BHS Class of 2007 Says Goodbye
A swarm of yellow descended upon the Greek Theater Friday when 700 Berkeley High School (BHS) graduates walked into its pit amidst a ceremony fit for kings. -more-
A swarm of yellow descended upon the Greek Theater Friday when 700 Berkeley High School (BHS) graduates walked into its pit amidst a ceremony fit for kings. -more-
Berkeley councilmembers’ multi-million dollar wish list of city services and physical improvements is likely to remain just that—a list of projects on paper. -more-
A full year away from the primary elections and with two of the East Bay’s most recognized women politicians interested in running, figuring out the odds on who will succeed termed-out state Sen. Don Perata in the District 9 Senate seat would be difficult under normal circumstances. -more-
Berkeley held its second public workshop on the downtown plan Saturday, a gathering as notable for heated tempers as for innovative visions. -more-
Back in the darker ages of Berkeley City Council history—before Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense (SuperBOLD) threatened a lawsuit last year—citizens hoping to speak to their elected officials at the public comment period would fill out a card a clerk would throw into a contraption with cards from all the other hopeful speakers. The city clerk would spin the device and choose 10 cards. -more-
Telegraph Avenue residents will soon be able to shop for groceries at a new Fred’s Market opening up at the former site of Owl Rexall Drugs. -more-
The lawsuits aimed at saving the grove at California Memorial Stadium are consuming a few trees of their own as the blizzard of paperwork continues in the leadup to an eventual courtroom showdown. -more-
It’s not easy getting ahold of King Middle School Principal Kit Pappenheimer, especially in the days before her school closes for the summer. -more-
SB67 Vehicle Speed Contests and Reckless Driving (Sideshow 30-Day Car Confiscation) – Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland) -more-
Proponents of the proposed solar project at Washington Elementary School are getting ready to celebrate victory after the 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Board of Education meeting Wednesday at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. -more-
Police made an arrest Friday in connection with a fiery big-rig collision that killed three UC Berkeley students in 2005, the California Highway Patrol announced. -more-
Landmarks commissioners and citizen planners will meet Wednesday night to decide—for the moment—the role of historic buildings in the new downtown Berkeley plan. -more-
Hal Carlstad, known throughout Berkeley and neighboring communities as a leader in a wide range of progressive social and environmental causes, died Tuesday, June 12 after a long illness. He was 82. -more-
Peralta Community College District Educational Services Vice Chancellor Margaret Haig passed away this week after a brief illness. -more-
“Bus Rapid Transit” (BRT) is AC Transit’s plan to take over two lanes of Telegraph Avenue and eliminate up to 315 Berkeley parking spaces for humongous buses traveling from downtown San Leandro to downtown Berkeley. The draft environmental impact report (EIR) for this project, available at the library or from AC Transit, is a real eye-opener and an amusing read. -more-
Over the past year and a half I have learned about the proposal from AC Transit to install a “Bus Rapid Transit” (BRT) program to connect San Leandro to Oakland to Berkeley. We are now near the end of the review period for the environmental impact statement/report (EIS/R) on the project. (You can read the EIS/R at www.actransit.org/news/articledetail.wu?articleid=42622c20.) -more-
Ignore all the diesel smoke and rumbling around AC Transit’s misnamed “Bus Rapid Transit” (BRT) proposal to take over two lanes of Telegraph Avenue, and two striking facts stand clear. -more-
It’s possible that democratic government as we’ve known it is on its way to becoming an endangered species in the United States of America, a richly endowed country that’s only managed to sustain itself for less than a quarter of a millennium so far. In Washington scoundrels of all descriptions, with Albert Gonzales the most prominent but by no means the only example, frolic with impunity in what used to be known as the federal government. While Gonzales has been busy dismantling the Justice Department, his allies have severely damaged the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, to name just two victim agencies. What’s remarkable is that no so-called expose by the press or even by congressional committees of the massive mischief of the Bush administration has made much difference. In a May 14 New Yorker piece that became an instant classic, George Packer asked: “Why has it become impossible to admit a mistake in Washington and accept the consequences?” -more-
It must have been just about a year ago that a reader wrote to me via The Planet, asking about a row of trees on a street near Ashby and San Pablo. They were blooming—as they are now—and he’d been enjoying them for a long time and wondered what they were. -more-
Editorial: A Confused Council Should Demand a Second Opinion 06-19-2007
New Housing Authority Accepts City Manager’s Plan 06-15-2007
Letters to the Editor 06-19-2007
Commentary: Bus Rapid Transit Won’t Be Rapid, But It Will Be a Bus...t By Gale Garcia 06-19-2007
Commentary: BRT Would Have A Negative Impact On Our Neighborhoods By Mary Oram 06-19-2007
Commentary: Speeding Up Buses Without Screwing Up Telegraph By Michael Katz 06-19-2007
Readers Sound Off On Bus Rapid Transit Plan 06-19-2007
Letters to the Editor 06-15-2007
Commentary: DAPAC: A Personal View From the Inside by Jim Novosel 06-15-2007
Commentary: Bus Rapid Transit Inaccuracies By Len Conly 06-15-2007
Commentary: BRT Benefits Outweigh Inconveniences By Rob Wrenn 06-15-2007
Commentary: BRT as Ideology By Steve Geller 06-15-2007
BHS Class of 2007 Says Goodbye By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-19-2007
Council Gets Down To Budget Business By Judith Scherr 06-19-2007
Hancock, Chan Vie for Seat Now Held By Don Perata By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-19-2007
Downtown Committee Meets Public In Sometimes Heated Session By Richard Brenneman 06-19-2007
Council to Discuss Public Comment Rules, Priority Development Areas By Judith Scherr 06-19-2007
Use Permit Approved for Fred’s on Telegraph By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-19-2007
Court Dates Set For Oak Grove Lawsuits By Richard Brenneman 06-19-2007
King Principal Takes Her Leave By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-19-2007
Legislative Briefs By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-19-2007
KyotoUSA Optimistic About Solar Project By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-19-2007
Arrest Made in 2005 Triple Fatal Collision By Bay City News 06-19-2007
Historic Buildings, New Projects Top Land Use Agendas By Richard Brenneman 06-19-2007
Hal Carlstad, 1925-2007 By Eleanor Piez 06-19-2007
Peralta Vice Chancellor Margaret Haig Dies By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-19-2007
Million-Dollar Home Fire, Warehouse Blaze Fought By Richard Brenneman 06-15-2007
Planners Approve Expanded ‘Priority Development Areas’ By Richard Brenneman 06-15-2007
Council OKs ‘Public Commons Initiative’ Concept By Judith Scherr 06-15-2007
Council Passes On Hearing for Wright’s Garage By Judith Scherr 06-15-2007
Adult School Graduates Cheered by Families By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-15-2007
Berkeley High Beat: Berkeley High Engineering Club Catapults into Albany Bulb By Rio Bauce 06-15-2007
Berkeley School District Facing Nutrition Funding Loss By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-15-2007
Alameda County Budget Balanced on a Pin By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-15-2007
No Landmark Status for UC Laguna St. Building By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-15-2007
All Berkeley Children Eligible for Summer Breakfast By Riya Bhattacharjee 06-15-2007
No API Score for Berkeley High School By Rio Bauce 06-15-2007
Green Neighbors: Be Sure to Use Those Exotic Species Responsibly By Rn Sullivan 06-19-2007
Column: Undercurrents: Mayor Dellums Isn’t What’s Wrong With Oakland By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 06-15-2007
East Bay Then and Now: Sea Captains Found an Ideal Home in Berkeley By Daniella Thompson 06-15-2007
Garden Variety: Turning Up a New Leaf By Ron Sullivan 06-15-2007
About the House: Deconstructing Grandma’s Cookstove By Matt Cantor 06-15-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 06-15-2007
Arts Calendar 06-19-2007
Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 06-19-2007
The Theater: Cal Shakes Stages Richard III in Orinda By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 06-19-2007
The Theater: Virago Presents Two Plays by Local Playwrights By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 06-19-2007
Green Neighbors: Be Sure to Use Those Exotic Species Responsibly By Rn Sullivan 06-19-2007
Berkeley This Week 06-19-2007
Correction and Clarification 06-19-2007
Open Call for Essays 06-19-2007
Arts Calendar 06-15-2007
Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 06-15-2007
Moving Pictures: A New Take on Classic Film Techniques By Justin DeFreitas 06-15-2007
New Opera Portrays Life and Times of Black Panthers By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 06-15-2007
Ed Reed Sings Love Songs at Anna’s Jazz Island By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 06-15-2007
East Bay Then and Now: Sea Captains Found an Ideal Home in Berkeley By Daniella Thompson 06-15-2007
Garden Variety: Turning Up a New Leaf By Ron Sullivan 06-15-2007
About the House: Deconstructing Grandma’s Cookstove By Matt Cantor 06-15-2007
Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 06-15-2007
Berkeley This Week 06-15-2007