With nearly 200 Berkeley public school teachers facing layoffs, union leaders are rejecting a call for all district employees to take a 10 percent pay cut to save the jobs. -more-

COMMUNITY MEETINGS -more-

TUESDAY, MAY 13 -more-

AN AGENCY IN NEED -more-

The Planning Commission on Wednesday will consider amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance that would make it easier for property owners to create accessory dwelling units, also known as secondary, or in-law, units. -more-

In a prior column that ran on the Daily Planet Web site, I wrote about the genesis of state law mandating an easier local process for the development of in-law units in single-family homes, and about some of the factors to be considered in Berkeley as we implement the state-mandated changes. -more-

The City Council will hold a regular meeting for the first time since it began its spring break on April 8. The critical item on the agenda is the budget. -more-

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), which sits on the hill overlooking Berkeley is planning to build a six-story, 94,000-square-foot molecular foundry in Strawberry Canyon for the study of nanoscience. If such a construction was to take place elsewhere in the city, we would all be pouring over plans, discussing it with neighbors, attending public hearings, and writing to our mayor and councilmembers to make sure that the concerns of increased traffic and noise, environmental impacts and infrastructure degradation were adequately addressed. -more-

Critics of the UC Berkeley decision to bar summer students from SARS-affected countries said Monday that the university did not go far enough this weekend when it partially lifted the ban. -more-

A meeting sponsored by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was nearly derailed before it began Thursday night when a group of vocal citizens protested the meeting’s format, which they called a “dog and pony show.” -more-

Berkeley’s newest theater group, the two-year-old Transparent Theater, is closing its second season with the world premier of “Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day” by Tom Clyde. The multi-talented — and clearly energetic — Clyde is also the theater’s artistic director and co-founder, and has directed three out of four of the season’s plays, including the current one. -more-

I didn’t intend to raise butterflies when I planted the fennel. It was decorative enough, and figured in a few Italian recipes I had. It did entirely too well, propagating like crazy and muscling into the rest of the garden; and it tended to get woody and inedible before I harvested it. Weeding was complicated by its tenacious rootmass. But every year it produced a fine crop of anise swallowtails. -more-

The Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) presents Summer Noon Concerts 2003, a unique series of nine free concerts, Thursdays at noon in June & July, beginning June 5th. From Rhythm & Blues to Brazilian capoeira, these concerts at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza (Shattuck Ave. at Center St.) are a showcase of the culturally rich performing arts in Berkeley. This outdoor summer celebration of Berkeley-based musicians & dancers is just a small sampling of the performing arts happening nightly in clubs, cafes, schools, theaters and concert halls in Downtown Berkeley. -more-