The Berkeley City Councilmember representing the district of embattled Oregon Street homeowner Lenora Moore has sharply criticized the neighbors who brought a lawsuit in Small Claims Court against the 75-year-old grandmother, saying that their action involved a “revenge motive.” -more-

Berkeley officials have taken the first steps toward moving the city’s popular flea market, the market’s attorney said Monday. -more-

Former Berkeley Police Officer Sgt. Cary Kent, 53, pleaded guilty Friday to three felony charges: grand theft, possession of heroin, and possession of methamphetamine. -more-

Cultural uses at the Gaia Building, sewer fees, and adopting the barn owl as the city’s official bird are just a few of the issues the City Council will address tonight (Tuesday) after its month-long spring break. -more-

Two incumbents will vie to maintain their hold on the Berkeley Board of Education, while President Terry Doran says he won’t run again. -more-

Warped lane configurations on Telegraph Avenue and a traffic analysis of proposed mixed-use development on University Avenue topped the list of hot button issues on the Transportation Commission’s agenda Thursday. -more-

Despite heavy rains experienced in Berkeley this year, two of the city’s emergency storm shelters have closed and a third has only a few more days of funding. -more-

Faced with a budget crisis, the Contra Costa Health Department has proposed $12.8 million in cuts that would eliminate 88 jobs and reduce some key services. -more-

Efforts by Richmond environmental activists are playing a major role in reducing developer opposition to laws tightening regulations at contaminated sites. -more-

The Secretary-Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of the Alameda County Medical Center Board of Trustees abruptly resigned from the board last week, leaving the board without a key financial expert at a time when the center is facing a fiscal crisis and questions about board oversight of its fiscal management. -more-

Just when it seemed impossible for relations between the United States and Iran to get any worse, they have deteriorated once again. The rhetoric and counter-rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear program sounds serious and substantive. However, a little reflection reveals this situation for what it is: a continuing piece of high-stakes political theater that principally benefits the leaders of both nations by shoring up their lagging political fortunes. -more-

The following is an excerpt from Richard Schwartz’s Earthquake Exodus, 1906: Berkeley Responds to the San Francisco Refugees. This is the last in a series of four installments from the book. -more-

There is a 62 percent chance of an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.7 or greater striking the San Francisco Bay Area before the year 2032, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. -more-

BERKELEY BOWL WEST -more-

While Ed Church and the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation claim that on Dec. 13 the City Council authorized them to organize a task force to make recommendations to the council regarding development of the west parking lot of the Ashby BART station (“Development Corp. Seeks Task Force,” March 24), in fact the council did no such thing. Neither the resolution passed that night nor the Caltrans grant application it endorsed says anything about a task force. The cover memo from Planning Department Director Dan Marks to the City Council said that the SBNDC suggested that Mayor Tom Bates and City Councilmember Max Anderson appoint a task force, but in its discussions the council rejected that proposal, and took no action to endorse any of several proposed alternatives. -more-

At a March 15 EIR Scoping Meeting, Oakland City Planning Commissioner Michael Lighty described the recently unveiled plans for yet another transit village—this one at the MacArthur BART station—as “radical.” He wasn’t being strictly dismissive, defending developments at BART stations as “logical.” But even he allowed that this project with “signature” twin towers, one 20 stories, the other 22, abutting Hwy. 24—was a bold move by BART, the City of Oakland redevelopment agency, and a private development company headed by Shea Homes. -more-

Although we live in a dense urban environment, I think we all support conservation. Fortunately, our predecessors did as well. They’ve given us the East Bay Regional Parks—90,000 acres of natural habitat laced with miles of creeks. And here in Berkeley we have access to natural creeks in many public parks and on the UC campus. But these are urban creeks flowing through urban neighborhoods and must be viewed differently from those in natural preserves. -more-

It was a shame to once again read in the Daily Planet an inaccurate and one-sided account of the proposed revision of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (“Preservationists Vow to Take Landmarks Law to Voters,” April 11).    -more-

A few people have told me that they missed reading my column in this beloved rag. I’ve missed writing it. (Thank you, friends, for noticing my absence.) -more-

Last week I received an important letter from the United States Navy. This is what it said: -more-

The dawn redwoods don’t mind the soggy weather; they’re leafing out more or less on schedule. I suppose they evolved with wetter weather to begin with, so no surprise there. In other ways, this tree has been full of surprises. -more-