Flash: Bad Cops Out
Two problem cops have left the Berkeley Police Department, Chief Doug Hambleton told the Daily Planet Tuesday. -more-
Two problem cops have left the Berkeley Police Department, Chief Doug Hambleton told the Daily Planet Tuesday. -more-
As the Donahue Gym at Berkeley High School exploded in thunderous applause during the host school’s 63-14 win over El Cerrito High on Feb. 16, it was not the game that was the center of everyone’s attention, but the man who helped win it. -more-
Two protests—one Monday and another this Thursday—are adding new fuel to the growing controversy over the proposed $500 million pact between a British oil company, UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois. -more-
Zachary Running Wolf, the activist who launched the tree-sit at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium, spent the weekend in jail, charged with threatening campus police. -more-
Making Telegraph Avenue work for business owners and those who own the buildings the merchants rent, as well as for shoppers, students, street vendors, residents and folks who hang out in the area is a jigsaw puzzle whose odd-size pieces the City Council and the city’s various departments are constantly trying to make fit. -more-
While most of the city’s budget questions are being referred to the months-long budget process that will end in June or July, the City Council will vote tonight (Tuesday) on disbursing a $3.3 million windfall. -more-
A group of neighbors vociferously opposed the construction of a proposed new two-story single-family dwelling at 161 Panoramic Way during the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting Thursday. -more-
In the wake of several citizen complaints about crashes resulting from high-speed Oakland police chases, the Oakland Citizens’ Police Review Board has recommended changes to the city’s police vehicle pursuit policy and has set up a multi-agency task force to make further refinements. -more-
One of the most active campaigns in both California and the nation to put stricter limits on high-speed police pursuits is being conducted by the mother of Kristie Priano, the 15-year-old Chico girl who was killed when the Priano family van was struck by a 15-year-old girl who was being chased by police for taking her mother’s car without permission. -more-
City Manager Phil Kamlarz announced Monday the retirement of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Director Marc Seleznow, who has been in the position for four years. -more-
The public hearing for UC Berkeley’s controversial plans to convert its historic six-acre Laguna Street Extension campus in San Francisco into a private rental-housing development is set for March 8. -more-
Why did a state-mandated alliance of Bay Area governments lend $12 million to a secretive military think tank to expand its facilities in San Diego? -more-
How can the city and UC Berkeley cooperate in planning uses in the university’s major downtown expansion plans that will benefit both town and gown? -more-
The Berkeley school board voted last week to approve a resolution to honor Berkeley High Vice Principal denise brown and declared Feb. 15 as denise brown day. Brown died Feb. 2 following complications from knee surgery. -more-
Before you lick your next postage stamp onto the electricity bill or a postcard from the latest family vacation, take a look at the variety of commemorative stamp choices you will have this year. -more-
We use many forms of communication to reach the parents, students and staff of the Berkeley schools, but when it comes to communicating with the larger Berkeley community, the one vehicle that reaches so many households and gets people’s attention, is the commentary and letters section of our local newspaper. Honestly, how many of you turned to this section immediately after scanning the front page? I have a couple of important updates for the community that I want to share with you here, because it is information that I think is important to everyone. -more-
The Oxford Plaza / David Brower Center is a wonderful example of environmentally sound planning and responsible development that captures the best of Berkeley’s heritage and future. Together, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-standard environmental conference center and office building plus 97 units of much-needed affordable housing comprise this visionary project that honors Berkeley’s own David Brower, a pioneer in the Green movement. -more-
The referendum against giving away the Oxford Parking lot for the “Brower Center” has certainly gotten some attention. A venomous disinformation campaign is being waged against the people involved in the referendum (well, mainly against me). -more-
The Special AC Transit board meeting J. Douglas Allen-Taylor reported on (Feb. 9) was practically a secret meeting. Luckily, two reporters came. The other one, Erik Nelson, from ANG Newspapers, has a blog: www.ibabuzz.com/transportation. He says on his blog, “Van Hool, where have you been all my life (or short career as a blogger)? This hitherto ignored issue has become the biggest thing to hit the blog since its inception!” You can make it even bigger by logging on. -more-
Telegraph just ain’t what it used to be. Once a beacon of a tolerance, hope, and historic significance that drew tourists from all over the world to the little city we all call home, it has more recently been victimized by a perception of decline, blight, and depravity—sometimes not fully deserved, but adverse to its image nonetheless. Almost a dozen reports, millions of dollars in studies, and hundreds of hours of discussion have been invested into addressing the causes at the heart of this avenue’s tarnished image, and yet few proposals have actually seen the light of day. -more-
A reparations bill currently floating around Congress and being debated in the House Judiciary Committee may, for the first time since it was hatched two decades ago, actually have a chance at passing. The idea to establish a reparations commission is the brainchild of Michigan Democrat John Conyers. It has been kicked around Congress since 1989, but supporters are optimistic that it will pass since Democrats now have control of the House. Several cities, including Chicago and New York, have passed resolutions in support of the bill. Los Angeles City Council vote on a resolution Tuesday. -more-
It happened that last weekend we had two excursions which took us out of the Berkeley Bubble and into the genuine suburbs, in fact into the old established bridge-and-tunnel suburbs, over a bridge to the Peninsula and through the tunnel to Lamorinda. On Saturday night in Palo Alto we were lucky enough to see two fine singers with local connections, Berkeley-born Alaine Rodin and current resident Kathleen Moss, in the West Bay Opera’s stunning production of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, which demonstrated conclusively that culture is alive and well outside the urban bay area. The Lafayette trip on Sunday was for a sadder purpose, a memorial for a friend who had died suddenly. -more-
It was just over a year ago that neighbors of Ashby BART rose up in protest against plans to put a 300-unit “transit village” on the station’s west parking lot. At stake in the ensuing, nearly yearlong struggle was something more basic than land use, namely citizens’ right to have a meaningful say in the public decisions that affect their lives. -more-
People keep giving me advice. It is useful and appreciated. (Well, maybe I exaggerate just a little, but I’m in a charitable mood.) -more-
A few columns back I touched on the chemical arms race between newts and garter snakes: the newts loaded with a fugu-like toxin to which the snakes have evolved resistance. Well, there are complexities to that story that I wasn’t aware of, some of which are described in a 2004 Journal of Chemical Ecology article entitled “A Resistant Predator and its Toxic Prey: Persistence of Newt Toxin Leads to Poisonous (Not Venomous) Snakes.” The lead author, Becky Williams, is a UC Berkeley graduate student; she collaborated with Edmund Brodie, Jr. of Utah State University and Edmund Brodie III, now at the University of Virginia. -more-
Editorial: How About Some Density in the ‘Burbs? 02-27-2007
Editorial: Oxford/Brower Brouhaha Turns Ugly at the Market 02-23-2007
Letters to the Editor 02-27-2007
Commentary: Notes on Derby Street Field And School Board Committees By Mark A. Coplan 02-27-2007
Commentary: Capturing the True Spirit of Berkeley for Tomorrow By Dan Sawislak 02-27-2007
Commentary: Environmental Study Needed for Brower Site By Gale Garcia 02-27-2007
Commentary: AC Transit’s Obsession With Van Hool Busses By Joyce Roy 02-27-2007
Commentary: Proposal Extends Economic Benefit, Safety And Convenience of Telegraph Avenue By Igor Tregub 02-27-2007
Commentary: 10 Reasons Why Congress Should Back a Reparations Commission By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media 02-27-2007
Letters to the Editor 02-23-2007
Commentary: North Shattuck Plaza, Inc. By Daniel Caraco 02-23-2007
Commentary; Stadium Stories Paint Sinister Picture By Vince Tancreto 02-23-2007
Commentary: The Oxford/Brower Bait and Switch By Barbara Gilbert 02-23-2007
Commentary: Oxford/Brower Is a Good Investment By Marcy Greenhut 02-23-2007
Commentary: Opponents Concerns Unfounded By Kirstin Miller 02-23-2007
Commentary: Big Projects Need Environmental Impact Reports By Barry Wofsy 02-23-2007
Commentary: Attack on Referendum Supporter Was Unfair By Peter Teichner 02-23-2007
Molly Ivins Tribute: The Pelosi Revolution By Phil McArdle 02-23-2007
Flash: Bad Cops Out By Judith Scherr 02-27-2007
BHS Basketball Coach Retires By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-27-2007
Students Protest Controversial BP-Cal Accord By Richard Brenneman 02-27-2007
Tables Seized At Oak Grove; Running Wolf Jailed By Richard Brenneman 02-27-2007
Telegraph Has Improved, But Could Be Better, Report Says By Judith Scherr 02-27-2007
Council Considers Sustainable Berkeley, Fire Department Funding By Judith Scherr 02-27-2007
Zoning Board Studies Panoramic Hill Development Proposal By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-27-2007
Review Board Backs Chase Law Changes By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-27-2007
Priano Family Continues Fight for Chase Limits By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-27-2007
Seleznow to Retire As Parks Dept. Chief By Judith Scherr 02-27-2007
UC Berkeley’s Lease of SF Extension Subject of March 8 Hearing By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-27-2007
Association of Bay Area Governments Helps Fund Pentagon Program By Richard Brenneman 02-27-2007
University Projects, Iceland Top Land Use Agendas By Richard Brenneman 02-27-2007
BUSD Addresses Homeless Youth Programs in Schools By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-27-2007
News Anaysis: Campaign Fights for Japanese American WWII Vets By Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, New America Media 02-27-2007
UC Announces Plans for Archaeological Survey By Richard Brenneman 02-23-2007
OUSD Land Sale Deal Declared Dead By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-23-2007
High-Rise Tower Plan Proposed for Downtown By Richard Brenneman 02-23-2007
Joint Panel Readies Downtown Vision By Richard Brenneman 02-23-2007
Urban Ore Proposes Zero Waste Transfer Station for City By Riya Bhattacharjee 02-23-2007
Berkeley High Beat: Free Breakfast Program Premieres at Berkeley High By Rio Bauce 02-23-2007
Man Charged with Misdemeanors In Pacific Center Threats Case By Judith Scherr 02-23-2007
Students and Alcohol Policy Group Debate Drinking Laws By Judith Scherr 02-23-2007
Judge Denies Restraining Order in Woodfin Case By Judith Scherr 02-23-2007
Oakland School for the Arts Undergoes Administrative Overhaul By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-23-2007
Police Blotter By Richard Brenneman 02-23-2007
Fire Log By Richard Brenneman 02-23-2007
An Open Letter to an Immigration Judge By Margot Pepper 02-23-2007
News Analysis: New Cold War With Russia Brewing Over Oil and Gas By Paolo Pontoniere, New America Media 02-23-2007
Column: The Public Eye: The Privatization of Berkeley Government By Zelda Bronstein 02-27-2007
Column: Get a La-Z-Boy and Write a How To Manual By Susan Parker 02-27-2007
Wild Neighbors: Chemical Weapons: Skin of Newt and Liver of Snakes By Joe Eaton 02-27-2007
Column: Undercurrents: Some Thoughts on Sen. Barack Obama’s Presidential Run By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 02-23-2007
Neighbors Riled About Plans to Develop Spring Mansion By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
John Hudson Thomas’ Legacy By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 02-23-2007
Arts Calendar 02-27-2007
Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 02-27-2007
The Theater: Central Works Stages ‘Lola Montez’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-27-2007
Books: Author Commentary: Elephant, Reel Founder Tells How He Did It By Stuart Skorman, Special to the Planet 02-27-2007
Wild Neighbors: Chemical Weapons: Skin of Newt and Liver of Snakes By Joe Eaton 02-27-2007
Berkeley This Week 02-27-2007
Correction 02-27-2007
Arts Calendar 02-23-2007
Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 02-23-2007
The Theater: ‘Sweeny Todd’ at Contra Costa Civic Theatre By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
The Theater: ‘Cartoon’ Comes to Life at La Val’s By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
Neighbors Riled About Plans to Develop Spring Mansion By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
John Hudson Thomas’ Legacy By Dave Weinstein, Special to the Planet 02-23-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 02-23-2007
Berkeley This Week 02-23-2007