Confusion over lease deadlines and a proposed upgrade of the Sather Gate Mall on Durant Avenue, near Telegraph Avenue, have left one longtime Berkeley optometrist without an office. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 29 -more-

On Sept. 17, 1923, a disastrous wildfire swept down from the north Berkeley Hills and destroyed more than 500 buildings; most of them were homes. After the fire, there was some interest in using building materials that would be more fireproof than a wood-frame house covered with wood shingles—and for a time wood shingles were even banned. -more-

RETHINK SCHOOL MOVE -more-

“There’s no doubt about it, what we are hearing is African music because it’s in your blood. It’s in everybody’s blood,” said Babá Ken Okulolo. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 29 -more-

When Alex Rincon runs across College Avenue to do his banking at the Wells Fargo branch in the Elmwood section of town, he tries to make it in the late afternoon. It’s not that the lines are shorter or the service is friendlier that time of day. “I just try to pick a time when it seems like they won’t get robbed,” said Rincon, a manager at Your Basic Bird pet shop. -more-

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

When asked to choose his favorite music, Babá Ken selected the following albums: -more-

Juggling parking problems, budget woes and a Baby Boomer population surging toward old age, the city of Berkeley is considering a series of changes at its three senior centers—some of them provoking concern among current elderly users. -more-

“The Green Party emerged from a national meeting ... increasingly certain that it will run a presidential candidate in next year’s election, all but settling a debate within the group over how it should approach the 2004 contest,” the Washington Post reported on July 21. The Green Party promptly put out a news release declaring that Greens “affirmed the party’s intention to run candidates for president and vice president of the United States in 2004.” -more-

Construction on a 32,000-square-foot synagogue has begun on Oxford Street behind Codornices Park, but not without some still unanswered questions about the project’s financing. The size and location of Congregation Beth El’s future home has pitted a very vocal neighborhood group against the congregation since the building was first proposed on the historical site two years ago. -more-

A UC Berkeley study and accompanying press release that focused on defining the psychology of social conservatism has infuriated conservatives across the country and prompted a demand for an apology from the Berkeley College Republicans. -more-

Joe Wilson is on the phone with some serious allegations about the people who work for the president. -more-

The city of Berkeley won the 2003 Distinguished Leadership Planning Award from the California Chapter of the American Planning Association (CCAPA), the group announced last week. -more-

I’ve always held a fairly dim view of foreign countries. It’s not that I begrudge them their right to do whatever it is that foreign countries do, it’s just that I’ve never had the burning impulse to be a part of it. Oh, don’t tsk-tsk me. I’ve done my share of traveling to exotic land. It’s just that my share happened to be rather small. One. And my wife and I did have a great time when we went to China a few years back. We hiked along the Tibetan border (I suppose I could say we trekked, but I can’t bring myself to use that word). We let the bliss of sheer confusion wash over us as we boarded buses to places unknown and slurped down soups full of delightful mystery meats that made us ill. -more-