For the past 15 years, longtime Berkeley resident Brenda Prager has made community art her public persona, both as a Berkeley arts commissioner and as curator of the Addison Street Windows Gallery. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 22 -more-

What is it about epithets that ticks people off? When a Planet correspondent called a city employee a “duplicitous insect” in these pages, we received a couple of tsk-tsk letters from other readers, including at least one who has been known to have even more colorful words in her spoken vocabulary. Now Fremont’s admittedly colorful Congressman Pete Stark, a hearty 72-year-old, has created an uproar in a congressional committee by calling a Republican colleague “a little fruitcake.” Mind you, this was after said colleague had told Stark to “shut up,” a phrase which was considered very rude when we were growing up. An acquaintance who comes from Congressman Innis’ district in Colorado reports that he has always been, shall we say, an eccentric fellow himself. Stark’s “fruitcake” allusion is probably derived from the expression “nutty as a fruitcake,” and could be therefore taken to be merely descriptive, except perhaps the “little” part, since Innis is twice the size of Stark. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 22 -more-

In a surprise move, the Berkeley Bowl grocery store has temporarily withdrawn plans to build a new store and warehouse in West Berkeley, raising questions about whether the politics of a union battle at the store are affecting efforts to expand. -more-

FISCAL LEADERS NEEDED -more-

Friday will likely be business as usual, said J.P. LaRussa, general manager at Zachary’s Chicago Pizza. -more-

Are you like me? Or at least, like I was 18 months ago? I could name all nine of the Supreme Court justices and anticipate how each would vote on many issues. But our own nine City Council members? I could only have named my own and one or two others, and didn’t pay much attention to happenings at City Hall. I was aware that life had become less pleasant in Berkeley over the years, but I attributed it to wider social problems and not to decisions by city government. I was aware that UC Berkeley was becoming ever less warm and fuzzy, but wasn’t overly analytical about its growing impact on my quality of life. Oh yes, I always voted the “right” (meaning left) way—even licked stamps for some issues—but never investigated most of the actions of those I voted for. After all, I was busy with my own priorities, just like you. And then suddenly, one dark day… -more-

With the appearance of a 50-foot-tall flying cat and a 100-foot-long octopus, plus a world record attempt on this weekend’s schedule, the Berkeley Kite Festival promises that for two days, it will “fill the Bay Area skies with more than just summer fog.” -more-

The following letter was addressed to Jeff Philliber, environmental planning coordinator, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: -more-

Embraced by politicians on the left and right, hydrogen-fueled cars may not be the best answer to the nation’s pollution problems, according to a new study by a UC Berkeley researcher. -more-

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If our city ever adopted an official civic rodent, there would be only one possible choice. No, not who you’re thinking about; I’m referring to the Berkeley kangaroo rat, Dipodomys heermanni berkeleyensis. -more-

The president and his party have cooked up the ultimate recipe for keeping political power. A nation in a constant state of anxiety—over the threat of terrorism, or a potential war—is a nation off balance. And that insecurity is the perfect cover to divert public attention from the country’s serious domestic problems and the administration’s political agenda. -more-

In the early 1970s, several unknown artists left their mark in the waters under and around the Bay Bridge. On wooden posts that jutted above the waterline, they mounted a series of wooden boats, trains and other statues. Though the “water art” frequently fell in high winds, or was swept away by large waves, it was often replaced within a few days. -more-

Berkeley may not be the Garden of Eden. But for anyone who loves flowers, exotic trees and whiling the hours away with a shovel and a gardening hose, it doesn’t get much better. -more-