An Alameda County Superior Court judge’s ruling has forced a halt to the planned construction of a gymnasium complex next to UC Berkeley’s California Memorial Stadium. -more-

The day before a judge was to rule on the university’s right to build a sports training facility adjacent to Memorial Stadium, the City Council voted 8-1 to temporarily halt all new development in the Panoramic Hill neighborhood, just south of the stadium. -more-

Safeway representatives unveiled plans to upgrade their Solano Avenue store at the Northbrae Community Church Tuesday, and they got an earful from Berkeley and Albany neighbors, who voiced concerns about aesthetics, parking and the size of the proposed project. -more-

Forget flexibility: It’s now the “West Berkeley Project.” -more-

The ongoing battle over bus rapid transit (BRT) smoldered anew when Berkeley’s planning and transportation commissions took their second joint look at the concept last week. -more-

With the AC Transit district working on an ambitious proposal to run dedicated, bus rapid transit-only lanes from San Leandro and across the city of Oakland to the UC Berkeley campus, the president of the AC Transit board of directors says he is “surprised” that more Oakland residents and politicians have not weighed in on the idea. -more-

Trying to strike a balance between budgetary necessities and political realities, the AC Transit Board of Directors put off consideration of a proposed across-the-board fare increase until after the November general election, opting instead to begin the process of putting a parcel tax increase measure on the fall ballot. -more-

The February shooting death of Anita Gay, 51, by Officer Rashawn Cummings was justified, Berkeley police say. -more-

Monday evening, on the five-month anniversary of the death of South Berkeley resident Anita Gay, killed by Berkeley Police Officer Rashawn Cummings on Feb. 16, some 40 people demonstrated at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Ashby Avenue, calling for a thorough inquiry into Gay’s death. -more-

City Manager Phil Kamlarz has told a number of councilmembers, including Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Dona Spring, that he is planning a nationwide search for a permanent replacement for former City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque after the budget has been put to rest. -more-

Tucked inside every diploma of the Berkeley High School graduating class of 2008 is a voter registration card, something principal Jim Slemp didn’t forget to point out amidst all the exhortation, advice and pranks at the Greek Theater on Friday. -more-

The Berkeley Unified School District announced last week that was all teachers who received lay-off notices as a result of proposed education budget cuts will be able to keep their jobs. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education, looking for ways to close the achievement gap in the city’s public schools, approved a resolution last week to affirm the 2020 Vision for Berkeley’s Children and Youth, which aims to remove barriers to educational equity for African Americans and Latinos by 2020. -more-

Pam Bennett of Code Pink was arrested Friday, June 13, when she bared her breasts in front of Berkeley’s downtown Marine Recruiting Station. -more-

Berkeley City College student Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield—charged with the murder of UC Berkeley nuclear engineering student Chris Wootton—did not enter a plea during an appearance June 12 at the Alameda County Superior Court. -more-

Berkeley police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a woman near Dwight Way and College Avenue around 7:20 p.m. Sunday, authorities said. -more-

The Berkeley Police Department is helping Houston police investigate the disappearance of a 21-year-old student who has been missing since Dec. 15 from his off-campus Houston apartment, authorities said Friday. -more-

On a 4-0 bipartisan vote, the State Senate Agriculture Committee approved a resolution Tuesday calling for a moratorium on aerial spraying for the light brown apple moth until the state can prove that the spray is both safe for humans and the environment and effective against the moth. -more-

By a narrow margin, journalists at East Bay newspapers owned by the Bay Area News Group-East Bay (BANG-EB) voted to unionize Friday. -more-

Berkeley firefighters found themselves fighting flames on two fronts on June 12, one at the site of the disastrous 1991 hills fire, the other in West Berkeley. -more-

When UC Berkeley hired a new investment-banker-turned-vice-chancellor to help the school negotiate the intricacies of the financial world, they didn’t mention one of his most powerful connections. -more-

This week, after beating former 16th District Assemblymember Wilma Chan 56.8 percent to 43.2 percent in the June 3 District 9 Democratic primary, current 14th District Assemblymember sent out an e-mail thank-you to supporters. -more-

Three candidates for local offices added their names on Friday to the list of those collecting signatures for Berkeley elections on Nov. 4: Beatriz Levya-Cutler for school board and Robert J. Evans and Eleanor Walden for Rent Stabilization Board. -more-

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CONFUSION AMONG LETTER WRITERS -more-

Our children were watching the evening news and saw the tree-sitters with the university police on the ground and the hired arborists up in the trees at the Memorial Stadium oak grove Thursday. -more-

In the past decade, Berkeley’s Aquatic Park has been undergoing a striking renewal. Dreamland for Kids and the Addison Street bicycle/pedestrian bridge bring new life to the park, as do the community organizations that have established programs in park buildings. Habitat restoration along the bay shoreline has created new shelter for wildlife. However, these biologically rich tidal lagoons are at risk of repeated toxic contamination if the Berkeley City Council approves plans for a $2 million storm drain construction project. -more-

June 12 marked the one-year anniversary that our friend and comrade Hal Carlstad left us. He was well known and is missed by a great many people in the Bay Area peace, environmental, social justice, anti-death penalty, Unitarian, and anti-nuclear communities. Hal was everywhere. I first met him in the mid-1980s through Earth First! activities. He said he liked Earth First! because it was “less talk, more action.” It is the rare individual who, literally, every time he blinks his eyes he is thinking not of himself, but rather about what he can do next to bring about change, to build a more compassionate and just world. Hal was that rare individual. -more-

Instant runoff voting (IRV) could be in place for Berkeley’s local November 2008 election. The federal government and California’s secretary of state are expected to test new voting machines for IRV soon. If they pass inspection timely, IRV would be ready for the fall election. -more-

For those with an interest in learning more about the Israel-Palestine conflict than the mainstream media deliver, the Berkeley/Oakland area is a great place to live—not only because the Daily Planet often presents impassioned debates on the issue and KPFA delivers daily on-the-scene updates and background, but also because we get to hear directly from so many insightful visitors from the front lines of the struggle. -more-

In pursuing the 2020 plan proposed by United in Action, that is up for adoption by the school board and City Council, the community of Berkeley will be taking on the admirable campaign to stop our schools from failing the majority of black and brown students. Such a campaign, however, requires that we examine the fundamental goals and practices of education before we charge off for a solution. Specifically, we need to be smart about the uses and limits of testing. -more-

I recently reviewed the site plans and descriptions of the proposed expansion of the Solano Avenue Safeway on the safewayonsolano.com website with great concern and dismay at the oversize scale and boilerplate language about “enlivening and enhancing the area...to promote increased pedestrian activity and community pride. The unique design includes multiple retail spaces on the street level to enhance the flow and energy of the area and encourage shoppers to visit the store via foot or bike.” -more-

Thanks to Judge Barbara Miller's decision in the Oaks v. UC case, Wednesday lasted longer than it should have. The weekly Planet was all ready to send off to the printer at 6, when Redwood Mary called me on my cell phone, saying, "we won, we won!'" Reporter Richard Brenneman had already left, because we all believed that Judge Barbara Miller wasn't going to issue her long-delayed ruling, promised for yesterday, after all. -more-

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has been caught,” is how a recent editorial in the New York Times characterized the findings of the International Police Agency (Interpol) on three laptop computers, several USB thumb drives, and two external hard disks seized during Colombia’s March 1 invasion of Ecuador. -more-

One of the great ironies of these times—something historians in our grandchildren’s time will probably better be able to understand and explain—is that we are experiencing an explosion of information and internet discussion concerning local events while simultaneously seeing a drying up of direct news media reporting on those events. -more-

I’m a great retrospective investor. Not so good at guessing which stocks to pick today but I’m really good at knowing which company or trend I should have bought last year. I guess we’re all a bit like that. Copper is a wonderful example. Its had quite a wild ride over the last six years or so and one of those years saw close to a tripling in value. Copper started out at about 75 cents a pound in 2002 and is now nearly four dollars a pound. I guess some people feel so bad about missing out on the copper boom that they’re willing to climb under your house and leave with your plumbing. No joke—this is actually happening so much these days that its become common news. -more-

Predation: where would Animal Planet be without it? There’s not nearly as much drama in browsing. -more-

It’s hard to believe, but Joan Blondell never had a starring role. Hard to believe not only because it seems like a gross oversight, but also because she so often provided her films with their most memorable character. -more-

July 23: the date looms. It is written on the mirror of Alain Leroy's disheveled room. He has chosen his day, he has chosen his method, and he has decided what he must do in the meantime. It is perhaps the first time he has set a goal for himself, the first time he has followed through on a plan. -more-

In newspaper obituaries of the early 20th century, anyone who settled in the Bay Area before 1890 was called a pioneer. Few of these early residents could compete with the Moody family for the title of pioneers. -more-