The Editor's Back Fence

As of 11:30 on Friday, January 17, I haven't been able to talk to anyone at Berkeley City Hall to find out if city staff are gifting HSR properties with a fourth extension on the use permit for 2211 Harold Way, which has tied up the Downtown Plan for, oh, I don't know, maybe 5 years. I'm holding up my comments on the transaction until the deal goes down, since the last window will close on January 20, but, oh dear, that's a holiday. I think today's the day, as you can see from the several Public Comments posted on the BDP front page. It's a constant source of wonder for me that Berkeley citizens know exactly what's going on but city staff pretend they don't.