Washington should abandon a new Internet-based system designed to facilitate voting for American citizens overseas, declared a panel of top computer experts—including UC Berkeley professor David Wagner—in a recently issued report. -more-

TUESDAY, JAN. 27 -more-

Due to an editing error, the lead headline in Friday’s Daily Planet incorrectly stated that, at the request of Mayor Tom Bates, the Berkeley Planning Commission had voted to delay creation of a task force to examine the proposed UC hotel complex proposed for downtown. -more-

Berkeley City Council members get their first look at City Manager Phil Kamlarz’ 2004-05 city budget proposals during a 5 p.m. working session tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 27), with votes on three specific cost-cutting measures scheduled for the 7 p.m. regular meeting. -more-

Like many parents of Berkeley special education children, Maya MacArdle has had to scratch and claw to make sure her son Anthony received the education she thinks he deserves. -more-

Berkeley flamenco aficionados anxiously anticipating last weekend’s dual performances by renowned guitarist Paco de Lucia found out they’re going to have to wait until March for rescheduled shows. -more-

Berkeley musicians Carol Denney, Country Joe McDonald, Buzzy Linhart and the Big Few, Will Scarlett and others will take the stage Wednesday night for the Shelter from the Storm benefit concert at the Freight & Salvage Co. to honor the Berkeley Homeless Union. -more-

Opponents of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have petitioned the California Supreme Court to invalidate his executive orders lowering the Vehicle License Fee increase and cutting $148 million to education and other programs. -more-

Historical Society Seeks Bohemians -more-

SHASTA FIRE STATION -more-

THE “MIXED-USE” MISNOMER -more-

Measure I, on the March 2 Berkeley ballot, promises to save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars while expanding our democracy and saving voters the inconvenience of a December runoff election. Measure I will give Berkeley the option of enacting Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) at some point in the future if the city council determines it will not cost more money and is feasible. -more-

Editors, Daily Planet: -more-

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this month, Berkeley’s Etude Club is renewing its dedication to music performance and appreciation and to the encouragement of young musicians. -more-

Berkeley’s Flatland, the gently sloping East Bay Shelf between, say, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and the water-edge, has never been famous for distinguished architecture. Most of it, apart from a handful of surviving Victorians in Oceanview—the original water-based settlement—is an uneventful mix of modest bungalows ranging from “Sub Craftsman” to “Plebian Ranch,” and made bearable here and there by surviving old trees and the city’s generous street-tree program. Friends or relatives from distant places might be driven slowly around the UC Campus or along Grizzly Peak for the views, but only a dedicated urban geographer would wish to be exposed to San Pablo Avenue or any stretch of the bland streets on either side. -more-