The Police Review Commission could sign off Wednesday on a controversial plan to welcome two German shepherds to the Berkeley Police Department—the first crime fighting dogs in the city since the 1930s. -more-

With signs in their hands, buttons on their bags and plenty of sunscreen smeared all over their exposed areas, Berkeley residents turned out en masse Saturday in San Francisco for a protest march marking the one-year anniversary of the United States invasion of Iraq. The protest was also organized to voice continued opposition to the U.S. occupation of that country. -more-

Four months after a tax revolt stopped plans to ask property owners to dig a little deeper, the City Council will have to decide yet again just how much it wants to test taxpayer largess. -more-

Brian Maxwell, founder of the Berkeley-based PowerBar corporate empire and a major benefactor of UC Berkeley, died Friday of a heart attack after collapsing on the steps of the San Anselmo post office. Maxwell was 51. He is survived by his spouse and six children. -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 23 -more-

Three times in the last two weeks, hours-long power outages blacked out large sections of downtown Berkeley, angering merchants and raising concerns among city officials. Almost a thousand downtown electricity customers lost power twice in separate incidents over the course of two days. -more-

Confusion over a special education fund has plunged Berkeley schools back into debt and left district officials and the administrator of the fund trading accusations of blame. -more-

With the battle over teaching evolution in America’s schools erupting yet again, two Berkeley activists stand at the vanguard of the opposing sides on the legal, legislative, and mass media battlefields of the nation. -more-

Now that my husband Ralph is home from a 51-day stay in Kaiser’s ICU, there are some things I need to catch up on. I took our car to the mechanic for a tune-up, and our dog to the veterinary clinic for the same. -more-

Girl Scout Justice -more-

FOR KERRY -more-

GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION -more-

It’s spring again, time for math placement tests at Berkeley High. The math department requires that any Berkeley student who did not attend a Berkeley public school in eighth grade take a placement test which measures their knowledge of Algebra I as taught in the Berkeley Middle Schools in order to earn a place in Honors Geometry. Students coming from a Berkeley Middle School are allowed to enter Honors Geometry if they achieved an A or B in Honors Algebra I and have the recommendation of their teacher. -more-

I receive messages from below, rather than from above. The sidewalk speaks to me in shades of olive green. Sound like a Berkeley story? Berkeley and beyond … -more-

Is sewing the next big thing? -more-

TUESDAY, MARCH 23 -more-

For a few weeks in spring, the downtown part of Shattuck Avenue gets a tropical feel as the pittosporum trees bloom. The heavy, sleepy orangeblossom scent descends from the high-pruned trees and evokes Waikiki or some unlikely urban citrus grove, and lays a sexy benediction on Berkeley’s nightlife. -more-