East Bay Express

The Colbert Report on 'Marijuana Makes You Skinny' Research

David Downs — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:34:00 -0700

Political satirist and host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report took a look Tuesday at the reports that marijuana improves metabolism, may prevent diabetes and keep people skinny in a segment called "Cheating Death".

"The idea that this stupid ... study could eat into the profits of these great American pharmaceuticals makes my blood boil!"…

Thursday Must Reads: Oakland Council Adopts Transparency Rules for Budget; Berkeley Picks Hayward Supe to be Its New Schools Chief

Robert Gammon — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:03:57 -0700

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. The Oakland City Council has adopted new rules that would prohibit last-minute budget proposals that the public has not had a chance to review, the Trib reports.…

Los Angeles Votes to Cut its Number of Dispensaries by About Two Thirds

David Downs — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:58:00 -0700

Los Angeles voters chose to drastically reduce the number of storefronts selling medical marijuana yesterday, passing Measure D by a wide margin, 62 to 37 percent.

Watchers expected about 20 percent of L.A.'s 2.4 million registered voters to participate in the city's May 21 general election, which included three voter initiatives to regulate medical marijuana stores.…

Wednesday Must Reads: Badly Designed Bolts on Richmond Bridge, Too; Santa Clara to Host Super Bowl

Robert Gammon — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:02:22 -0700

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. Caltrans used the same type of badly designed steel rods that have snapped on the new Bay Bridge in its retrofit of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge a decade ago, the Chron$ reports, citing newly released agency documents.…

Mid-Week Menu: American Oak Reopens, Chez Panisse Soon to Follow; Guest Chef and Sumo Grub Close

Luke Tsai — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0700

Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our weekly roundup of East Bay food news.

1) The Los Angeles Times reports that Chez Panisse (1517 Shattuck Ave.) will reopen on June 21. The iconic Berkeley restaurant has been undergoing significant construction work ever since it suffered an early morning fire on March 8 — one that destroyed much of the restaurant’s facade and front porch area.…

Costly Tax Loophole Remains Open

Darwin BondGraham — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

A reform measure that would end a lucrative tax break for corporations and wealthy investors has stalled in the state legislature. by Darwin BondGraham Every year, wealthy investors and corporations avoid paying millions of dollars in property taxes in California by exploiting a large loophole in state law that homeowners are not allowed to use. Earlier this year, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco authored legislation that would finally close this loophole.…

Frances Ha

Kelly Vance — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Such a gorgeous kid like Greta. by Kelly Vance Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are an ideal match. His sophistication raises her up a notch above her Mumblecore roots, and in return she imparts a charm to his films that they never before possessed.…

A People-Focused Solution

Jean Tepperman — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Restorative justice programs may offer the best new hope for reducing violence in Oakland schools and the city overall, but their future funding is uncertain. by Jean Tepperman Students at Montera Middle School in Oakland said the school's eighth-grade class was full of "drama" earlier this year. There had been a fight between two girls, and the conflict had broadened to the girls' friends.…

Bad Training by OPD Led to Three Deaths

Robert Gammon — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

An arbitrator rules that poor training by the Oakland Police Department — not poor decisions by police commanders — led to the deaths of two officers and a murder suspect. by Robert Gammon Over the years, the Oakland Police Department has come under intense criticism for failing to discipline officers who engage in misconduct or make grave errors that unnecessarily put people in harm's way. In the fall of 2010, however, then-Police Chief Anthony Batts decided that conduct by two department commanders was bad enough to merit a strong reprimand, and recommended to then-City Administrator Dan Lindheim that the officers be demoted.…

The Art and Science of the Grilled Cheese

Luke Tsai — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

We sampled three versions: at The Melt, Sacred Wheel Cheese Shop, and Bar Dogwood. by Luke Tsai If there were a Hall of Fame for classic American comfort foods, the grilled cheese sandwich would surely be a first-ballot inductee. Yet whenever I see the melty, buttery object of childhood nostalgia on a restaurant menu, I feel skeptical.…

What Maisie Knew

Kelly Vance — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

And when she knew it. by Kelly Vance Six-year-old Maisie, the protagonist of What Maisie Knew (played by Onata Aprile), lives in a deluxe Manhattan flat with her warring parents Susanna (Julianne Moore), a horridly selfish rock music singer, and Beale (Steve Coogan), a like-minded art dealer. But not for long.…

Will Calhoun

Lee Hildebrand — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Life in This World by Lee Hildebrand Will Calhoun announces his entrance on the first track of Life in This World with thunderous rolls around the tom toms: His muscular attack is like that of a hard-rock drummer, but he quickly eases into a swing pattern on the ride cymbal, adding snare and bass drum accents as he and bassist Charnett Moffett stir up a progressively polyrhythmic current behind Wallace Roney's Harmon-muted trumpet and Marc Carey's rippling piano lines. The Moffett composition, titled "Brother Will," suggests the sound of the 1964-68 Miles Davis Quintet.…

Local Licks

Whitney Phaneuf — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

This week, we review Justin Loans, The Wild Kindness, and The Trophy Fire. by Whitney Phaneuf Justin Loans, How to Fake It in America The solo debut from Justin Loans, one-half of Oakland hip-hop duo RnB Millionaires, How to Fake It in America explores the theme No Money Mo Problems.…

A Wild River in Peril?

Robert Gammon — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Environmentalists contend that the Smith River, California's last remaining undammed river, is threatened by a Caltrans proposal to widen two highways along its banks. by Robert Gammon The Smith River is the last remaining major river in California that's still wild: It's never been dammed, so it flows freely and majestically to the Pacific Ocean. Near the Oregon border, the river also runs through one of the state's most beautiful parks — Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which includes a stand of towering old-growth redwoods.…

Daft Punk

Ellen Cushing — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Random Access Memories by Ellen Cushing Random Access Memories is the long-anticipated, mega-hyped fifth album from the famously weird, fabulously talented, cult-favorite French electronic duo Daft Punk. It is, at this point, less a work of art or entertainment than an empty vessel, so thoroughly has it been made — already, before its official release — the subject of handwringing and hype and backlash and anti-backlash and general intrigue and/or consternation for Every Single Person with an Internet Connection and Opinions About Things.…

One-Night Stands

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Repertory film listings for May 23-29, 2013. Thursday, May 23 Heathers (103 min., 1988).…

The Cottage Food Industry Finds a Home at Berkeley's Homemade Market

Luke Tsai — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Plus Genny's BBQ suffers from a fire, and Sumo Grub and Guest Chef shut their doors. by Luke Tsai On a recent Saturday evening in Berkeley, eight vendors set up tables inside the Firehouse Art Collective's hangar-like event space to sell homemade food items, which ranged from chocolate chip cookies to jars of mustard and jam. Before January 1, such an activity would have been illegal.…

Can Pot Help Cure PTSD?

David Downs — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

New research suggests that the main ingredient in marijuana may help alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. by David Downs It is believed that some 7.7 million Americans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Yet current treatments for the sometimes devastating anxiety disorder have limited efficacy.…

Unveiling a Secret City

Azeen Ghorayshi — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

A new film by Spencer McCall offers a peek inside the bygone alternate-reality project the Jejune Institute. by Azeen Ghorayshi The first rule of the Jejune Institute — from its opening in 2008 to the day its doors closed in 2011 — was that you weren't supposed to talk about it. The most you could get out of anyone in the know was that "you just had to do it."…

The Singular Obsession of Colin Herrick

Whitney Phaneuf — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

His Alameda record label, Time Released Sound, specializes in limited-edition handcrafted works of art. by Whitney Phaneuf Even after I spent two hours inside the Alameda art studio/headquarters of music label Time Released Sound, its owner and sole employee, Colin Herrick, was still talking rapidly about the next eight releases he has scheduled through 2014, his sentences exploding like they'd been bottled in his brain for years. Herrick said he spends ten hours a day, seven days a week, inside his small studio working on highly intricate, handmade packaging for his label's limited-edition releases, putting about a month of work into each and averaging one release per month.…

Letters for the Week of May 22, 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

Readers sound off on debt, developers, and disabled parking. "Debtor's Purgatory," Feature, 5/8 Help Is Out There…

Getting Closure

Dan Savage — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

But opening up to crossdressing and watersports. by Dan Savage Twenty-one-year-old female here. When we were both fourteen, my first boyfriend took advantage of me. I wanted to explore my sexuality a little, but things went further than I wanted.…

Snowden

Kathleen Richards — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

No One in Control by Kathleen Richards I first learned of Snowden when the band played Noise Pop many years ago. My friend thought all its songs sounded the same, but secretly, I was developing a huge crush.…

Lightly Treading Fame

Alex Taitague — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

With a new album on Hardly Art and facing a major lineup change, Shannon and the Clams works to stay its weird self. by Alex Taitague Shannon and the Clams is not the kind of band that wears all black. Nor is it the type to have a photographer, stylist, and "concept guy" leading the charge for its publicity.…

The East Bay Poetry Summit Brings Poetry Out of Bookstores and Into People's Homes

Alex Taitague — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

A weekend of poetry parties at various East Bay residences. by Alex Taitague The poems at the reading varied wildly: one poet riffed on the phrase "the possibilities are endless"; another touched on topics like Twitter, the Verizon Guy, and the actress Tippi Hedren; another reader nearly yelled her disaffected Occupy-tinged poetry. The reading — part of a series called Woolsey Heights, one of several curated house readings that occur across the Bay Area — was not an ordinary poetry event: The stage was the living room; the seats were couches, armrests, a bed, and the floor.…