Most Berkeley High School seniors who graduated last week will begin their studies at a college or university this fall. Others will work or travel. One will study ballet in Russia, another plans to move to India and a third will try his luck auditioning for Broadway plays in New York. -more-

CRUCIAL COOPERATION -more-

A Bay Area basketball team, including four girls from St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, is on its way to the national basketball championship next month in Tennessee if the players can raise enough money to get there. -more-

Faced with heavy teacher layoffs and cuts in sports and music programs, a series of parent-led fund-raising groups are asking the city’s heavily taxed residents to pour more money into the schools. -more-

1963 became a watershed year in American History. -more-

Berkeley celebrated its 17th annual Juneteenth festival on Sunday. Sponsored by the Adeline-Alcatraz Merchants Association, the day was one of both celebration and education. -more-

In the first week of June, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a conference on taking back America from the radical Right. I went in search of signs that progressives are capable of mounting a serious challenge to the Republican gang that’s ravaging our country. One such sign, I’d become convinced, would be evidence of a concerted effort to move the Democratic Party to the left. -more-

If the AC Transit board of directors votes to eliminate discount monthly passes, Charles Menton said he will stop riding the bus. -more-

One of former Mayor Shirley Dean’s clean-up events took place at the corner of San Pablo and University avenues, where brooms and trash bags were handed out to mostly non-area participants for a highly photographed moment. Blockbuster Video was just laying its controversial foundation. -more-

Tuesday is the last opportunity for the public to sound off on next year’s proposed budget, which seeks to counter a $4.7 million deficit by raising parking fines and continuing a city hiring freeze. -more-

Students who have still not passed both sections of the high school exit exam may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Under intense pressure from teachers and civil rights advocates who say the high-stakes exam unfairly punishes students for the inequalities in the educational system, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that he was canceling the July administration of the test and recommending that the State Board of Education vote to postpone the requirement until 2006. -more-

The Salvation Army dissolved its Berkeley Board of Advisers last Tuesday, a few months after the board recommended the organization sell their University Avenue property to a nonprofit agency that would either develop a senior service center or affordable housing. -more-

On Monday at noon, a big white moving truck stopped in front of the downtown offices of public radio station KPFA, 94.1 FM, and unloaded 11 nondescript boxes and a whole lot of symbolism. -more-

The potential demolition of the historic Ellen Blood House on Durant Avenue was supposed to be addressed at last Thursday’s Zoning Appeals Board meeting, but the matter was misstated on the agenda and postponed until next week. -more-

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First, let’s make it clear that “The Wyrd Sisters,” which opened June 13 at the Berkeley City Club, couldn’t be any newer or more modern in its creation. This is important to remember since the play itself is so strongly reminiscent of an earlier period of playwriting. -more-

EXHIBITIONS -more-

TUESDAY, JUNE 17 -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-

It wasn’t your typical retirement party. Then again, Linda Mengel and James Harris aren’t your typical teachers. -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 13 -more-

TASK FORCE -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 13 -more-

On the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Virginia Street in West Berkeley, a small yellow light flashes, day and night. Beneath it are the words “School,” and “Speed Limit 25 When Children Are Present.” But no one seems to pay much attention to the signs anymore. The City of Franklin Elementary School—which patterned itself after a small metropolis—has been closed for a year and the kids are long gone. -more-

In light of the resignation of our new high school principal, Ms. Patty Christa, we the undersigned community representatives are sending this open letter to our school community to identify what we believe to be an opportunity for us all. We continue to believe that the success or failure of our schools to educate children cannot rest at the feet of any one individual in this district. We are in support of establishing a community approach to education and utilizing the candid assessment made by Ms. Christa as our catalyst for change. -more-

South Berkeley residents fighting to stop the construction of a three-story, mixed-use development on Shattuck Avenue scored a victory Tuesday night. -more-

For more than a year the attention of the American people has been diverted from the deteriorating conditions at home and directed toward terrorism and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. While many are celebrating the “success” abroad, comparatively little attention has been paid to the economic problems brewing at home. -more-

No one who participated in this year’s Senior Streak at Berkeley High School will be punished because the school administration was unable to recognize anyone involved. -more-

If you have been following the city’s budget process, you have been appalled at the bad news. For next year, there will be bureaucratic belt-tightening, programmatic budget cuts, increased parking fines, increased general service fees, increased property-based service fees and a brand new fee for landlords to cover rental housing safety inspections. For subsequent years, the picture is much, much worse—big service cuts, big staff cuts and substantial fee and tax increases. -more-

UC Berkeley administrators and professors welcomed the selection of UC San Diego Chancellor Robert Dynes Wednesday as the 18th president of the University of California. But some students, on the left and right of the political spectrum, raised concerns about Dynes’ position on UC Regent Ward Connerly’s controversial Racial Privacy Initiative. -more-

UC Berkeley paleoanthropologist Tim White and a team of researchers reported this week that the fossils they found in eastern Ethiopia in 1997 are the oldest known remains of near-modern humans. -more-

In the latest chapter of the struggle to define West Berkeley, the Planning Commission held a public workshop on proposed zoning amendments that would restrict office development and protect light industry and arts and crafts studios. -more-

Stopping to chat with an old friend or lingering over coffee after lunch soon could mean a stiffer fine for those parked on Berkeley streets. -more-

The California Arts Council handed out only 26 cash prizes this year to recognize exemplary California artists and the competition was fierce. When the winners were announced last week Berkeley residents Lia Cook, Mildred Howard, Nancy Selvin, Sharon Siskin, and Dean Smith each won a $4,567 fellowship. Christel Dillbohner of Kensington and Karen Kersten of Oakland also won fellowships. -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-

Berkeley may soon have the most expensive neighborhood parking in the Bay Area. -more-

The press secretary for Jerry Brown says that the Mayor is backtracking from his stated goal of replacing the tenants and the resident performing arts companies at the Alice Arts Center with his Oakland School of the Arts. -more-