A city-commissioned voter survey predicts that over six out of 10 Berkeley residents would support a bond referendum for a $250 per year average increase in city property taxes in order to maintain city services at their current levels—which may or may not be good news, depending on how and when the city eventually presents the notion to voters. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 -more-

Generations of Berkeley jazz fans have gone to San Francisco’s North Beach to get regular fixes of their favorite kind of music. They were not happy when one of the last real jazz venues in San Francisco—Pearl’s, at Columbus and Broadway—closed its doors in April, but they will be delighted to learn that Pearl’s has re-opened as Jazz at Pearl’s, thanks to a strong infusion of East Bay talent. -more-

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 -more-

Of the two constitutional amendments on the Oct. 7 ballot, the one getting the least publicity this summer and fall—Proposition 53—could end up having the more dramatic long-term effect on the state of California. -more-

IMPORTANT WORK -more-

Consider the local scene, circa 1926. -more-

Frederick J. Lupke, III, known to his many Berkeley friends as Fred, died Thursday, Sept. 25, as a result of injuries he received when he was struck by a car on Ashby Avenue near the South Berkeley Senior Center. -more-

The following was addressed to Berkeley City Council and the Berkeley School Board. -more-

Thanks in part to the recall election, those error-prone punch cards are well on their way out in California. The bad news is that their replacement has some voters fearing the cure may be worse than the disease. -more-

The following was an address to Berkeley City Council on Sept. 7. -more-

Ursula Sherman Village—Berkeley’s most ambitious proposed home for homeless families—is two steps closer to becoming a reality, but environmental and funding concerns are forcing an outcome somewhat different than the original design. -more-

There was a small traffic jam on Gayley Road on Friday just before noon, like a miniature version of the big tie-ups when pop stars are playing the Greek Theater. I’m not sure of the cause, but it’s tempting to believe that it was because a big crossover star was on the bill at the Haas Business School. That’s crossover between academia and journalism—Paul Krugman, today’s top poster boy for intellectual types who are deeply worried that the United States is seriously, perhaps terminally, ill. Krugman, both a New York Times columnist and a Princeton economics professor, told the overflow crowd at his noon lecture that his own favorite columnist quote was from Molly Ivins: “What I hate most about the Bushies is that they make us feel like paranoid conspiracy theorists all the time.” In the audience, we roared our approval of that one. We are all getting tired of feeling paranoid, it’s true. -more-