State schools chief Jack O’Connell released the 2007-08 dropout and graduation rate report Tuesday, May 12, calling for comprehensive reform to address the large number of California students leaving high school before getting a diploma. -more-

With Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz saying that the city’s proposed fiscal year 2010 budget “is balanced and it looks pretty good,” Kamlarz’ office is already making preparations for what he calls “major problems” that are looming two years down the road. -more-

Berkeley’s Board of Education voted unanimously April 29 to ask the school district to review classroom capacities and attendance zones to address overcrowded elementary schools. -more-

UC Berkeley officials announced Friday, May 8, that Social Security numbers and other identification had been hacked from restricted university health services databases, putting students at risk of identity theft. -more-

The Big Tadoo Puppet Crew paid a visit to LeConte Elementary School Tuesday to teach students about traffic safety rules. -more-

UC Berkeley’s search for a dean for its Graduate School of Journalism came to an end May 7 when it selected interim Dean Neil Henry for the position. -more-

State officials announced Saturday, May 9, that the Berkeley Unified School District will receive $2.4 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. -more-

The UC Board of Regents on May 8 approved a 9.3 percent student fee increase for the 2009-10 school year, despite criticism from students about the high cost of tuition. -more-

More than 100 University of California Berkeley workers and students rallied on the steps of Sproul Plaza Wednesday, May 13, to protest the arrest of an undocumented immigrant worker by UC police last month. -more-

The Berkeley City Council is scheduled to take its first formal look at the city’s ambitious Downtown Area Plan (DAP) during a work session on the plan scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, at 5 p.m. -more-

BART’s Board of Directors is scheduled to consider moving forward with a controversial plan for a BART line link between the Coliseum Station and the Oakland Airport when the board holds its regular meeting Thursday morning. -more-

Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Commission came away with more questions than answers at the end of reviewing the environmental impact report for Wareham Development’s proposal to tear down the historic Copra Warehouse at 740 Heinz St. and construct a new four-story laboratory building. -more-

The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.0 struck near Berkeley Wednesday, May 13. -more-

The May 7 story “B-Tech Students on Their Way to College” incorrectly stated that the school has failed to get an Academic Performance Index score for the last several years due to poor participation rates. The school’s API has increased from 311 in 2005 to 596 in 2008, which Principal Victor Diaz said was the second highest API score among continuation schools in Alameda County. Berkeley High School has failed to get an API score for the last several years because of poor participation. -more-

The Berkeley Police Department on May 8 released the name of the victim who died of gunshot wounds in southwest Berkeley earlier this week as 18-year-old Maurice Robertson. -more-

In 1974 I left New York behind to live in Berkeley. I also left behind a young husband, my family and friends, furniture, job and a great antique Chinese carpet. Why? It was the call of peace, the lifestyle, the freedom and possibly a touch of insanity. Nonetheless I arrived at a two-story Victorian house on Ashby looking for Doug, who had assured me on the phone that there was a place for me. “Doug’s gone,” a long-hair told me, “but there’s room for you anyway.” -more-

Walking home last Friday from the City Commons Club noon program, I thought how blessed I am to live so close to the Berkeley City Club, a California Historical Landmark. -more-

PROP. 1A -more-

Berkeley residents may not know it, but over the next several weeks, the Berkeley City Council is poised to vote on competing visions and plans for Berkeley’s downtown. One is the compromise vision adopted by a community-based, multi-stakeholder committee, the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC). This vision was crafted over an intensive two-year process, and included extensive expert testimony and presentations, constant public comment, numerous public hearings, ongoing subcommittee workgroups, and continual iterations and modifications to the final plan, to develop a thoughtful, careful compromise that could be acceptable to a wide range of citizen and community interests. -more-

On Tuesday, May 5, the Berkeley City Council unanimously approved its Climate Action Plan and consequently moved one step closer to becoming one the first governments in the country to address climate change by developing a more local, sustainable food system. -more-

According to report in the May 8 New York Times, reporter M. Wald indicates that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has claimed hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles will not be given federal funding, being too far down the road—obviously very far down the road without that funding. -more-

I share James McVaney’s enthusiasm for a Berkeley Ferry, but in his letter of May 5 I believe he has a few very important things wrong. -more-

The Berkeley Public Library’s two-year budget is on the trustees’ May 20 meeting agenda. This is an opportune time to inform the trustees of our dissatisfaction with, and the dysfunction of the radiofrequency (RFID) self-checkout system. -more-

Berkeley Public Library’s own records show persistent problems with its Checkpoint Systems, Inc. radio frequency identification (RFID) checkout and security system. -more-

Over the last year, I’ve written several commentaries about AC Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proposal, the dedication of lanes on Telegraph for the 1R bus. I predicted that AC Transit could not afford to operate BRT without impacting other bus routes, and that prediction has come true sooner than I expected. It is now painfully clear that AC Transit can’t even afford to operate the 1R bus without cutting service on other routes. -more-

If there was one simple thing you could do that would reduce greenhouse gases, make neighborhoods safer and more livable, ease congestion on the streets, reduce your stress and your cholesterol, get rid of unwanted flab, all while saving you money, would you do it? Would you leave your car at home and hop on a bike? -more-

The Green Party of Alameda County urges you to vote no on all items on the ballot in the May 19 special election. We are opposed, of course, to the cuts in transportation, education, social services, and the rest, that are part of the budget deal which led to this special election. We oppose this deal even though the politicians tell us that great hardship will result if they don’t get their rotten deal passed. And it may even be true. But we are even more opposed to the process which concluded by offering us the “choice” of being shot in the leg or shot in the arm but did not offer us the choice of using our collective wealth to meet human needs. -more-

Recently WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,000,000.00 in back central services contributions. Each station contributes 20 percent of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica. -more-

For many Democrats, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s change of party affiliation was a mixed blessing. While the 79-year-old Specter is liberal on many social issues and probably gives Dems the 60th vote they need to reach cloture, his mercurial personality and increasingly erratic behavior are troubling, and many political observers see Specter’s actions as self-serving. However, Specter views this political move as an opportunity to cement his legacy: reining in presidential power and restoring the constitutional checks and balances destroyed by the Bush administration -more-

From time to time, when some of my blogging and columnizing friends want to dismiss my various writings about Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums without actually having to respond to my arguments, they resort to simply calling me a “Dellums defender.” -more-

Last week I explored some of the variations of siblicide, or cainism, in golden eagles and other birds, as described by zoologist Douglas Mock in More Than Kin and Less Than Kind: The Evolution of Family Conflict. As that subtitle implies, Mock has also studied less extreme forms of sibling competition, such as begging for parental attention. He’s also interested in the parents’ role in various degrees of domestic mayhem. -more-

Flushing toilets account for nearly 30 percent of our water usage and with water bills at an all-time high, I thought it might be time to talk about how to replace a toilet. (It’s also a VERY green thing to do, since the system that supplies water to our homes contributes greatly to CO emissions.) -more-

The 14th Annual Jazz on Fourth Festival, which benefits Berkeley High School performing arts program, takes place this Sunday, May 17. -more-