Berkeley—which really did not need any more bad news on the budget front this fiscal year—got it anyway with the surprise, sudden, and stunning announcement this week that the almost universally respected Paul Navazio was resigning as Budget Manager at the end of January to become the Finance Director for the city of Davis. -more-

FRIDAY, JAN. 9 -more-

City Councilmember Gordon Wozniak’s op-ed piece “Rush to IRV Ballot Raises Troubling Questions” (Daily Planet, Dec. 26-29) is full of factual errors and misleading statements. It also ignores one of the strongest arguments for Instant Runoff Voting: IRV offers voters a stronger voice. Under our current system, many people are afraid to vote for their first choice in candidates when that candidate is not one of the frontrunners. They are afraid their vote will be “thrown away,” or that their alternative candidate will be a “spoiler.” So, voters hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils. When that candidate wins, s/he claims “I must implement the platform I ran on.” But, with traditional single vote elections, it is unclear how many voters actually agree with the platform. -more-

When early music scholar and performer Eileen Hadidian was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994, the longtime East Bay resident used the music she loved most to help herself through difficult times. -more-

FRIDAY, JAN. 9 -more-

It’s wet out there. It’s mud time, mushroom time, the Season of the Newt. -more-

With the announcement Monday that Avenue Books would soon close its doors forever, a visitor to Elmwood’s only bookstore discovers an atmosphere that feels like a wake. -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

While Berkeley public access television is now available to a world-wide audience, that doesn’t mean it’s ready for prime time. -more-

A 44-year old Berkeley peace activist detained and jailed in the Occupied West Bank for participating in a New Year Eve’s protest over the construction of Israel’s new “security fence” was freed on bail Thursday morning after nine days in a Ministry of the Interior detention center in Khadera, north of Tel Aviv. -more-

BERKELEY HIGH LIBRARY -more-

“I get ideas, I start things, but then I don’t know what to do with them. I’m not a good administrator. It’s a serious fault,” said Zoia Horn, looking down apologetically. -more-

A world-renowned Berkeley landscape architect has paired with a relatively unknown City of New York employee to win the competition to design the memorial for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. -more-

California now ranks dead last in the country in per capita arts spending, at three cents per person, according to the most recent report from the almost-extinct California Arts Council. Last year, the 27-year-old Arts Council was decimated by a 94 percent budget cut from the Legislature and the governor. This situation is deeply ironic in a state which owes so much to the entertainment industry, which in turn has always relied on the talent produced by California’s formerly excellent arts education program, especially since so many of our political leaders, including the current governor, came from that industry. -more-