavy equipment churning up the asphalt and concrete pours between thunderstorms, my neighborhood is surrounded by “traffic-calming” round traffic barriers studded with curious signs. The symbol on the signs, w hich has a resemblance to elemental symbols from native cultures, is apparently an effort, occasionally successful, to keep drivers going in a uniform direction. -more-
Last fall the Berkeley City Council created a Creeks Task Force (CTF) to review and make recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council about the Creeks Ordinance and overall City policy regarding creeks and culverts. The CTF is a broad-based, 15-member body, representing several diverse points of view. -more-
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin survived a razor-thin vote of confidence on May 17 when the House of Commons voted 152-152, putting his minority government in peril. It survived by a single vote when the Parliament speaker gave the minority government its one-vote victory. -more-
On the day before the conclave to choose a new pope began, future pontiff Joseph Ratzinger led a liturgy that reassured the church’s believers that the Holy See was not giving up on them and was prepared to fight for the salvation of their souls. He surely meant to allude to the fight against moral relativism, but he also had his sights set on evangelicalism. -more-
From tango to reggae, Big Bones’ blues to Celtic rock. With the sound of Steel Drums, electronics, Indian flute, hip hop and musical saw the second annual Berkeley World Music Weekend will make a joyous noise on and around Telegraph Avenue during this weekend, all for free (except a Saturday night show at Larry Blake’s for $8), with a little bit more than something for everybody—from everywhere. -more-
So, naturally, what you’re asking is why on earth is the Subterranean Theatre Company producing Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew—arguably the best-known, supposedly funny, and longest-running assault on women’s human rights on the English-speaking s tage—and they’re committing this outrage firmly in the middle of Berkeley? -more-
Adagia, the new restaurant at the corner of Bancroft Way and College Avenue, looks like the dining hall of an East Coast prep school. Luckily, the food doesn’t follow suit. The restaurant, opened in February after months of planning, permitting, and delays, is located in Westminster House, a 1926 Tudor-style building designed by Berkeley Architect Walter Ratcliff, with an enormous fireplace in the dining room, wood panelled walls, and stained-glass windows. -more-
In Oxford as in Berkeley, housing has become a major political issue. Decisions on how many new homes are needed in Britain start with the central government, with quotas being set by regional planning groups similar to the Association of Bay Area Govern ments. The South East England Regional Assembly is putting together a 20-year plan in consultation with the Oxfordshire County Council, but the County Council’s plan is now facing opposition from Oxford City Council’s Administration. -more-
Today’s lesson in comparative local government in university cities (a putative excuse for our trip to Oxford) started with a two-hour walking tour of Oxford’s university, including seven or eight of its colleges and some principal university buildings. We were lucky to have as our guide the retired university marshal (head of its police and security services), previously superintendent with the fabled Oxfordshire police force of Inspector Morse fame. Besides giving us a capsule history lesson at every s top, he entertained us with anecdotal asides about how public relations image diverges from reality, here as in Berkeley. -more-
