Thousands of protestors, including a group of marchers who had walked through California’s Central Valley, held a rally in front of the state Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, calling for government and a tax system that serves all Californians. The march had lasted 48 days, during which the marchers covered 365 miles, bringing the message to Californians up and down the state that government in Sacramento ought to be reformed. -more-

The Berkeley Daily Planet won three awards in the California Newspaper Publishers Association's 2009 Better Newspapers Contest. -more-

Southside Lofts residents emerged victorious once again Tuesday when the City Council voted to uphold the Zoning Adjustment Board's decision to deny a use permit for a laundromat in the building. -more-

Even as the Oakland City Council voted to support AC Transit's Bus Rapid Transit plan Tuesday evening, Berkeley residents rallied vociferously against it at their council meeting, prompting Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates to say around 10:30 p.m. he would try to glue together the best parts of BRT to address the community's concerns. -more-

The UC Berkeley student senate did not take any action Wednesday on the contentious Israel divestment bill which was vetoed by their president last month. -more-

At 1:00 on Thursday afternoon Officer Jamie Perkins of the Berkeley Police Department announced the arrests of three robbery suspects, all Richmond residents, who were responsible for a series of North Berkeley robberies. -more-

The Humane Commission failed Wednesday night to pass a resolution expressing support for a prohibition against animal testing in the new West Berkeley Plan. Chair Anne Wagley (Arreguin, Dist. 4), who has also been a temporary appointee to the Planning Commission, explained that the rewrite of the West Berkeley Plan now in its last stages is designed to encourage large-scale research and development projects with as few restrictions as possible. She reported that she had introduced the idea of a ban on animal testing and received broad support from other planning commissioners. Wagley suggested that an endorsement of a ban by the Humane Commission would be compelling in the coming weeks as the Planning Commission debates their final recommendations. -more-

Prosecutors in the trial of a man accused of fatally stabbing University of California at Berkeley student Christopher Wootton to death two years ago said in court today the defendant has a history of angry outbursts. -more-

Following a tumultuous time in March and the beginning of April, Berkeley High School’s science lab controversy seems headed toward resolution. -more-

BART has fired a second police officer, Tony Pirone, who was present when Oscar Grant III was shot and killed in Oakland early on New Year's Day 2009, interim Police Chief Daschel Butler said today. -more-

On Tax Day, April 15, the Northern California War Tax Resistance (NCWTR) and People’s Life Fund (PLF) handed out nearly $20,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations. What made this especially newsworthy is that the prize money came from tax resisters who had chosen to give the taxes claimed by the US Treasury to the PLF instead. For pacifists, the PLF offers a way to “positively protest” one’s unwillingness to write checks to a government that currently spends 54 cents of every dollar on the Pentagon’s current costs and past debts. -more-

A “Director’s Roundtable Discussion” was held on Tuesday morning, April 20, 2010 at the North Berkeley Senior Center (NBSC), corner of MLK and Hearst, in the dining room section of the multipurpose room. NBSC director Larry Taylor spoke for about 35 minutes. -more-

BART today unveiled a new program that will take more than 60 of the agency's police officers out of their cars and place them on bicycles starting this summer. -more-

For twenty years now, Colleen Fawley, the outreach specialist at the Berkeley Public Library, has been packing up her sturdy canvas bags full of books and other library materials taking them to Berkeley residents who can’t get to the library. Laughing, Colleen refers to herself as the library ‘bag lady.’ -more-

The UC Berkeley campus was a busy kaleidoscope of people and activities on Saturday, April 17, 2010. -more-

More Nonsense From Israeli Apologists -more-

When will the University of California stop funding war crimes against Palestinian civilians? How much longer will grieving mothers have to wait for justice? -more-

I am responding to Ray Barglow's disagreement with my Berkeley Planet commentary, which asserts that electromagnetic emissions from cell towers are dangerous to our health and longevity. Ray challenges the studies which claim that these emissions are a public hazard. He believes that they suffer major methodological flaws. Actually, no research on the issue is more flawed than a study that is currently being sponsored by the wireless industry. Incredibly, the industry study excludes certain types of tumors. It even eliminates from the sample those who died or were too sick to answer questions. Ray does note that those whose research he criticizes are not coming to the wrong conclusions because they harbo ulterior motives. But I don't think we could be as generous about those researchers who completely dismiss the issue. -more-

I strongly urge you to either hold your own full public hearing on the 2707 Rose Street project or remand the matter to the Zoning Adjustments Board. The ZAB's glaringly flawed January decision to approve the project needs reconsidering for multiple reasons--one of which this letter discusses. -more-

Meg Whitman’s misleading campaign for Governor in which she magically claims to be able to fix California’s ills is another example of the bait and switch tactic that many politicians are using these days. Her campaign states that she will “Create Jobs, Cut Government Spending, and Fix Education.” And so far, we only have a few clues as to how she plans to pull off these violations of the laws of physics. -more-

It’s time for Beijing to show the world how far they are ready to translate their concern for the Tibetans into action through a well-planned speedy relief works & requisite aids for the victims of the Kyigudo earthquake -more-

The message delivered by the poor nations and climate activists gathered in Bolivia this week is undeniably just: The world desperately needs an effective climate agreement. Rich countries are primarily responsible for causing this problem and have reaped most of benefits of two centuries of fossil-fueled industrialization. Therefore, they must bear most of the costs of responding to climate change and overcoming the world’s addiction to fossil fuels. Only the callous or ethically challenged would dispute this position on moral grounds. -more-

PG&E has been installing what they call "Smartmeters", which broadcast readings of a residence's power usage to PG&E, so that they won't need meter-readers any more. This will give them hourly information on private electric power usage. PG&E has not said why they need this kind of information, except to suggest it is for its customers own good (self-monitoring). But these new meters are a total scandal. -more-

Update: Judge Goldstone will now attend his grandson's Bar Mitzvah after all,according to an email from Rabbi Lerner. -more-

A Kyle Harty Strang Memorial will be held on Tuesday April 27, 2010 from 5-7pm in the BHS Little Theatre. The public is welcome. -more-

The San Francisco Bay Guardian reports that the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee, chaired by Berkeley High's own Aaron Peskin, passed a resolution opposing Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposal to make it illegal to sit or lie on the sidewalk in that city. Funny, we've had such a law for years--could it be that Berkeley's not as progressive as it thinks it is? -more-

It’s not surprising that Republicans oppose the Obama Administration – they want to suck up to the rich by maintaining the status quo. And it’s not surprising that they lie – this is, after all, the Party that created the fictional Iraqi atomic bomb threat so they would have a winning issue in the 2002 mid-term elections. What is surprising is that they’ve been so successful. Why are Republican supporters so enthusiastic when they’ve been force-fed a diet of BS? -more-

Three openings this week: seasoned local playwright James Keller directs--and performs as a playwright--in his dire domestic comedy, Good Housekeeping, with local actress Martha Luhrmann playing a role based on herself, the show in a wacky family setting based on Martha's household. -more-

Remember when you were 17 and it was a very good year? Remember when school was out for summer, school was out forever? I went to the B-Rep on Wednesday, and—well, just feel lucky you live in Berkeley, ‘cause this is the place it’s all coming from these days. -more-

Featuring some of the finest Jazz players in the Bay Area--and the nation--with names like saxophonist John Handy, trumpeter Eddie Gale, trumpeter Clifford Brown III, Donald "Duck" Bailey, E. W. Wainwright & the Roots of Jazz, saxohonists Michael James and Louis Jordan, David Hardiman, bassist Marcus Shelby, Will Nichols and guitarist Calvin Keys (many from the East Bay), The Second Annual Bay Area Musicians' Self-Help Healthcare Fundraiser will be going on from Friday night, April 23, at 7:30, throughout Saturday, into the evening, at Velma's, 2246 Jerrold Ave.. (near Bayshore, just south of Cesar Chavez) in San Francisco. An exceptional deal: donations $5-$10; (415) 824-7646 or brownpapertickets.com -more-

Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco journalist and author of the American Book Award-winning Al' America: Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots, detailing historic influence of Arab and Muslim culture on many things American, from the influence of Persian poetry on the thought and verse of Ralph Waldo Emerson through Arabic music and The Doors, will talk onstage with Yahsmin Mayaan Binti Bobo and Hamsa Van Boom this Saturday at 6 p. m. at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, 1433 Madison, near the Main Library on 14th Street in Downtown Oakland. $5-$7. 832-7600; www.iccnc.org -more-

Around the turn of the last century, it was common practice for middle-class or well-to-do families with adolescent children to move their residence to Berkeley in order to secure good education for their young. Among those was the household of Clark and Louise Goddard. -more-