The Shattuck Hotel, once one of the toniest hotels in Northern California, is headed for a new era of grandeur, thanks to the partnership of owner Roy Nee with Starwood Hotels—considered by many the world’s leading hotelier. -more-

In what the University of California is calling “the most severe and comprehensive disciplinary action that UC Berkeley has taken against a fraternity in several years,” the fraternity accused in last spring’s pellet gun hazing attack on a Berkeley street will be disbanded and forced to reorganize. -more-

Seeking to restore stability to Alameda County’s much criticized public hospital system, hospital trustees are negotiating with Dr. Samuel Ross of Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Tex., to become the system’s next CEO. -more-

State regulators are threatening to strip E-Z Stop Deli, the liquor outlet nearest to Berkeley High, of its alcohol license after police cited it for selling beer to minors for the third time since last March. -more-

Visitors to Edwina Perez’s West Berkeley apartment are greeted by a sign that reads, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” -more-

The latest incarnation of Ozzie’s, the beloved soda fountain at the southwest corner of the College Avenue and Russell Street intersection in the Elmwood, has expired. -more-

July 4 Calm, But Several Other Fires Keep City Firefighters Busy -more-

An apparent miscommunication has Fire Chief Debra Pryor in hot water with Berkeley hills residents. -more-

Berkeley police revealed Tuesday that they’d arrested 56-year-old Berkeley resident Paul Mitchell four days earlier in connection with the 1997 rape of a 39-year-old Berkeley resident. -more-

Long-time Berkeley resident Herta Bregoff died peacefully in her home on June 26. She was born Herta Maas in 1922 in Karlsruhe, Baden Province, Germany. -more-

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Works -more-

TERRORISTS, ANARCHISTS -more-

The Draft Ron Dellums Movement that is currently sprouting wings and flying all over town has generated the most excitement in an Oakland mayoral race since, well, let’s see...since Jerry Brown announced his plans to run some eight years ago. -more-

GTGC -more-

In my June 28 commentary entitled “Historical Preservation: It Takes A Community,” I wrote that proposed changes to the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO), due to come before the City Council on July 12, would (among other problems) remove state prot ections that encourage developers to work with the community. The state protections to which I referred are those provided by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). -more-

Suicide bombers? Anarchists? That’s not my impression. It’s hard to believe that Alan Tobey (Commentary, July 1) and I both attended the same Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) meeting on the evening of June 27. -more-

The Mexican comic strip character “el negrito” Memín Pinguín has been put on a series of postage stamps. The character is bug eyed, fat lipped, has enormous ears and looks like a black rubber mask compared with the white people in the cartoon, who are drawn with the realistic precision of the old “Prince Valiant” strip. Compared to the whites in the strip, Penguin is Bugs Buggy in the movie Roger Rabbit. -more-

One of the living treasures of Berkeley is the Kala Art Institute. Now that this facility is over 30 years old, an exhibition of about 80 works by 71 artists can be seen at the Artists Gallery of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art at Fort Mason acros s the bay. The exhibition stresses works on paper, created in a very wide range of processes, from woodcut and etching to digital photography, and includes sculpture, books and video works. It presents an overview of some of Kala’s multifarious activities. -more-

The Domestic Crusaders, a new play by Bay Area-native Wajahat Ali about the reactions of three generations of a Pakistani-American family in the wake of 9/11, will be staged for three performances only, July 15 and 16, at the Thrust Stage of Berkeley Repertory Theater. -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 8 -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 8 -more-

The pursuit of fitness in nature continues, as does the Trails Challenge. This month we shift from the redwoods of the East Bay hills to the East Bay shore, exploring Point Isabel and Point Pinole. -more-