A photo of Amir Hassan is part of a memorial in front of the Shattuck Avenue house where he died. Photograph by Richard Brenneman.

Extra

Flash: Counter-demonstrators Square off with Code Pink Outside Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Organized by KSFO radio personality Melanie Morgan, chair of Move America Forward, pro-war, anti-Islamic and anti-immigration demonstrators converged on the Berkeley Recruiting Center today (Wednesday), caravanning into town with their SUVs and Harleys decked out in American flags to face off with Code Pink, the anti-war group that has held vigils in front of the 64 Shattuck Square Recruitment Office for three weeks. -more-

Page One

Police Arrest Mother in Amir Hassan Death

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday October 16, 2007

A 31-year-old Berkeley mother has been charged with murdering her 9-year-old son. -more-

Project Offers a Glimpse into Life of Berkeley’s Lost Japantown

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Michi Uchida’s piercing black eyes and gnarled fingers testify to a community torn apart by World War II and the resurrection that followed in its aftermath. -more-

West Berkeley Tax District Off Table, City Staff Says

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday October 16, 2007

After protests from West Berkeley residents and small business owners, the West Berkeley Community Benefits District (WBCBD) may be off the table. -more-

Dellums’ North Oakland Meeting Focuses on Crime

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday October 16, 2007

If Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has lost significant political support in the city since the June 2006 election—as at least one local media outlet has reported—that sentiment was not immediately apparent at a standing-room-only Town Hall meeting at North Oakland’s Peralta Elementary School last Saturday morning. -more-

Pele deLappe, Artist and Activist, Remembered—1916-2007

By Judith Scherr

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Celebrated for her art and her activism, Pele deLappe spent a lifetime fighting for racial justice, women’s equality and workers’ rights. -more-

Features

Downtown Panel Prepares For Final Public Workshop

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Two key sections of the proposed new downtown plan come up for votes Wednesday, chapters that could help define the future look of Berkeley’s urban core. -more-

ZAB Approves Relocation of Blood House to Regent St.

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Tuesday October 16, 2007

The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) voted 8-6 Thursday to allow Berkeley developers Ruegg and Ellsworth to relocate the landmarked Blood House at 2526 Durant Ave. to Regent Street and build a a 34,158-square-foot, five-story building with 44 apartments, 18 parking spaces and retail space in its place. -more-

Hospital Nurses Back to Work Following Strike and Lockout

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Staff registered nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Herrick Hospital were back at work Monday morning—three days after their two-day walkout ended. -more-

Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Assault -more-

Mixed Reaction to Oakland School Control Bill Veto

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Tuesday October 16, 2007

In a move that Oakland Unified School Board President David Kakishiba said was “not unexpected,” California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Assemblymember Sandré Swanson’s AB 45 Oakland school local control bill on Saturday. -more-

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday October 16, 2007

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Letters in Response to Capt. Lund and Code Pink

Tuesday October 16, 2007

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Commentary: Only a Mass Movement Can Halt These Endless Wars

By Kenneth J. Theisen

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Many people think the Bush regime is politically weakened and will no longer be able to achieve its political agenda, particularly in regard to the Iraq war. Millions also have the illusion that after the 2008 elections that the U.S. military will finally withdraw from that beleaguered country. But the Bush regime is currently expanding the size of the U.S. military, and the leading Democratic presidential contenders are not likely to remove the U.S. military presence in Iraq if they are elected. -more-

Commentary: Marceau, the Pantomimist—Not Mime

By R.G.Davis

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Before Marcel Marceau’s body is buried and evaporates from public view, I thought to make note here in a short commentary that Marceau was a pantomime (pantomimist) and Charlie Chaplin was a mime – despite what AP, UPI and theater folk say about Marceau. -more-

Commentary: Year 6 of War on Terror: TV Violence, Insults

By Margot Pepper

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Violence, selfishness and insults have skyrocketed on national television since the first year of the war on terror, my second grade students at Rosa Parks Elementary in Berkeley, California found. -more-

Commentary: Article Fails to Mention Opposing Views

By Donald Forman

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Your article “Reading Recovery Program Shows Results in Berkeley Schools” (October 5–8) violates several basic journalistic principles. -more-

Editorial

Editorial: Supporting Our Troops—All of Them

By Becky O’Malley

Tuesday October 16, 2007

We get letters from all over the world in response to what appears on our pages, particularly on our opinion pages. We get letters in which the writers unburden themselves of their opinions about Berkeley in general, or about what they believe Berkeley to be. And we get many letters in which the writers reveal their opinions about the fate of the nation or the world, which they send hoping a Berkeley paper will print when their hometown papers haven’t. -more-

Columns

Column: The Public Eye: Exploring the Politics of Trust

By Bob Burnett

Tuesday October 16, 2007

Most Americans don’t trust their government. A recent Gallup poll found “Americans generally express less trust in the federal government than at any point in the past decade, and trust in many federal government institutions is now lower than it was during the Watergate era.” Only 43 percent of poll respondents trust President Bush and 50 percent do not trust Congress. -more-

Wild Neighbors: Birds in Winter: Charles Keeler and the Summer Warbler

By Joe Eaton

Tuesday October 16, 2007

If you want to look back at changes in Berkeley’s bird life over the last century, the work of Charles Augustus Keeler provides a convenient benchmark. I have a battered library-discard copy of his Bird Notes Afield, the second edition, published in 1907. Keeler notes in a preface that the bird collection of the California Academy of Sciences, where he did his research, had been a casualty of the San Francisco quake and fire the year before. -more-