We have been told that she has her written decision prepared and will announce it on that day. The University has plans to make an immediate response to her decision.  The Save the Oaks group and the Panoramic Association have already announced their intent to appeal anything unfavorable to them.

Some members of the Berkeley City Council have unofficially commented that they would not want to join in on any appeal, but they need to hear - very loudly and clearly - that Berkeley should move on and not waste further City funds in opposing this construction.

Be prepared to send your e-mails and letters to Mayor Bates and all Council members as the situation unfolds in a matter of days.

Dear Friends,

For the first time in recent memory, a group of people…that would be you…came together to do the hard work it takes to support the University and stand up for what you believe. Usually, people are too busy, too overworked or overbooked, to step up when needed. You did so and you have our everlasting gratitude.

In early August, this was a one sided battle, with Cal’s detractors controlling the airwaves, news pages and websites. By last week, we had at least brought the City of Berkeley to a place where they recognize the enormous outpouring of support Cal enjoys in our community. We believe it was a wakeup call for the City. And we hope it will serve to improve the relationship between the City of Berkeley and the University in the future.

There will undoubtedly be more opportunities for all of you to come forward and support Cal again. We needed you this time and we’ll need you again. The good news is  we know we have your support and can count on it in the future.

To all of you who wrote letters, sent emails, displayed signs, talked to friends and neighbors and city council members, came to meetings, helped at Fan Appreciation Day,  the Tennessee game and the City Council meeting, thanks for all you’ve done in the last six weeks to support Cal and our student athletes. We couldn’t ask for better friends.

Go Bears!

Sincerely,

Sandy Barbour and Nathan Brostrom

As you may already know, the City of Berkeley voted 7-1-1 to continue its lawsuit against the University (Wozniak dissented, Worthington abstained). While this is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for, it is not the final say on the issue. It is important for everybody to contact the mayor and your city council member and let them know how you feel about the outcome of the meeting. It is important for the city to know that we are still keeping tabs on them.

In the meantime, we await the September 19-20th court date with optimism. Although the council vote was a temporary setback, we believe that the future of the Student Athlete High Performance Center remains bright.

September 19-20, 2007
Alameda County Court to address the legal challenges by the City of Berkeley, Save the Oaks and the Panoramic Hill Association vs. the University