Featured events- 08/28/2013 - Free Outdoor Screening in the BAM/PFA Sculpture Garden
- 08/27/2013 - MARK EPSTEIN / The Trauma of Everyday Life
- 08/24/2013 - The goat Rodeo Sessions
- 08/03/2013 - Book Signing and Discussion with Dave Kehr, followed by The Lawless Breed
- 06/24/2013 - BERKELEY PRIDE 365! First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage…
Daily Archives: November 1, 2012
Op-Ed: Vote yes on Measure A1
It’s one thing to debate the issues and quite another to spread misinformation or outright lies about current ballot initiatives. Whatever your opinion of Measure A1 (and I hope everyone votes YES!), we need to hold people accountable to the truth. Sadly, Ms. Taylor of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) in her post of Nov. 1 has resorted to continued misinformation and simple lies.
The Oakland Zoo is a community-benefit, non-profit institution that is owned by the City … Continue reading »
The Berkeley Wire: 11.01.12
Dusty cars. Photo: neocles
UC Berkeley Police Chief Mitch Celaya announces his retirement (Mercury News)
Cal researchers, community team up to eliminate toxic chemicals (Daily Cal)
Berkeley residents want pot club out of neighborhood (Mercury News)
Berkeley High football team defeats Bishop O’Dowd (Mercury News)
A look back: Country Club planned as center of social life (Mercury News)
BHS political club hosts mayoral forum (BHS Jacket)
Liberal Berkeley may fine homeless $75 for sitting down (AlterNet)
Tagged The Berkeley Wire
5-year old is youngest donor to Berkeley’s A Better Way
By Julia Clare
When Chase Worthington, 5, and his family were planning his lemonade stand in August 2012, they talked at length about what to do with the earnings from his first business venture. He wanted to give half of the lemonade and cookie sales to charity, and his main criteria was to “choose a place that helped kids.” By researching local children’s organizations, Chase and his parents learned about A Better Way’s services to foster and adoptive families in Berkeley and the Bay Area. This sounded like a good match for Chase’s first philanthropic investment.
The lemonade stand, held on a warm late-summer afternoon in Berkeley, was wildly successful. Chase and his family made fresh-squeezed lemonade out of dozens of lemons donated by neighbors and baked six dozen cookies. Friends and neighbors came out in droves to support the endeavor, and Chase was unable to meet all of the demand. Hwas sold out in less than two hours. In the end, Chase’s stand brought in a total of $54, half of which would be donated to A Better Way, making Chase the youngest donor to the organization to date. … Continue reading »
Tagged A Better Way
Op-Ed: We can do better with civil sidewalks
My support for Measure S, the Berkeley Civil Sidewalks ordinance, was not an easy decision for me. I came to it after many hours of conversation with people from all parts of the community, and a careful reading of the ordinance to see what it actually does and doesn’t do.
I have come to the conclusion that Measure S is good for Berkeley. It helps all our residents, and balances rights and responsibilities in three important areas:
Measure S is being done … Continue reading »
Op-Ed: Measure S doesn’t measure up
“Helps People. Saves Jobs.” This is the campaign slogan in favor of Measure S, the “Civil Sidewalks” ordinance on Berkeley’s ballot next Tuesday. Proponents argue that by banning sitting in commercial areas during business hours, Measure S will increase economic activity and help homeless people access social services. Like anyone who lives in Berkeley, we have grappled with issues related to homeless people on the sidewalks. A law that would help people get the services they need and help the economy sounded good to us.
Then … Continue reading »
Op-Ed: Vote No on Alameda County Parcel Tax, Measure A1
The Oakland Zoo claims it needs more money to care for its animals and keep educational programs going. But the Oakland Tribune reports that the zoo’s operating budget is close to balanced and, when asked, zoo officials were unable to produce long-range financial projections to justify a new parcel tax. The zoo is planning a $72 million expansion further into Knowland Park, where the zoo is now located. The zoo claims that $40 million has been set aside for this … Continue reading »
School board race: Candidates vie for two open seats
In most years, an incumbent running for school board in a well-regarded school district would be considered a shoo-in. But the storm over the unfilled Berkeley Unified superintendent post jeopardizes Beatriz Leyva-Cutler‘s run for re-election. Leyva-Cutler faces stiff competition from Judy Appel and Tracy Hollander in the race for two open school board seats. A fourth candidate, Norma Harrison, is running a symbolic, non-serious campaign.
Leyva-Cutler, Appel and Hollander are not seeking dramatic change for Berkeley schools. That’s understandable. The recent statewide API results show good improvements in the schools, there’s been some progress in closing the achievement gap, and the district has managed to build a financial reserve that should guard against the harshest budget consequences if Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 fails to pass on Tuesday.
Without major policy differences, the candidates are stressing their own perspectives and skills.
“You can’t find another community member so vested in our schools,” Leyva-Cutler said. “I’ve been involved in early childhood education for over 30 years.” … Continue reading »
Authorities searching for deer shot by arrow in Berkeley
Residents in the Berkeley hills are on the lookout for a doe that appears to be wandering around with an arrow sticking out of her torso.
Young-Eun Choi , who lives on Campus Drive, spotted the wounded and weakened deer Wednesday morning and took some photos of her eating.
“The head of the arrow had gone through the body but the tail of the arrow was still on the opposite side, leaving the arrow stuck in the deer,” Choi’s husband, Yun S. Song, a professor of computer science and statistics at UC Berkeley, said in an email sent to neighbors. “Although not focused, the photos clearly show the red/white tail of the arrow. The doe was still alive, but moving very slowly, obviously in great pain. Moreover, it had a fawn following it. Unfortunately we cannot locate where they are at present.” … Continue reading »
Photo gallery: A haunted Berkeley on Halloween
Berkeley got its spook on this week with haunted houses, a horror film festival, kids in costume, pets dressed up and, of course, candy. See images in the gallery below that were generously shared by community members in response to our request (click on “Show Info” for captions and credits). You can still share photos with us. Find out how. We’ll update this gallery if more photographs come in. Scroll down for more Halloween fun.
Related:
Share … Continue reading »
Tagged Halloween in Berkeley
Police Blotter: Recent crime in Berkeley
The calls for service spreadsheet is available on Google Docs. (Please note that the numbers reflected in the report are only a snapshot of what occurs in the City of Berkeley. The numbers are considered for informational purposes only and should not be used for data analysis or comparison to other agencies. Cases may be reclassified after further review of the incident, by supervisors, investigating detectives or the District Attorney as appropriate.)
See also the San Francisco Chronicle’s regularly published list of arrests in Berkeley. For other sources of information on crime in Berkeley see BPD’s CrimeView Community and Crimemapping.com. … Continue reading »
