Local News and Opinion from The Berkeley Daily Planet

News Updates

Candidates Face Immigration, Education, Healthcare Questions

By Judith Scherr

Wednesday May 28, 2008

The questions posed to Senate and Assembly candidates at Tuesday evening’s forum presented by the Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action came from real life. -more-

Lone Gunman Strikes Again

By Richard Brenneman

Tuesday May 27, 2008

The masked takeover bandit dubbed “the Lone Gunman” has pulled off at least two more armed robberies in Berkeley, police announced. -more-

Massive Manhunt Closes Highway 13

By Richard Brenneman

Friday May 23, 2008

A massive manhunt in the Berkeley hills Friday afternoon closed Highway 13 along Tunnel Road as officers searched for two men who carjacked a San Ramon man in Oakland. -more-

UC System Workers Vote to Strike

By Bay City News

Friday May 23, 2008

Thousands of patient care and service workers for the University of California system announced today (Friday) they plan to strike as soon as June 2 because they feel their wages just don’t cut it. -more-

Berkeley High Students Take Stand Against Immigration Raids

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Friday May 23, 2008

What seemed like typical lunch-time ruckus to visitors at Berkeley High School Thursday was in fact an act of solidarity with immigrants across the nation. -more-

Riders Speak Out Against Possible AC Transit Fare Hike

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Friday May 23, 2008

AC Transit bus district directors took their first steps this week towards a possible fare increase this fall, holding a public hearing on the issue Wednesday at Oakland City Hall. -more-

Big BANG Labor Boom: Union Vote Set for Bay Area Papers

By Richard Brenneman

Friday May 23, 2008

Media mogul Dean Singleton’s union-busting moves at his Bay Area newspapers have hit a major roadblock—a regional unionization vote scheduled for next month. -more-

Incumbents Lead Fund-Raising in Oakland Council Races

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Friday May 23, 2008

In the tightly contested June 3 races for the Oakland City Council, incumbent councilmembers are predictably winning the important fund-raising battles, with 5th District Councilmember and Council President Ignacio De La Fuente leading the way. -more-

Downtown Plan Hits Rough Waters in Planning Commission Discussions

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 22, 2008

The curtain went up on the Downtown Area Plan’s second act Wednesday night, with a sharply divided Planning Commission headed for a rewrite. -more-

News

Hancock Leads Chan in Large Contributions

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 22, 2008

With 14th District Assembly-member Loni Hancock pulling away in last-minute large campaign contributors over her rival for the Democratic nomination for the State Senate District 9 seat, former 16th District Assem-blymember Wilma Chan, and a controversy brewing over an anti-Hancock campaign mailer sent out by urban casino interests, the two campaigns traded charges last week over hypocrisy in their fund-raising strategies. -more-

Jump in Willard Suspensions, State Questions Discipline Data

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

According to recent published reports about violence and suspension rates in California public schools, Berkeley’s Willard Middle School reported one of the highest violent-suspension rates in the Bay Area last year. -more-

Berkeley Teen Arrested in Durant Avenue Murder Case

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

Berkeley resident Nathaniel Freeman, 19, was arraigned last week for the murder of Oakland Parks and Recreation employee Maceo Smith, who was shot to death in broad daylight one block south of the UC Berkeley campus earlier that week. -more-

Casino Tribes Target Hancock in Mailer

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 22, 2008

A political hit piece targeting state Senate hopeful Loni Hancock, ostensibly from a band of educators, was bankrolled by casino-owning bands of Native Americans attacking an outspoken foe of Bay Area tribal casinos. -more-

Lawsuit Seeks Halt in Planned Cuts To Medi-Cal

By Angela Rowen, Special to the Planet

Thursday May 22, 2008

More than 6.5 million elderly, disabled and low-income people statewide—about 774,000 in the Bay Area—will soon have an even tougher time finding doctors, dentists and pharmacists who will provide care for them, unless a coalition of healthcare pro-viders and recipients are successful in a motion filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court to block the state’s planned 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal payments. -more-

UC Student Fall Likely Accidental Death

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

B-Tech Senior Surrenders to Police Two Days After Shooting

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

Berkeley Students Lead State Students at Capitol Rally

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

Council Delays Choosing Ballot Measures

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 22, 2008

Urban Anthropology class members work on a streetscape project.

Reader Report: Planting Community

By JoAnn Conrad and the BCC Urban Anthropology Class

Thursday May 22, 2008

Alta Bates Nurses Get City Support

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 22, 2008

Barbara Lee Asks USDA to Oppose Apple Moth Spray Plan

By Judith Scherr

Thursday May 22, 2008

AC Transit Delays Decision on Purchase Of Controversial Van Hool Buses

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

Thursday May 22, 2008

Fleeing Motorcyclist Strikes Bus, Bicyclist

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

Bus Rapid Transit May Be Headed For November Vote

By Richard Brenneman

Thursday May 22, 2008

Robert Bechtle’s “’60 Chevies” depicting the parking lot of U-Save on University and old Grove, the sight of proposed development that promises to bring back a grocery store to the corner in the form of Trader Joe’s.

Reader Report: Requiem for a Berkeley Strip Mall

By Rob Browning, Special to the Planet

Thursday May 22, 2008

Same-Sex Marriage Decision Greeted with Cheers

By Riya Bhattacharjee

Thursday May 22, 2008

First Person: The Meaning of Marriage for Everyone

By Pamela Brown

Thursday May 22, 2008

Mark Coplan

Berkeley High Students Fight to Block Education Cuts More than 600 students from Berkeley High joined their peers from across the state in Sacramento last week to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger’s proposed education cuts.

Editorials

Editorial: Time to Get Ready to Vote: Endorsements

By Becky O'Malley

Thursday May 22, 2008

We’re down to the wire on the June election. June election? What election, you might be saying right about now. Wasn’t the primary in February? -more-

The Editor's Back Fence

By Becky O'Malley

Tuesday May 27, 2008

In today's experiment, the executive editor will answer a couple of letters. We've been longing to try this ever since the paper was started. For years letters to the editor and the editor's often sarcastic replies were the centerpiece of the much-enjoyed Anderson Valley Advertiser. The Greater Berkeley Area takes itself more seriously than the Anderson Valley, so what he did there might not work here. But occasionally we get letters that deserve an answer, serious and not-so-serious. -more-