Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board members authorized a key document last week paving the way for the tallest structure to rise in downtown Berkeley in decades, the nine-story Seagate Building slated to replace four 1920’s era low-rise structures on Center Street. -more-

Recovering from surgery, Councilmember Dona Spring planned to spend Thursday night in front of her television set watching one of the most important Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) meetings of the year. -more-

Facing widespread public opposition, UC Berkeley announced Monday it will postpone submitting its Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) to the UC Board of Regents. -more-

Councilmember Maudelle Shirek will mount a write-in campaign to keep her City Council seat, sources close to her said Monday. -more-

With Mayor Tom Bates scheduled to unveil a financial recovery plan today, the city’s latest budget projections show Berkeley falling further into the red. -more-

A watchful Berkeley Police officer and a crew of beefy private security guards kept a tight reign on revelers gathered Friday night during the second of in a series of “Battle of the Bands” events sponsored by a popular Shattuck Avenue tavern. -more-

Uninsured patients are scheduled to hold a press conference today (Tuesday, September 14) to announce two class action lawsuits against Sutter Health, the corporate conglomerate that owns Alta Bates Summit Medical Center as well as hospitals throughout Northern and Central California and the state of Hawaii. -more-

Area residents will have the opportunity to pick up a free digital thermometer near the UC campus during an end-of-September promotion for National Pollution Prevention Week. -more-

Supporters of Academic Choice, a controversial program at Berkeley High School, packed the Little Theater Thursday and elected four of their own to the School Site Council that had been critical of the program since it began three years ago. -more-

A legal challenge to Berkeley’s school integration plan that made national headlines last spring has died a quiet death. -more-

On Election Day 2004, everyone’s attention will turn toward Florida—the quintessential battleground state which marred the reputation of the electoral system for many voters, especially blacks. But months before the actual casting of ballots, the black m edia have been reporting that Florida already is embroiled in an electoral controversy rooted in discrimination. -more-

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s exuberant speech at the Republican National Convention suggested that the Governator may be less the moderate Republican than advertised. Hailed by some during the convention as the Obama of the right, the California governor came across as a devout, rock-ribbed Bush lover. -more-

CORPORATION YARD -more-

“Are you getting enough sleep?” asked Pearl, peering into my eyes over the Scrabble board. -more-

Strong-Arm Artist Gets Cash -more-

Elevated House Takes Tumble -more-

As a result of the actions by the U.S. Government after 9/11, what is the reality in the “war against terrorism” three years later? -more-

It seems everyone—politicians, voters, letter writers and editorial columnists—expressed surprise—shock even—at the process by which a small San Pablo card room could morph into a super-size slot machine mecca. -more-

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When the Democratic National convention ended, on July 30, John Kerry had a slight lead in the presidential polls and George Bush had a negative approval rating. By the time the Republican National Convention ended, on Sept. 2, Bush had taken a lead in the polls and had gained a positive approval rating. What happened during the month of August that explains this reversal? -more-

The roots of what might be called Berkeley’s counter-culture reputation go back long before the 1960s. -more-

There have been plenty of docudramas based on interviews or on confessional monologues, even a glut in recent years, but The Faith Project (playing Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ashby Stage) stands alone on this familiar ground. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14 -more-

Sycamores are among the West’s most biologically useful trees. They line creek-cut canyons in the desert, extending a green and gracious welcome to the human traveler and to whole plant and animal communities with their shade and shelter and, not least of all, the holes in their trunks. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14 -more-