UC Berkeley physics professor and Nobel laureate George Smoot confirmed Wednesday that he will appear as a contestant on Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.”

Smoot could not reveal specific details about the scheduled air date for his appearance on the show, but when asked about his reaction to being invited as a contestant, Smoot replied, “Well, do you really think it’s appropriate for a Nobel laureate to appear on ‘Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?’”

Berkeley-based Free History Project wants footage from their documentary “The Weather Underground,” removed from an ad created by the American Issues Project that attacks Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Click here to view the full story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m89m0pC_bpY

Passengers traveling on BART’s Richmond line experienced delays in service Wednesday night after BART officials responded to reports of a fire at the North Berkeley BART station.

The fire was reported at approximately 6:47 p.m., however officials found no evidence that a fire occurred, according to BART spokesperson Lynton Johnson.

Service from the North Berkeley to El Cerrito Del Norte stations was shut down until approximately 7:54 p.m., with BART passengers experiencing delays of 20 to 30 minutes.

A memorial for David Hooson, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of geography, will be held on Sunday, Aug. 24 beginning at 2 p.m. in the Heyns Room of the Faculty Club.

Hooson, who died of a heart attack on May 23, specialized in the former Soviet Union and territories that were once under its control. He taught at UC Berkeley for 34 years before retiring in 1997.

In a move to further isolate the four remaining tree sitters in the grove near Memorial Stadium, this morning arborists contracted by the campus began removing certain branches that they say the the sitters used to travel from tree to tree.

Dan Mogulof, the campus’ executive director of public affairs, said the campus has no plans to extract any tree sitters at this time. Supporters of the tree-sit said the arborists, who are being lowered into the trees from cranes, did remove some of the gear and platforms the tree sitters use.

When the campus attempted to remove some tree sitters earlier in the summer, a number were able to evade capture by moving to other trees in the grove. By removing the branches, Mogulof said the campus hopes to isolate the four tree sitters, who are all currently in a single redwood, and prevent them from leaving that tree if the campus makes another attempt to remove them.

“(We will) continue to make things difficult, but not dangerous, for the tree sitters,” Mogulof said.

However, UC Berkeley senior Marcella Sadlowski, a supporter of the tree-sit, said she felt the lives of the tree sitters were in danger.

“Someone will be hurt because of UCPD’s arrogance,” she said. “The bigger picture here is that people’s lives are on the line.”

Matthew Peters reports on the Rent Board elections.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noghqkBFmhk

See the full article here.

A memorial event will be held on Aug. 10 to commemorate the life of Berkeley City Councilmember Dona Spring who passed away last month.

The city-sponsored event will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center Park, located on Martin Luther King Boulevard between Center Street and Allston Street.
Spring, who had been wheel chair-bound for the past two decades, died on July 13 after a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis.

Dennis Walton, who was Spring’s primary care-giver during the past 27 years and who calls himself Spring’s soulmate, said he wanted the memorial to be at the park so it will be wheel chair accessible, saying he expects 40 to 50 people in wheel chairs to attend the ceremony.