Three of the most prominent names in Berkeley politics ascended to an oak-borne platform Monday to put their bodies on the line in defense of a campus grove. -more-
Councilmember Dona Spring called a Fair Campaign Practices Commission decision not to pursue a complaint against those responsible for a July opinion poll “a whitewash of a blatantly political” survey. -more-
Despite a city attorney’s finding that a secret pre-election poll on Berkeley landmarks law didn’t violate city election codes, supporters of Berkeley’s defeated Measure J remain skeptical. -more-
A group of Berkeley community members and Bay Area skaters have come together to explore actions which could save the 67-year-old Berkeley Iceland from closing down in March. -more-
The 17-member Oversight Committee for Alameda County’s 2004 Measure A health services sales tax presented its first year of findings to the Board of Supervisors Health Committee this week, concluding that while funds were spent in compliance with the measure’s purposes during the ’04-’05 fiscal year, there were “inconsistencies” in expenditure reporting from organizations receiving Measure A “which did not allow consistent scrutiny of all fund recipients.” -more-
Marcia Freedman went to Israel in 1967 when her then-husband landed a temporary job as guest lecturer at Haifa University. She stayed for decades, becoming an Israeli citizen, a member of the Knesset (1973-77), an author, an out lesbian and a self-defined peace activist. -more-
Stores on economically ailing Telegraph Avenue will be allowed to keep longer hours and many new businesses there will find permits easier to get under new zoning ordinances to be considered by the Planning Commission Wednesday. -more-
The Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday will once again hear a request by Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications for a use permit to construct a new wireless telecommunications facility for 18 cell phone antennas and related equipment atop the UC Storage building at 2721 Shattuck Ave. -more-
A 76-year-old man died early Thursday as flames did more than $1 million in damage to his North Berkeley home. -more-
In two dramatic votes Wednesday, members of Berkeley’s Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) adopted a preservation-oriented platform and called for transforming a block of Center Street into a pedestrian plaza. -more-
As the Berkeley Landmarks War heads for a second showdown at the ballot box, preservationists opened a second front in the courts Tuesday. -more-
Those who may have thought that Ron Dellums would alter his political positions before the business community now that he has entered Oakland’s City Hall, or that the business community would be less than favorable to Dellums’ previously announced positions, got a sense they may be wrong at the San Francisco Business Times’ Annual Mayors’ Economic Forecast breakfast at the San Francisco Hilton on Wednesday morning. -more-
The Berkeley school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to accept the Berkeley High School environmental impact report on the Berkeley High School South of Bancroft Master Plan and to approve the Master Plan project. -more-
Some called proposals the Berkeley City Council debated Tuesday evening on commission restrictions “good government,” but others said imposing limits on the number of years commissioners can serve on one commission and on the number of commissions they can serve on at one time was a political move aimed at squelching the voices of commissioners who question large development projects. -more-
Membership in the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce underscores the city’s desire to promote business, Chamber Executive Director Rachel Rupert told the council Tuesday, arguing against a resolution that would have the city cancel memberships in organizations that participate in electoral politics. -more-
While legislative term limits prematurely ended the assembly career of Oakland area representative Wilma Chan, it has helped to immediately boost her successor, Sandré Swanson, up the leadership ladder. -more-
One week after George W. Bush told the nation he would commit 20,000 additional troops to fight on the ground in Iraq, the Bay Area peace community got the bold response it wanted to hear. -more-
Over the years, anxious parents taking the first step toward admitting their children to school have found a guiding light in the Berkeley Unified School District’s Kindergarten Fair. -more-
A planned Saturday afternoon protest and celebration of the Memorial Stadium tree-in aims at recruiting returning UC Berkeley students to the cause of the six branch-sitters and their allies. -more-
As the Global Exchange tour bus makes its way out of Caracas, our Venezuelan guide explains that what we are passing—an extensive array of makeshift dwellings on both sides of the highway—is the largest shantytown in Latin America, rivaled only by the slums of Rio De Janeiro. -more-
More than 15,000 customers of Amazon.com have signed my online petition threatening to close their accounts and take their business elsewhere if the Internet shopping site continues to present a new book by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in an unusually negative light. -more-
“Freestylin’ 101: Hip-Hop D.I.Y.” (Do It Yourself) was the course of the day for some Berkeley Technology Academy students last week. -more-
As a non-card-carrying but nonetheless proud Old Blue (I think that’s what University of California at Berkeley graduates are still called), from the class of ’61, back in the days when the local campus was called simply “Cal,” never “Berkeley,” I’m delighted to see that the school is still following its traditions. Well, “delighted” might be a bit strong. “Bemused” would be more like it. The tradition I’m referring to in this instance is acting with utter stupidity when anything approaching public relations is concerned. -more-
The sight of Nancy Pelosi calling the House of Representatives to order would make a shocking sight for someone paying no attention to politics for a year or two. Yet the San Francisco liberal, riding the crest of a wave of indignation that swept the Republicans out of power, is now the most powerful woman in the world and the major obstacle for George Bush’s war powers. -more-
I am not familiar with the curriculum of the “Peace and Conflict Studies” at UC Berkeley. But if Matthew Taylor’s latest article (“Jimmy Carter: The Courage to Tell the Truth”) reflects the standards of the P&CS, I can only despair of its future graduates. For it seems to me that the resolution of conflicts and the search for peace ought to be primarily based on factual truths. Only when these facts are sought, understood, analyzed and corroborated, can we address the source of the conflict and propose a peaceful solution. It is clear that Matthew Taylor has done none of that. He just plunged head on into a sycophantic praise of Jimmy Carter and his book, without the slightest effort at fact finding. -more-
We owe a debt of gratitude for Dan Spitzer’s contribution to the Carter book debate. But not in the way he supposes. He represents the typical conservative position. His letter is full of generalizations and non-specific attacks. Where is the evidence? Saying that Carter misrepresents Security Council resolutions is not evidence. How does he misrepresent? Merely saying so and faithfully quoting authority is not enough. His authorities represent the neo-con, pro-Israel Lobby line. Their Israel ally is the extreme reactionary wing of the Likud Party, led by Netanyahu. Mud slinging against our honorable former President is disgusting. -more-
This is the season for taking stock of the year that has just passed and making resolutions about the one that has just begun. It is a time of ambitious lists. Under the heading “Civic Affairs,” here is mine. -more-
Much has been written in the past several months about Berkeley’s troubled Housing Authority. Much more devastating news is likely to emerge in the coming months. -more-
On Jan. 16, PBS News Hour host Jim Lehrer interviewed President Bush. This encounter told us a lot about Bush’s brand of conservatism, in particular, his feelings about sacrifice. -more-
My mother and I went to see Dreamgirls on Dec. 25, the day it opened in theaters across the country. It was the first time Mom had gone to a movie on Christmas day, the first time she’d experienced a sold-out theater and had to wait two hours for the next showing, and the first time she’d thought about The Supremes since spring, 1968. -more-
If Chez Panisse were to serve up a menu to match its guardian bunya-bunya, it would include roast haunch of free-range sauropod and a salad of braised organic tree ferns. Maybe some wood-roasted hearts of sago palm and a gingko fruit crème brulee for dessert. If it ever gets around to producing its infamously huge cones—I’ve never seen the big ones here—the bunya-bunya’s seeds are edible, too. How about it, Alice? -more-
Is Israel, supported by the Bush administration, preparing to launch an atomic war against Iran? That is a question being asked in the wake of a Jan. 7 report by the London Sunday Times that claims the Israeli government is planning to attack Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. -more-
It has been said that on the eve of the World War II-era allied D-Day invasion of France, allied commander Dwight Eisenhower put in his pocket two separate statements for possible dissemination at the conclusion of the next day’s battle—one announcing victory, the other defeat. -more-
First of all, let’s get our terminology right. Pergo is one brand of laminate flooring and not, by any stretch, the onsly one. There are many brands of laminate flooring, Pergo was just the first. Actually, even that isn’t wholly accurate and why not be accurate? Pergo, a Swedish company, first applied laminate technology to flooring in 1994 and has, in an amazingly short while, completely changed the face of the flooring business. This stuff is everywhere. -more-
We’re still freezing and so are our gardens (My poor red–leaf banana!) and I’m telling you it’s time to think about irrigation? Yes indeed. -more-
Kent Nagano, after a meeting with the musicians of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra to discuss his plans, announced Friday that he will step down as music director of the symphony at the end of the 2008-09 season. -more-
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” A series of blackout tableaux like snapshots: Prospero and Caliban; “Melted into air, thin air;” then Prospero alone, touching the rude crown, cloak and staff that accoutered Caliban; then crowning himself, taking up the feathered magic staff: “Our revels now are ended ...” -more-
By KEN BULLOCK -more-
If Chez Panisse were to serve up a menu to match its guardian bunya-bunya, it would include roast haunch of free-range sauropod and a salad of braised organic tree ferns. Maybe some wood-roasted hearts of sago palm and a gingko fruit crème brulee for dessert. If it ever gets around to producing its infamously huge cones—I’ve never seen the big ones here—the bunya-bunya’s seeds are edible, too. How about it, Alice? -more-
The Arts and Crafts Movement, which started in England under the leadership of William Morris in the 1880s, advocated a unity of the arts in which architecture of the house and all aspects of its interior were in harmony and designed by craftsmen. It flourished in the Bay Area early in the 20th century with architects like Bernard Maybeck, John Hudson Thomas and many others. -more-
A treasure trove of rare European archival jazz footage has finally made its way to the United States and is being presented in the form of a film and discussion being hosted at 50 public libraries nationwide. -more-
First of all, let’s get our terminology right. Pergo is one brand of laminate flooring and not, by any stretch, the onsly one. There are many brands of laminate flooring, Pergo was just the first. Actually, even that isn’t wholly accurate and why not be accurate? Pergo, a Swedish company, first applied laminate technology to flooring in 1994 and has, in an amazingly short while, completely changed the face of the flooring business. This stuff is everywhere. -more-
We’re still freezing and so are our gardens (My poor red–leaf banana!) and I’m telling you it’s time to think about irrigation? Yes indeed. -more-
