In the latest departure of high-level administrators from Berkeley’s school system, Berkeley High School co-principals Mary Ann Valles and Laura Leventer announced Wednesday that they would resign at the end of the school year. -more-

FRIDAY, MAY 23 -more-

A MODEL PROPOSAL -more-

FRIDAY, MAY 23 -more-

Marcia Donahue’s Our Own Stuff Gallery Garden exists on the line between passion and obsession. Even for Berkeley, land of the boldly and proudly iconoclastic, artists Donahue and her life-partner Mark Bulwinkle have created something rare, a garden and gallery that smashes all conceptions of what gardens or galleries should be. -more-

BART is raising its rates, again. -more-

The following letter was addressed to Mayor Tom Bates: -more-

Emeryville’s 12-year economic expansion has exacerbated its housing problems and displaced many of its low-income residents, according to a new study by the East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy (EBASE). -more-

As an environmentalist and a neighborhood resident for over 20 years, I support the smart-growth project proposed to replace the strip mall at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and University Ave. -more-

Several nonprofits protested the city manager’s proposed budget cuts Tuesday night, citing crippling reductions in services and potential program cessation. Among them was the Family Violence Law Center, whose executive director forecast that the 10 percent cut could contribute to the loss of two vital positions. -more-

We were walking in opposite directions on University Avenue in mid-April, and we started grinning as soon as we saw each other, part of Berkeley’s family of mutual notoriety. -more-

The body that was discovered between two houses in South Berkeley has been identified by police as that of 20-year-old Mario Deshawn Mills. -more-

Along with his label of being the Teflon Don (that is, a politician who manages to get out of public view on an issue just before things fall apart and folks start looking around for a politician to blame), California state Sen. Don Perata also has a reputation for eating his young (that is, gathering an impressive group of young and loyal up-and-coming politicians around him, getting their hopes up about his support for their political futures, and then turning and rolling over them like a tank if their political futures happen to get in the way of his). -more-

Catholic priest William O’Donnell recently returned to Berkeley after six months in federal prison. -more-

After 23 years, the Center For the Education of the Infant Deaf (CEID) will finally have a space of its own. -more-

Some people are just easy to talk to. -more-

Log federal forests in order to save them? That’s what the House voted to do Tuesday. Invoking the ghost of George Orwell, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 encourages federal land managers to “conduct hazardous fuel reduction projects.” In a 256 to 170 tally, the House would allow what environmentalists say will lead to logging 190 million acres the Bush administration claims are “at risk” of forest fire. It also limits citizen participation and authorizes another $125 million in industry subsidies. The Senate plans to take it up in summer. -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-