Safeway will hold a series of public meetings starting today (Wednesday) at Oakland’s Claremont Middle School in an effort to come up with a different design for remodeling its College Avenue store. -more-
The last tree occupied by Berkeley tree-sitters before their surrender Tuesday afternoon was itself gone by 5:18 p.m. -more-
As a scaffold rose beneath them, section by section, Berkeley’s last four tree-sitters finally surrendered—with Huckleberry, the last holdout, finally setting his bare feet on the earth at 1:33 p.m. today (Tuesday). -more-
UC Berkeley officials are “weighing their options” to end the tree-sit at Memorial Stadium after negotiations ended between university officials, tree-sitters and their supporters on the ground. -more-
Only one tree remained standing at Memorial Stadium Sunday morning of those the University of California had slated for the chainsaw.Perched in the upper branches of the redwood were the four remaining tree-sitters who had taken to the branches in an ultimately doomed effort to save the impressive collection of coast live oaks and other trees marked for destruction by the university. -more-
UC Berkeley brought out the chainsaws Friday, and the air outside Memorial Stadium jittered to the sounds of saws, woodchippers and the earthward crashes of once mighty oaks. -more-
University of California, Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university today began chopping down oak trees next to its football stadium as the first step in a project to build a news sports training center adjacent to the stadium. -more-
A day after winning their battle in court Thursday, UC Berkeley gave Memorial Stadium tree-sitters a 72-hour warning Friday morning that their days in the branches were nearing an end. -more-
At least 11 schools in the Berkeley Unified School District met their Academic Performance Index targets for 2008 according to the state’s 2007-08 Accountability Progress Report (APR) released by State Superintendent Jack O’Connell Thursday. -more-
Protesters—including Free Speech Movement veterans and a Berkeley city councilmember—gathered in Sproul Plaza Thursday to rally against the Aug. 24 UC Berkeley police raid on the Long Haul. -more-
UC Berkeley brought out the chainsaws Friday, and by the time their engines went silent Tuesday, the Memorial Stadium grove was gone. -more-
Oakland police said Wednesday that they have made what they consider a major breakthrough in the city’s restaurant takeover robberies, announcing the arrest of three suspects following a Tuesday night takeover at K&T Nail Salon at 108th Avenue and Bancroft in East Oakland. -more-
The East Bay has been plagued by takeover-style restaurant robberies this summer, with 11 robberies in Oakland, one in El Cerrito, one in Hayward, one in unincorporated Castro Valley, and two in Vallejo. -more-
All hell broke loose at KPFA Radio Aug. 20 when a station volunteer resisted Berkeley police, summoned by station management to remove her from the premises. -more-
When Chef Eddie Blyden took over Henry’s at the historic Hotel Durant last spring he brought more than spaetzle from Munich and deviled duck eggs from San Francisco along with him. He brought a bit of controversy as well. -more-
Supporters of Berkeley’s venerable Long Haul, angered by last Wednesday’s raid, plan to rally at Sproul Plaza today (Thursday) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the wake of the seizure of 13 computers and a collection of disc and hard drives from the group’s offices at 3124 Shattuck Ave. as police searched for the source of what they described as threatening e-mails. -more-
With two months left to go for the November municipal elections, candidates for the Berkeley Board of Education are pushing for endorsements and mobilizing supporters through fundraisers, campaign kick-offs and campaign websites. -more-
The Berkeley Unified School District has not yet met the 9 percent water reduction goal set by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District in May but is working with the agency to install water-saving devices in the city’s 16 public schools, district officials said. -more-
Saeed Olushegun, a former softball coach and math teacher, was named Wednesday as Berkeley High School’s athletic director to succeed Kristin Glencher, who was promoted to vice principal. -more-
The citizens’ group working on an alternative version of the Berkeley city attorney’s draft sunshine ordinance—which promises greater access to open government—will hold a public meeting at the Lutheran Church of the Cross Sept. 9 to get community input on their recently released document. -more-
Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance ---- Draft, September 2008 -more-
FINAL DRAFT -more-
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has issued new guidelines for medical marijuana clubs, but Northern California’s leading cannabis advocate says they don’t represent any major changes. -more-
The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board recently asked San Raphael-based Wareham Developers to scale back the size of its 100,000-square-foot project at 740 Heinz St. The applicant proposes demolishing the landmarked Copra Warehouse and building a state-of-the-art biotechnology research center in its place. -more-
The legal battle over UC Berkeley’s building plans at Memorial Stadium is back in the state Court of Appeals for the second time. -more-
Richmond city councilmembers violated state environmental protection law when they approved a $335 million pact to provide road improvements and emergency services for a North Richmond casino. -more-
UC Berkeley officials will present their rehabilitation plans for the student co-op Cloyne Court to the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission today (Thursday). -more-
Carrie Sprague grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Oberlin College. She moved west where she met and married Thomas M. King. After having three children together, they divorced. In 1980, she met Stan and she moved into their little old house on Allston Way. -more-
Sacramento Street barbershop shooting -more-
Back-to-back fires -more-
An Alameda County Superior Court Judge has taken the first vote in the 2008 local general election, ruling that certain portions of AC Transit At Large Board challenger Joyce Roy’s submitted ballot statement were either false or misleading, and ordering them removed. -more-
N’ap bat dlo pou l fé bé (We’re churning water to make it into butter) -more-
The last day of the Democratic Convention at Mile High Stadium was an extraordinary occasion that transcended politics and became almost spiritual. I have never been part of such a public event—political or not—and doubt whether an equivalent happening has ever occurred in the United States or will soon be repeated. The crowd at Mile High mirrored the nation: It was overwhelmingly working and middle-class, racially diverse, and appeared to comprise those viscerally impacted by the convention’s focus on restoring the American Dream. In the days prior to Mile High I forswore the talked-about parties and spent 10 hours each day talking to hundreds of delegates, supporters and activists. I saw how artists were engaged with the Obama campaign, gained a deeper understanding of the Democratic Party’s New West revival, got a reality check on the alleged Clinton-Obama rift, and was told why Mitt Romney’s anticipated selection as running mate would really help McCain. Most of all, my experience strengthened my feeling that something very special is occurring in 2008 that will have significance far beyond November. -more-
We all want and expect to know what is going on in our government, yet history shows that we rarely achieve this goal. Whether it’s in City Hall, Sacramento or Washington, we are angry when we find out that action was taken on the flimsiest of information and decisions were made behind closed doors that profoundly affect our lives, and we have had no chance to know about it, let alone add our two cents. That’s the very opposite of democracy and our system of representative government no matter where it occurs or when it happens. It cannot be denied that no one can represent the people when the people don’t know what their representative is doing and the representative doesn’t know how the people feel. -more-
I want to start by correcting an inaccurate statement made in Peter Kuhn’s letter to the editor. The School Board did not vote against implementing an advisory program at Berkeley High School (BHS). The School Board did not take any action. The presentation on advisories that Mr. Kuhn is referring to was given to the board for comment so that BHS staff would have a framework to develop an advisory proposal that would represent the best approach to address the needs for all BHS students. At that meeting, Board members, including myself, stressed the need for the high school to develop an advisory proposal that included specific expectations, detailed curriculum and activities, and methods for accountability/evaluation. Only with this information, can the School Board competently vote on whether to approve advisories at Berkeley High. While I personally believe that some type of advisory program is needed throughout BHS to provide a more personal and consistent connection between students, teachers, and parents, I will not support advisories without having such a detailed understanding of the purpose, content, and expected outcomes of advisories. I understand and share concerns that good intentions do not necessarily result in good deeds. But, it greatly disturbs me to read that some people are taking public positions against advisories without even having seen an actual completed proposal. -more-
Science begins in human wonder before the immensity and complexity of the natural world, but then becomes appropriated by social interests that apply its discoveries in humane as well as inhumane ways. So we are right to pay attention to the ethics that underly the development of new technologies. One of the most promising, but also one of the most controversial scientific applications today is the use of stem cells to help us understand and remedy terrible illnesses. -more-
Nothing distinguishes America from other nations as markedly as the place held by involuntary immigrants from Africa and their descendants. -more-
The American Dream is fracturing and defragmenting: corporate consolidations, privatization and capricious war making are creating a new rich class and killing citizen soldiers daily. Fifty percent of marriages in America end in divorce. Congress is a ship of fools. Our bridges are falling down. -more-
During frequent visits to the Planning Palace on Milvia I’ve enjoyed glimpsing, just a block away from it, our very historic Old City Hall (also known as the Maudelle Shirek Building). But very recently while casually Internet surfing, I got a rude shock when I opened the “City of Berkeley Designated Landmarks” map that’s proudly on display in the “map room” part of the Planning and Development Department’s website. According to that map and its legend, Old City Hall is a landmark that’s been “demolished”! -more-
What’s a feminist to think? In my youth, people talked about trying to figure out the “standard liberal position” on a controversial issue. Later on, “liberal” got to be a no-no word as the hip left competed to see who could be more radical than thou. “Politically correct” was used without irony for a season or two among those who had an old left background, only to acquire a sarcastic edge among the rest of the left who distrusted the verities of previous eras. The compromise word de jour seems to be “progressive”—it’s a word even Republicans have been known to use. -more-
Anthony Rodgers has been an AC Transit bus driver for 18 years. I met Rodgers a few weeks ago when I boarded his westbound No. 18 bus in downtown Berkeley. -more-
In some ways, East Oakland this weekend appeared to be a city under siege, and I am not talking about the continued rash of shootings, which is another issue altogether. I’m talking about one of the attempts by the Oakland Police Department to quell the violence. -more-
Roughly 60 years ago, the pioneering conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote a short piece called “Odyssey,” collected in his Sand County Almanac. The odyssey in question is that of a nitrogen atom. Leopold imagined its travels from a starting point in a limestone ledge through a multiplicity of prairie food webs, and finally to the sea. -more-
As Planet Berkeley hurtles away from its past, the figures who dominated its early days, having accumulated a comet-like tail of stories and quasi-histories, take on the burnish of legend. Enshrined in books and articles, these stories have been repeated long enough to be taken for fact. -more-
Now, straight off, I want to say that climbing ladders and walking on roofs is not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for me. I have to do it for my job and, frankly, I hate it. Well, not all the time, but there are days when I dread it and I’ll tell you some stories of occasions that either validated my dread or exacerbated it. -more-
mugwumpin, the innovative physical theater troupe, is trying to take their super: anti: -more-
After months of fascinating staged readings at local libraries and other venues, Oakland Public Theater celebrates the centennial of great black novelist Richard Wright (Native Son, Black Boy) and its own 10th anniversary with Richard Talavera’s original play (a distillate, in part, of the readings), Before the Dream: The Mysterious Death (and Life) of Richard Wright, directed by Norman Gee, at the Noodle Factory’s new theater, 1255 26th St., corner of Union, in Oakland, off West Grand and Mandela. $20–9, sliding scale. 8 pm, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 5. Reservations: 534-9529. Opens Saturday, Sept. 6. First preview tonight (Thursday, Sept. 4), Wright’s actual centennial. -more-
Sarah Palin Fails Her Most Important Job 09-04-2008
GOP Hiding Behind Skirts with VP Choice By Justin DeFreitas 09-04-2008
Storming the New Camelot By Justin DeFreitas 09-04-2008
Letters to the Editor 09-08-2008
Letters to the Editor 09-04-2008
What I Learned in Denver By Randy Shaw 09-04-2008
A Call to Bring Sunshine to Berkeley By Terry Francke and Shirley Dean 09-04-2008
A Few Examples of the Success of Advisories By Karen Hemphill 09-04-2008
Stem Cells in California — How Have They Fared Over the Past Four Years? By Raymond Barglow 09-04-2008
White, Black / Neither, Both By Marvin Chachere 09-04-2008
Green Goals Toward the American Dream By Willi Paul 09-04-2008
City Website’s Landmarks Map Laden with Inaccuracies By John English 09-04-2008
Safeway Announces Meetings to Decide Fate of College Ave. Store By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-10-2008
Flash: Grove’s Last Tree Falls; University Says ‘No Deal’ By Richard Brenneman 09-09-2008
Tree-sitters Surrender By Richard Brenneman 09-09-2008
University, Protesters Near Grove Showdown By Richard Brenneman 09-08-2008
UC's Memorial Stadium Oak Grove is No More; Four Defenders Remain in Lone Redwood By Richard Brenneman 09-07-2008
Spectators Mourn as UC Destroys Memorial Stadium Oak Grove; Two Arrested By Richard Brenneman 09-05-2008
UC Berkeley Begins Chopping Down Memorial Stadium Oak Grove By Bay City News 09-05-2008
UC Gives Tree-Sitters 72-Hour Warning to Leave Grove By Richard Brenneman 09-05-2008
BUSD, State Show Growth in API Scores By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-05-2008
Campus Rally Protests Long Haul Police Raid By Richard Brenneman 09-05-2008
Chainsaws Level Memorial Stadium Grove By Richard Brenneman 09-11-2008
Oakland Police Arrest 3 In Takeover Robbery Case By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 09-04-2008
East Bay Police Collaborating in Identifying Suspects By Kristin McFarland 09-04-2008
Rough Arrest at KPFA Stuns Station, Community By Judith Scherr 09-04-2008
Chef Blyden Reinvents Henry’s By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
Long Haul Activists Plan Rally at Sproul Plaza By Richard Brenneman 09-04-2008
Berkeley School Board Race Gets Under Way By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
School District Working to Meet Water Reduction Goal By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
New Athletic Director for Berkeley High By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
Citizen’s Group Calls Meeting to Discuss Sunshine Ordinance By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance: Summary 09-04-2008
FINAL DRAFT: CITY of BERKELEY SUNSHINE ORDINANCE 09-04-2008
New Pot Club Laws Change Little, Says NORML By Richard Brenneman 09-04-2008
Zoning Board, Westside Artists Want Scaled-Down Wareham Project By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
New Appeal Filed in Memorial Stadium Lawsuit By Richard Brenneman 09-04-2008
Judge Affirms Richmond Council Broke the Law in Casino Accord By Richard Brenneman 09-04-2008
UC to Brief Landmarks Commission On Design for Historic Cloyne Court By Riya Bhattacharjee 09-04-2008
Carrie Sprague 1933-2008 By Nancy Holland 09-04-2008
Police Blotter By KRISTIN McFARLAND 09-04-2008
Fire Department Log By RICHARD BRENNEMAN 09-04-2008
Statements Stricken from AC Transit Challenger’s Ballot Statement By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 09-04-2008
Haiti Chérie By Judith Scherr 09-04-2008
The Public Eye: The View from One Bus Driver’s Seat By Zelda Bronstein 09-04-2008
Undercurrents: Police Sweeps Give Impression of City Under Siege By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 09-04-2008
Wild Neighbors: Wine, Songbirds, and Leftover Salmon By Joe Eaton 09-04-2008
East Bay: Then and Now—Zimri Brewer Heywood: Separating Fact From Myth By Daniella Thompson 09-04-2008
About the House: Walking on a Roof By Matt Cantor 09-04-2008
Arts Calendar 09-04-2008
Rough and Tumble Stages ‘Candide’ at City Club By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 09-04-2008
‘The Best Man’ Comes to the Aurora By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 09-04-2008
Tayo Aluko Performs ‘Call Mr. Robeson’ in San Francisco By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet 09-04-2008
SUPERHEROES EN ROUTE TO CAIRO 09-04-2008
THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH (AND LIFE) OF RICHARD WRIGHT 09-04-2008
East Bay: Then and Now—Zimri Brewer Heywood: Separating Fact From Myth By Daniella Thompson 09-04-2008
About the House: Walking on a Roof By Matt Cantor 09-04-2008
Community Calendar 09-04-2008
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