Last week, Berkeley Unified School District produced one of those math brain teasers during this spring’s overhaul of its principal corps. Question: if Berkeley Unified has three elementary school principal slots to fill—at Rosa Parks, Oxford, and John Muir—and fills one of them, how many elementary school principal slots does the district have to fill? Answer: three. -more-

The City Council has approved the framework of a settlement that would resolve its legal dispute with UC Berkeley, councilmembers said Friday. -more-

With Alta Bates Summit Medical Center on the brink of losing its accreditation, hospital officials are bracing for a crucial Thursday meeting in Chicago. -more-

Berkeley businesses could be in store for a green revolution if a novel clean energy bond comes to fruition. -more-

Required to close an $8.9 million shortfall, city leaders today (Tuesday) are scheduled to present a proposed budget to the City Council at a 5:30 p.m. work session. -more-

Calling Berkeley’s fire marshal “a bully,” the owner of a West Berkeley warehouse said he was considering taking legal action to halt city-mandated fines and expenses that have cost him over $100,000 in the past month. -more-

With the threat of union action looming, the University of California and the American Federation of State, County And Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have agreed to a system-wide contract for UC’s 7,300 service workers across the state. The new three-year contract runs through January 2008. -more-

One month after an alleged alcohol-related hazing incident brought police attention to UC Berkeley fraternities, the university announced this week a “ban on alcohol consumption at all events hosted by campus fraternities and sororities.” -more-

UC Berkeley announced Monday their architectural choices to design two major projects for the southeastern part of the campus: the retrofit of Memorial Stadium and the new academic commons building for the law and business schools. -more-

With the Berkeley Unified School District locked in a contract dispute with teachers, in part over requests for increased money, BUSD board directors continue this week with the task of trying to balance an already shaky budget. -more-

Daniel David, Berkeley resident and son of well-known chef and wine expert Narsai David, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison Friday for his role in a phone scam. -more-

The ever-controversial density bonus, proposed revisions to the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and South Berkeley’s “Flying Cottage” top the agendas of the city’s land use panels this week. -more-

Click here to view the latest work by Planet cartoonist Justin DeFreitasö -more-

Friday’s Daily Planet will feature an expanded Letters to the Editor and Commentary section which will include the volumes of submissions we’ve received regarding BUSD teachers’ work to rule action. -more-

To experience Berkeley at its civic and civil best, you can’t beat the spring house tour of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Just staging the event involves nearly 200 volunteers. That’s not counting the homeowners who open their residences to the public for an afternoon. Equally impressive is the way the tour brings out a general graciousness that’s often lacking in daily Berkeley life. -more-

In Michelle Carter’s Writing in the Public Context class at San Francisco State, it isn’t enough that I have spent an hour a week for 13 weeks walking with my housemate, Willie, down to Doug’s B.B.Q. and back, snapping photographs along the way, transferring them onto my computer and sending them off to my fellow classmates. I have to come up with a final project that includes a 15-minute presentation in front of the class. This assignment has worried me since the start of the semester. -more-

Graffiti Warrant Served -more-

INCREASING REVENUE -more-

When opponents of library use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology testified at Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission meeting in March, 2005, one of the commissioners repeatedly asked whether the industry was using this library in particular, or libraries in general, to promote RFID. A letter sent by a major book industry group to members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors last summer shows that the answer is a resounding yes. -more-

When I read about the upcoming deal on the LRDP, I had an overpowering -more-

The 23rd annual Celebration of Old Roses will be held Sunday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the El Cerrito Community Center on Moeser at Ashbury. Sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group, the event is free. -more-

A planning document for the UC Berkeley campus has won an unusual accolade. The university’s Landscape Heritage Plan is receiving a Webby Award this year. Sometimes referred to as the “Oscars of the Internet,” the Webbys honor high quality and innovative website design. -more-

Creed, the knight, is snapping photos of his therapist, Dr. Tulip, in a scene in A Knight’s Escape, by Eastenders Repertory now at the Ashby Stage. -more-

The story of one of Berkeley’s most important early families, and the history of a National Landmark building in Yosemite built to honor one of the Sierra Club’s patriarchs, will be featured this Thursday evening, May 12, in the fourth lecture in the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association’s monthly series, “Hidden Lodges of Berkeley and Beyond.” -more-

TUESDAY, MAY 10 -more-

Students, faculty, and parents at Berkeley’s Malcolm X Elementary School welcomed a new dendro-American citizen to our town in a brief ceremony Friday morning, April 29, National Arbor Day. A 35-foot northern red oak had been planted in the schoolyard to replace a senior elm, removed because it was dying. -more-

TUESDAY, MAY 10 -more-