Berkeley’s Black Oak Books is planning a resurrection. -more-

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor -more-

Disability rights advocates won part of a battle Monday when a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against home care cuts that were scheduled to take place next month. -more-

A week of major events focusing on the crisis in California education kicks off Saturday with a daylong event, the Statewide Mobilizing Conference for Higher Education. -more-

Bus drivers employed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory protest a lab plan Monday to outsource their jobs to private contractors. -more-

UC Berkeley students held a second teach-in on Friday, protesting budget cuts, staff reductions and the increasing dependence of public education on corporate funds. -more-

Berkeley High School took a first step to address campus racism Tuesday. -more-

After nearly two years, the mounds of dredge spoils dotting Berkeley Aquatic Park’s western shoreline might finally be removed, if a report by the Berkeley Public Works Department is anything to go by. -more-

The Bear’s Lair food court vendor who refused to accept UC Berkeley’s hefty rent increase and was planning to quit in December has been given a lease extension. -more-

Berkeley police and fire officials are investigating an explosion a few blocks from the UC Berkeley campus Tuesday night. -more-

The battle over the supercomputing lab planned for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) shifted to a new venue Friday: the U.S. Court of Appeals. -more-

Retired Oakland architect Joyce Roy is a public transit advocate who was one of the first, and most vocal, opponents of AC Transit’s Van Hool buses. A year ago, she ran unsuccessfully for the AC Transit Board against at-large board member Chris Peeples. -more-

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline Park is a jewel on the shoreline of the East Bay city of Richmond, with a riveting view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais and San Francisco. To the east, it is bordered by the Bay Trail and the Hoffman Marsh, a protected preserve for thousands of migrating birds. -more-

Animal Shelter -more-

Anniversaries bring remembrance and reflection, as does this one, the Loma Prieta earthquake 20 years later. Hopefully our reflections then, now, and the years in between, have led us to become as individually prepared as possible and to participate with our neighbors in setting up neighborhood disaster response capability. If this preparation has not been undertaken, it is long past time to do so. As you all know, the U.S. Geological Survey predictions say the Hayward Fault is due for a major shake, which further underscores the need to be prepared.  -more-

Or, What Do High-Rises Have to Do with It? -more-

Perhaps it is to be expected that the latest incarnation of an SF Bay ferry system will have its own associated color, but most unfortunate that it will be that of a White Elephant. -more-

Thank you for the urgently needed summary story by R. Brokl. We are steadying ourselves from the shocking and utterly unjustifiable destruction of a B+ noted important Oakland Historic Resource, the Courthouse Club, 2935 Telegraph Ave. Mr. Brokl reported the plundering and pillaging of this property and its surroundings with accuracy and compassion. The beloved resource has withstood the test of time, having lived nobly through two earthquakes: 1906 and 1989. It had been retrofitted and became a very successful rehab gym that catered to, among others, vets returning from conflicts in Desert Storm and Bosnia. Truly it was a one-of-a-kind gym business that brought income and interesting people into our community. Its ample parking lot was often full all throughout open hours, with a Black Belt security guard on duty. -more-

I heard on the evening news that Frick Middle School student Alana Williams was killed on the morning of Oct. 16 while crossing the street—in the crosswalk at a four-way stop—to school. Her hit-and-run assailant was witnessed by other pedestrians, so I hope he will be caught and held accountable in a court of law. As shocking as the untimely death of a child will always be, and as shocking as the callousness of someone who would speed through a stop sign and hit anyone, without stopping to give assistance, I am struck by how completely and inutterably unecessary was this loss. -more-

  Resistance to the proliferation of radiation-emitting rooftop antennas in residential neighborhoods rises to outrage, as Berkeley citizens realize their powerlessness in public hearings and call for a referendum to resolve the malaise. Three focus areas emerge confounding our democratic efforts: -more-

What’s the secret? It’s called “illegal development” and the Planning Department of the City of Berkeley will go out of its way to help you succeed. The Southside Lofts, at 3095 Telegraph Ave., is a case study on how to ensure that you maximize your profitability while fending off your helpless victims: homeowners. -more-

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I just finished listening to Sasha Lilley the Program Director “until recently” as she says on the show—is she resigning—on KPFA’s program “Against the Grain” which often includes in-depth analysis about the economy, culture, etc. -more-

Does the Current Concerned Listener Management Group at KPFA Understand What Pacifica is About? Do They Care About  Pacifica’s Mission to Present Multiple Views? -more-

On Friday night, in response to the U.N. Human Rights Council’s vote to send the Goldstone report to the Security Council, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting. In it, he reportedly said this remarkable thing: “We are now setting out to delegitimize those who try to delegitimize us. We will not tolerate it and we will respond on a case by case basis.” -more-

In 1994, when Forrest Gump famously observed, “stupid is as stupid does,” no one expected that Forrest would become the poster boy of the Republican Party. Nonetheless, as an integral component of its “just say no” strategy, the GOP is steadily dumbing down the level of American political discourse. Meanwhile, the US is faced with numerous challenges that require our citizens to use their brains. -more-

Before I proceed to plagiarize, I’d like to pay homage to the memory and, in this case, the extraordinary creativity and insight of the makers of the oracle Oblique Strategies. -more-

Two years ago, the State of California decided it didn’t have the budget to support individual oak-owners’ efforts to save their trees from Sudden Oak Death. We’re on our own, folks, but we can get help from the University of California, in particular from Matteo Garbelotto’s lab at Berkeley. -more-

Richard Schwartz’s montage of century-old newspaper stories from the Berkeley Daily Gazette, Berkeley 1900: Daily Life at the Turn of the Century, with a great wealth of pictures from a variety of sources, has been reprinted in a 10th anniversary edition of more than 300 pages, featuring hundreds of new photos (and six pages of acknowledgments), available from Schwartz’s RSB Books, as well as local bookstores. -more-