UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism is already hot stuff, one of the best in the nation. But something beautiful happened yesterday.

The J-School got the big cheese: it received the George Polk Award for radio reporting. That may mean nothing to you (mind you, we were about to golf-clap it off), but it’s a big deal, considering that the award normally goes to reporters from serious news corporations, like The New York Times or NBC News. Our babies are still in school, and they still tore it up–the first time for any journalism school.

The award-winning story, titled “Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet,” addresses global warming. Is it getting hot in here, or is it just us?

It’s just us. (And the globe.)

The J-School team traveled around the world, to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Andes, Bangladesh and Canada. The students focused on the political, social and environmental impacts of the signs of global warming.

bq. “This (climate change) is an important, and under-told story — not the issue of global warming itself necessarily, but looking at how people in places around the world are impacted right now, in their everyday lives, by either actual or expected changes, and what they do to respond,” said Alexandra Berzon, now a writer with Red Herring magazine.

Previous winners include O.G.’s such as Walter Cronkite, Thomas Friedman, Seymour Hersh and Ted Koppel.

Reporting On Global Warming Honored [Daily Cal]
Cal J-School Snags Top Award, Makes History [The East Bay Express]
Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet [Salon.com]

Feeling a little down now that the local barbituate dealer has closed? Yea, we miss Blue Heaven/Rexall too. We also miss overpriced, generic-or-off-brand drugs out the ying yang. Our only choice is to buy moderately priced phamaceuticals downtown until Walgreens opens.

But fear not another vacant storefront along Telegraph Avenue. The Daily Cal reports that a new store by the name of Fred’s Market will be moving into Rexall’s place to provide organic groceries, likely a deli, and hopefully alcohol. Very hopefully on that last one.

Fred’s Market is creating a buzz, although not because of its independent status in this thinking-local town. The news of one new store is bringing awareness of another Fred’s Market three blocks down at Telegraph and Dwight.

Local Grocer to Open Fourth Location in Rexall’s Place [Daily Cal]

It seems that since this whole Oakgate debacle has happened, newspapers around the Bay Area have thought that it would be nice to mouth off about the topic, with a few of these papers suggesting that UC Berkeley move its football games off campus or even move the campus altogether.

To follow suit, the East Bay Express has jumped in, suggesting, quite redundantly, to use the Oakland Coliseum site.

But unlike the Chron, who suggested to build a brand new facility on the land, the Express is telling Cal to just share the current eye-sore that is McAfee Coliseum with the Raiders once the Oakland A’s move to Fremont.

bq. University planners don’t just want to retrofit the stadium; they want to beef up its concession outlets and slap on some new lights, luxury boxes, and press offices. There just happens to be a facility that already boasts all of these amenities, and its owners — you and me — will be desperate for new tenants very shortly. It’s called McAfee Coliseum, and now that the Oakland A’s are planning to split for Fremont, Saturdays just happen to be free.

Uh, excuse us. If we thought that the Chron’s advice was offensive, then the Express’ advice is just stupid.

Like we’ve said before, we like to keep Bear Territory in Bear Territory, that being Berkeley. Moving to Oakland is just out of the question. To even suggest to use a decrepit, piece-of-shit, eyesore that is the Oakland Coliseum is a slap to the face, it may even be a swift kick to the balls.

We know Memorial Stadium needs to be renovated, and we also know that it’s probably older than the Express, but we’ll take earthquake-fear-filled Strawberry Canyon over that Brutalist monstrosity in Oakland.

Give Cal Plan the Ax [East Bay Express]
Chron Sees Hot Property No One Else Sees [Daily Clog]
More Hot Property No One Else Sees [Daily Clog]

Another seed of hope has been planted in Oakgate today. The tree-sitters have been pointed toward a 1925 archeological survey that claims that the area around the stadium may be a Native American burial ground. Whether it is or isn’t, though, the stadium issue refuses to die.

bq. The tree-sitters learned of the remains when an anonymous sympathizer provided a copy of a 1925 site-survey record about the stadium site and a 1925 clipping from the San Francisco Examiner, which said three skeletons had been found at the Faculty Glade site as part of what Spier believed was a Native American burial site.

We’re all for anonymous tips (”clogtips@dailycal.org”:mailto:clogtips@dailycal.org), but this is more than ridiculous. There must be some unknown Berkeley cat woman keeping 82-year-old newspaper clippings.

Tree-Sitters Say Site Near Stadium May Be Native American Burial Ground [SF Gate]

The announcement of the closing of the Berkeley Iceland has caused sort of a raucous in the community.

Sure, the Iceland was cheap and it has its history. And yes, groups of kids with ice skates turned up at a Berkeley City Council meeting en masse last week (okay, not really en masse, but there was a bunch of people there) trying to appeal to the council for funds.

But what may get the Iceland saved is the threat of corporate America.

The Oakland Ice Center, which would probably be the new home for many of the residents and students who use the Berkeley Iceland, is also having its run of financial troubles. But the city wants it to stay open so much that they have opened negotiations with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks to hand over operations of the Ice Center to the Sharks.

So, what’s with all the big fuss?

Residents are concerned that with the closing of the Berkeley Iceland and the possible takeover of the Oakland rink by the Sharks, that there won’t be an affordable place to skate.

Uh-oh, there goes corporate America again, ruining everything. Maybe.

We don’t think it’s that much of an evil thing that the Sharks are going to swoop in to save the Oakland Ice Center. Instead of being fearful of what the Sharks are doing, the “Save Berkeley Iceland” people should follow suit.

Appealing to the Berkeley City Council was a nice gesture by the “Save Berkeley Iceland” folk. It really is. But the city is strapped for cash as it is. And while we, the Clog, don’t think that Cal will make a play in the whole Iceland debate, the Daily Cal suggests that the university should.

So instead of appealing to the city, maybe the “Save Berkeley Iceland” folk should make appeals to Cal.

Iceland Deserves Help [Daily Cal]
Dozens Rally for Rink on Thin Ice [Daily Cal]
Land Sharks [East Bay Express]
We need this rink [saveberkeleyiceland.org]

We think CalTV is something, but we’re not sure just what yet. We know it’s regular–a new show magically appears every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. That’s hardcore.

Today’s show was kinda groovy. There were magical snaps, some bagging on Britney Spears’ new Mr. Clean look, and even a cappella. We freakin’ love a cappella.

We also have an itsy-bitsy crush on CalTV personality Moujan, and we’ll tell you why.

Right? Don’t you see it too? Moujan’s rocking the Tina Fey look! (And that’s hot.)

We mean, CalTV’s not perfect, but it got us laughing today. We loved the DeCadence video and were totally amused by the snap trick. There are still some kinks to work out, like taking time to do more studio run-throughs and working through glitchy YouTube videos, but we’ve got to admit that CalTV’s doing a bang-up job on an ASUC budget.

Mad props to the CalTV and the antics of the Moujan with the glasses and the such.

The CalTV Show - February 20, 2007 [CalTV]
Bitches Ain’t Shit - A Cappella [YouTube]

Remember that “totally sweet deal”:http://clog.dailycal.org/index.php?id=179 UC scored with BP? The one about funding for alternative energy research? We thought it was pretty awesome.

We changed our minds. It looks like the Academic Senate won’t have any say in the plans for collaboration with BP. One professor even doubts the Senate will see preview of the contract. Kinda shady if you ask us. Research on our turf and with our equipment and they’re giving the cold shoulder to one of our governing bodies? Sounds like someone still hasn’t gotten enough sexy time.

If you ask us, though, the planned lab work looks to be damn sexy.

Termite hotness XXX! (We told you it was sexy.) By harnessing the power of the sun, The Helios Project will take microbes from termite guts (what exactly constitutes guts anyway?) to digest plant matter and produce ethanol for fuel. It’s been called a “centerpiece for the next 20 years.”

We’ve certainly seen no centerpiece like that.

UC Academics Excluded From BP Contract Vote [Berkeley Daily Planet]

Just as we were warming up to the second coming of Cal linebacker Chris Purtz, it turns out that was but a cock tease. On Friday, Coach Jeff Tedford quietly “announced”:http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/021607aaa.html Purtz departure from the team for personal reasons.

While technically unverified speculation, it seems pretty damn likely that this stems from the linebacker’s “embarrassing October fracas”:http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=21790 at the Lusty Lady, the San Francisco peep show.

Tedford first suspended Purtz indefinitely, but as “we reported last month”:http://clog.dailycal.org/index.php?id=136, that was apparently lifted, allowing him to play in the Holiday Bowl.

While the team probably won’t miss a beat on the field from Purtz’s departure, it will have to pick up the sexy slack.

We’re not just saying this because we made a commitment to bring sexy back last week. It seems pretty clear, based on that Lusty Lady encounter, Purtz probably sought to maintain a high level of sexy on the team.

We suggest that Purtz redirect his energies toward our “coverage contest”:http://clog.dailycal.org/index.php?id=213. Just the thought of him suggestively covered in Daily Cals gives us the chills.

We already let the mayor bring sexy back this week. Now, it’s your turn all you sexy ladies and sexy gents to bring summer love to The Clog early this year. Make Cal say “Damn girl” by entering the Best Coverage Contest before we get love stoned and move on to something else.

Our love for you would chop us up inside with all of the ideas of futuresex we might be having. Oh, and can you imagine the lovesounds that would go on until the end of time! So before we lose our way, remember what goes around comes around and enter your pics to rock our world. It isn’t that hard.

Just in case you didn’t think we’re serious, we enlisted lovely Daily Cal columnist Sonja Sharp to bring little sexy to table. She took the Sex Issue to the next level, and by that, we mean the level of her own skin. Fuckin’ a, was it hot.

And if you were wondering, this photo shoot went down with a Peaches soundtrack. Talk about sex supreme.

If this works out, maybe we’ll do it all over again.

Need more distractions so that you can not write that paper, not study for that midterm and not catch up on all that reading? Well, here’s one more video to help with your procrastination addiction.

You’ve probably seen at least one of these four guys in a pseudo-doc made by three kids from Cloyne Court.

And much thanks goes out to those three guys who made the video. We finally know why our favorite Berkeley character, Happy, Happy Man, says “Happy, Happy, Happy!” We won’t give it away, just watch the video.

And Stoney, we didn’t know you were here since 1875. You must have been hanging around South Hall all these years before heading to your usually spot in between Dwinelle and Wheeler Hall.

Who’s your favorite? Email us at “clog@dailycal.org”:mailto:clog@dailycal.org.

And don’t forget to send in those photos… [Daily Clog]

Previously: “Don’t Come Looking for a Poke From Us”:http://clog.dailycal.org/index.php?id=177