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Editor’s note: This is the first of two articles on major changes in California development law. -more-

The plan for Berkeley’s downtown results from the conjunction of two powerful sources arising outside the city itself. -more-

The struggle over West Berk-eley’s future brought a packed house of worried small business owners, craft workers and artists to the Planning Commission last week. -more-

I came across the article today about the shots shutdown at the GAIA building on Friday night. I was walking home through downtown Berkeley when the shots were fired. It was disappointing to have no mention on it from ANY bay area news source over the entire weekend. The berkeley police don't even appear to mention it in their bulletin. We had no idea what was happening - or what happened.. Police were out in force and even closed off the streets... Allston, Center, etc. Anyway, the article raised doubt as to how many shots were fired. I came across this video taken during the shots fired... there were 3 - they happened just after halfway. -- Moni -more-

The Berkeley Police Department shut down yet another party at the Gaia Arts Center in downtown Berkeley Friday night after it attracted a large unruly crowd that blocked streets at Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. Gunshots were fired in its aftermath, authorities said Saturday. -more-

Elephant Pharm, which opened in Berkeley six years ago as a pharmacy promoting holistic health merchandise, closed down its three stores and declared bankruptcy Tuesday, blaming the economic downturn and the tightening of the credit market. -more-

The Malcolm X kindergartner hit by a car last Friday on her way to school in South Berkeley was moved from intensive care to a regular surgery recovery room at Children’s Hospital Wednesday and will start therapy soon on her fractured clavicle, according to authorities. -more-

The group of parents, teachers, administrators and students from Berkeley High School who spoke in support of introducing block schedules and advisory programs during a Berkeley Board of Education meeting Wednesday were joined by an equally vociferous bunch who criticized the proposed overhaul, citing research, personal experience and an online petition to prove their point. -more-

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums—who once served as a member of the Berkeley City Council before being elected to Congress from the East Bay—has reached into his Berkeley roots to fill several key Oakland City Hall staff positions. -more-

Caltrans will fund $2 million in improvements to Highway 13 in Berkeley as the result of negotiations with neighborhood activists who had filed suit challenging the state’s plans to drill a fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel. -more-

Foiled robbery -more-

Charles Glenn “Ozzie” Osborne, proprietor of the legendary Elmwood Soda Fountain for nearly 40 years, died in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 29. He was 89 years old. -more-

Acknowledging that Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield, charged with murdering UC Berkeley graduate Chris Wootton in May posed a threat to the community and a flight risk, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson set his bail at $2 million Monday. -more-

While protesters and the family of Oscar Grant III reacted with anger and anguish to the announcement that former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle would be granted bail Friday afternoon, the most significant action taken at last week’s bail hearing may have been the words directed to the former officer by the Alameda County Superior Court judge in charge. -more-

Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) announced last week that it will turn over its internal affairs investigation to an independent third party that will inspect the actions of all the officers involved in the events leading up to the killing of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day at the Fruitvale station in Oakland. -more-

The downward spiral of West Coast newspapers continues, with most East Bay reporters now scrambling to figure out just when to take an unpaid week off. -more-

The Berkeley Board of Education last week unanimously approved a $50,000 contract with the nonprofit Berkeley Alliance to oversee the process of developing a citywide plan to close the achievement gap for minority students, as outlined by the 2020 Vision, a partnership started by the City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Unified School District and a group of community organizations in June. -more-

DISCONNECT THE PRESCRIPTION LINE -more-

BRAINS WIN! -more-

Once again, this past Friday evening, a riot in downtown Berkeley, with fighting and gunfire, was created by another out-of-control party at the Gaia Arts Center. Although the use permit does not allow private parties, and allows only cultural use, the landlord continues to rent to huge hip hop parties, attended by literally hundreds of teens and young adults. Party attendees then text message their friends who arrive by the hundreds, mobbing the streets. This event was closed down by dozens of Berkeley police officers at 9 p.m. It took two hours for police to move the crowd to Shattuck where, in front of the movie theaters, the fighting and shooting ensued. Imagine parents sending their children to the Shattuck Cinema only to be ensnared in a riot as the movies let out. -more-

People around the country are celebrating an historic event and a demonstration of the power of individuals united in a vision for hope and change. This is not about one man, Barack Obama, but in what his daring to do the seemingly impossible represents for us all. -more-

The Oakland Planning Commission recently unanimously green-lighted the 100-plus unit condo high-rise known as “Creekside” (dubbed “Creekover” by some) at the corner of Telegraph and Claremont, the site of the building that formerly housed Global Video. Given the state of the economy, there is no certainty when, if ever, that project will be built. But the building was emptied out of tenants, with jobs and retail tax dollars lost, plus the built-in security provided by people using the structure. -more-

There has been a media campaign in the past year espousing the misnomer that there is such a thing as “clean coal.” In recent months, there has been a counter campaign from environmentalists that ridicules and disputes the myth. Then, the coal corporations found that sound bite of an Obama campaign speech in which Obama promotes the idea that “we can do it” with “clean coal.” -more-

After two years of work, an independent citizens’ group has submitted a cutting-edge, open-government ordinance to the City Council for its consideration. The Citizens’ Sunshine Ordinance, if adopted by the council in its entirety, would shed real sunshine on city business. All city records, except for those otherwise protected by law, would be made available to the public in a timely way. There would be sufficient time before legislative bodies met for citizens to obtain and review records related to agenda items. Most significantly, this ordinance, unlike any other passed so far in California, would have an independent body to enforce its provisions. Now, it’s up to the City Council to take the bold step of adopting such a progressive ordinance without weakening its provisions. -more-

The extreme wing of Berkeley’s smart-growth movement is pushing hard for high-rises in downtown. -more-

At the Jan. 27 meeting where the City Council rammed through a waiver for the Library of the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act (NFBA), the council majority’s disdain for the public was palpable. Some 30 persons present to speak against waiving the NFBA were not called to speak until 11 p.m. By then the 20 remaining were forced by the mayor to confine their comments to one minute each unless someone else deferred time. This was not in the spirit of the Brown Act which requires equitable treatment of public speakers. Speakers on other agenda items had two minutes. -more-

A part of the military-industrial complex was invited by the Berkeley Public Library to call on the City Council last week, with favorable references provided by library head Donna Corbeil and Terry Powell of the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT)—and despite the best efforts of the Peace and Justice Commission (which voted 7-1 against granting the waiver of the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act, with two abstentions) plus some two dozen members of the public, the majority of councilmembers said: “Make yourself at home, at least for awhile.” -more-

During his first 100 days in office, President Obama faces daunting problems, including a deteriorating economy and two wars. On May 1, how can we tell whether he is doing a good job, given that Bush set the bar so low? -more-

Some years ago, I was part of a team asked by a progressive American organization to do a brief study of anti-black racism in the country of Cuba while we were there working on another project. During our tour of the country for about six weeks, we conducted interviews (as much as we could do with our limited Spanish) and made observations. While almost every Afro-Cuban we spoke with felt they were doing better economically since the 1959 Revolution, there were deep remnants of racism that Cubans seemed to neither acknowledge or even recognize. The country’s various beauty pageants, for example, all featured exclusively women of fair skin and European features and hair; women of visible African descent were not considered standards of “beauty.” And at one of the nation’s insane asylums—a system the Cubans are particularly proud of—the patients put on a minstrel show for the visitors, complete with blackface and buck-and-wing dancing. Our hosts could not understand why the African-American portion of the contingent was aghast. -more-

Last weekend I checked in on the burrowing owls at Cesar Chavez Park. Their winter habitat at the park’s northeastern corner has been surrounded by orange temporary fencing—a good idea, given the volume of foot, bicycle, and dog traffic. At least one owl was visible, standing quietly among the scurrying California ground squirrels, swiveling its head back and forth. (Park visitors can’t resist feeding the squirrels; the owl area is littered with peanut shells.) -more-

"Ever since I was a schoolboy, I loved the English language. Even during the war with Iran, I listened to English songs...” So Adnan, portrayed by Bobak Cyrus Baktiari, recalls the romance with a foreign tongue, and what it meant to a young man growing up in the Iraq of Saddam Hussein—and what it came to mean, as he waits in the half-derelict Palestine Hotel for his comrade and former fellow translator for the American Embassy, Laith, played by Amir Sharafeh. -more-

When Pamela Ciochetti, as Marge in the Masquers’ production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends, calls Evelyn (Michelle Pond) and John’s (Philip Sales) baby (played by typecast Daniel Campbell) “Walter,” and is corrected sharply: “Wayne!”—she defensively says, “I thought his name was Walter ...” “Come on!” declares Evelyn, “You can’t have a baby named Walter!” “Well,” replies Marge, “Somebody must’ve done!” -more-

Tayo Aluko, Nigerian singer and actor living in Liverpool, who performed his one-man Paul Robeson show—a musical and political life—Call Mr. Robeson in San Francisco last year, will talk about Discovering Robeson this Sunday, 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center ($12) with performances of Call Mr. Robeson at Black Repertory Theatre, 3201 Adeline St., on Sun. Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ($15–20), preceded by shows at the Phoenix Theatre in San Francisco, Fri.–Sun. Feb. 20-22. For information, call Mbali Creazzo (415) 710-5348. -more-

Japanese Noh Theater, an ongoing 700-year tradition, spare in movement, like martial arts, but rich in poetry and sumptuous costumes and masks, will be demonstrated in a program, “Noh—Pathos Behind the Mask,” by five performers from Kyoto, led by actor Shizuka Mikata of the Kanze School, including two drummers and a nohkan flute player, this Sun., 2 p.m., 252 McLaren St., University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St. Free admission. An increasingly rare treat for theater, dance, music and poetry lovers, Noh has been an inspiration to modern arts around the world. -more-

He was only one of three partners, and the last of them to join the San Francisco firm of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey, purveyors of paintings in oil and water color, fine prints, objects of art, and picture frames. -more-

On Jan. 30 in the Daily Planet, columnist Matt Cantor wrote thoughtfully about the past and potential of prefabricated dwellings. Although most of Berkeley is “custom made,” as Cantor noted, pre-fabricated structures can have a place here. -more-

A lot of us live in wonderful old homes built in the days before modern furnaces, metal flues and self-venting stoves. These are houses built before 1935 that contain—among their many other dated and cherished facets—brick flues which have nothing whatsoever to do with fireplaces. Brick flues that are sure to crumble or crash when that much lauded earthquake finally makes its, somewhat overdue, appearance here in the East Bay. -more-