The Opinion Pages

For the East Bay’s many public transit groupies, London must seem like Nirvana. Cars are now taxed and otherwise restricted, so that in theory there are many fewer of them in central London. Parking, such as it is, is priced at premium rates, both on street in a few privileged neighborhoods and elsewhere. -more-

After mass listener support rescued KPFA and Pacifica from a self-appointed Pacifica National Board (PNB) that was planning to sell KPFA or one of the other stations and take the “community” out of the network, new democratic bylaws were written and adopted. Pacifica’s bylaws state a commitment for peace and social justice, Article One, Section 3. It seems inconceivable that peace and social justice can even be approached with out a democratic process with transparency and accountability. As Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” -more-

How did the City of Berkeley manage to reduce the 2003 rate of chronic homelessness by nearly half? They analyzed the data. They tried new approaches. This time, they had systems in place for setting goals, measuring progress, and establishing accountability for results. -more-

The 27-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project proposed for the East Bay will move into another phase this fall as final project parameters begin to be established. BRT is expected to provide bus service that’s faster and more reliable than the existing system through the use of dedicated bus lanes, signal priority, rapid boarding and prepaid fares. -more-

Last Friday’s Berkeley Voice front-page article and picture flaunting the decimated oak grove and construction at the Memorial Stadium site really hurt. The picture in particular stung; it showed the cavernous pit dug along the west wall of the stadium where a year ago a grove of California oaks graced the stadium and historic Piedmont Way. Despite the personal pain it causes me, the controversy surrounding the oak grove demolition and the many remaining questions regarding the $100 million retrofit of a stadium sitting directly on the Hayward fault line are still of critical importance to the state-wide community and need to be talked about and explored by the media. Unfortunately the Voice’s article felt more like a UC press release than an investigative piece that could have explored ongoing concerns and responsibilities. -more-