UC Berkeley students will pay 30 percent more in fees, but local schools and government will escape relatively unscathed under a final budget approved by the State Assembly Tuesday, officials said. -more-

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 -more-

Sometimes a picture really is worth 1,000 words. The picture below confirms the worst fears of Berkeley’s small but vigorous group of urban design watchers, who think that the recent spate of Big Ugly Buildings is the product of a sinister cabal composed of the City of Berkeley’s Planning Department staff, private developers, and UC’s planning staff. And here they all are, in a photo taken in May at UC’s Faculty Club, at the banquet of the Northern California chapter of the American Planning Association, celebrating an award to the city of Berkeley for its infill housing program. -more-

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 -more-

The Berkeley schools are unsafe, poorly managed, and fail to address the needs of minority and special education students, according to a sweeping new state study. -more-

GREEN RESPONSE -more-

Is the Berkeley School District trying to pull a fast one on City Hall? -more-

The trustworthiness of our nation’s voting system is the essential link to hopes for fairness, social justice and the future of our country. If Americans are excluded from voting or feel their votes don’t or won’t be counted, their investment in their communities and society is dramatically eroded. With corruption in our elections, the country can be dominated by an unrepresentative minority and our aspirations for a healthy democracy thwarted. -more-

In 1877 a women’s sewing society began collecting funds to build an Episcopal church in West Berkeley. Today, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd remains in its original building at 1823 Ninth St. It is the oldest continually occupied church in Berkeley. -more-

It’s Tuesday night. Do you know where your City Council is? -more-

Berkeley police arrested a man in Concord Wednesday whom they suspect was responsible for the shooting death of 19-year-old Ronald Easiley Jr. -more-

Are computerized voting machines a wide-open back door to massive voting fraud? The discussion has moved from the Internet to CNN, to UK newspapers, and the pages of The New York Times. People are cautiously beginning to connect the dots, and the picture that seems to be emerging is troubling. -more-

The headline in today’s East Hampton Star screams out at me. Renee Zellweger’s $2.15 million house in East Hampton may be haunted! But further down in the article it says that Renee isn’t worried. She never stays there anyway. -more-

For 34 years, Dr. Charlie Berger has been taking care of Berkeley pets—4,600 of them, to be precise. -more-

Intellectuals usually make poor politicians because they are prone to muse publicly about the political process, revealing far too much about its true inner workings and, too often, their contempt for both the process and the general population. -more-

How does an artist confront the challenges of capturing reality on the most ephemeral of media? The Berkeley Art Center answers that question next week when it unveils a national juried exhibition, “Works on Paper.” -more-

Ashby Arts District Fundraiser -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-