Free Republic

BERKELEY -- Four protesters say they were run out of their camp beneath a huge oak tree on the UC Berkeley campus early this morning by university police who then scooped up the protesters' supplies - including several laptops, sleeping bags and tables -- using a huge dump truck. The raid comes a little more than a month after several tree sitters took up a perch high in the branches of the tree, which the university plans to cut down -- along with dozens of others -- to make room for a new athletic training facility. The on-the-ground campers say...

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...