The Alameda City Council continued this week to move forward with a $23.7 million multi-faceted project that would restore the long-abandoned 77-year-old Art Deco Alameda Theater in the heart of the city’s downtown, as well as building an adjoining seven-screen cineplex and an adjacent six-story parking garage. -more-

Berkeley Court Commissioner John Rantzman heard several hours of testimony from neighbors of a South Berkeley homeowner on Thursday describing the personal and economic damages they claim they have suffered living near what they say police call “the most notorious house in Berkeley.” -more-

Seacology, a Berkeley nonprofit dedicated to saving the imperiled ecologies of islands and coral reefs around the world, racked up another honor this week. -more-

A demonstration outside the gates of Richmond’s ChevronTexaco refinery Tuesday morning ended in a massive police turnout, two arrests and conflicting reports about what happened. -more-

A juvenile court judge today referred a 17-year-old Oakland girl who admitted stabbing a 75-year-old woman at the Berkeley Rose Garden in March to a California Youth Authority facility for evaluation. -more-

The board of directors of the East Bay Regional Park District has postponed an eminent domain action on 238 acres along the Richmond shoreline in order to allow all the parties the chance to attempt to work out an agreement. -more-

“I’ll tell you why I am a fundamentalist Muslim,” said a Sri Lankan city council member named—I kid you not—A. Marika. “When you are grading a grammar test, if the student writes, ‘I will get a apple from the store,’ will you grade it correct or incorrect? The meaning is clear; is it correct or not?” -more-

If you see nothing on the screen but snow when you turn on a Berkeley Community Media (BCM) TV channel Monday, it’s not the fault of your television: It’s a protest. -more-

www.jfdefreitas.comI -more-

PROGRESSIVES -more-

Bangkok, Thailand—Traveling through South East Asia, the rapid pace of development confronted us everywhere: once remote Laotian villages now have electricity, clean water, and public schools; small Cambodian towns, where Mercedes sedans share the road with Vespas and water buffalo, support Internet cafes; and tourists and goods cross borders with unparalleled ease. Yet, lurking behind this progress are disturbing problems: many of our trading partners are democracies in name only, horrendous damage is being done to the environment, and women are treated as chattel—denied basic human rights. -more-

Suppose you heard the news that there were, say, 30 arrests at last weekend’s Dias De Los Muertos celebration in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. There weren’t actually 30 arrests at last weekend’s Dias De Los Muertos celebration, not even any reports of the kinds of problems that might lead to such arrests, but for the sake of this discussion, let’s pretend that there were. -more-

Mysterious attack -more-

In the mid 1970s, the Supreme Court extended First Amendment Constitutional protection to the corporate financing of elections. Since that historic decision, corporations have virtually taken over the electoral process. Unlike individuals and other groups, corporations are able to amass huge concentrations of shareholder wealth and have demonstrated a willingness to spend it within the political system to ensure that they are able to pursue their self-interests (i.e.: profits and returns for investors) without interference. -more-

Four years ago many Berkeleyans were involved in a passionate debate over a proposal to divide Berkeley High entirely into small schools. The School Board eventually resolved that controversy by adopting a compromise plan which called for a Berkeley High School with half its students in small schools and half its students in a large, comprehensive school. -more-

This Tuesday, Californians will vote on a ballot measure that, if approved, will place some teenagers in “serious jeopardy.” -more-

When Beverly Hill chanced to open mail from the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce 10 days ago, she saw red—as in red state. The owner of Rainbo Graphix, just over the city line in Emeryville, she had been a proud member of the Berkeley Chamber for years. Knowing Berkeley, she took it for granted that the chamber, if it took political positions, would be as liberal as the whole city is. That’s not what she found. -more-

FRIDAY, NOV. 4 -more-

Where has the time gone? Late summer wildflowers have morphed into sere grasses and again into autumn foliage greedily drinking in the first rains as we head for the final Challenge hike. It’s worthy of a graduation jaunt and a good test of skills acquired since June. Trails will lead through two parks, so be prepared to look for signposts and carefully follow directions. On this trek the Challenge booklet is a must. -more-

FRIDAY, NOV. 4 -more-