Page One

Cody’s President Steps Down

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Once again, changes are afoot for Cody’s Books, with president and three-decade former owner Andy Ross announcing his retirement as president last week and Hiroshi Kagawa, former CEO of the corporation that bought Cody’s, stepping in as interim president and head of a new ownership group. -more-

Council Weighs Condo Conversion Changes, W. Berkeley Auto Sales

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Like spinning straw into gold, turning apartment buildings into individually owned condominiums could be a dream come true. But the law, intended to benefit property owners, renters-turned homeowners and the city’s affordable housing fund, has yet to turn into anything but a headache, people on various sides of the issue say. -more-

East Bay Green Corridor: Industrial Berkeley’s Salvation or Road to Ruin?

By ZELDA BRONSTEIN By ZELDA BRONSTEIN, Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 11, 2007
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part one of a two-part series. -more-

W. Berkeley Zone Change on Commission Agenda

By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Berkeley planning commissioners Wednesday will tackle the controversial issue of what the city calls a new policy of “limited flexibility” in West Berkeley zoning. -more-

Sea Scout Leader Makes Bail; Police Ask Public’s Assistance

By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Suspended Sea Scoutmaster Eugene Austin Evans, charged with multiple counts of abusing youths under his care, was bailed out of jail Friday, pending his arraignment in January. -more-

Updates

Flash: Judge Issues Key Ruling in UC Stadium Lawsuit

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller handed UC Berkeley a legal setback Monday evening, denying its claimed exemption from state law governing buildings on earthquake faults. -more-

News

Barbara Lee Endorses Obama for President

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Breaking with mentor and former boss Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Rep. Barbara Lee announced her endorsement for Sen. Barack Obama for president Monday. -more-

Landmarks Commission Approves Shattuck Hotel Revamp

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve the rehabilitation and alteration of the exterior of the Shattuck Hotel. -more-

OUSD Considers Moving Forward with New Complex

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The Oakland Unified School District interim state administrator and—with one notable exception—the members of Oakland’s Board of Education have agreed to take up consideration of a proposed $75.5 million education complex on the east lake site currently occupied by the district’s aging and earthquake-unsafe administrative headquarters and five district-run education institutions. -more-

Q & A With Oakland Councilmember Wilson Riles

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Editors Note: In the months since the inauguration of Ron Dellums as mayor of Oakland, the Dellums administration has been the subject of criticism, most of it from the center and right. Dellums’ most notable criticism from the left—particularly on economic development issues—has come from former Oakland City Councilmember Wilson Riles, charging, for example, that Dellums has turned over his economic policy to the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. -more-

People’s Park: Competition or Cooperation?

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday December 11, 2007
It’s competition vs. cooperation at People’s Park. -more-

Trees vs. Security at Berkeley High School

By RIO BAUCE, Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Last week at Berkeley High School (BHS) two of the school’s 209 trees, those in front of the on-campus first-floor entrance to the divide between the G and H buildings, were trimmed to prevent growth that would block security cameras. -more-

YWCA Touches Lives Through the Giving Tree Project

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday December 11, 2007
In a small backroom of the UC Berkeley YWCA, Santa’s little helpers are hard at work. -more-

Police Blotter

By RIO BAUCE
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Assault with a deadly weapon -more-

Critics Ask for More Time to Consider Lab Projects

By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
Tuesday December 11, 2007
A prominent environmental attorney and a Berkeley neighborhood activist are asking UC Berkeley to extend the review period for two projects at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. -more-

UC Berkeley Laguna Street Extension Nominated for National Register

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The State Historical Resources Commission unanimously voted to list the UC Berkeley Extension Laguna Street Campus as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places at its meeting in Palm Springs last month. -more-

Zoning Board Hears Complaints About Alta Bates Parking Violations

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Neighbors of the Alta Bates Medical Center at 2450 Ashby Ave. are planning to complain about the hospital staff’s parking violations at the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting Thursday. -more-

In Memoriam: Andrew Imbrie

By Robert P. Commanday, San Francisco Classical Voice
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Andrew Imbrie, distinguished composer and senior in the Bay Area’s community of composers and teachers of composition, died Wednesday at his home in Berkeley after a long illness. He was 86. -more-

Governor Comes to Oakland to Boost Foreclosure Project

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR
Tuesday December 11, 2007
In a renewal of the growing political alliance between moderate Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and progressive Democratic Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Schwarzenegger came to Oakland last week to announce the launching of a pilot project to help Oakland homeowners hit hard by the nation's subprime lending and home foreclosure crisis. -more-

Andy Ross, left, and Hiroshi Kagawa announced the sale of Cody’s Books to Yohan, Inc. in September 2006. Last week Ross retired as president of Cody’s. Kagawa will serve as interim president.
Andy Ross, left, and Hiroshi Kagawa announced the sale of Cody’s Books to Yohan, Inc. in September 2006. Last week Ross retired as president of Cody’s. Kagawa will serve as interim president.

Editorials

Why Some Kids Go Bad

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Possibly a weekend front page editor with a sense of irony laid out the big metro daily I saw on Sunday. At the top of the page was an all-to-familiar story about young black men destroyed by absentee parenting and the allure of street life. It featured the obligatory map of Oakland. “OAKLAND: A PLAGUE OF KILLING” was the overline. And the subhead: “Trapped in a bleak world where drugs and violence offer a chance for money and respect, many young black men quickly resort to murder.” -more-

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday December 11, 2007

Who Owns The Commons?

By Thomas Lord
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Who “owns” the commons is, indeed, the right question but we must ask it clearly. There are two, relevant meanings of “own” in modern English: Ownership in rights, and ownership in disposition. Children use the latter sense when, for example, one might say “A-ha—I owned you in that videogame,” meaning that the speaker’s skills were so fabulous the competitor couldn’t do much. -more-

Options Recovery Services — Fighting the Good Fight

By George Beier
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Dan McMullan’s charges against Options Recovery (see last Tuesday’s Commentary) are simply baseless and cannot go unchallenged. -more-

Who Benefits From the Surge?

By Kenneth Thiesen
Tuesday December 11, 2007
Ever since the Bush regime began its escalation of the war in Iraq by sending tens of thousands of more troops this year, media pundits and politicians have been debating whether the “surge” is working. In the last couple months, the administration and it apologists are claiming that the escalation has been working and that more time should be allowed to give the Bush regime the chance to prove that the “new strategy” will be successful. But the debate has been waged entirely on the wrong terms. -more-

A 2020 Vision for Berkeley Education

By Santiago Casal and Michael Miller
Tuesday December 11, 2007
We are blessed to live in a community with international renown for having one of the most prestigious universities in the world. We are also blessed in that we nurture some students in our own K-12 schools who are sought after by some of the most elite universities in the country. -more-

Columnists

2007: The War in Iraq

Tuesday December 11, 2007
During 2007, the major news item continued to be the war in Iraq. On Jan. 4, the 110th Congress convened—the first time during the Bush administration Democrats had controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many of us expected this changing of the guard would produce a shift in Iraq policy, a real plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Sadly, this didn’t happen; the war not only continued, but President Bush upped the number of troops with his “surge” initiative. At year’s end, many Berkeley residents wondered whether it was possible to change anything while Bush was still in office. -more-

Arboreal Estate and a Yule Tradition: Mistletoe

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday December 11, 2007
One of the several “pagan” plants that appear all over in the midwinter holiday season is one that lives in trees: mistletoe. It’s Frazer’s eponymous Golden Bough. -more-

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Tuesday December 11, 2007
TUESDAY, DEC. 11 -more-

Classical Music Shop Celebrates Busoni

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The premiere recording of Ferruccio Busoni’s Complete Two Piano Works (EMI/Angel) will be celebrated by the Musical Offering (Bancroft Avenue below Telegraph), this Wednesday 5-7 p.m., with a reception for and signing by pianists Daniell Revenaugh of Berkeley and Lawrence Leighton Smith, currently musical director of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. -more-

Shift Theatre, BHS Present ‘Noises Off’

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 11, 2007
“I’m going to do something wrong here ...” Those ominous words, emblazoned on the cover of the program to the Shift Theatre/Berkeley High School Drama production of Michael Frayn’s backstage bungler, Noises Off, telegraph the message of this non-message play clearly. And a great deal is going to be done wrong. Repeatedly. That’s the whole show. -more-

The Life and Music of a Legendary Singer-Songwriter

By Art Goldberg, Special to the Planet
Tuesday December 11, 2007
One of the most enjoyable and inspiring films I’ve seen in a long time comes to Berkeley for one day only, this Thursday, Dec. 13 at the California Theater, a benefit for the local Gray Panther chapter. Screenings are at 2 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $10. -more-

Nuclear Power in the Wake of Chernobyl

Tuesday December 11, 2007
Living With Chernobyl: The Future of Nuclear Power, a new documentary by Berkeley filmmakers and journalists Cliff Orloff and Olga Shalygin, will air at 11 p.m. Thursday on KQED Channel 9. -more-

Events Calendar

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday December 11, 2007