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Sixteen years ago former Berkeley City Manager Hal Cronkite wrote UC Berkeley officials that the city had “no known objections” to a pedestrian footbridge suspended over Hearst Avenue. Tonight (Tuesday, July 13)—three aborted attempts to win city approval and $600,000 later—the bridge that would connect both halves of the Foothill housing complex is finally coming before the City Council. -more-

A San Mateo developer has presented city staff with plans for a 212-unit, five-story West Berkeley housing complex with ground floor commercial space, which would fill the entire block between University Avenue and Addison Street and between Third and Fourth streets. -more-

A proposed November ballot initiative billed as an antidote to Berkeley’s strict laws regulating the cultivation of medical cannabis plants would also allow cannabis clubs carte blanche to sprout along commercial corridors, according to a critical report released last week from City Manager Phil Kamlarz. -more-

Five years in the making, the proposed Arts and Culture Plan arrives at the City Council tonight (Tuesday, July 13), with members of the Civic Arts Commission (CAC) presenting their work at the 5 p.m. council working session. -more-

Berkeley’s primary provider of job training and placement for homeless residents shut its doors without warning last week after a federal review determined the nonprofit owed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) $1.2 million in back payments. -more-

Another hearing on Berkeley’s creek ordinance—directly affecting more than 2,000 homeowners—comes before the City Council this evening (Tuesday, July 13) during its 5 p.m. working session. -more-

A series of violent attacks against Hmong leaders in Minnesota is drawing out of cultural and political isolation insular Hmong communities across America. -more-

NAIROBI, Kenya—From her studio on the 20th floor of an office building in downtown Nairobi, 25-year-old radio disc jockey Eve D’Souza has a good perspective on the tastes of young Kenyans. As she spins CDs for the evening show “Hits Not Homework” on Nairobi’s Capital FM, D’Souza juggles the phones and keeps an eye on the dozens of instant messages on her computer screen from her young listeners. -more-

To hear Democratic strategists and political commentators tell it, the selection of John Edwards as John Kerry’s running mate heralds the dawn of a new Democratic day in the South, with the Carolinas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Virginia suddenly in play this November. -more-

Gunman Surrenders, Ends Albany Standoff -more-

I was in West Berkeley playing Scrabble with Louise, Rose, and Pearl. I hadn’t seen the Scrabblettes in over four weeks so we had a lot of catching up to do. -more-

CATHARSIS -more-

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Erna Smith’s commentary (“District Would Raise Neighbors’ Property Taxes,” Daily Planet, July 9-12) makes accusations and assertions that simply are not true. This response will try to correct the most important issues. Above all we would like to emphasize the considerable amount of support this project has. -more-

As a strong supporter of marriage, I’m dismayed to see matrimony’s self-proclaimed defenders—President Bush and Congress’ Republican leadership—trying to legitimize a highly unnatural form of union that would actually weaken the institution. -more-

The most intriguing jazz event this summer is, without a doubt, the July 23 appearance by the Heath Brothers—bassist Percy, saxophonist Jimmy and drummer Albert “Tootie”—as this year’s featured performers for Jazz at Coventry Grove II. This second annual benefit for Berkeley’s renowned Jazzschool will again be held in the jewel-like setting of a small outdoor amphitheater on a private estate in Kensington. Although the ticket price may seem steep at $150, it is actually a bargain when you consider the intimate nature of the event, the complementary food and beverages provided by some of the most esteemed names in Bay Area gourmandaise, the prospect of some fascinating conversation with four legends of jazz, and—finally—a performance by the three remarkable brothers along with their pianist of the last six years, Jeb Patton. -more-

Robert Powell has been in prison for five separate stretches in his life, with a total of 24 felony convictions. When he is paroled on Sept. 24 he plans to stay out for good. But the only way he can do it, he says, is with a little help. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 13 -more-

That adage about old dogs and new tricks is not always true. I used to know a dog named Louise, a golden retriever mix, who learned a second language late in life under the tutelage of Bernie the cat. Louise, introduced to a three-cat household, tried to relate to the cats as she would have to other dogs, by sniffing their butts. This offended the cats, of course, and Louise got her nose shredded a couple of times. Then Bernie, the senior cat, took her in hand, demonstrating the proper greeting protocol, the nose-touch. Louise picked it up readily, and peace was restored. -more-

TUESDAY, JULY 13 -more-

Larnice Holliman, an 87-year-old Berkeley woman, died Thursday afternoon in a fire that swept through her one-story wood-frame house in the 1500 block of Allston Way. -more-

The former head of a local African American landlords association has charged that the Berkeley Housing Authority’s new Section 8 rules will result in a severe reduction in available Section 8 housing and a drop in minority renters using the program. -more-

Oakland Police are continuing to seek the gunman who murdered Nyima Sorenson, a young Berkeley man, outside a tavern in Rockridge shortly minutes before 2 a.m. on June 25, said Homicide Lt. Jim Emery said Thursday. -more-

Dana Rassas has done her fair share of traveling, but when the 24-year-old Jordanian decided her latest adventure would take her to Israel for a masters program in environmental studies, she was hesitant to spread the news. -more-

Sometimes all it takes is a phone call. -more-

The Alameda County Medical Center—the only option in specialized medicine for Berkeley’s roughly 10,000 uninsured residents—has been driven to the brink of financial collapse by poor management and lax county oversight, according to a report released Tuesday by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury. -more-

The roughly 12 employees of the Berkeley Jobs Consortium—who have devoted their time to helping some of the area’s most at-risk residents find work—might now find themselves in the unemployment line. -more-

I am weary of the strong sea -more-

SOLEDAD, Calif.—Farm worker unions and the Bush administration are heading rapidly towards confrontation over immigration. -more-

Something happened in Oakland this week that will have significant impact on the direction of the city, but it’s probably going to take some time to understand how much impact, and in what direction. -more-

Police Seek Couple in Home Invasion -more-

BONES OF TRUTH -more-

As a Berkeley landlord for some 37 years I offer some hopefully relevant observations. -more-

Two weeks ago I had a bone scan. I was injected with radioactive barium. It migrated to my bones (“Don’t worry,” said the nurse, “it’s gone in a few hours, less radiation than an x-ray.”) I lay on a platform while a camera positioned a few inches above my nose slowly moved along a beam from my head to my feet, recording the emanations from my bones on a film. “The doctor is in the next room interpreting the film,” said the nurse as she helped me up and I threaded my belt through the loops of my pants and returned the keys to my pocket, relieved to be in charge of my life again. -more-

What if your neighbors could organize, with the city’s blessing, to force you to pay an additional $2,000 a year in property taxes to improve their views of the bay and increase property values? -more-

One of the things long separating California from other states has been the quality of its higher-education system. Forty years ago, Californians embraced the Higher Education Master Plan, which set aside spaces for California’s high-school graduates in the University of California, California State University and community-college systems. -more-

THEORY AND PRACTICE -more-

Parachuting out of an airplane isn’t usually considered a political statement. Not unless you’re Berkeley resident Ken Norwood and you try to make it one. -more-

The venerable San Francisco Mime Troupe brings its newest offering to Berkeley this weekend, with two free performances of its (George W.) Bush League Spaghetti Western, Showdown at Crawford Gulch. -more-

“All I wanted was a quiet place in the country to write and loaf in and get out of nature that something we all need, only most of us don’t know it.” -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 9 -more-

Last week a Berkeley woman died in a fire which started in her bedroom. Neighbors said she was a cigarette smoker. Fire Marshal David Orth has not yet definitively reported on what caused the fire, but he thinks a dropped cigarette was the most probable cause. Statistically speaking, there’s a very good chance it was the cigarette, because many, many fires are started by dropped cigarettes. -more-

No phrase is more firmly enshrined in democratic iconography than “the rule of law.” The concept is frequently invoked both to criticize and to justify government actions. In the United States, respect for the rule of law has deep roots. In the Anglo-American legal tradition, it goes all the way back to 1215, to the Magna Carta. The Declaration of Independence, whose birthday we just finished celebrating, is all about law and the lack of respect signers thought the English crown was showing for it in 1776. -more-