News Updates

Metropolitan Will Not Renew Lease for Oaks Theater

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Sunday February 07, 2010
Metropolitan Theaters will not renew its lease for Solano Avenue's Oaks Theater.
Five years after taking over Solano Avenue’s Oaks Theater, Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theaters has decided not to renew its lease when it expires at the end of February. -more-

School Board Wants More Information on Equity Grants Before Redirecting Lab Funds

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Friday February 05, 2010
Berkeley High School English teacher Susanna Bell (front left) and other school staffers ask for equity in education during the school board meeting Wednesday.
The Berkeley Board of Education asked for more information from Berkeley High School Wednesday before weighing in on whether it should re-direct parcel tax funds from science labs toward equity grants. -more-

Clinton: U.S. Won't Engage in Swap for Detained UC Berkeley Grads

Bay City News
Thursday February 04, 2010
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ruled out Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion that three American hikers detained by his country be swapped for Iranian citizens held in the United States. -more-


News

Daily Planet Hit by Massive Payroll Fraud

By Becky O’Malley
Thursday February 04, 2010
The Berkeley Daily Planet has discovered that the company that has prepared its payroll for eight years vanished from its Oakland office shortly after the first of this year, leaving behind a trail of unpaid taxes and embezzlement charges. The Planet is not the only victim of what looks like a major fraud and a possible Ponzi scheme worthy of Bernie Madoff—the company claimed that it had more than 100 clients. Most of them are small businesses or nonprofits, and it seems likely that most of them have been stung. The total take could be in the millions of dollars. -more-

University Eyes Printing Plant For New Art Museum

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010
After abandoning plans to construct a new museum, Berkeley Art Musem/Pacific Film Archive announced Wednesday that it is examining the possibility of moving into the former UC Printing Plant at 2120 Oxford St. -more-

Neighbors Emerge Victorious Over Telegraph Ave. Laundromat

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010
Southside Lofts Neighbor Joslyn Rose holds up a  sign at the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting last Thursday.
The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board sided with Southside Lofts residents Thursday when it unanimously denied a use permit for a laundromat at 3095 Telegraph Ave., citing health and safety concerns. -more-

Partisan Position; No Justice At Justice

By Gretchen Gordon and Liz Jackson
Thursday February 04, 2010
Last week Newsweek broke the story that the Justice Department will finally release its long-awaited report on the lawyers who justified the Bush administration’s torture and wiretapping policies. But according to what’s been leaked, the report’s findings aren’t what they used to be. The previous charge of professional misconduct against Office of Legal Council lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee has been replaced by a simple accusation of “poor judgment.” While the report in its original form would have triggered referral to state bar associations for possible disbarment, the new report looks to be about as strong as a slap on the wrist. -more-

Alcohol Permit Process Eases for Downtown Quick-Service Restaurants

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010
If the Berkeley City Council signs off on a recommendation made by the Planning Commission last week, then some quick-service restaurants may soon be able to avoid a cumbersome alcohol permitting process. -more-

Iran May Swap Detained Berkeley Hikers For U.S.-Held Iranian Prisoners

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

School Board Weighs In on BHS Science Lab Proposal

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

Two Berkeley Films Vie for Academy Award

By Gar Smith
Thursday February 04, 2010

SF Symphony and Berkeley’s Pacific Boychoir Win Grammy

Bay City News Service
Thursday February 04, 2010

Body of Berkeley Woman Swept to Sea in Pacifica Recovered

Bay City News Service
Thursday February 04, 2010

Michael Meehan, with a little help from his wife, Becky, was sworn in as Berkeley’s new police chief today at Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse. More than 200 people attended the event, including police chiefs from all over the Bay Area, law enforcement officials, Berkeley city councilmembers and Mayor Tom Bates.

Police Chief Sworn In

Thursday February 04, 2010

A model of the Kapors’ proposal for their new Rose Street home.

North Berkeley Neighbors Protest Scale of Proposed Home, Garage

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

Berkeley Adult School Threatened By Governor’s New Budget

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

AC Transit Gets $15 Million In Federal Funds for Bus Rapid Transit

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

Alameda Voters Reject Proposal to Redevelop Naval Air Station

Bay City News
Thursday February 04, 2010

Berkeley Police Officer Injured in Ashby Avenue Accident

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Thursday February 04, 2010

Remembering Tom Condit

By Stan Woods
Thursday February 04, 2010

Berkeley-Albany YMCA President Fran Gallati was joined by members of the Teen Task Force as he spoke at a ceremony Monday for YMCA Teen Center’s groundbreaking. Located at a former PG&E service station at 2111 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the building was handed over to the Berkeley YMCA in October 2007 to be developed into a safe place for teenagers to spend time after school. 	The $2.1 million, 8,000-square-foot building is PG&E’s largest corporate charitable contribution to date. 
                    	The building is currently going through extensive renovation work and is expected to open this year.

YMCA Teen Center

Thursday February 04, 2010

Miguel Perez Bounce, an artist with Trust Your Struggle Collective, works on the group’s mural at La Peña Cultural Center on Wednesday. La Peña will hold a dedication for the yet-to-be-named mural as part of its 35th anniversary celebration at noon Sunday at the center at 3105 Shattuck Ave. Admission is free.
Michael Howerton
Miguel Perez Bounce, an artist with Trust Your Struggle Collective, works on the group’s mural at La Peña Cultural Center on Wednesday. La Peña will hold a dedication for the yet-to-be-named mural as part of its 35th anniversary celebration at noon Sunday at the center at 3105 Shattuck Ave. Admission is free.

Editorials

Reader Commentaries

Letters to the Editor

Thursday February 04, 2010

‘Avatar’: Tree Speech on the Silver Screen?

By Jessica Schley
Thursday February 04, 2010

Wind Turbines Continue To Kill Birds

By Golden Gate Audubon Society
Thursday February 04, 2010

Warren Mar Is Wrong about KPFA/Pacifica

By Mara Rivera
Thursday February 04, 2010

Disheartening Commentary by Mar

By Richard Phelps
Thursday February 04, 2010

The Upside of Hell

By H. Scott Prosterman
Thursday February 04, 2010

ABAG and Downtown Development

By Revan Tranter
Thursday February 04, 2010

SOSIP—Berkeley Planners’ Latest Acronym

By Merrilie Mitchell
Thursday February 04, 2010

Solar Radiation Management: Dr. Strangelove’s Fix for Global Warming

By Vivian Warkentin
Thursday February 04, 2010

Columnists

Dispatches From the Edge: Stories From The Year That Was

By Conn Hallinan
Thursday February 04, 2010

Undercurrents: Quan, Dellums Put the Slowdown on the Perata Machine

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Thursday February 04, 2010


                    Phi Omega Pi house, 2601 Le Conte Ave., was designed by B. Reede Hardman in 1928.

East Bay Then and Now: Ghosts of Old Greeks Populate Campus Northside

By Daniella Thompson
Thursday February 04, 2010

About the House: A Few Thoughts on Working With Contractors

By Matt Cantor
Thursday February 04, 2010

Courting Laysan albatrosses on Tern Island, Hawai'i.

Wild Neighbors: Old as an Albatross

By Joe Eaton
Thursday February 04, 2010

Arts & Entertainment

Arts Calendar

Thursday February 04, 2010

Marsh Berkeley Opens With Reed Solo Show

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Thursday February 04, 2010

Events Calendar

Community Calendar

Thursday February 04, 2010