UC Berkeley is hosting a discussion on Wednesday about the proposed development of the Anna Head parking lot site for student housing. -more-
Berkeley police said today that they have a person of interest and a vehicle of interest in connection with seven daytime "window-smash"burglaries, and one attempted burglary, at homes in northwest and north central Berkeley in the last 10 days. -more-
Berkeley’s Malcolm X Arts and Academics Magnet, an elementary school that integrates art and academics, has been awarded the Title One Academic Achievement award for 2008-2009. -more-
Berkeley’s largest private development site—8.2 acres adjacent to Aquatic Park—is coming on the market, and the owners want the city to ease the rules. -more-
The last UC Santa Cruz treesitter surrendered to campus police Saturday, moments before a chainsaw-wielding crew began to level the redwood grove they had occupied for 402 days. -more-
Neighborhood opponents of West Berkeley's Pacific Steel Casting went one-for-two in Alameda County Superior Court legal decisions on Friday, with one judge overturning a previous Berkeley Small Claims Court ruling in favor of several PSC neighbors and, in a separate action, a second judge ruling that a class action lawsuit against the steel foundry can go forward. -more-
Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustment’s Board delayed approval of developer Ali Kashani’s five-story condo project at the corner of Ashby and San Pablo avenues on Thursday. -more-
The man residents of downtown Berkeley elected to represent their district on the city council came to the planning commission Wednesday night to make a request. -more-
President-elect Barack Obama has picked Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Director Steven Chu as the nation’s new Secretary of Energy, according to the Associated Press and numerous broadcast and wire service accounts. -more-
With two new faces on the dais, the Berkeley City Council returned to an old subject Monday night: international affairs. The council approved a compromise proposal calling for federal prosecution of UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law Professor John Yoo for supporting torture by the Bush administration. -more-
With a growing national recession and state legislators and the governor stalled in Sacramento over solutions to California’s looming projected $28 billion two-year budget deficit, Berkeley city officials are predictably warning that the city is in for uncertain economic times. -more-
After a daylong workshop spent honing the original proposal, the BHS Governance Council passed a redesign plan Tuesday that would put students on a new class schedule and incorporate an advisory curriculum into the school day. -more-
When city staff drew the boundaries for the new Downtown Area Plan (DAP), they made a mistake that planning commissioners are now faced with resolving. -more-
Changed designs for the new lab building to house the half-billion-dollar BP–funded Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) have forced Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to launch a new environmental impact review. -more-
Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) members will decide the fate of two buildings on San Pablo Avenue on Thursday. -more-
Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, long-time advocate for disability rights, died at 10:45 a.m. December 3, at Highland Hospital, with her brother Renato at her side. Miya was being treated for inflammatory breast cancer. She was 40 years old. -more-
Looking up at the wall of photos overhead, Sal Vaca said, “We want our participants to be able to come in and see someone they know, someone who looks like them.” -more-
Berkeley’s biggest landlord is having trouble with one of his other businesses: the Tribune Company, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other media, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday. -more-
The Berkeley Council of Classified Employees members have received a pay hike from the Berkeley Unified School District but have yet to reach an agreement over their contract, union President Paula Phillips said last week. -more-
Nolo Press, which calls itself the nation’s oldest publisher of legal information for nonlawyers, will remain at its current location in West Berkeley following a decision by the business’s landlord, the Genn family, not to sell the property. -more-
The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission said Thursday it was unable to comment on the nomination of the Donald and Helen Olsen House to the National Register of Historic Places because the application is not complete. -more-
Planning commissioners struggled last Wednesday with the fate of West Berkeley in a session that raised more questions than answers. -more-
To end the age of waste is the message of Urban Ore, a Berkeley institution, the business that represents the ultimate in salvaging just about everything and turning it into something that can be used. On a three acre spread just off Ashby and Seventh Street, Urban Ore has a most amazing assortment of stuff—hundreds of doors, windows, bathtubs, books, dishes, hardware, sometimes a piano or two, “collectibles” and all sorts of oddities large and small. -more-
If you engage the world, by 50 or so something changes. -more-
Without music life would be a mistake. -more-
Yes, it’s something big to worry about. This week’s announcement of the imminent bankruptcies of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, not to mention other papers owned by super-capitalist Sam Zell, is giving newspaper fans everywhere a lot to think about. Even here. -more-
We share the excitement of “change,” but to have real change we have to start with ourselves, in our own home, yard, block, community, and city. When we look around we may see clutter, litter, and a mess. Research shows that when people see a mess, they tend to make more of a mess. People must take seriously their responsibility for litter, and not depend on politicians, sanitation workers, street sweepers, or anyone else to clean up the mess they make. -more-
The Berkeley Public Library has formally requested an exemption from the requirements of the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act and the Oppressive States Compliance Resolution so it can sign a contract with 3M for maintenance of the library’s radio-frequency identification (RFID) self-checkout system. -more-
Controversial and costly changes are planned for Berkeley High School (BHS) as a way to help close the achievement gap. BHS administrators claim that the addition of advisories, block scheduling and another small school will improve standardized test scores and college preparedness for African American and Latino students. While the goal is laudable, the effectiveness of the proposed changes remains questionable at best. The BUSD Board should be critically assessing the costs of implementation of the reforms against a realistic appraisal of the benefits. -more-
The non-profit organization I work with, Berkeley Neighborhood Antena-Free Union (BNAFU), asks all Berkeley residents to join our cause this coming Tuesday evening, 7 p.m. at the Berkeley City Council meeting located at Old City Hall, 2134 MLK Jr. Blvd. On the agenda will be telecom demands for cell antennas at two more flatlands locations, the French Hotel in North Berkeley and 1725 University Avenue. -more-
The small minority of Berkeley residents who are die-hard opponents of Bus Rapid Transit have not changed after their overwhelming loss in the recent election, where Measure KK was defeated by a margin of more than three to one. -more-
As I watched the Obamadrama I was impressed by the number of connections Barack made to past presidents. President Clinton spoke at his nomination. Support from Ted and Caroline Kennedy promoted favorable comparisons to RFK and JFK. Many remarked on his similarities to FDR and Lincoln. And the Bushes showed the Obamas around the White House and gave them tips on living there. -more-
On Nov. 23, an eloquent and moving memorial celebration for former Green Party of California gubernatorial candidate Peter Miguel Camejo was held at UC Berkeley’s International House. -more-
The two-year long season of criticism of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums—some of it thoughtful and reasoned, some of it thoughtless and unreasonable—has tended to set an arbitrary standard and then judged the mayor against it. Is crime and violence in the city at a “reasonable” level, for example, or are there “enough” new retail outlets or employee-generating businesses being built in Oakland; is there enough “transparency” at City Hall, or is the mayor is putting the time and energy into his job that should be expected? -more-
When Barack Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States, he will face a daunting set of economic problems. Incoming presidents usually have a honeymoon period of 100 days when positive public sentiment insures passage of key components of their platform. Given a narrow window of Congressional bipartisanship, Obama’s economic priorities are clear. -more-
The early November rains made me briefly hopeful, although that didn’t last long. They also seem to have faked out some of our local insects whose life cycles are keyed to changes in the weather. -more-
Few relationships in business or in life have the potential for spattered blood like the one held between contractor and client and it is for this reason that I would like to suggest some “rules of the road (sans rage)” for both contractor and client. While everyone likes to see themselves as being reasonable, thoughtful and fair, the truth is that we all have blind spots or simply become lazy. Watch drivers on any given day and you’ll see the proof. -more-
The island of Catalina receives over a million visitors per year, but the vast majority of them go in summer and never set foot outside the principal town of Avalon. -more-
Thrusting out aggressively at the audience seated for Mark Jackson’s retrofitted Macbeth at the Ashby Stage, a Shotgun production, is the much-discussed ramp, with a marble walkway, leading back to the proscenium, an iron-bound wall of fitted stone. Inside the arch, a shining, spangled throne room, replete with light-toned Viking-modern royal seat (set by Nina Ball, lit by Jon Tracy, Sarah Huddleston’s sound), where in a dreamlike sequence like a strange commercial, or an inspirational training video gone wrong, Macbeth himself will take the crown from the wakeful king he slays, murdering sleep twice over. -more-
Oakland’s Paramount Theatre opens up a wealth of holiday presents as its two resident companies, the Oakland Ballet Company and the Oakland East Bay Symphony premiere their annual shows for the season: the Symphony’s Let Us Break Bread Together, and Ronn Guidi’s celebrated Nutcracker. -more-
Christmas Revels, “a theatrical celebration of the Winter Solistice,” with a dazzling array of the performing arts onstage at Oakland’s Scottish Rite Theater by Lake Merritt and community singing and line-dancing at the conclusion of the two acts of every show, has become a beloved holiday tradition in the 23 years California Revels has produced the annual event here. -more-
Comedians were a dime a dozen in the days of silent film, but great comedians were precious and few. The judgment of history has left us maybe a half-dozen top-notch talents, and just a few of those names are much remembered today. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are the heavy hitters of course, the names that immediately come to mind, with perhaps Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Charley Chase, and a few others lagging not so far behind in name recognition. Still others, like Laurel and Hardy, did well in silent films but are today best known for their sound work. -more-
Textual authenticity is a central issue in the work of Orson Welles. The director saw so many of his films altered in the editing room by his producers that only a few of his completed pictures can be said to represent his original intentions. -more-
Few relationships in business or in life have the potential for spattered blood like the one held between contractor and client and it is for this reason that I would like to suggest some “rules of the road (sans rage)” for both contractor and client. While everyone likes to see themselves as being reasonable, thoughtful and fair, the truth is that we all have blind spots or simply become lazy. Watch drivers on any given day and you’ll see the proof. -more-
The island of Catalina receives over a million visitors per year, but the vast majority of them go in summer and never set foot outside the principal town of Avalon. -more-
