Berkeley City Council asked citizens to come out to the regular meeting last Tuesday to air their opinions on the proposed March, 2004, parcel tax increase ballot measure. A large number of Berkeley citizens complied, packing Council chambers Tuesday night, and pretty much telling Council to take their tax and shove it. -more-

FRIDAY, NOV. 21

There are two ways to balance a budget, earn more or spend less. Berkeley’s mayor and city Council have decided to “earn more.” For you or I, “earn more” means work more; for city government it means charge higher fees and create new taxes. -more-

UC Berkeley plans to develop a downtown hotel and convention center which Mayor Tom Bates hopes will capture both millions in tax revenue in the near future and the imagination of residents by restoring Strawberry Creek sometime later. -more-

To Berkeley City Council: -more-

Critics of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) gave lab officials an earful Monday, arguing that planned expansion at the lab threatens to pollute their lungs, clog their streets and devour their tax dollars. -more-

It is time to start thinking about and discussing the renewal of our Berkeley Schools Educational Excellence Project (BSEP). For almost 18 years, in two different measures, Berkeley voters have authorized an additional special tax (a rate per square footage, both residential and commercial, with different rates assigned to each). The current BSEP measure sunsets in 2006; it is likely that the measure will be brought back to the voters much sooner than that 2006 sunset date. -more-

Oop, she did it again. Berkeley developer Christina Sun violated a stop work order issued by the Planning Department when under the guise of weatherizing the roof at her 3045 Shattuck Ave. building, she had construction workers proceed towards finalizing the project. -more-

Strawberry Canyon is in the city’s backyard, and for many of us, it’s as if it isn’t even there. How else to explain that in the span of less than a year, a six-story nanotechnology research facility was approved without the benefit of a public hearing, the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone was selected as the preferred location for six-story Building 49, and a water distribution upgrade project was deemed exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) despite significantly denuding the landscape? -more-

UC Berkeley’s Dean of Students Karen Kenney this week issued her ruling on the fates of three students charged with violating the student code of conduct during an anti-war sit-in at Sproul Hall last March. -more-

BOWL BOYCOTT -more-

Vox populi is out in full throat after the proposed parcel tax, as anyone who reads the opinion pages of this paper will know by now. City Council’s hearing on Tuesday gave public voice to sentiments which have been circulating in small meetings and on the Internet for two months or more. -more-