I came home last night for another brief R&R before returning to ArnieVille in an hour or so...What a difference hot water & shampoo make! -more-
A tent city has sprouted up for the second time in as many months on the median of a Berkeley street in protest of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts to in-home support services, an organizer said today. -more-
According to Elizabeth Martinez, the court's designated media contact, the jury has gone home for the day at 4:00 p.m. and will resume deliberations at 8:30 a.m. on July 6th. -more-
AC Transit's board of directors has imposed a new contract on the bus agency's 1,600 union employees after talks on a new contract stalled. -more-
Prosecutor David Stein and defense attorney Michael Rains completed their closing arguments today in the trial of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant III. -more-
An armed hit-and-run suspect was fatally shot by Berkeley police after he fired a gun at them Monday night, a police spokeswoman said today. -more-
A controversial item on Tuesday’s Berkeley City Council Agenda has the innocuous subject line “ Zoning Ordinance Amendment to Allow Development Flexibility for Existing Public Libraries”.It’s even on the consent calendar, a try for easy passage without discussion.Here’s what it means: “ to allow (1) existing public libraries to be changed, expanded, or demolished and a new public library constructed, and (2) modification of any Zoning Ordinance requirement applicable to such projects with a Use Permit, rather than a Variance.” [emphasis added] The Public Library Users’ Association is up in arms, since the ballot measure to provide funding for what now looks like two brand new libraries said not a word about demolition, and also, they say, plans call for fewer books in the new buildings.Development Flexibility, for sure. -more-
The Berkeley City Council will be presented with three competing versions of what might be a new Downtown Plan Tuesday night, if all goes according to the published agenda: Here’s what they’ll be trying to do. -more-
When UC Berkeley planned the “On the Same Page” project to request first year students provide DNA for analysis and subsequent discussion it is doubtful anyone anticipated the vigor of public reaction. One concern cited was is the accuracy of the genetic testing kits and that the testing technology under scrutiny of the FDA. -more-
So, the dust has finally settled around here. Mike O’Malley (heretofore “The Publisher”, now “Chief Technical Officer”) and I are more or less smoothly ensconced in the routine of online publishing.Because we have been advised by our lawyer to wait and see what taxes the Berkeley Daily Planet LLC might owe (after our payroll service absconded with payments intended for the state and federal governments) we’ve been working for free (which is fine with us) without employees (somewhat harder).. In the past couple of months, we’ve been gratefully publishing work contributed by public-spirited Berkeleyans, both professional journalists and passionate amateurs, who haven’t been paid either. Now it’s time to ask the readers for their help in improving what’s here. -more-
Walgreens Wants to Sell Beer and Wine; Supreme Angst;Wall Street Reform;Corporate Takeover; Take Down the Wall;Measure C Vote Explained; -more-
Memorial Day is trumpeted as a day “to honor the memory of America’s Fallen.” But rather than live up to that lofty goal, the Pentagon routinely falls short, lapsing into cosmetic rituals and empty rhetoric with volleys of ceremonial gunshots followed by volleys of commemorative clichés. -more-
Ordinarily it would suffice to allow the Michael Vick case to recede into a state of distant memory except that a Forbes magazine poll and the surfacing of a horrific video of a 2002 police murder of an African American youth insist that we revisit both incidents. -more-
Keds’ new-fangled line of sneakers called 'Tibetan Buddhist Shoes' bearing images of the Dalai Lama, the Buddha, holy mantras, Tibetan national flag and other sacred images is a gross denigration of the faith which has millions of followers around the globe! -more-
Crazy talk about the Middle East seems to be escalating, backed up by some pretty ominous military deployments. First, the department of scary statements: -more-
Kudos to Peter Warfield’s Partisan Position, Monday, June 21, 2010 Planet: “Berkeley’s Branch Library Plans: Two Demolitions Instead of Renovation, Book Cuts and Permanent Changes to Zoning Variance Requirements.” -more-
This week’s items: An online twist to OPD’s riot preparations; shootings at funerals and memorials; school bond fails in Alameda: heads up Berkeley?; a correction to last week’s column
-more-When U.S. forces found themselves beset by a growing insurgency in Iraq following their lighting overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the most obvious parallel that came to mind was Vietnam: an occupying army, far from home, besieged by a shadowy foe. But Patrick Cockburn, the Independent’s (UK) ace Middle East reporter, suggested that the escalating chaos was more like the Boer War than the conflict in Southeast Asia. -more-
CRANEWAY PAVILION -more-
AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER -more-
CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM The museum, formerly known as the Jewish Museum San Francisco, has a new addition designed by Daniel Libeskind and is dedicated to exploring the richness and diversity of Jewish thought and culture. -more-
CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM The museum, formerly known as the Jewish Museum San Francisco, has a new addition designed by Daniel Libeskind and is dedicated to exploring the richness and diversity of Jewish thought and culture. -more-
924 GILMAN ST. -- All ages welcome. -more-
Please O please O please, people!There is a reason for the theatrical convention of two acts separated by an intermission.When half of your audience has white hair and tricky bladders, you have a little break after about 55 minutes for a little potty time, a little drinky-poo, a cookie, a chat, then back in for another 45. Unless you are going to deliver a chock-a-block thrilling ninety minutes tops, dispense with the NO INTERMISSION FOR AN HOUR AND FORTY FIVE MINUTES which is how long this pointless play runs. -more-
What?Four and half hours at the Opera!Wagner?The Anti-Semite?Nazi music with the corny parody of the Fat Lady with the Horned Helmet? How many cappuccini would I have to drink to stay awake?What could keep my attention for that long?How about an octet of sopranos parachuting onto the stage?How about lightning strikes and roiling thunderclouds on the diorama?Maybe a real ring of fire!You get it all at the War Memorial Opera House, and the voices are as spectacular as the stagecraft. -more-
Aurora Theatre, Contra Costa Theater, Berkeley Symphony -more-
ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS -more-
AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND The Oakland Public Library's museum is designed to discover, preserve, interpret and share the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans in California and the West. In addition, a three-panel mural is on permanent display. -more-
ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS -more-
CARMEN FLORES RECREATION CENTER -more-
ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-
ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-
July 1, 2010 is the official David Brower Day, honoring firebrand environmentalist and community activist of the same name. David Brower is considered by many to be the father of the modern environmental movement. With a vision and influence equaled in the last century only by Rachel Carson and Jacques Cousteau, David Brower created a legacy of activism which focused on the interconnectedness of the world around us. Brower had an unmatched talent for articulating what we were doing to our planet, and the urgent need for remedial action. Brower’s message and vision made the environmental movement part of our day-to-day lives and led thousands of activists across many generations to put the Earth first -more-
