More than 200 people took part in a silent protest this afternoon outside Sproul Hall to protest a veto of the UC Berkeley Israel divestment bill which urges the university to withdraw funding from two companies providing military weapons to the Israeli Army. -more-

The Berkeley Planning Commission will discuss an abbreviated version of the Downtown Area Plan tonight, Wednesday. -more-

Included in the packet for the Berkeley Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 14, 1s the April 7 draft of a downtown plan for Berkeley. This one is shorter than the previous one--according to the introduction from Planning Director Dan Marks that's to make it easier for the voters to read, because it's going on the ballot in November. -more-

Berkeley High School’s The Jacket Online is among 10 high school newspaper websites to win the 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Crown Award. -more-

It’s going to be a busy summer for Berkeley High School. The school’s principal, Jim Slemp, is set to retire in June, and Berkeley Unified School District kicked off a search for his replacement this week. -more-

A UC Berkeley student present at the scene of a collision between a Berkeley police car and a car full of teenagers early Sunday morning was arrested “for challenging an officer for a fight and refusing to leave the crime scene,” a Berkeley Police Department public information officer said Monday. -more-

Supporters and opponents of Israeli government policies are getting ready for the UC Berkeley Israel divestment bill showdown Wednesday, with luminaries including South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu joining the list of divestment endorsers. -more-

The Berkeley Rep said Monday that two artists associated with the theater were recognized for their work when the Pulitzer Prize for Drama was announced today. -more-

A friend of a man accused of murdering University of California at Berkeley student Christopher Wootton near campus two years ago is testifying today as a reluctant prosecution witness in the case. -more-

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau April 6 objecting to the university’s handling of student misconduct charges following a Dec. 11 protest outside the chancellor’s house. -more-

A lawsuit filed by a Berkeley neighborhood group over UC Berkeley’s controversial Memorial Stadium expansion project has been settled out of court. -more-

The California Democracy Act hasn't gathered enough signatures to guarantee a place on the November ballot, an e-mail message from campaign volunteers announced Wednesday. -more-

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) announced Wednesday that it had named Berkeley Councilmember Darryl Moore as the chair of its board of directors. -more-

For Berkeley High School students Prentice Gray and Kyle Strang, the end of their incredible friendship came too soon. -more-

A candlelight vigil for Kyle Strang, who died in a car accident in Richmond March 31 was held at the park next to Strang's house on Acton Street and University Avenue last Friday. -more-

It might take five men from India to save Berkeley’s historic Oaks Theater. -more-

Berkeley might soon start resembling the fictitious city of Agrestic featured in the hit TV series “Weeds,” where a widowed young mother bakes pot cookies at home to make ends meet. -more-

A Berkeley Technology High School student was arrested for attacking a Berkeley High School safety officer during an on-campus fight Monday. -more-

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center’s proposal to relocate its Cardiac Catheterization Lab from its Ashby Avenue campus to the Summit campus in Oakland has alarmed some longtime patients. -more-

The Tea Party Movement Examined -more-

A new report from the Berkeley Faculty Association calls attention to the enormous unfunded liabilities facing the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) - estimated to reach $18 billion by 2013 if no action is taken. The long term financial viability of UCRP is now in question and the future pensions of current employees are at risk. -more-

Two weeks ago, UC Berkeley's student senate made a historic 16-4 decision to divest from General Electric and United Technologies, two American companies that profit from the Israeli occupation. A week later, the student body president vetoed the bill, citing its “focus on a specific country,” Israel. His veto echoed identical claims by Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, that “in a world filled with human rights abuses across Africa, Asia and the Americas, the UC Berkeley students vote to single out Israel for censure is hypocritical.” -more-

Berkeley’s pool bond will be on the June 8th ballot. It proposes to replace the indoor warm pool at the Berkeley High School (without identifying a new location), renovate the West Campus and Willard pools, and construct a multi-purpose (competition) pool at King, at a construction cost of $22,500,000 PLUS annual maintenance of $3,500,000 indexed to the highest rate of inflation. -more-

Like yourself, I am also a strong proponent of protecting and restoring our natural environment…the streams, rivers, shoreline, hills, meadows, green open spaces and the wildlife upon which we here in the Bay Area all rely, not only for the pleasure and beauty they provide, but for their ecological necessity. I am familiar with your concerns in these areas, and am therefore writing this to you to make absolutely sure that you are aware of a situation taking place at this present time. I hope that you will agree that it is crucial that something be done to save a local environmental and architectural treasure in our community. -more-

An actor lit up a cigarette near me at a recent stage performance in Berkeley, and I nearly bolted. I felt the same panic I’ve had to field for years as people without respiratory difficulties assume that their smoking won’t matter to those of us whose physiological reactions are immediate, debilitating, and sometimes deadly. -more-

At the April 6 Richmond City Council meeting a stream of unemployed laborers and labor leaders vented their anger and frustration on Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. They blamed the mayor for their unemployed status. They were aided and abetted by some in the audience and some on the dais who were clearly motivated by their own political agendas and not the plight of the workers. -more-

In 2007 and 2008, my wife and I traveled to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela -- where Simón Bolivar is revered as a national hero, the country's liberator from Spain. We were, therefore, cautioned never to show disrespect for Bolivar. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias, the current president of Venezuela, frequently links himself to this legendary figure to gain popular support for his programs both at home and abroad. But who exactly is Simón Bolivar? -more-

In late January, the federal government allocated $15 million to AC Transit's proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project Of all the Small Starts projects funded for 2011, this is the only one rated “high," which means it is the most cost-effective of all those projects. This sign of support from the Obama administration shows we can expect more federal funding in the future. -more-

Janet Stork, well-known educational researcher and independent school administrator, died of cancer at age 55, at home in Kensington, California, on April 5, 2010. She is survived by her children, Andrew and Catie Birnberg of Berkeley; her father, Gilbert Stork of New York; and her siblings, Diana Stork of Boston and Linda and Philip Stork of Portland, as well as several nieces and nephews. Her mother, Winifred Stewart Stork, predeceased her. -more-

Bishop Desmond Tutu endorses UC Berkeley divestment resolution.

More voices are heard in Israel divestment debate

The West Virgina mine tragedy is linked to union busting

Two Arrested in Alleged Armed Carjacking, Kidnapping in Southwest Berkeley -more-

The Civil War ranks as the most costly of US wars, with 625,000 deaths and a comparable number of injuries. Now the Republican Party is stoking the fires of insurrection and for thousands of right-wing zealots a new civil war seems a political necessity. As increasing numbers of Democratic politicians are threatened, how long will it be before domestic terrorists use their weapons? -more-

A relatively short action agenda turned into a much longer meeting April 1, 2010, as the Landmarks Preservation Commission delved for the second month into the design details of a renovation and expansion of the North Berkeley branch library. -more-

“Beware of the young doctor and the old barber.” -more-