I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into a war tax resisters’ meeting Monday evening, but I was surprised to find that among these government-defiers were mild-mannered old ladies, farmers, school children and writers.

The gathering, which was held in a private residence, and the stories the speakers told gave me glimpses into how these people had come to feel so strongly about a cause that they were willing to illegally withhold money from the government.

An immigrant from El Salvador, Julio Serrao, told of how he became a pacifist when the civil war in his home country destroyed his life and left 31 of his family members dead.

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When interviewing members from city governments across different college towns, it was clear that there were differences in how students interact with city government, and the way in which city councils function. But one overarching shared problem across the towns was on housing crises.

Jesse Arreguin, recent Cal grad and Jason Overman, fifth year who ran for city council in 2006, both expressed that as members of the Rent Stabilization Board, they are able to work with both student and non-student residents over the need for affordable housing.

“Rents are very high, not enough student housing, co-op housing and affordable housing is an issue for the broader community,” Arreguin said.

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As I strolled down Telegraph Avenue last Sunday on my way to Moffitt Library with my backpack weighing down on me, I was almost jealous of the sidewalk vendors I passed by. They chatted idly with one another in the sun, as my shoulders sagged under the 20-pound economics textbook in my bag.

After I talked to long-time vendor Diana Yoshida though, I realized I was not the only one with this misconception.

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Wednesday’s Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco was more about protest groups rallying for their cause than it was about the Olympic games.

Whether it was Pro-Tibet, Pro-China, activists against involvement in Darfur, activists for animal rights, or even for bringing back nudity in the Olympic games, everybody had an opinion.

Although thousands of people showed up on the Embarcadero Monday for the event, there was only one I met who was there just to watch the torch relay. (Click here to read more…)

Protests took a creative edge Wednesday evening when more than 150 Berkeley parents, teachers, students and administrators gathered in front of the Old City Hall to oppose the impending budget cuts to California schools.

The tentative cuts are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to close the $14.5 billion state budget deficit by cutting 10 percent of funding to all state programs, which would involve up to a $4.4 billion cut from K-12 education.

The demonstration featured speeches, songs and skits by members of the school community. One group of teachers put on a skit, complete with costumes and masks, depicting the governor and his “yacht-owning” cronies as villains and the school teachers as superheroes. (Click here to read more…)

In light of the national controversy over the Marine recruiting center, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart followed suit by shooting a comedic episode March 10 centered on the controversy. The episode featured shots of the campus, members of Code Pink outside of the recruiting station in downtown Berkeley and an interview between The Daily Show’s correspondent Rob Riggle and Peace and Justice Commission chair Bob Meola.

Meola said he doesn’t watch the show regularly but knew of its comedic purpose and appeal.

“I understood it was a comedy show, and I knew they’d make me a fool,” he said.

The show’s producers had contacted the city of Berkeley and from there, contacted the Peace and Justice Commission. Meola was going to be in New York at the time, so the producers decided to do his segment of the episode before heading to film in Berkeley and the campus.

Meola said his appearance may have been why Riggle decided to dress in costume as a hippie. However, he didn’t know that Riggle was a former Marine.

“They had seen what I looked like and were trying to make an archetypal, anachronistic mid-60’s hippie,” he said.

“We went over so much material, I was disappointed there wasn’t a few things I said I wished had been part of the story,” Meola said. “The level of stupidity was poorly slanted, (and) they could have allowed a more complete thought of opinion.”

The episode is located here.

Although police and school officials say they think gangs do not have a major presence at Berkeley High School, they admit the kids would know most about student membership in West Side Berkeley or H2O Front Berkeley—the two most prominent Berkeley gangs.

“Even in the junior high you’ll pick up notebooks and they’ll have H2O written all over it,” said Berkeley police Sgt. Patricia Delaluna, a gang expert. “The kids know better than anybody who’s all involved.”

However, even students are in discrepancy about the presence of gangs. Two juniors at Berkeley High, Rafi Susman and Michael Salaverry, said they don’t think gangs exist in their school.

“I don’t worry about that, not at Berkeley High,” Salaverry said.

His friend said even though there aren’t gangs at the school, there still is criminal activity.

“There’s gang-like activity but they’re not labeled as gangs,” Susman said. “I think here it’s more about ridiculous individuals than ridiculous gangs.”

However, other students are positive of the presence of gang-like groups, which sometimes engage in criminal behavior but do not label themselves as “gangs.”

“There’s gangs, but sometimes they’re called cliques,” said Cervon Rogers, a freshman at Berkeley High. “Then they say the ‘turf’ they’re from, they do signs, they target each other.”

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When the case seemed cold, homicide detectives in the Berkeley Police Department received an unexpected tip about the 2006 shooting death of Wayne Drummond, Jr. As a result, two men were arrested.

Police have charged Berkeley resident Brandon Crowder, 20, and Richmond resident Nicholas Beaudreaux, 22, with the murder of 23-year-old Drummond, who died on the steps of UC Berkeley sorority, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

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The vote by City Councilmember Kriss Worthington to send an apology to the Marine Corps Feb. 12 surprised Berkeley residents because of its unusually moderate stance.

After several hours of public comment from anti-military and pro-military sides, the Berkeley City Council’s 7-2 vote  clarified their support and respect for military service members but did not include an apology to be sent to the Marine Corps.

Pro-military protesters called for an apology in regards to a letter that was passed Jan. 29 which described the recruiters as “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” This language elicited nationwide response as council members received more than 20,000 e-mails and phone calls in the last two weeks.

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A dance-off held at Barrows Hall on Friday night to promote nonviolence turned into a chain-reaction fight that required UC Berkeley Police to evacuate the building.

Bones Entertainment, a non-profit organization founded by Richmond resident Raashida Manning, hosts “turf wars” where dance groups compete in “turfing,” a kind of dance that combines street dance, hip-hop, popping and mime.

The “Face Off” dance, which started at 6:30 p.m. on the 8th floor of Barrows Hall, had about 400 people in attendance according to police. By 8:30 p.m. it turned into a fight involving around 20 people, but no injuries were reported.

Manning said she started Bones Entertainment two years ago after her nephew was killed. She said she wants to promote nonviolence by giving young dancers a place to compete.

“These kids do this dancing, and there’s not really a place they can go to do this,” Manning said. “I’ve worked with all the dancers in the area and they do it to stay out of trouble.”

Manning said she had five security people at the event Friday. None of her previous four dance-offs turned into fights, she said.

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