Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates recently threatened to explore alternative options to touchscreen voting machines if security problems aren’t worked out and the machines cannot ensure a secure and accurate vote. But City Clerk Sherry Kelly says that any switch would be an expensive project that might need approval from Berkeley voters before it could be implemented. -more-

Berkeley High students—already bombarded with a potpourri of culinary choices—were greeted Monday with the most conveniently located entry into the no-holds barred competition for student lunch money: a new school cafeteria. -more-

As the Berkeley Planning Commission’s UC Hotel Task Force heads into its next-to-last session this afternoon (Tuesday, April 13), the 25 panelists are examining a sizable stack of suggestions. -more-

It’s Sacramento’s never ending tug-of-war. The Legislature tries to extend its control over local governments, while the affected localities scratch and claw to stop them. -more-

TUESDAY, APRIL 13 -more-

When Iran’s influential former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani recently hailed the Shi’ite Muslim militia of wanted Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as “heroic,” he might have been signaling that Iran is finally coming out from behind the scenes in the confrontation between the U.S. and al-Sadr that has left dozens dead. -more-

Suspected crack dealers busted -more-

I’ve never been active in politics. Growing up on the East coast in the ‘50s and ‘60s, my parents expected my brothers and me to agree with them on political issues. Anything less resulted in enormous shouting matches, hurt feelings, and veiled threats. Even today, now that my brothers and I are practically senior citizens ourselves, we don’t discuss political views with my elderly parents. If you aren’t Republican and in support of George Bush, if you neglect to attend church, or if you don’t believe prison is full of people who need to be kept out of sight and out of mind, then it’s best to keep your opinions to yourself. We drink cocktails and talk about sports and the weather. It’s better for everyone’s nerves and high blood pressure. -more-

Thanks to the Reed family and the Daily Planet for the willingness to publicly address bullying in our schools. I too have navigated the institutional and family requirements to educate, keep healthy and resilient a student harmed by bullying and violence. For those students who have the unfortunate experience of persistent and pervasive harassment and abuse their childhood is quite different than others. Many students will encounter taunting and harassment in school, and may become wiser and stronger from the experience, but for many others the reality is disturbing and the problem and solutions are not completely in their control. Aggression in our schools is a constant; dismissing or pretending otherwise interferes with taking the right actions. Blaming the victim is a device of the ignorant. -more-

What’s Berkeley like at rush hour? Traffic on Shattuck Avenue. Traffic on Ashby Avenue. Traffic on University Avenue. Berkeley’s major streets are at capacity, and are already clogged with traffic. This also affects commuters who take the bus, who are stuck in the same traffic. -more-

A product of sheer hard work, self-discipline, and enthusiasm, the En Pointe Youth Dance Company’s spring show “Young Syncopations” brings together six pieces, each with a unique style of choreography. -more-

Citizens: Please report to the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) by April 25. That’s the last date to catch “Ant Farm 1968-1978” before it leaves on a five-city tour. For your own protection, don’t miss this retrospective of architecture, urban-planning, and media pranks. It’s thought-provoking, transparent, and great fun. -more-

TUESDAY, APRIL 13 -more-

Red horsechestnuts are blooming now. It’s an interesting phenomenon: the rosy-red flowers are in great big stacks, but somehow easy to miss as you drive by. You walk by, or sit at a stoplight, and suddenly they’re astonishing. In a big mature tree like the handsome one at the southeast corner of Sacramento and Hopkins, the foliage is deep and thick enough to make the flowers less prominent to the fast-passing eye; in younger trees like those near the Berkeley Bowl, they’re like big candles on the twigs. -more-