Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO, (AP) -- Nearly a dozen times over the past century, San Francisco voters have rejected ballot measures to support a takeover of the city's privately run electrical system. But advocates of public power haven't given up their goal of wresting control from Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and this year are linking support of the measure to combating global warming and securing energy independence. Proposition H would amend the city charter to require that San Francisco get 51 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2017, 75 percent by 2030 and...

BOSTON — The treasurer of Massachusetts has asked the federal government about lending Massachusetts money under the same favorable terms it has given banks and firms during the financial crisis.

It's Groundhog Day in Berkeley: Tom Bates and Shirley Dean, battle-scarred veterans of East Bay politics, are in another slugfest for mayor. The longtime rivals - both now in their 70s - are squaring off for the second time to lead the Bay Area's most progressive, eccentric city. It's Dean's fifth run for mayor and Bates' third, and their second race against each other."If there's any place that's inbred, it's Berkeley," said City Councilwoman Betty Olds, who's preparing to leave office in November. "But I'm endorsing them both because I think they've both been fine mayors."Kriss Worthington, who's served on...

SEATTLE – As part of Seattle's campaign to combat global warming, Mayor Greg Nickels plans car-free days throughout the city. He has enlisted the help of a group of eco-friendly moms to make his latest environmental push forward. Exact details about car-free days and locations will be revealed at the mayor's press conference Wednesday morning, but one of Seattle's favorite beach communities is expected to top the list. On some days you can't find a parking space at Alki Beach, but on one upcoming day people may have Alki all to themselves. "On Sunday, September 7, from 12 to 6...

Berkeley is one of the most affluent, lively cities in the Bay Area, but its downtown looks more like Tombstone, Ariz., on a slow day. Shuttered businesses dot the streets like tumbleweeds in a ghost town: Barnes and Noble. Gateway Computers. UC Theater. Soon to join their grim ranks: Ross Dress for Less and Shoe Pavilion. "Berkeley's downtown plan has resulted in a wonderful, vibrant, mixed-use community. It's called Emeryville," said Will Travis, chairman of the city committee charged with revitalizing the beleaguered commercial district around Shattuck and University avenues. In a few years, downtown Berkeley could look a bit...

As a general rule, political officeholders want their voters to be happy because satisfaction with the economic and social status quo translates into approval of those in office. Cranky voters, on the other hand, are likely to take out that anger, even if misplaced, on Election Day; it's one of the risks that those who pursue political careers must accept. Californians are increasingly gloomy, a new statewide poll finds, and axiomatically, they may be inclined to punish politicians, given the chance. Ironically, however, their only looming opportunity to do so will be a measure on the Feb. 5 presidential primary...

People's Park is a social puzzle that has defied nearly 40 years of attempts by UC Berkeley to solve it, largely because the university and many neighbors see it as a problem but the park's most loyal users treasure it as one of the city's most vibrant open spaces. Now the university as owner of the land is trying a new approach, using a consulting firm to patiently confer with park lovers and shunners in hopes of reaching a consensus on the park's future. The work is as much therapy as planning -- that's how deep the divisions run over...

Beijing — IT was like watching a man try to swim up a waterfall. Professor Tao Xiuao cracked jokes, told stories, projected a Power Point presentation on a large video screen. But his students at Beijing Foreign Studies University didn't even try to hide their boredom. Young men spread newspapers out on their desks and pored over the sports news. A couple of students listened to iPods; others sent text messages on their cellphones. One young woman with chic red-framed glasses spent the entire two hours engrossed in "Jane Eyre," in the original English. Some drifted out of class, ate...

Berkeley sets tough course for its residents to follow to help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in city - In Berkeley's green future, there will be no incandescent lightbulbs, Wedgewood stoves or gas-powered water heaters. The only sounds will be the whir of bicycles and the purr of hybrid cars -- and possibly curses from residents being forced to upgrade all their kitchen appliances. Six months after Berkeley voters overwhelmingly passed Measure G, a mandate to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, the city is laying out a long-term road map for residents, business and...

Maryland is poised to become the first state to agree to bypass the electoral college and effectively elect U.S. presidents by national popular vote under legislation moving briskly toward the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). But the bill comes with a big caveat: It would not take effect until enough other states agree to do the same. "It's a long way from home," said Senate President Thomas Mike V. Miller Jr. (D-Calvert). "I don't know if it will happen in my lifetime."

Promotion irks dead cop’s family: Judge called insensitive to young victims’ pain By Laurel J. Sweet Thursday, November 30, 2006 - Updated: 12:38 AM EST A trial judge who allegedly rolled his eyes and griped while the teary 13-year-old daughter of a slain Medfield cop was before him eulogizing her father has been exalted to the state Appeals Court. Judge Mitchell J. Sikora Jr., 62, wedged through by a 4-3 vote of the Governor’s Council - with only male councilors backing him while their female counterparts rejected him. Kimberly McCarthy, who six years ago was left widowed with five kids...

Few things in Berkeley are as sacred as a coast live oak. The gnarled Berkeley natives are protected by city law, supported by a council resolution and are a favorite of environmentalists. But that might not be enough to save 38 coast live oaks from UC's plan to clear part of a grove next to Memorial Stadium to make way for an athletic training center promised to football coach Jeff Tedford. "Those trees are far more valuable than this passing fancy for a high-priced football coach who may be gone in a season or two," said Joanna Dwyer, who lives...

Most communities would be breaking out the Two-Buck Chuck and organic flaxseed chips at news that Trader Joe's is coming to town. Not Berkeley. In a city famous for its love of specialty gourmet food, irate neighbors are fighting a new Trader Joe's slated for University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, now home to a Kragen outlet. Residents are concerned about traffic, parking, the building blending in with the neighborhood, and the large volume of low-cost alcohol for sale just a few blocks from the UC campus, Berkeley High School and a number of homeless service agencies. Not...

Boy Scouts filed a friend of the court brief with the Supreme Court of the United States this week supporting the reversal of the California Supreme Court's decision in Evans v. Berkeley. As Boy Scouts explained in its brief, “For Boy Scouts, speech is no longer free in Berkeley.” Following Boy Scouts’ victory in Curran v. Mount Diablo Council before the California Supreme Court in 1998, the City of Berkeley decided to punish a group of Sea Scouts by revoking their free use of berth space in the City marina. City Councilmembers made clear that they wanted to punish the...

SANTA MONICA -- Apartment building developers sued the city, seeking to overturn an ordinance that requires them to provide affordable housing. The lawsuit, filed Monday, in Superior Court claims the provision violates clauses of the state and federal constitutions, which prohibit the government from taking private property without providing compensation. The ordinance requires developers with four or more residential units to also build some affordable housing sold at below-market prices, according to the Sacramento- based Pacific Legal Foundation. Money that builders lose constructing below-market homes would be passed along in higher prices for new housing that is not price-controlled, said...

Berkeley's zoning restriction prompts company's relocation. Clif Bar, the natural energy bar company that started in a Berkeley kitchen and grew into a $150 million firm, is leaving Berkeley due, in part, to the city's stringent manufacturing zoning laws. The 150-employee firm will relocate to Alameda in 2008, company spokeswoman Angie Trevor said Tuesday. The move follows an Aug. 1 announcement from another energy bar company, PowerBar, that it will close its Berkeley office in the wake of its takeover by Nestle. "We're sorry to see Clif Bar go," said Mayor Tom Bates. "We tried hard to keep them. But...

BERKELEY - The Berkeley City Council decided Tuesday night to leave the fate of the city's landmarks preservation ordinance up to the voters in November. The ordinance, which had continued with relatively little change since it was adopted in 1974, is one of the strongest in the country. But last month the council approved changes that preservationists claim water the ordinance down. They were especially alarmed by new restrictions on the kinds of structures that qualify for the controversial "structure of merit" designation. The label affords landmark-type protections to structures that fail to rise to landmark status. Critics claimed the...

The day Berkeleyans -- and book lovers all over the Bay Area -- have been dreading finally arrived Monday: Cody's Books closed its landmark store on Telegraph Avenue. Customers tearfully lined up to say goodbye. Margaret Russell, a Constitutional law professor at the University of Santa Clara, handed Cody's owner, Andy Ross, a rose, saying, "This is to thank you for your commitment to freedom of expression." Susan Luneburg drove in from Danville to give Ross sunflowers. "I heard on the radio that this is going to be your last day, and I had to thank you for the many...

While San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan for universal health care in his city, Oakland Mayor-elect Ron Dellums is beginning to explore a similar plan across the bay. Dellums, who was elected this month and takes office Jan. 1, has yet to put forth a plan for how the city would insure Oakland's estimated 80,000 uninsured residents. But his spokesman said Friday that Dellums will rely heavily on the recommendations of a task force he is assembling. Alameda County and Oakland city officials -- and the president of a nonprofit health care philanthropy, the California Healthcare Foundation...

ANNAPOLIS -- State lawmakers voted yesterday to overturn Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of the Democrats' energy plan that will postpone a 72 percent rate increase by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. but forces customers to pay interest on the deferred charges. The company's 1.1 million residential customers will see their bills increase 15 percent on July 1 -- not the 72 percent increase to market rates set earlier this year in a wholesale electricity auction overseen by the utility-regulating Public Service Commission. However, the money customers save will still be owed to the company, and the customers will...