By Matthew Artz -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 -more-

The deposed President of the Caribbean island nation of Haiti has charged that he was forced out of office by a United States-orchestrated coup d’etat, and that view has been affirmed by Bay Area Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). On Sunday of this week, under pressure from a rebel army which Lee characterized as “thugs,” Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Haiti under U.S. military escort. From temporary asylum in the Central African Republic, Aristide told CNN that “I was told that to avoid bloodshed, I’d better leave.” Aristide repeated that charge in telephone conversations Congressmembers Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel (both members of the Congressional Black Caucus) as well as with Randall Robinson, a respected African-American expert on African affairs. -more-

Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, which owns many of the greatest recordings from the Golden Age of jazz, is for sale, according to a report in Billboard magazine. -more-

A headline in last Friday’s Commentary section incorrectly stated -more-

Neighbors of the defunct Franklin Elementary School have reached a tentative settlement with the Berkeley Unified School District, clearing the way for BUSD’s plan to shift its Adult School to the Franklin campus this fall. -more-

The Zoning Adjustment Board gave the green light Thursday to Library Gardens—the largest development ever planned for the city center. But a ruling on the equally controversial Blood House development was postponed for two weeks while city staff analyze an independent proposal to spare a Berkeley landmark. -more-

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR -more-

“I’ve enrolled Jernae in gymnastic class,” I said to my friend David. “I think she has potential.” -more-

Attack at King Middle School -more-

Climb down the stairs inside La Val’s Subterranean Restaurant on Euclid Avenue (half a block away from the university’s North Gate) and you might think you’ve abruptly space-traveled into one of New York’s Off-Off Broadway theaters. It’s the kind of place where you wouldn’t be overly surprised to see a version of “Hamlet” in which Laertes is played by a golden retriever. (I swear I saw that performed in New York in what could have passed for the Subterranean’s twin sister.) -more-

The UC Berkeley committee overseeing changes to the student code of conduct voted Thursday night to accept revisions that would prevent students from using lawyers to represent them in on-campus cases—unless it was deemed necessary by the University. -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 -more-

For two weeks running the Daily Planet has run sensational and inflammatory headlines about the Berkeley Public Schools while, in my mind, burying the real stories. Is it the Daily Planet’s intention to turn our community against the Berkeley public schools or is it to try and constructively report the conditions under which public education must exist in this time of declining revenues and state and federal support? On Feb. 20 you ran a story about the schools, “BUSD Kills Program For Teen Mothers.” Then on Feb. 27 your story reads “ BUSD Losing Big Bucks On Food Service Program.” Both stories highlight and focus on one aspect of what happened and fails miserably to give the public the main thrust of the events being reported. -more-

Six cowhide trivets. Five napkin rings. Four serving trays, three yearbooks, two end tables…and a photograph of Yosemite. -more-

By freeway from Berkeley, take I-880 south past Downtown Oakland and exit at the Fruitvale/29th Avenue ramp. As you reach the bottom of the exit make a hard right onto Derby. The WES warehouse is two blocks ahead (and a block long) at the edge of the water. Parking is very limited. Quite possibly you’ll need to walk blocks. Make sure you park legally, and don’t block driveways or other cars. -more-

• Dedicated shoppers arrive early to get close-in parking and good places in the line, which can swell to hundreds before the doors open. You can come later and avoid the long line, although the selection will be smaller. Just be sure to give yourself a few hours inside because the place is big. -more-

El Cerrito resident Charles Amirkhanian is a composer with an impressive resume. He’s been at it a long time, and has broken new ground along the way. He’s also one of those rare artists who acts as more than a champion of his own work. His considerable skills as a communicator and organizer have been harnessed to advance a great deal of daring music by others. As director of the Speaking of Music series at the Exploratorium in San Francisco from 1983 to 1992, then as music director of KPFA from ‘69 to ‘92, he’s been in the trenches for a long time, fighting the good fight. In other words, he’s in favor of music that doesn’t sound like everything else. And that’s what the Other Minds Festival is all about. -more-

The Scottish seaside town of Stonehaven, birthplace of the deep-fried Mars bar, now has a second claim to fame. Mike Newman, an Aberdeen bus driver and amateur palaeontologist, recently discovered the fossil remains of the oldest known land animal there. The half-inch-long creature has been named Pneumodesmas newmani in his honor. Although some might not consider it an honor: P. newmani is, after all, a millipede. -more-

POLICE DOGS -more-

A proposal has emerged that will certainly engage the attention of thoughtful Berkeley residents. Should Jefferson School be renamed because Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder? -more-

A champion of Berkeley rent control was ordered last week to pay his former tenants more than $100,000 in restitution by the very rent board he campaigned to create. -more-

FRIDAY, FEB. 27 -more-

PROPER CREDIT -more-

The Peralta Community College District and the City of Berkeley have reached a settlement on parking mitigations owed to the city by Peralta, giving the district the green light to start construction on its new downtown Vista College campus. -more-

As someone who has lived in Berkeley for 29 years, I am annoyed by the continuing manipulation of our local electoral system. Berkeley ballot measures in recent years have changed the election date, replaced at-large city council elections with district elections, changed the vote total needed to win from 50 percent to 45 percent, and changed council terms from four years to two years and back to four years again. But of all these changes, the Instant Runoff Voting proposal—Measure I on the ballot, is the most sinister and anti-democratic. -more-

Despite misgivings by several commissioners, Berkeley’s Civic Arts Commission voted 6-3 Wednesday night to endorse a major Seagate Properties project for downtown Berkeley. If it eventually passes full city approval, the 149-apartment, mixed-use complex would replace four Center Street buildings between the City Center Garage and the Wells Fargo Annex. -more-

RAISE TAXES -more-

In what has become a school ritual almost as common as an afternoon assembly, students at Berkeley’s Malcolm X Elementary headed for dry ground upstairs after Wednesday’s torrential downpour flooded their classrooms for the second time in two months. -more-

At a Wednesday night Berkeley School Board meeting this week, with Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters sitting beside board members, district brass pledged to tackle one of their most foul problems—bad food. -more-

Proposition 55 -more-

Those observers who believe in the old Thomas Jefferson adage that “the government is best which governs least” would have been tickled to death with Berkeley City Council last Tuesday night. The council managed to adjourn before 8 p.m., with the bulk of the hour-long meeting taken up by public comment. And if Councilmember Miriam Hawley had not stopped to ask a couple of questions about an off-street parking ordinance, the council would have gotten by without discussing a single item. -more-

Friends of Fred Lupke—the Berkeley disabled activist killed in a traffic accident last year—will gather at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at the third floor Community Room of the Berkeley Library’s Main Branch, 2090 Kittredge St. to celebrate his life and work. -more-

Police Review Commission Holds Off On Police Dog Vote -more-

I have often said that in the 16 years since I’ve been back in my home town—almost all of them living in Oakland’s District 7—I have never actually seen my councilmember inside the boundaries of my district. That takes in three separate councilmembers: L eo Bazile, Dezzie Woods-Jones, and now Larry Reid. For the record, I am not claiming that none of my councilmembers have never set foot in the district. Just not in the places where I frequent, during the times that I frequent them. And I am also not clai ming that they are purposely avoiding me. It just so happens that I ain’t happened up on them, is all. -more-

Three measures touted as electoral reforms will greet Berkeley voters when they confront their electronic voting machine touchscreens next Tuesday: two propositions designed to transform the way they vote and a third that would change the way candidates make it on the ballot. -more-

Wondering what to do with all those unwanted holiday presents? Tired of negotiating the clustered clutter that’s filling up your garage? Wondering what to do with your old camera now that you’ve gone digital? -more-

Jesus Diaz pats a callused palm on the smooth, stretched head of a drum. The sound of it, a single beat, reverberates across the mostly-empty La Peña rehearsal space. It is answered, almost immediately, with booming percussion from the flock of accompanying drummers. -more-

FRIDAY, FEB. 27 -more-

Rosario Marín is betting that the California Republican Party is ready to nominate a pro-choice, anti-illegal immigration and anti-tax hike Mexican immigrant to go against Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer in November. After all, Californians just elected a pro-choice immigrant Republican governor. -more-

Armed with a camera and a curious eye, Daily Planet reporter Richard Brenneman strolled along four blocks of a Berkeley street recently week in search of interesting visual discoveries that might escape the ordinary hurried pedestrian. The photographs on this page represent the first selection of his findings, and more will follow in future editions. Guess as many as you can. Free Berkeley Daily Planet T-shirts await the first five readers to correctly identify the street addresses where each photograph was taken. Send your responses to the Daily Planet Photo Contest, Berkeley Daily Planet, 3023A Shattuck Ave., Berkeley 94705, or e-mail to news@berkeleydailyplanet.com. Deadline is 5 p.m., March 12. -more-

Alice Strang spoke last Sunday at the Berkeley community memorial for her late brother, Fred Lupke. It was held at the Berkeley Public Library, one of the many good causes he supported. Lupke, also a dedicated volunteer for the Berkeley Daily Planet, was killed last September when a car struck his wheelchair as he traveled in the street on Ashby between Harper and Ellis. Disabled activists charged at the time that he had been forced into the street because the sidewalk on that block was sloping and badly cracked. The city of Berkeley has recently completed repairs to the sidewalk. -more-

How to vote in the primary on Tuesday? Here’s a simple algorithm: If Kerry is way ahead, vote for Kucinich, because In Your Heart You Know He’s Right. (If you’re under 50, that was Barry Goldwater’s old slogan, and it worked for him. Well, not exactly. If you’re under 30, it’s too hard to explain who Goldwater was.) -more-