Small Press Distribution (SPD) is celebrating its 35th year as the nation’s only non-profit book distributor. -more-

A controversial development project on San Pablo Avenue, first proposed in 1999 and then abandoned amid neighborhood opposition a year and a half ago, has taken on new life with a different developer. -more-

An unexpected surge in tax revenues on property transfers could erase more than a quarter of the city’s projected $7.5 million deficit next year, according to a first quarter budget update released by the city last week. -more-

Critics of the Ed Roberts Campus recently approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) for South Berkeley have appealed the Nov. 15 decision to the City Council. -more-

For the holidays we at the Daily Planet want to give our readers an issue of their own. If you have a story you want to tell about something in the East Bay, about one of your favorite things, a recollection, or anything else you have wanted to see in the Planet, this is your chance. Send us your stories and poems and we will turn over our Dec. 24 issue to you. Get submissions to us by Friday, Dec. 17 for consideration. -more-

John Kerry won 90 percent of the votes cast for president in Berkeley, while George Bush won the support of only 6.6 percent of Berkeley’s voters. -more-

A Southern California State Senator, reacting to last fall’s UC hacking incident, wants to repeal current California laws allowing state agencies to release social security numbers and other personal data to public and private sector researchers. -more-

Mayor Tom Bates has backed off, in the face of City Council opposition, from proposing that Councilmember Linda Maio succeed Maudelle Shirek as vice mayor when the new council convenes today (Tuesday), his chief of staff said Monday. -more-

The Board of Education of the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) will consider a proposal at this Wednesday night’s board meeting to reopen collective bargaining agreement with its classified employees. -more-

A Berkeley non-profit foundation set up to promote excellence in local schools has received that distinction itself—an award from the Public Education Network in Washington D.C. for Excellence in Communication. -more-

KPFA -more-

Click here to view the latest work by Daily Planet cartoonist Justin DeFreitas -more-

I read in this very paper that the proposal to build the Ed Roberts Campus, the South Berkeley facility that will house a consortium of organizations serving the needs of the disabled, could be held up due to challenges from the California Office of Historic Preservation. -more-

Felon Bites Cop -more-

Fireplace Ash Triggers $1.1 Million Blaze, Destroys Cragmont Ave. Home -more-

To follow-up on Charles Smith’s reflections (Letters, Daily Planet, Dec. 3-6) about policies that would effectively prohibit building on earthquake faults, there is already such a policy, a law even, voted in by the state Legislature in 1972. It is the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Zoning Act. -more-

As I’ve previously written in the Daily Planet, some time in the past year the Berkeley Planning Department removed from its website the lists of notices of decision that document the Zoning Adjustment Board’s recent approval of use permits. -more-

The Taking protections of our Federal (5th Amendment) Constitution is a significant protection and the envy of people throughout the world. In an era when property in parts of the world is taken by the use of force without just compensation to those displaced, this American right created in our constitution must be applied even under the most benevolent circumstances such as the good intentions of people like Chris Kavanaugh (Letters, Daily Planet, Nov. 19-22). -more-

Combining spectacle and intimate moments of dialogue and soliloquy in song with an extraordinary processional chorus of 40, The Play of Daniel is at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Bancroft Way this week in a joint production by Aurora Theatre Company and Pacific Mozart Ensemble. -more-

The seasonal tradition of “decking the halls” makes December a particularly colorful time to visit local house museums decorated for Christmas tours and events. -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 7 -more-

My thanks to Tom Butt for the reminder that the monarch butterflies have returned to their winter bivouac in the eucalyptus grove at UC’s Richmond Field Station. -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 7 -more-