Stepped-up police patrolling in Southwest Berkeley following two recent shootings has led to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Ronald Easiley, a 19-year-old who was shot to death on Jan. 14 on Harmon Street in Berkeley. Desmen Lankford, 19, was arrested Tuesday evening after leading police on a foot chase to the 1400 block of Alcatraz Avenue in Oakland. -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 27 -more-

Gray Davis is a pretty unattractive fellow, even to many Democrats. He has a history of cozy relationships with unsavory campaign contributors, like the prison guards’ union. He has enthusiastically promoted their agenda, building more and more prisons at the expense of social programs which might prevent incarceration. His detractors on the left have ugly anecdotes going back to the days when Jerry Brown was governor, when he served as enforcer for shadowy deals that Jerry didn’t want to have on his public record. He’s a jerk, but face it, he’s our jerk. -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 27 -more-

Drivers will pay more for parking violations and homeowners and businessmen will pay more in property taxes under a final 2003-2004 budget passed by City Council Wednesday night. -more-

NEW BUS ROUTE -more-

With Green Party leader Peter Camejo set to formally announce his candidacy for governor Monday, local party members are attacking him for taking advantage of an “undemocratic” Republican-led effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis. -more-

I’m not the first to observe, with some trepidation, that the Bush administration is rapidly erasing the line that separates church from state. Never before so many prayer breakfasts in the White House, never before public money transferred to “faith-based” social programs offered by proselytizing churches. But I see a greater issue still, something that’s making rational political discourse impossible. Policies are becoming articles of faith. -more-

The face of Berkeley is changing. Vacant lots, former gas stations, parking lots and one-story commercial buildings are being replaced with infill, housing projects, often above ground floor retail. -more-

School District staff appear to be proposing a giant game of musical chairs whereby (a) the Adult School would be moved from the West Campus to the Franklin School site; (b) the district’s administrative offices and storage and maintenance functions would be relocated from Old City Hall, and from the district’s Russell Street building, to the West Campus, and (c) the Rusell site would be redeveloped for housing. -more-

Enrique Lessa’s advanced genetics class at UC Berkeley this summer teaches the same material a similar class would during the academic year. The only difference? Lessa’s students are not formally enrolled at UC Berkeley—they are between 12 and 17 years old. -more-

Ignacio Chapela has a teaching position at UC Berkeley for at least another year, but his concern about the “secretive” tenure review process he has undergone has led to a very public display of his dissatisfaction. -more-

Kevin Freeman memorial and march set for Saturday -more-

An amendment proposed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee that would have ordered an investigation into recent revelations that the Bush administration may have distorted or withheld information regarding Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction fell 33 votes shy of passage Wednesday. -more-

This summer my friend, Gloria, is sending her son to space camp at Moffet Field and then hauling him off to Europe to visit distant relatives and musty cathedrals. Another friend’s child is going to music and dance camp, and a third is being coached in crew, lacrosse and golf. I know a kid who is attending an exclusive private camp in the mountains above Santa Cruz where he can rock climb, mountain bike, study Spanish and learn to program a computer. -more-

Oakland, bless our hearts, approaches the issue of the sideshows like a youngster spinning donuts at the corner of 90th and International ... round and round we chase ourselves, mugging for the reporters and television cameras, always ending up back where we started. -more-

Residents living near the Corporation Yard, a 4.5-acre site located on Bancroft Way near Acton Street, staged a small protest Wednesday to protest the city’s plan to partially demolish one of the buildings on the property and install three portable buildings. Neighbors said the plan will increase the traffic, noise and pollution that already stem from the site, which is used to store city vehicles, including diesel trucks, and includes a gas station. -more-

The third event in the city of Berkeley’s Summer Noon Concert series on Thursday featured a bit of jazz, a bit of funk and a whole lot of dancing and foot tapping despite the unseasonably warm weather. -more-

Sen. Gil Cedillo, a stalwart Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, knows an opportunity when he sees it. -more-

Berkeley, one of the most liberal cities in California, has not exactly been a hotbed of recall activity. But that didn’t stop the Berkeley College Republicans from setting up a table on the UC Berkeley campus this spring and collecting signatures to oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. -more-

For Berkeley ice cream lovers, life has been good lately. -more-

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-

Students at UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law staged a rally supporting affirmative action on Monday, hours after the nation’s high court ruled to uphold the basic tenets of race preferences in college admissions. -more-

TUESDAY, JUNE 24 -more-

ANIMAL SHELTER -more-

Wow. Just, “Wow.” -more-

TUESDAY, JUNE 24 -more-

The City Council will take action on one of two proposed library tax increases Tuesday. Both are designed to help the library bridge a $1.3 million budget deficit. -more-

The following letter was addressed to Mayor Tom Bates and the Berkeley City Council: -more-

As the debate surrounding proposed AC Transit fare changes and service reductions intensifies, a restructuring plan adopted in February will take effect next week. -more-

For an hour on Friday night, Cody’s Books on Fourth Street sold more than three books a minute. During the same time period, Pegasus Fine Books in downtown Berkeley had a line of 100 people—more than had ever been in the store at one time. -more-

The city manager’s next report on the ongoing neighborhood dispute over the 3045 Shattuck Ave. house expansion is expected to address the issue of backyard space, a debate which has pitted two city commissioners against the city’s planning staff. -more-

Two recent resignations have hamstrung the Transporation Department’s ability to keep up with pending projects, according to Deputy City Manager of Transportation Peter Hillier. -more-

After two shootings in two days last week, Berkeley police increased patrols throughout southwest Berkeley, resulting in 15 arrests, including six for illegal possession of a firearm. Other arrests were for probation, parole and drug violations. -more-

KARACHI, Pakistan—U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials have reportedly met with Taliban leaders in an effort to devise a political solution to an escalating guerrilla war in Afghanistan. -more-

Money buys happiness for some, but misery for others, according to a new UC Berkeley study. -more-

The City Council meetings of June 17 were a nightmare. -more-

Berkeley’s City Hall and Corporation Yard were once located at Sacramento and University avenues. City Hall was moved to an appropriate, prominent location in the heart of the city. The Corporation Yard moved to an established residential neighborhood at Allston, Acton and Bancroft. Houses were moved to accommodate the yard. -more-

Spiritual enlightenment can hurt sometimes. A man meditating in a tree in the Berkeley hills learned this the hard way Sunday, June 22, when he fell 30 feet to the ground, then tumbled 50 feet down a steep ravine, said Chief Mike Migliore of the Berkeley Fire Department. -more-

On Tuesday, the City Council will finalize the budget, vote on a contract with a parking meter parts company and consider a new fountain on the Berkeley-Kensington border. -more-

On Saturday night around 11 p.m. police received a call from a motorist who said he was driving eastbound on Marin Avenue near Santa Barbara Street when he heard something hit the right rear window of his car. -more-

Benicia is well worth exploring, partly because no one else is exploring it. -more-

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-

In a primary that will shape the future of the 2004 presidential campaign, more than 300,000 MoveOn.org members voted on-line Tuesday and Wednesday to endorse a candidate for the Democratic nomination. -more-

Windmills that pumped water from wells up to a holding tank were once common backyard structures, not just in the countryside but also in urban settings such as Berkeley, and they appear in many old photographs. -more-