Several hundred city workers converged on the steps of the city administration building Wednes-day. Some brought the tools of their trade: garbage trucks, pick-ups and code enforcement vehicles, the latter of which came in handy for blocking off the street for the noontime party. -more-

Several Berkeley police officers jumped on a public bus full of elementary students last week and held a gun on their after-school teacher, misidentified as a robbery suspect, while he was taking students to a basketball game. -more-

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia—which entered into a $28 million partnership with UC Berkeley last week to collaborate on research, curriculum and hiring of faculty—announced Thursday an $8 million grant to Paul Monteiro, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley. -more-

In the race for money to finance their campaigns to replace Don Perata as State Senator for District 9, Assembly-member Loni Hancock is drawing heavily on businesses, labor organizations, and associations from around the state, as well as on individual contributions from inside District 9, while former Assemblymember Wilma Chan’s main source is Asian-Americans living outside the district lines. -more-

These days, Iraq War veteran Sean O’Neill speaks out against the war. -more-

Margaret Lowry, removed from her position as Willard Middle School vice principal last week and reassigned to a staff administrative position, has resigned and will leave the Berkeley Unified School District at the end of the school year. -more-

A five-day anti-war camp-out at the downtown Marine Recruiting Station (MRS) aboard a Code Pink truck, designed to draw attention to the March 19 five-year anniversary of the Iraq War, turned nasty Tuesday afternoon: An attorney says the city may be using code enforcement to selectively stifle free speech at the Code Pink protest, and a Code Pink activist says she was assaulted by a city of Berkeley code enforcement supervisor. -more-

After Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, nobody’s thinking of nuclear power in the U.S. these days, right? -more-

Could UC Berkeley’s first commercial ethanol partnership be headed for rough waters? -more-

The struggle to draft a Berkeley density bonus law ground forward Wednesday night, shadowed by the uncertain but foreboding impacts of a June ballot measure. -more-

Fans, foes and the simply undecided can hear the pros and cons of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Monday night, thanks to the efforts of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association. -more-

District One Oakland School Board member Kerry Hamill ended one part of the suspense in the June 3 Oakland election, filing her papers late Wednesday afternoon for the at-large Oakland City Council seat being vacated by incumbent Henry Chang. -more-

To begin with, my father brought me to Herrick in 1990 when I was having a full-blown psychotic episode and my behavior was out of hand because I was quite delusional. It wasn’t my first or last psychotic episode. There would be one more in 1996 before I would swear to permanently stay medicated and cooperative with treatment. -more-

Warm pool rescue -more-

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The future of West Berkeley’s 320 industrial production, distribution, and repair (PDR) businesses, their approximately 7,000 living wage jobs, and the 800 artisans and artists working in West Berkeley’s 225 studios is now being decided. The city’s Planning Department is proposing fundamental changes to the West Berkeley Plan, the area’s guiding zoning document, that would likely lead to the ultimate loss of many of these enterprises. -more-

I will say that, contra Michael Hardesty (Letters, March 11), I usually agree with and appreciate the positions Becky O’Malley takes in her editorials. Yet I found I disagreed strongly with her position on third party voting. -more-

As a second year business student at UC Berkeley, I have become particularly interested in the issues surrounding extension of business hours in the immediate vicinity of the UC Berkeley campus. Having enrolled in two city planning courses the last two consecutive semesters, I have been interested to learn how land use and stakeholders in the area are integral parts of an equation that I had previously felt was limited to issues of supply, demand, and business models. I urge the City Council to continue pushing for extended business hours for several reasons: there is a mutual benefit for both store owners and students, a more vibrant night life will also mean a safer Telegraph commons as well as increased sales tax revenues for the city of Berkeley. -more-

On Jan. 7, a neighbor and I requested the city of Berkeley to provide us a copy of all communications regarding the eleven cell antennas scheduled to be installed at 2721 Shattuck Ave. Access to these communications is our right and in accordance with the California Government Code 6251, the Public Records Act. According to this act, we have the right to receive this information within a 10-day period. Instead, I received a letter from City Manager Phil Kamlarz, stating he would need more time because of the inter-departmental nature of the communications. A month later, on Feb.7, I received a second e-mail from him stating that we could finally make an appointment to review the communications. -more-

Berkeley’s very limited debate over Bus Rapid Transit so far has concentrated on sexily symbolic aspects of the proposal, such as the contributions BRT might or might not make to more “liveable” cities or to reducing global warming. And these “big” questions don’t always produce the expected answers. -more-

Colombia’s March 1 attack on an insurgent camp in Ecuador appears to have been an effort by the right-wing government of Alvaro Uribe to derail efforts by Venezuela and France to free hostages held by the group, intimidate a growing movement against Bogotá’s close ties to rightwing death squads, and put the squeeze on the U.S. Congress to pass a joint trade agreement. -more-

One ought to avoid writing political commentary when angry. It doesn’t make for coherent thought. But it is difficult not to get angry about recent events in the Democratic Presidential race between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It’s even more difficult to try to ignore it, and write about something else. So let’s give it a shot. -more-

Coming up on 35 years, our relationship gets ever more harmonious. I have a stapelia—a starfish flower that attracts flies to pollinate it—on the office windowsill, and Joe has a collection of carnivorous plants on the front porch. When my stapelia blooms, I cope with its decidedly rank fragrance by putting it on the porch with the Venus’ flytrap and the sundews and the various sarracenias and they all have a party. -more-

I’m a Sci-Fi buff from way back and one of my favorite writers was always Robert Heinlein. Robert said the following: -more-