Thursday, May 31, 2007
The East Bay Today: May 31, 2007
Thu, May 31, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Today's Top Event: The annual Kongolese Dance and Drum Conference hosts dance classes, workshops for young people, free lectures and discussions at Laney College and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
Brainiac: Learn something new every day. Today's lecture: Arnie Passman reading from his Scherzofrenia at Book Zoo in Berkeley.
Is It Lunch Yet? Express food critic John Birdsall recommends: Bo's Barbeque in Lafayette.
On the Town: Going out tonight? Looking for outside-the-box house? Check out DJs Dedan and Daniela's diverse vibe at "Brothers & Sisters" at Luka's.
Hardly Working: You've got time. We know how to waste it. Check out It's A Wonderful Internet.
Feed Us: Got an East Bay news tip, photo, video, or link we need to know about? E-mail us.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
You Write Too Long -- This Week's Cover Story Bite-Sized
Kelly Vance — Wed, May 30, 2007 at 4:55 PM
This week, "My Fair Lady": By most accounts, political consultant Sandra Polka is not the best qualified operative in the state, far from it. Says one source about her: "She doesn't have the talent, she doesn't have the charm, she doesn't have the ability." And yet Polka, who until six years ago was bankrupt and living in obscurity, is now one of California's most powerful political fixers. Howcum? She got hooked up with State Senate president pro tem Don Perata, that's howcum. Staff writer Bob Gammon takes a cold, hard look at Sandi Polka and her boss, and the political careers they've made and broken. If it looks like something out of The Godfather, you're right.
J-School Names Next Dean
Education / Media Lauren Gard — Wed, May 30, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Dianne Lynch it is. The online media maven (check out her blog here) and current dean of Ithaca College's school of communication dropped out of the candidacy pool in March, only to rejoin a few weeks ago. On Friday, UC Berkeley Provost George Breslauer sent the following e-mail to the J-school community:
I am delighted to inform you that Dianne Lynch has consented to our recommending to the Regents her appointment as Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism, effective January 1, 2008.
Professor Lynch is excited about the prospect of working with the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of GSJ to advance multiple, ambitious goals for the School.The Regents will not consider this appointment until their mid-July meeting.
I will of course inform Dianne Lynch and all of you immediately thereafter.
So it seems only a formality stands in the way of Lynch's official appointment, which the SF Chronicle covered yesterday.
Grease Trap: Fame's Been Elusive for Oakland, But Beer Might Just do It
Food John Birdsall — Wed, May 30, 2007 at 4:55 PM
The East Bay Today: May 30, 2007
Wed, May 30, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Today's Top Event: Measure of Time, now at the Berkeley Art Museum, examines the broad, abstract notion of time as examined in two, three, and four dimensions, in analogue and digital form.
Brainiac: Learn something new every day. Today's lecture: Immigration: Problems, Concerns, Solutions. Hear testimonials from those affected, discussions of pending legislation, and learn about the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act requests to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek.
Is It Lunch Yet? Express food critic John Birdsall recommends: Caffe 817 in Oakland.
On the Town: Going out tonight? Mind your manners and check out the Rude Boys House of Old School at @ Seventeenth.
Hardly Working: You've got time. We know how to waste it. Check out the Automatic Flatterer.
Feed Us: Got an East Bay news tip, photo, video, or link we need to know about? E-mail us.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The East Bay Today: May 29, 2007
Tue, May 29, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Today's Top Event: Measure of Time, now at the Berkeley Art Museum, examines the broad, abstract notion of time as examined in two, three, and four dimensions, in analogue and digital form.
Brainiac: Learn something new every day. Today's lecture: Best Swimming Holes in Northern California with guidebook author Pancho Doll at REI Berkeley.
Is It Lunch Yet? Express food critic John Birdsall recommends: Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen in Berkeley
On the Town: Going out tonight? Witness the Screamin' Yeehaws tear up the Stork Club.
Hardly Working: You've got time. We know how to waste it. Check out The Last Picture I Ever Took.
Feed Us: Got an East Bay news tip, photo, video, or link we need to know about? E-mail us.
Term-Limits Group Deems Perata "Golden Pig"
Politics Michael Mechanic — Tue, May 29, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Today, U.S. Term Limits, a Virginia group advocating for term-limits legislation, announced its new Golden Pig award, bestowed upon the public servant who acts most in the service of his or her own self-interests. The debut recipient, based on recent reporting by Express staffer Robert Gammon, is (drum roll, please) Don Perata, California state Senate president pro tem. The nonprofit already has it in for the senator over his current attempt, with Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, to extend term limits in California. Perata might have been termed out previously were it not for a favorable decision by his old pal Bill Lockyer, then California attorney general (who was replaced by his old pal Jerry Brown). Now the senator is out in 2008, unless state voters give him a reprieve.
Monday, May 28, 2007
The East Bay Today: May 28, 2007
Mon, May 28, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Today's Top Event: Poetry-slamming champion Sonya Renee headlines tonight's Poetry Express at Berkeley's Priya Indian Cuisine.
Brainiac: Learn something new every day. Today's lecture: At Moe's in Berkeley, encounter Oulipianism if you dare with Ara Shirinyan, editor of Make Now Press and author of Syria Is in the World.
On the Town: Going out tonight? Tired of customer service? Unload at "Working Stiffs," a special night of old-school and rarities for the bar and restaurant staff at Kingman's Lucky Lounge.
Hardly Working: You've got time. We know how to waste it. Check out Wee Planets.
Feed Us: Got an East Bay news tip, photo, video, or link we need to know about? E-mail us.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Buy Curious: A Million Ways to Spend $100
Art / Business / Fashion Fri, May 25, 2007 at 4:55 PM
This week, the (newly independent) gals of Buy Curious hit the streets to find out what Oakland folks would do with some extra cash in their pockets. Can you say "dresses," anyone? Plus, we've got the scoop on some amazing fashion events - from designer sales in SF to poolside shows in Oakland. We dish on the CoCo Times' high school fashion round-up. And we ponder the possibility of retractable heels. Savor it - it's Buy Curious!
Emerging Farm Bill Could Make Frankenfoods Unstoppable
Food / Politics John Birdsall — Fri, May 25, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Be very, very afraid. At The Ethicurean site, Berkeley blogger DairyQueen reports on a predictably horrible turn the 2007 Farm Bill (now being shaped in Congress) may be taking. If new language cooked up by an agriculture subcommittee stands, the secretary of agriculture could override individual states' laws banning or restricting GMOs, otherwise known as Frankenfoods. That means that anti-GMO laws passed at the local level would be null and void.
