When people hear Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek deliver a public address in the City Council Chambers, they take a second look to make sure the prodigious voice is actually emanating from the elderly woman with the short gray afro and cherubic face. -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 -more-

INDEPENDENT BOARD -more-

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 -more-

Two weeks after newly appointed Berkeley High School principal Patty Christa abruptly resigned, the school district named the runner-up from this spring’s principal search to the high-profile post Thursday. -more-

The mayor has convened an advisory task force taking on the difficult task of trying to make our planning process better. I offer the following comments to spur public input into this process. To me, there are two “big picture” problems with Berkeley’s planning process: -more-

A recent straw poll taken by the political advocacy group MoveOn.org named Dennis Kucinich, John Kerry and Howard Dean as the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination among its members. -more-

China has yet again outdone itself in its legacy of terrorism against humanity—this time by forcefully deporting two weeks ago 18 Tibetans to Tibet from nearby Nepal, which otherwise was for these hopeful refugees their doorstep to the outside world, to freedom in exile. -more-

The evening of Jan. 6, 2003, was supposed to be a homecoming for Jennifer Medina and Omar Khan. The couple, wed only 15 months before, was returning to the States after spending Christmas with Khan’s family in England. Khan is a 26-year-old British citizen who had just been in his homeland to finish up his college coursework. He was to return to his new home in Berkeley to begin building a life with Medina, a UC Berkeley graduate and local soccer celebrity. He had a public relations job lined up at a local startup animation company, and was considering a high school teaching career. -more-

The City Council Chambers were overflowing on Tuesday with concerned parents, art-toting children and worried non-profit directors during the last public hearing on the city’s budget proposal. -more-

Two brazen daylight shootings in the past week have shaken Berkeley and prompted police to step up patrols in the area. -more-

At the Grand Lake in Oakland there is still one large theater that has not been chopped down to postage stamp size. Painted on the ceiling above the huge screen is a medallion, tarnished with the breath of decades of expectant audiences. On it is depicted a seated woman wearing a toga. She was a woman with no arms. Or so it seemed to my daughter’s friend, who tells us that as a child she would stare up at the ceiling, searching in the gloom for the missing appendages. -more-

After a year of heavy cuts, the Board of Education passed a final, $85 million 2003-2004 budget Wednesday night, leaving $6 million to be chopped the following year to balance the books. -more-

The Board of Education’s newest member, student representative Bradley Johnson, has been a politician since his freshman year at Berkeley High School. -more-

Once again the local, legendary rock band Metallica is in the news. Last year they made headlines in their lawsuit against Napster. This time they’re in the media because one of their members, James Hetfield, has returned to the band after a year off for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. -more-

I met Gregory Peck once. And of course he did not remember it. That’s how it is for famous people— the moment you meet them is blazoned into your mind, and for them, they cannot remember your face the minute they let go of your hand. This must be doubly true for legends, and Gregory Peck was a legend. -more-

The Berkeley Community Fund has announced that Berkeley Symphony Orchestra conductor Kent Nagano has been selected as the recipient of this year's Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal. -more-

A man in his late teens or early 20s robbed two homes on Wednesday morning, according to police. A resident of the 800 block of Mendicino Avenue reported stolen items valuing $20,000. It was unclear whether anything was missing from the second home, on the 1700 block of San Lorenzo Avenue. -more-

Part One: The California Legislature, possibly to ensure the re-election of Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, fails that year to enact that combination of spending cuts and tax increases necessary to deal with the problems of the dot-com bust and the energy company rip-off. As a result of delaying what seemed obvious to the casual observer, the Legislature causes the budget deficit to explode the next year to almost $38 billion. But instead of passing a constitutionally mandated balanced budget by the constitutionally mandated deadline of June 15, the Legislature goes home. -more-

Sometimes it takes more than a village to raise a child. Sometimes, it takes the Village People. -more-

The world has been way, way too much with me lately. I have been rather beset by Issues, the details of which I am not at liberty to discuss (but be sure to ask if you bump into me on the street); I do confess, however, to some tossed curls, stamped feet, slammed doors, perhaps even a tear or two—and that’s just how my therapist has been behaving. The whole situation has left me feeling rather wrought, and longing for an appropriate venue to which I can repair to repair. I want a stylish backdrop that lends itself to the channeling of my inner diva. And, not that I’m picky or anything, but really good food and drink should be offered, too. -more-

It may not be the next Paris. Or even the next Rockridge. -more-

BDP Website Info for Downtown Berkeley Association -more-