Federal agents seized a major arms cache that included explosives, machine guns, assault rifles, and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition discovered as Berkeley firefighters battled a blaze in a 3027 Adeline St. liquor store early Wednesday. -more-

Today (Friday) when loved ones attend a memorial for 19-year-old Berkeley High graduate Meleia Willis-Starbuck, one of her best friends will be facing arraignment in connection to her murder. -more-

Berkeley peace activists are fuming over a hostile takeover, but not by Republicans in Washington, D.C. or corporations abroad. -more-

A Superior Court Judge in Oakland has tentatively ruled that while the Berkeley Daily Planet is entitled to see some 17,000 Wal-Mart documents related to an employee lawsuit, the newspaper or its attorneys must pay $76,000 for the privilege of doing so. -more-

Thanks to the combined efforts of sports fans and of East Bay cities from Emeryville to Richmond, a new ball field complex in Berkeley is nearing reality. -more-

Calling some Berkeley staff recommendations “chicken poop,” Councilmember Dona Spring escalated the war of words over city land use and affordable housing at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. -more-

A parking dispute between Congregation Beth-El, Berkeley’s largest Jewish congregation, and its soon-to-be neighbors will now be decided by city staff. -more-

A West Berkeley senior housing development slated to open next year will bear the name Margaret Breland Homes, in honor of the former city councilmember and longtime West Berkeley resident who died earlier this year. -more-

High on a hilltop above the city, the researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab are working every day to contribute to both the scientific and world communities. -more-

Responding to a plea by UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School Dean Chris Edley Jr. that “if we don’t get these fees, we will be out of money,” University of California Regents this week approved increases up to 7 percent in professional school fees beginning in the second half of the 2005-06 school year. -more-

Community members are invited to join Berkeley Civic Arts Commission (CAC) Chair David Snippen for a Sunday afternoon tour and discussion of the proposed location for Spaceship Earth. -more-

Botched robbery -more-

Berkeley developer James D. Levine’s plan to build a posh gambling resort on the Richmond shoreline has inched closer to reality with the release of key environmental review documents. -more-

The strongest immediate concerns to the siting of a massive casino complex at Point Molate were raised by two state agencies with oversight over cleanups at chemically contaminated sites. -more-

When asked why the religious right is so much more powerful in American politics than the religious left, a political observer quipped that it is because the religious right consists of cows, docile and easily led, while those on the left are cats, difficult to herd under any circumstances. While that may prove be the case, on Wednesday more than 1,200 of those cats gathered on the UC campus to attend a four-day conference on spiritual activism. -more-

Late last winter, a story on Oakland’s sideshows appeared in the Los Angeles Times. “Virtually every night, from midnight to dawn,” the story reported, “hundreds of young people gather at intersections throughout this city to watch cars spin and swerve wildly, the drivers and passengers often dangling halfway out of open doors as the vehicles burn rubber. Some drivers like to spew sparks by wearing their tires down to the steel belts. The people of Oakland have survived epidemic drug use, soaring murder rates and police corruption scandals, but now they face an increasingly violent homegrown movement that has police chasing one spontaneous driving exhibition after another at a cost of $500,000 a year.” -more-

RESPONSIBILITY -more-

As a great admirer of the work of Dorothy Bryant I was disappointed to read her July 19 letter to the editor, in which she spoke so casually and dismissively of the artwork at the Albany Bulb. On the basis of a single “afternoon hike” in this most complex and nuanced environment, she has seen fit to judge the artwork there as if it were no more than a museum exhibit. She describes “nightmarish and sado-masochistic fantasies” in some of the artwork, seemingly unaware of the influence of her voice in our community and the effect of her words in shaping public opinion about what is to happen to this fragile, untamed space. -more-

My name is Michael Cook and I am a business representative and a member of the Machinists Union that represents the bargaining unit employees at Berkeley Honda, formally Jim Doten Honda. I appreciate Mr. Lubeck’s exercise of freedom of speech with his editorial published in the July 15-18 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet. He did, however take some liberty with the truth on several issues. Mr. Lubeck knew when he was hired that he was replacing a service writer that had been working for Jim Doten Honda for many years. Mr. Lubeck started work on June 1. He only worked alongside some of the mechanics that are walking the street. He never worked alongside any of the mechanics that were not hired; therefore he has absolutely no idea of what their abilities, training, or certifications were then or are today. However, he did watch as four Honda Top Tech or Master Tech award banners were taken down from display in the service drive because they were no longer working at Berkeley Honda. Not one of the Wyotech students that were hired to replace mechanics with as much as 31 years of experience has qualifications that exceeds even the least qualified mechanic in the old Doten crew. Mr. Lubeck watched several Wyotech students get fired because of mistakes that resulted in destroyed transmissions and loose wheels. Our members talked to the customers that had those problems and no amount of denial on his part will make that truth go away. -more-

As one of the original appointees to the Peace and Justice Commission when it was established in 1986, I welcome the opportunity to explain and define the purpose, goals and most importantly of all, the mandate of the commission. This is in response to a recent commentary in the July 12 issue of the Daily Planet titled “Opposed to the Department of Peace” by Johnathan Wornick, Councilmember Gordon Wozniak’s appointee to the commission. -more-

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the “parking lobby” (DBA, YMCA, various business owners) was calling for an additional level of underground parking at the Oxford lot. Nobody offered to raise funds to pay for this additional construction; the lobby evidently wants the city to compel the developer to cover that cost as a public duty. -more-

“The gallery floor is off limits, and there are no showcases, so they asked me to create 30 ceramic pieces that will hang on the walls!” -more-

Maestro George Cleve’s Midsummer Mozart Festival orchestra performed four of Mozart’s early works on July 17 at Berkeley’s St. John’s Presbyterian Church. Cleve’s disciplined concentration on Mozart has allowed him to discover and reveal qualities and nuances in both acknowledged masterpieces and obscure gems that might otherwise go undiscovered. -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 22 -more-

Early on a recent morning at J.R. Muggs cafe in El Cerrito, Lorene Francois stepped up to the counter to order her daily cup of coffee. But before being served, she had to answer a few questions. -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 22 -more-

A story on the Pinebrook estate, at 1106 Keith Ave., on the front page of this issue’s Real Estate section, mistakenly reported the era in which a cottage on the estate was built. The cottage was built in the 1930s. -more-