...this one might help solve a murder.
Recently while driving west along the lower section of University Avenue in Berkeley, a long-abandoned sign caught my eye.
If only signs could talk, I thought.
Forty-seven-and-a-half years ago, on the evening of December 13, 1974, a 45-year-old bookkeeper named Betty Van Patter was nursing a drink and crying softly after work at that very location, which was a bar called the Berkeley Square.
She had been fired from her job at the Black Panther Party by Elaine Brown, who headed up the party while co-founder Huey Newton was in exile in Cuba. Van Patter, an idealistic supporter and loyal employee of the party, had witnessed irregularities and misuse of cash by party members and had warned Brown that they were illegal and if not stopped could bring unwanted attention from law enforcement authorities.
While she was at the bar, a man walked in and handed Van Patter a note. She got up and followed him out of the door. To this day, no one has identified who that man was.
Later that night, she was spotted at Jimmy's Lamp Post, another bar on Telegraph Avenue nearby in Oakland. The Lamp Post, owned by a cousin of Huey Newton's named Jimmy Ward, was the site of many of the illegal cash transactions Van Patter was worried about.
These many years later, there is not even a sign left at the Lamp Post location.
Meanwhile, back at the Berkeley Square that December night in 1974, one of Betty's friends arrived and noticed she was missing. He placed a telephone call to the Lamp Post and asked if she was there.
"That party has left," he was told.
That night was the last time any of her friends or family ever heard from Betty Van Patter. Her badly beaten body was found floating in San Francisco Bay over a month later, on January 17, 1975.
No one has ever been charged with her murder.
If signs could talk, the authorities might get a break in the Van Patter cold case. But of course signs don't talk.
People, however, sometimes do. In all likelihood there are still people alive who were at the Berkeley Square or the Lamp Post that fateful night long ago.
Those people saw things and those people know things.
The question is, will they ever talk or will they end up just like the sign?
TODAY’s NEWS:
Ukraine can win this war, NATO chief says (CNBC)
Ukrainian troops counter-attacking against Russian forces in the country's northeast have pushed them back from the city of Kharkiv and advanced as far as the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. (Reuters)
Finland to formally join Nato despite Russian warning (BBC)
Ukraine’s Military Regains Ground in Northeast, Targets Another Russian River Crossing (WSJ)
If NATO welcomes Finland and Sweden, Putin may head to Moldova (The Hill)
Finland President surprised at Putin's 'calm' response to NATO membership news (Fox)
Russia runs into more obstacles in Ukraine, on global front (AP)
n Rebirth for NATO, Europe Unites in Face of Putin’s Ambition (NYT)
Blinken says he talked to Turkey's foreign minister, is confident on consensus on Sweden, Finland (Reuters)
Sweden, Finland set to participate in NATO military exercises in region (WP)
Putin signals acceptance of Finland and Sweden joining Nato (Financial Times)
The intentional flooding of a small village north of Kyiv that created a quagmire and submerged cellars and fields, but prevented a Russian attack on the capital, was worth all the sacrifice, residents said. (Reuters)
Russia's plummeting male life expectancy (Politico)
McDonald's selling its Russian business (CBS)
3 Scenarios for How Putin Could Actually Use Nukes (Politico)
Grief and Anger Sweep Through Buffalo a Day After a Racist Massacre (NYT)
Accused Buffalo gunman followed a long trail to terror, officials say (WP)
The teenager charged in the fatal shooting at a Buffalo supermarket was haunted in his writing by the “great replacement” conspiracy theory — a viciously racist view of the world that has been touted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson that white Americans are at risk of being replaced by people of color. The No. 3 House Republican, Elise Stefanik, also echoed the racist conspiracy. The accused shooter had threatened a shooting at his high school in June. [HuffPost]
Police: Buffalo gunman aimed to keep killing if he got away (AP)
Scrutiny of Republicans who embrace ‘great replacement theory’ after Buffalo massacre (Guardian)
Liz Cheney: House GOP enabled "white nationalism, white supremacy and anti-semitism" (Axios)
The America That Killed George Floyd (Atlantic)
U.S. Surpasses One Million Deaths From Covid-19 — More than two years after recording its first Covid-19 death, the U.S. has crossed a once-unthinkable threshold. The pandemic’s overall toll has been concentrated among the elderly, especially those in nursing homes. Black and Hispanic populations also have experienced disproportionate mortality rates. (WSJ)
Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine Protection Against Omicron Fades Just Weeks After Second And Third Doses, Study Finds (Forbes)
Studies show Omicron infection in vaccinated people “turbo-charges” immunity (Haiger)
Shanghai says lockdown to ease as virus spread mostly ends (AP)
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been dealt a blow in Lebanon's parliamentary election with preliminary results showing losses for some of its oldest allies and the Saudi-aligned Lebanese Forces party declaring significant gains. (Reuters)
The science of becoming "interplanetary": How can humans live on Saturn's moons? (Interesting Science)
One in 6 Americans live in places with significant wildfire risk. (WP)
Record-shattering Tonga volcanic eruption sent atmospheric waves zipping around the Earth (LiveScience)
Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year, study says (WP)
Student loan fight heats up as Biden weighs decision (Politico)
Former President Donald Trump very briefly referred at a political rally to the racist shooting in Buffalo — then instantly switched in a wild non sequitur to Afghanistan, where he falsely claimed there was no loss of life. [HuffPost]
Independent probe points to Israeli fire in journalist death (AP)
Here Comes Luka Doncic. Here Comes Steph Curry. Can’t Wait. (WSJ)
'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens (The Onion)
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