News

Despite community pleas to talk with members of the homeless community first, the Berkeley City Council’s Agenda Committee Monday afternoon refused to take the mayor’s Public Commons for Everyone proposal off the May 8 council agenda. -more-

Questions of scientific feasibility and environmental responsibility dominated a Thursday night teach-in called by critics of UC Berkeley’s $500 million biofuels pact with a British oil company. -more-

The B-Town Dollar Store at 2973 Sacramento St. could be closed if the Berkeley City Council decides to act on a recommendation passed by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) Thursday. -more-

The Woodfin Suites Hotel fired 12 workers Friday, according to an East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy press statement. EBASE has helped Woodfin workers in their attempts to get Emeryville’s living wage ordinance for hotel workers enforced. -more-

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps in the Bay Area and across the nation have separated working parents from their children, forced families to flee in haste to countries of origin many scarcely know and caused millions of others to live in fear of harassment and deportation. -more-

A collection of posters Inkworks Press has produced over its life as a worker-owned collective brings together art, calls to political action and 33 years of history. -more-

The California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) announced Friday that alcohol violation rates have dropped in Berkeley. -more-

The City of Berkeley announced Monday that as the bridge approaches become heavily congested as a result of the MacArthur Maze collapse, traffic in and around Berkeley is expected to be impacted, even though none of the detours suggested by Caltrans and local officials routes traffic directly through Berkeley. -more-

The Berkeley School Board received information on the Black College tour that took place in February to recruit more teachers of color at historically black colleges in Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Ga. -more-

DAPAC members will finally tackle the central element of their proposed new plan Wednesday night when they consider the role of sustainabilty in the future of Downtown Berkeley. -more-

A proposal to allow green card holders in Boston the ability to vote in municipal elections could have far-reaching effects for nearly half of the city’s 45,000 Asian Americans, say local experts and office holders. -more-

The pristine, sandy beaches of Cancun draw more than just visitors looking for a little fun and sun. Those with a penchant for little girls as young as four have found their way to this region. -more-

Assault -more-

Today is May Day, the first of May, the occasion in many cultures for festivities of one kind or another. The ancient Celts took their herds from winter quarters to summer pastures at this time of year, with appropriate excitement. Socialists of all stripes, especially in Europe, have traditionally celebrated May Day as a labor holiday, though it has sometimes been used as an excuse for ugly displays of weapons. The excitement which culminated in the Haymarket riots in America started around this time of year. Young folks, especially in Europe, danced around May poles, with fertility probably lurking in the background motivation in some fashion. Girls have often been crowned Queen of the May, and Catholics around the world sometimes crowned statues of Mary as well. In England and the United States, children and lovers delivered flowers to doorsteps anonymously in May baskets. Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and their friends celebrate the ejection of French invaders from Mexico this week, culminating on Cinco de Mayo, and May 1 has become a day for demonstrations on behalf of all immigrants. -more-

With President Jimmy Carter coming to town Wednesday to speak to UC Berkeley students about his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, it’s an appropriate time for us to reflect on the current prospects for justice and peace in the Middle East. -more-

As we all know, the Bush administration is asking for more time from the American people to “win” in Iraq. First there was the “surge” of at least 30,000 more troops as the solution to defeating insurgents in Iraq. Now along with the surge, the U.S. military has come up with another tactic that will help “win” the war. “Building security walls” is the latest strategy. But what is the United States really constructing in Iraq? -more-

Like others, I, too, was concerned about the health effects of cell phone towers and went to the Internet to do some research. From it, I learned that while the FDA maintains that the link between RF energy emitted by cell phone antennas and health problems like cancer is “inconclusive” or “has not been demonstrated,” they also say “there is no proof that they are absolutely safe.” Even on industry friendly sites, the “prevailing wisdom among researchers” in the field is that it is “too early to draw any strong conclusions.” The research has not been expansive enough, there have been too few properly controlled studies, exposure times have been too short (sometimes as little as one hour) and the technology is too new to really know about possible long term effects. There does, however, seem to be a definite effect at the cellular level (e.g. DNA changes) which may well pose a risk to developing organisms (e.g. children). -more-

Largely absent from the on-going debate surrounding high density development in downtown Berkeley is a discussion on its health effects. As estimated by the Association of Bay Area Governments there will be an expected 4,200 additional residents in Berkeley by 2015. In determining possible solutions to the increased housing demand, Berkeley's Planning Department and the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC) must take into account the growing body of evidence which supports dense development as a means to improve health and well-being. -more-

Over the weekend of April 28-29, several hundred activists gathered in Oakland at a national conference sponsored by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Entitled “Pursuing Justice for Israel/Palestine: Changing Minds, Challenging U.S. Policy,” the conference gave expression to a movement building in the United States that is more critical of Israeli policies than is the conservative “Israel right or wrong” lobby. -more-

A baby is born. A child develops a high fever. A spouse breaks a leg. A parent suffers a stroke. These are the events that throw a working woman’s delicate balance between work and family into chaos. -more-

In one his most famous songs, bluesman Howlin’ Wolf sang “I should’a quit you, long time ago... / And I wouldn’t’ve been here, / Down on the killin’ floor.” -more-

Last Friday, April 27, I spent the day at Children’s Fairyland with one thousand other hot and tired attendees. It was a record-breaking crowd for Fairyland. The lines for the Magic Web Ferris Wheel and Flecto Carousel were long, as was the wait for a seat outside Johnny Appleseed’s Café. Almost everyone in the park was 5 years old or younger. It would have been a very good day to stay away from Fairyland, but I was subbing for a teacher who had, obviously, already thought of that. -more-

If you visit Mount Diablo this time of year and walk the Fire Interpretive Trail that circles the summit (highly recommended for wildflowers, including the locally rare bitterroot), you’re almost sure to meet one or more of the resident California whiptail lizards. Sometimes they dash across the path from one shelter to another, demonstrating why they’re also called racerunners. But I’ve had some escort me along their personal stretch of trail, keeping a wary eye on me all the while. -more-

TUESDAY, MAY 1 -more-

ETHNOPOETICIST READS AT MOE’S -more-

Before going to hear the work of a particular classical composer, which, for me, usually means Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Mahler, or Satie, I try to listen to recordings of the pieces on the program before hand. Listening ahead not only makes the melodies performed familiar, it also gives the live concert a nostalgic resonance, and suggests a context for the music, both the original moment of its creation in time by the composer, and its creative intervening afterlife. -more-

Students at Berkeley High will “Let the Sunshine In” by performing a 40th anniversary celebration—and critical examination—of the musical Hair, this weekend and next on campus at the Florence Schwimley Theater. -more-

TheatreFIRST, Oakland’s only resident theater company, will perform the West Coast premiere of John Arden’s 1959 antiwar masterpiece, Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance, opening this Friday at 8 p.m., and running through May 27 at the Old Oakland Theatre, 481 Ninth St., just north of Broadway. -more-