The leader of a notorious Berkeley real estate dynasty, who in 2001 pled guilty for his role in a family operation to smuggle young Indian girls into the country for sex and cheap labor, has asked a United States District Court judge to rescind his guilty plea just as a civil case against the family is about to commence. -more-

While Berkeley office vacancy rates have been increasing over the past two years, they still remain half those of San Francisco, where real estate vendors estimate year-end office vacancy rates at more than 20 percent. -more-

The Shattuck Hotel is no longer for sale, its owner said Monday, after the prospective buyer, Aki Ito, pulled out of the deal that would have turned the 94-year-old Berkeley landmark into short-term student housing. -more-

A Berkeley-based concert promoter has struck a blow against corporate music behemoth Clear Channel Entertainment, winning the exclusive rights to promote concerts at the Greek Theater. -more-

A controversial activist group met in a South Berkeley church Saturday afternoon to urge parents to enlist in the fight against a lawsuit filed by an Berkeley affirmative action foe backed by a equally controversial conservative legal foundation. -more-

As touchscreen voting machines continue to draw heat from critics pointing to allegations of security vulnerabilities, one group of computer science experts proposes to have the solution. -more-

When the lights went out in downtown Berkeley two weeks ago, renowned French actor/producer/author Anne Delbee had just launched into her one-women show reenacting the greatest performances of legendary 19th Century actress Sarah Bernhardt. Delbee’s director walked on stage and asked if she wanted to quit. -more-

Phil McArdle is a Berkeley resident and author. On vacation in Spain, he arrived one day after the horrific terrorist bombing on the Madrid commuter train. Below is his first-hand account of events in Spain in the immediate aftermath of that bombing, including the election that toppled the Spanish government. -more-

There is an old saying that “to speak the name of our ancestors is to keep them alive.” Today I speak the name of labor leader and environmentalist, César Estrada Chávez. He was a man who died prematurely at 66, a life worn out by dedicated service, personal sacrifice, constant threats to his and his family’s life; and the formidable efforts of agribusiness, Teamsters, and government agents to derail everything he tried to accomplish. -more-

“I have to go to the powder room,” my ancient Grandmother announced, a note of desperation in her voice, her caterac-ted eyes staring at me in cloudy confusion. -more-

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“If I couldn’t go to Vista College I would just have to focus on working, getting by. I couldn’t get a better job. What would the future be?” -more-

Alameda County Registrar of Voters Brad Clark deserves thanks for making a formal contract complaint against Diebold Election Systems, the vendor for the county’s touchscreen and vote tallying technology. According to the Oakland Tribune, the precipitating event for Registrar Clark’s action appears to have been the failure of 200 uncertified and poorly tested voter card encoders during the March 2 election. -more-

PLACEMENT TESTS -more-

The San Francisco Bay Area and the West Coast were dramatically transformed during the Great Depression. Great new bridges spanned the bay. The New Deal brought funding for other immense public works—dams, highways, aqueducts, and electrification—throughout California, the Pacific Northwest and the desert Southwest. -more-

Thirty-five years ago, to an artist captivated by old boats and maritime dereliction, the Oakland Estuary—described on the AAA map as the Inner Harbor—was a paradise of waterscapes. Employed by the city’s Planning Department, I was left gloriously alone for months to pursue a photo-survey of the whole terrain. The old semi-derelict water-edge was far and away my preferred haunt. -more-

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Three recent books with local connections explore a variety of approaches to the topic of what it means to do public service. -more-

Listening to biologists could easily lead you to believe that all field work has to cope with impassible roads, extreme weather, tropical diseases, leeches, guerilla movements, or some combination of the above. I remember the late herpetologist, Joe Slowinski, describing how everyone in his party contracted malaria in Burma, then going on about what a great place it was in which to work. (On his next trip back, Slowinski was fatally bitten by one of his research subjects.) -more-