If approved, the restraining order would prohibit the two-day strike planned by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299. According to a statement released by the UC Office of the President on Friday, strikes that pose an imminent threat to public health and safety are illegal under state law, and the university believes the strike would improperly withhold health care from the public.

Dianne Klein, a UC spokesperson, said that if the union cared about patient safety, it would not endanger patients by striking.

“This (strike) is one of their tactics to get what they want, which is a special deal for their workers,” Klein said. “That is not only unfair but fiscally irresponsible.”

The strike comes amid ongoing contract negotiations that began in June 2012. The university proposed a pension reform that would increase contributions toward pension benefits from both the university and employees, but AFSCME 3299 rejected these reforms, arguing that the university is prioritizing pensions over patient care.

According to Todd Stenhouse, spokesperson for AFSCME 3299, the university is prioritizing executive pension benefits instead of adequate patient care and staffing.
“We are seeing the university cut corners in ways that are so dangerous for patients,” said Kathryn Lybarger, president of AFSCME 3299.

AFSCME 3299 has established a Patient Protection Task Force to care for patients during the strike, but that it is something in which the university refuses to participate, according to Stenhouse.

During pension reform negotiations, AFSCME 3299 asked for caps on executive pension benefits, which the university would not discuss, according to Lybarger.

“Right now, these executives are going to retire on upwards of $300,000,” Lybarger said. “That’s a lot of money to live on for doing nothing.”

The university filed a similar restraining order in July 2008 in response to a planned AFSCME 3299 strike. The court approved the restraining order, but the union went ahead with the strike.

“If the court says you are prohibited from striking and they go ahead and do it anyway, they are breaking the law,” Klein said. “We hope there is not a strike. We are prepared for one.”

University Professional and Technical Employees, another UC medical workers union, also held a demonstration Wednesday at the five UC medical centers.

AFSCME 3299 also held a sit-down protest at Wednesday’s UC Board of Regents meeting in Sacramento, resulting in the arrest of 13 demonstrators.

“We are in this fight to win real patient protection,” Lybarger said. “It’s not an option to emerge from this fight without having won real gains for our patients.”

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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A complaint was filed on May 2 through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Nahla Droubi, the landlord of the property that houses the dispensary. The lawsuit threatens to seize the property for allegedly violating federal law, which prohibits operating a marijuana dispensary.

Berkeley City Council members and representatives from Berkeley Patients Group held a press conference Wednesday afternoon in front of the Old City Hall expressing their opposition to the lawsuit.

“There is no legitimate reason to target Berkeley Patients Group,” said Sean Luse, chief operations officer at BPG. “They’re in compliance with state law. The U.S. attorney general … has chosen to hurt our patients by diverting attention from the real issues.”

Berkeley Patients Group also came into opposition with the federal government in February 2012, when it received letters from the U.S. attorney’s office for violating a federal law banning dispensaries from being located within 1,000 feet of a school. Even though California law dictates that the distance only has to be 600 feet, the dispensary voluntarily closed down and reopened at a new location in December a few blocks away.

According to the complaint, the U.S. attorney began sending Droubi letters again in November 2012 before the new location opened, warning that the new location would be in violation of the same federal law by being within 1,000 feet of two preschools. A second letter sent in February noted that the group could face criminal and civil penalties if operation continued.

Luse said that the federal government should focus its attention on other crime problems in the city, like illegal drug and gun trafficking. He also said that they plan to fight the lawsuit.

“We look forward to having our day in court and believe we will ultimately prevail,” Luse said.

City Councilmembers Darryl Moore, Kriss Worthington, Laurie Capitelli and Jesse Arreguin voiced their backing of Berkeley Patients Group at the press conference. Mayor Tom Bates also showed his support for the dispensary.

“I’m very, very disappointed that this has happened, and we’ll do anything we can to make sure they get back into business,” Bates said.

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said that the federal government was overstepping its boundaries, referencing the recent California Supreme Court ruling on City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center. In the ruling, the court recognized the legality of medical cannabis dispensaries but allowed that local governments may ban dispensaries despite state law.

“Being a U.S. attorney doesn’t give you the right to change state law or city law,” Worthington said. “It’s so absurd. It’s a waste of time, and it’s threatening patient care.”

In the meantime, the dispensary will remain open, according to Henry Wykowski, attorney for Berkeley Patients Group.

“The only people that would benefit from the closing of Berkeley Patients Group are the gangs and cartels,” Wykowski said. “This action will cause them to prey on the patients who now have a clean, safe place to get their medicine.”

The federal government filed a similar lawsuit against a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland last July. The city of Oakland filed a lawsuit in response, claiming that the federal government had overstepped its jurisdiction. A federal judge later dismissed the lawsuit, saying that only the dispensary and its landlords could contest the government’s seizure of property.

Wykowski said that they intend to file a claim in response to the lawsuit and will also present their case in court.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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The protest, organized by a mix of students in various Jewish student groups, started with around 20 people and grew to around 30 as passing students joined. The students linked arms across the central entrance of Sather Gate in protest of the ASUC Senate’s passing of SB 160, a bill that urges the divestment of ASUC and university funds from companies related to the Israeli armed forces.

The bill triggered immense controversy and was passed 11-9 after a 10-hour public comment session.

“We’re protesting against what the ASUC did,” said Baruch Nutovic, a protester and a former editor in chief of the Berkeley Jewish Journal. “We tried to put forward an alternative bill. It was completely rejected.”

On Wednesday, the ASUC tabled SB 160′s alternative bill, SB 158, which called for the ASUC to help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, acknowledging the harm inflicted on both sides and supporting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. If passed, SB 158 would also indicate that the ASUC supports a two-state solution.

“We want (SB 160) repealed,” said Jacob Lewis, a protester and former president of Tikvah: Students for Israel. “(The) narrative put forth by this bill is completely ignoring the Israeli side.”

The protesters placed duct tape over their mouths, held Israeli flags and handed out fliers that read, “Do not silence our voices.”

“A lot of people on campus don’t really know what is going on,” said Grant Fineman, a recently elected ASUC senator who participated in the protest. “(There) is a silent majority who don’t know anything about it.”

Nick Slater, who works in the campus financial aid department, was walking by the rally when he stopped to discuss with protesters his opposition to the protest’s message. While he opposed their anti-divestment stance, he said there should be recognition of both sides.

“A lot of Jewish students feel that their stories aren’t being recognized,” Slater said. “I accept that. I want to see a solution which recognizes the interests of Israelis and Palestinians.”

ASUC Senator Sadia Saifuddin, who co-sponsored SB 160, expressed similar sentiments.

“I commend the college and the community for moralizing and being able to express that side (of the debate),” Saifuddin said. “It adds to the diversity at Cal.”

However, Arielle Gabai,  a protester and a former president of the Jewish Student Union, said that the climate on campus remains tense and hostile toward Jewish students and those who oppose divestment.

“It’s unacceptable that Berkeley calls itself such a beautiful, diverse place (that is) accepting of all communities, except for one,” Gabai said.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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Pioneers in Engineering, a student-run engineering organization that promotes STEM education in Bay Area high schools, won the grand prize in the Zipcar Students with Drive contest for holding an annual robotics competition for local high schools.

“We were extremely happy, satisfied, surprised,” said Samuel Fung, a UC Berkeley sophomore and member of PIE. “(We were) glad our strategy to wait to the end to push ahead worked.”

PIE holds the seven-week competition, with more than 200 high school students testing robots alongside UC Berkeley undergraduate mentors in a series of challenges. George Anwar, a lecturer in the College of Engineering and faculty sponsor for PIE, has attended the robotics competition almost every year and said that, while the competition’s facilities are small, they are always packed with parents and friends.

“My hopes are that this catches on on other campuses, that other universities will follow in terms of having this as a sample,” Anwar said.

Zipcar paired with the Ford Motor Company to hold a contest that awards a total of $300,000 among student organizations in Zipcar-eligible schools to support activities in academics, arts, athletics, student life and community service. PIE was selected out of 35 groups nationwide for the grand prize competition. The grand prize winner is determined by votes on Facebook, and PIE emerged victorious with more than 4,500 votes.

Fung said PIE, competing against nationwide organization Camp Kesem, was not expecting to win. However, Fung added that the group won by about 50 votes, just scraping by with the support of their fellow UC Berkeley students.

“We really want to promote education to these underprivileged schools, and we appreciate how supportive (UC Berkeley students) are,” Fung said.

PIE received $5,000 in Zipcar credits; $10,000 in cash for the organization and $10,000 for the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. Fung said the contest money will help PIE provide robot building kits to 24 high schools and transport undergraduate mentors to teach high school students how to build the robots.

“They’re a very inspiring student group,” said Fiona Doyle, executive associate dean at the College of Engineering. “They are one of our new student groups, and they’ve grown very quickly. They’re having a lot of impact by doing outreach to schools.”

PIE will kick off its annual robotics competition on Sunday, March 2, at Lawrence Hall of Science.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Pioneers in Engineering won the grand prize with over 10,000 votes. In fact, the group won with over 4,500 votes.

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World Book Night is an event that aims to spread literacy and a love for reading by giving free books to nonreaders or to people who have limited access to libraries. This is the second year the event will be held in the United States, marking the birthday of William Shakespeare on April 23. In the East Bay, a number of Berkeley bookstores are gearing up for the event, including Moe’s Books, Mrs. Dalloway’s and Pegasus Books.

“We want people to read a book (and) engage in conversation,” said Carl Lennertz, an executive director of World Book Night in the United States. “It’s a very focused, targeted campaign focused in communities.”

For those involved, World Book Night is a way to share and spread a love of literature while helping a number of local communities.

“The purpose is to get books into the hands of people who are light readers, to have a conversation with someone who’s read the book and get excited,” said Ann Leyhe, co-owner of Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore.

An independent panel of booksellers and librarians selected 32 books. The books’ target audience is adult and teenage readers, an age group lacking in literacy programs, according to Lennertz. Titles include popular novels like “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Lightning Thief” and “Bossypants.”

The East Bay is ranked No. 6 among regions in the country for greatest number of event volunteers. Volunteers from across the country, called “givers,” applied starting last November. They will choose one of the 32 books and a location for distribution. Locations include the BART station, prisons, parks, food banks and nursery homes. The givers will pick up their 20 free, not-for-resale book copies at a nearby bookstore, library or other pickup spot.

“These volunteers are so passionate and wonderful and enthusiastic about the chance to share their love of reading with someone else,” Lennertz said.

Some Berkeley bookstores will have special events, including a talk by an author of one of the selected books. Michael Lewis, author of “Moneyball,” will talk about the importance of reading, Leyhe said.

Some bookstores have held events to bring the volunteers together. Moe’s is giving away $10 gift certificates to participants, and this week, Diesel Bookstore in Oakland had a party with pie and cider for volunteers picking up their 20 books.

The hope is that as World Book Night happens each year, more and more people will know about the event and be able to sign up early on.

“It’s gaining momentum,” said Gina Lewis-Lee, promotions manager at Pegasus Books. “We do expect it will be even larger next year.”

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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Russia has banned UC Berkeley professor of law John Yoo from entering the country for his connection to the alleged torture of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, according to an announcement Saturday.

Yoo was among 18 Americans banned by the Eastern European nation, apparently in response to the United States’ ban of 18 Russian officials for alleged human rights violations. Russia’s list included Yoo, who was a Department of Justice official under former president George W. Bush and is notorious for his issuance of a 2003 memo that allowed the use of contentious questioning tactics on Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

“My conservative friends are intensely jealous that I was honored by the Russian government over the weekend,” Yoo said in a statement posted on Ricochet.com.

Curt Wechsler, a member of the organization The World Can’t Wait and editor of the blog Fire John Yoo!, pointed out what he sees as the hypocrisy of an American ban on “war criminals” from other countries while UC Berkeley allows Yoo to teach at its law school. Wechsler said he views Yoo as a war criminal.

“I think that it should be extended to any other country on Earth,” Wechsler said of Russia’s ban on Yoo. “He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere. He should be brought up to trial and given a fair trial. (Knowing) what we know, he should be removed from the faculty.”

The United States banned 18 Russian officials for their involvement in the imprisonment of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in jail in 2009. Congress passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012 to punish Russian officials who were allegedly involved with the prisoner’s death for their violation of human rights.

Yoo, for his part, did not seem particularly concerned about the ban or its implications for the U.S.-Russia relationship.

“But seriously, I couldn’t go to Russia during the Cold War, and I can’t go now,” Yoo said in his post. “What’s the difference these days in regimes? Obama has as much chance of resetting relations with Putin as he would have with Stalin.”

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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Berkeley Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Team organized the annual drill to promote community preparedness in the event of a disaster. The one-day event will include light search-and-rescue CERT classes and neighborhood group exercises.

“It can be an individual, community, business — it’s open to everybody,” said Aaron Lee, assistant fire chief at Berkeley Fire Department. “Last year, we had 900 participants. We’re trying to double that.”

The event, which will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include a meeting at noon at the Frances Albrier Community Center to go over disaster preparation. The event also urges citizens to register for the Berkeley Emergency Notification System, a system that calls residents with alerts about city emergencies.

This year’s drill will focus on fire prevention and damage assessment, according to Matt Mitchell, a board member of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association. Neighborhood groups will participate in setting up a simulated command center, sending people to the fire department, checking home fire extinguishers and first-aid kits and performing simulated checks for building damage or injuries.

“When the earthquake hits, (people can) go around the neighborhood to see if everyone’s OK, put out the fires if they can,” Mitchell said.

CERT and the fire department have been spreading the word with banners around the city, sending thousands of fliers home with students and handing out pamphlets at senior centers, farmers markets and the BART station. Mitchell said that the city has had other smaller emergency drills in the past, but this is the best outreach attempt he has seen yet.

“This year, we’ve put out a greater effort,” Mitchell said.

The City Council has also been meeting to discuss how to spend funds that go toward spreading awareness about disaster preparedness and providing supply kits to caches around the city, according to Councilmember Jesse Arreguin.

“(Council members) are not just policymakers (but also) outreachers and community organizers,” Arreguin said.

Arreguin highlighted the lack of preparedness in West and South Berkeley due to the fact that emergency caches are predominantly distributed in the Berkeley Hills. He added that he and other council members are currently trying to let community members know about the citywide drill by sending out alerts on email lists and working with existing disaster-preparedness groups.

“By increasing funding, by doing more outreach and providing more research, we can do a better job of making sure our community is prepared in the event of a national disaster,” Arreguin said.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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The Berkeley Public Library closed two branches, South and West, for demolition in 2012. The South Branch has been shut down since March 19, 2012, for 14 months of construction and has now been completely rebuilt.

“It’s a much more attractive building — it’s more welcoming inside,” said Sarah Dentan, neighborhood and children’s services manager at the Berkeley Public Library. “I think it’s going to be a place where people want to spend time.”

The total cost of construction was $4.96 million, according to Dentan. Those funds came from Measure FF, a $26 million bond that was voted in by citizens in November 2008. An additional $3 million in funding for furniture, fixtures and equipment at all four library branches was provided by the Berkeley Public Library Foundation.

Construction efforts ran into brief controversy when, in 2010, a group called the Concerned Library Users filed a lawsuit stating that the measure did not cover a complete building demolition. The lawsuit, however, was settled in 2011 when the city agreed to pay $100,000 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a grant program.

The library is currently using a BranchVan service that allows patrons to pick up holds and return books during the renovation of the South and West Branch libraries. The BranchVan will halt its South Branch service when the new library opens.

With the library’s reopening, a number of new and old features will return as well. For instance, the Tool Lending Library, a service that was also temporarily relocated during the renovations, will move back to its original location at the South Branch library.

Angel Entes, a tool-lending specialist at the library, said that the new facilities will be much better and have more space.

“(The Tool Lending Library) gains people constantly on a daily basis,” Entes said. “I’m just excited for us to close (our temporary location) and get everything set up over (at the new South Branch library).”

The new library will also feature mosaic art pieces by Oakland artist Gina Dominguez.

“I am so pleased to be part of the project,” Dominguez said. “They’ve done a phenomenal job on the building itself, and to see it come together is satisfying.”

Other features of the new library include more light; more public computers; a separate, enclosed teen area and a meeting room with completely up-to-date facilities, according to Dentan. The new building will also be more energy-efficient.

The reopening will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will feature speeches and entertainment before the doors officially open at 1 p.m.

“We’re really excited, and we hope that everyone wants to come by and check out the new library,” Dentan said.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299, a union that represents UC workers, joined with University Professional and Technical Employees 9119, a union that represents UC technical workers, to protest recent layoffs at the UCSF Medical Center and the standoff in labor negotiations with the UC Office of the President.

“There’s a fundamental message that this rally is all about today,” said AFSCME 3299 spokesperson Todd Stenhouse. “That’s ‘put patients first.’ We need to send a message to the people of San Francisco that come into this hospital that the administration is not putting their priorities first.”

UCSF Medical Center recently cut 300 positions through layoffs, transfers and elimination of unfilled positions, which comes in the wake of a recent whistleblower report published by AFSCME in March detailing inadequate patient care at UC medical centers due to understaffing.

“Medical centers are going to continue to deteriorate,” said Wendi Felson, a retired UCSF employee and systemwide health care coordinator for UPTE. “All five UC medical centers have been cited for patient care violations.”

Since last November, the UC system and AFSCME have also been at an impasse over creating a new contract for UC workers focusing on pension reform.

Among the protesters were recently laid-off UC workers, including Miguel Herrera, a full-time custodian who was fired three weeks ago, and Connie Salguero, a former patient-care assistant who was fired this week.

“This was my only job here,” Salguero said. “Where will I get my food?”

According to UC spokesperson Dianne Klein, the protest is a tactic used by the union in labor negotiations, and AFSCME refused the contract without offering counter-suggestions.

“Bargaining in the media is not something we support,” Klein said about the protest. “We believe bargaining should take place at the bargaining table.”

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, and San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos and Eric Mar also appeared at the protest to support the workers.

“They’re understaffed in terms of things not being properly sanitized, and those are things that put patients at risk,” said Yee’s press secretary, Dan Lieberman. “As far as pensions go, there’s going to be a lot of continued discussions, particularly pensions that are for the executives that are quite substantial.”

The meeting for pension negotiations, which was scheduled for April 3, has been postponed to later this month.

“We hope to reach a multiyear contract that’s fair to employees … and the university that rewards employees for their hard work,” Klein said.

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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In spite of this, the former high school dropout and recent UC Berkeley graduate recently learned he has been chosen as one of 40 individuals nationwide to receive a full scholarship to study Old English literature at the University of Cambridge.

Park, who received his undergraduate degree in English with a minor in medieval studies in 2012, has been awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Master of Philosophy at one of the world’s most elite universities. He will focus on Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic studies.

“I was kind of stunned — (and) a little bit in disbelief,” Park said of receiving the scholarship.

Before coming to UC Berkeley, Park spent four years in the U.S. Navy and eight years waiting tables in San Francisco. After years without any real direction, Park started to think about what he wanted to do with his life in the long term.

“I didn’t see myself studying English,” Park said. “I hated high school. (However), I loved reading novels and poetry. I saw myself as maybe being a writer at some point, (but) I never saw this.”

The Gates Cambridge scholarship is awarded to individuals from countries outside the United Kingdom who show outstanding intellectual achievements, leadership and a desire to improve the lives of others, according to its website.

“He knows how to lead people by working with people, not telling them what to do,” said professor Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe,who is the chair in the campus Department of English. “I think he’s going to be a leader in the field after he gets his Ph.D. and starts teaching.”

Park said he was first drawn to Old English after reading the poem “Dream of the Rood” while attending San Francisco City College.

“The thing that was really drawing me into it was the unexpected complexity,” Park said. “I assumed it was simple and uninteresting, but once I started reading it I realized it was very complex and fascinating … I got hooked on it.”

During his first semester at UC Berkeley, he wrote a paper on Beowulf, which he went on to deliver at the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Conference, a conference dedicated to ancient and modern languages in literature, according to professor Maura Nolan of the English department. He delivered a second paper at the conference the year after.

“Delivering papers at a professional conference as an undergraduate is extremely rare,” Nolan said. “It’s an incredible achievement.”

Once he receives his masters degree at Cambridge, Park has accepted admissions to Yale University to work toward a doctorate in English. He said he hopes to become a professor and would like to return to his home of the Bay Area one day.

“It would be awesome to come back to Berkeley and teach,” Park said. “That would be a dream.”

Contact Tara Hurley at thurley@dailycal.org.

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