City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to offer emergency financial assistance to eight local child care programs that face delays in state funding as a result of the budget stalemate in Sacramento. -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 18 -more-

Before Berkeley became a fully built city and empty lots were plentiful, moving buildings from one place to another was common. Although houses were moved off University Avenue to nearby residential areas when University Avenue changed to a more commercial thoroughfare, a few residential buildings have survived this transformation. -more-

The Feb. 20 press release just about said it all in the headline: “Mayor Tom Bates Launches Task Force to Fix Berkeley’s Broken Development Process.” But just to make sure we got the point, the subhead referred to “Berkeley’s dysfunctional process for approving building permits.” And then, in the body of the press release, “Developers, neighborhood preservationists, and city staff all agree that our permitting process is broken.” Anyone who still didn’t get it was invited to click over to a fact sheet, which told them that “it is generally agreed that the permitting process in the city of Berkeley is cumbersome, unclear, lengthy and often unfair to all those involved.” -more-

FRIDAY, JULY 18 -more-

When Hugo Brenni helped create La Peña Café in 1973, he intended it to be a small, local restaurant and performance space. Thirty years later, the retiring Brenni leaves behind a cultural center that has become a Bay Area landmark. -more-

EAST TIMOR -more-

Mo Kashmiri, a third-year student at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, may not be returning to school next month. -more-

Let me state at the outset that I am a strong supporter of the comprehensive employment benefit packages espoused by labor unions, progressive employers and proponents of the Western European style welfare state. -more-

The historic Kenney Cottage will remain at 1725 University Ave. for at least a few more days. -more-

I’ve often thought that the easiest way of checking out the state of the American left is to go see the latest production of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Last Saturday I caught the Troupe’s new show, “Veronique of the Mounties,” at Cedar-Rose Park. What this summer’s offering suggests, I’m sorry to say, is that these days the left and Mime Troupe alike are just going through the motions. -more-

Pedestrians and bikers along the San Francisco Bay Trail in Emeryville will now be able to see an addition to the waterfront landscape: a dozen statues on posts three feet in the air. -more-

Watermelon Heist -more-