In rapid-fire, back-to-back actions Thursday afternoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was restoring the lost Vehicle License Fund (VLF) fees to California’s cities and counties, and Berkeley City Council immediately authorized joining a lawsuit in order to make sure the governor keeps his promise. -more-

FRIDAY, DEC. 19 -more-

Elton John wrote a song called Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, He, of course, was referring to human relationships. The quagmire in the Middle-East, though certainly not romantic in nature, surely could benefit from the application of such a maxim. There is plenty of “sorry” to go around there, and it cannot be confined to the Israelis, despite George Bishrat’s implications to the contrary, in his recent commentary for the Berkeley Daily Planet. -more-

Do you hate wasting the few sunlit hours at this time of year on indoor shopping trips? Berkeley offers great outdoor shopping, and it’s even environmentally friendly. -more-

FRIDAY, DEC. 19 -more-

The Berkeley Unified School District will consider tearing up its former high school tennis courts to put up a better parking lot—and maybe more. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two articles on the Mayor’s Task Force on Permitting and Development. This article addresses the final Task Force report. -more-

Our family is big on greens—chard, kale, rapini, greens of all kinds, fresh organic greens that are simmered slowly in a big cast iron skillet with lots of garlic. The basic recipe I learned from my mother, who learned from hers. Neither ever cooked from a book. Over time several cooks in our family have come up with a few special touches for birthdays and holidays. -more-

The Berkeley Unified School District has found the legal champion they hope can beat back a lawsuit that threatens to end racial balance in its elementary schools. -more-

CURB CUTS -more-

When Christopher Edley Jr. won the post of dean of Boalt Hall law school last week, those in the know hailed the appointment as a major coup for UC Berkeley. -more-

The neighbors of Berkeley’s “floating cottage” won a significant victory Tuesday night when City Council voted 7-0 to deny owner Christina Sun’s appeal, sending the 3045 Shattuck Ave. project back into the hands of the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB), and into an uncertain future. -more-

NEW YORK—As the North American Free Trade Agreement commemorates its 10th anniversary this month, the United States, Canada and Mexico are confronting an unexpected challenge: China. -more-

Councilmember Kriss Worthington and former Councilmember Diane Wooley have added their names to the arguments opposing Measure J. The March 2004 referendum, put on the ballot by Berkeley City Council, would add new requirements to running for office in Berkeley if it is passed by Berkeley voters. -more-

The campaign of presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, has not garnered the same high media profile enjoyed by some of his Democratic opponents such as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and retired U.S. general Wesley Clark. ABC News has announced it will stop having producers travel full time with the candidate’s campaign. Kucinich says it is this kind of corporate control of media, industries and government that he will fight against as president. It is stifling free speech, he says. -more-

The woman police say assaulted three shoppers at Mr. Mopps Children’s Books last week and was then yanked from her car by officers and detained face-down on the pavement for approximately 20 minutes will face a judge today (Friday, Dec. 19). -more-

Class acts in American public life are so rare these days, even the term itself has fallen into disuse. It’s noteworthy, therefore, to witness two examples occurring in the same issue, and coming from the same family. -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: Rob Wrenn spent some time as a Gonzalez campaign volunteer in the final week of the campaign. He makes no claims to being an impartial observer. -more-

At the north end of Lake Merritt, the fabulous urban lake in the center of Oakland, is the “downtown” of a whole neighborhood. Grand Avenue has morphed from an old-fashioned shopping street, highlighted by the Grand Lake Theater with its colorful neon signs, to a few blocks where nail salons outnumber bookstores by eight-to-one and ethnic restaurants abound, along with a chain supermarket and several savings and loans. -more-

Alarmed by news that American manufacturers have run out of flu vaccine, people showed up starting at 5 a.m. Saturday for the flu shot clinic at Longs Drug Store at 5100 Broadway in Oakland. -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 16 -more-

First off, you could start a pretty good argument about the title of the Shotgun Players’ new production—and brand new it is—The Death of Meyerhold. -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 16 -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a continuing series by UC Berkeley students on the paths of Berkeley. -more-

One of the University of California’s best-heeled rivals for the contract to manage Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has dropped out of the competition before it even began. -more-

Saddam Hussein’s capture and eventual trial, if properly conducted, could begin a new and more positive phase in the saga of the United States and Iraq. Or it could devolve into a continuation of the pattern of exploitation of Saddam’s monster image that the Bush administration has adopted throughout the conflict to justify its actions. -more-

Berkeley citizens tired of hearing about the city’s ongoing budget problems will certainly want to skip tonight’s (Tuesday, Dec. 16) City Council meeting, which features two sessions on the subject. -more-

DISAPPOINTED -more-

Nearly 3,000 people packed the Berkeley Community Theater Sunday evening to remember and celebrate the life of Father Bill O’Donnell, Berkeley’s well-known and beloved priest who passed away early last week. -more-

I took time off from my San Francisco State MFA studies to take my husband, Ralph, to the doctor. It was a routine appointment with his urologist but we had some concerns. Due to his paralysis, Ralph cannot feel pain below his shoulders. But I can tell when he’s sick in a variety of ways: fever, slurred speech, lethargy, sediment in his urine, unpleasant smells. -more-

Some Berkeley restaurant and café goers found closed doors at their favorite spots Friday after employees took the day off to join a statewide strike in support of immigrant rights. -more-

The community should be alerted to the fact that with almost no warning, City Council is currently considering cutting funding for people with disabilities and seniors. On the chopping block at the next Council meeting is $149,000 that is appropriated for the warm water pool and almost $346,000 for new curb cuts. These cuts would be in addition to approximately $212,500 (one third of the overall allocation) that was already cut from this year’s budget for compliance with the federally mandated American Disabilities Act (ADA). No other community group is being targeted with cuts of this magnitude. -more-

We reprinted Professor George Bisharat’s essay (Daily Planet, Dec. 9-11) on Palestinians’ desire to return to the homes they left after 1948 at the request of a Jewish friend, who believed that it was a moving and temperate piece of personal history and opinion. She feared, however, that it would provoke some angry letters from her fellow Jews, and she was right—it did. We’ve reprinted many of them, leaving out a few which were scatological or ungrammatical, and we’ll probably print more. Painful though it is, we believe that letting everyone express their point of view in an open venue is a crucial first step to resolving conflicts. -more-

Cash-strapped AC Transit is set to implement its second major service cut of the year Monday, slashing service on six Berkeley routes and laying off over 100 drivers and mechanics just four days before Christmas. -more-