The state of the City of Berkeley this year has been reflected in Mayor Tom Bates’ multiple State of the City addresses. The general public must pay for what they used to expect as free public services, or else wait around and pick up the leavings at a later time. -more-

In one of its last acts as manager of the recently-sold Claremont Hotel and Resort, former Claremont owner KSL Resorts has fired two workers whose charges of unfair labor practices against the resort were upheld by the National Labor Relations Board. -more-

Despite the city’s bohemian reputation, artists don’t have an easy time in Berkeley—especially when it comes to finding spaces to create, perform and display their works—and many fear the city may be losing its one sure creative haven. -more-

After 12 years of playing the theatrical equivalent of musical chairs, Managing Director Patrick Dooley and his acclaimed Shotgun Players solved their performance space needs the old-fashioned way—the purchase of the Transparent Theater by a generous patron, who turned around and leased it to the theater company. -more-

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 -more-

Berkeley police seek serial groper -more-

Berkeley residents better stock up on milk because, as part of the world’s largest bake sale event, the city will be over-run this weekend with cookies and brownies. And no, it’s not a Guinness Book of Records attempt, but rather another innovative campaign action by MoveOn.org to support the presidential candidacy of Democratic hopeful John Kerry. -more-

Friday, April 16 -more-

A draft UC Berkeley Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) projecting 18 percent growth in academic building space, 30 percent growth in student housing, and 18 percent growth in parking was released by the university this week. The documents, when implemented in final form, are expected to direct future development on the campus and in surrounding Berkeley neighborhoods for the next fifteen years. -more-

Nic Rotolo, the Berkeley High Junior who collapsed and died on a San Jose ice rink during a hockey game last February, died from an irregular heartbeat, according to an amended death certificate released by the Santa Clara County Coroners Office Tuesday. Rotolo’s heart problem was most likely caused by a past viral infection, myocarditis, said Diana Hunter, a spokeswoman for the coroners office. -more-

The Board of Education unanimously approved a new contract for its classified employees Wednesday, ending a three-year battle over wages and health benefits. -more-

If this Sunday is a typical one in Berkeley, most residents will still be asleep around dawn. It will be quiet enough to hear the bells of the Campanile ringing across town. Berkeleyans will begin to rise and start their weekend routines—breakfast or brunch, church perhaps, or yoga, a morning walk or jog, a ruffle through the daily newspaper, an early start to garden work or studying or an excursion out of town, or perhaps just a morning spent relaxing in bed. -more-

• The marquee earthquake-related event takes place Wednesday, April 21 on the UC campus. The Seismological Laboratory sponsors the annual Lawson Lecture, featuring a distinguished speaker on issues of earthquakes and society. -more-

Ray Bradbury once wrote a story about a man who entered a home, hung around a while, visiting, and then killed the fellow who lived there. On his way out, the man took out a rag and wiped the places where he thought his fingers might have touched. Each time he was ready to leave, he thought of a new place to wipe where he might have left traces of his identity. And then, it occurred to him that he might not have sufficiently wiped each place, and so he went back to rewipe. The police caught him there some hours later, the house spotless and sparkling, the murderer still mindlessly polishing. He had even polished the wax apples at the bottom of the bowl on the kitchen table. -more-

The Planning Commission took a baby step Wednesday towards capping the size of future developments on University Avenue. -more-

SOUTHSIDE ASSAULTS -more-

As Democratic activists and friends of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, we read with dismay a statement imputed to her calling for more troops to bring stability to Iraq. We strongly disagree. The U.S. is sinking into a quagmire in Iraq. We cannot get out of this quagmire by going deeper into it. That reasoning led to our debacle in Vietnam. As in Vietnam, a U.S. administration has underestimated the power of nationalism. In a country where a people feel their sovereignty is being violated, greater intervention by a foreign occupier only deepens hostility and national resistance. -more-

In front of the proposed hotel, museum and conference center in the heart of Downtown Berkeley, Center Street—from Oxford to Shattuck—could be closed to motor vehicle traffic and redesigned as a pedestrian street. Imagine an entire block without the noise generated by cars, trucks and buses. A well-designed plaza could be created with benches and other street furniture. Trees could be planted to provide shade and additional landscaping could be added to naturalize the open space. -more-

This Saturday on the UC campus bells will ring, bands will play, dancers will dance, football players will scrimmage and choruses will sing. In building after building, faculty, students, and staff will throw open the doors of laboratories, classrooms, libraries, museums, and lecture halls. It’s Cal Day, the annual campus open house for the community. -more-

Born on New Years Day 1942 in Washington D.C. to a Jewish mother and a Presbyterian minister father and named after Soviet leader Josef Stalin, Berkeley’s Country Joe McDonald went on to star at two of the seminal musical events of the ‘60s—the 1968 Monterey Pop Festival and, a year later, Woodstock. -more-

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 -more-

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article by Shirley Barker is the first of what we hope will be an ongoing series of articles from local gardeners writing about their own gardens. We thought readers would like to see her in her garden. She’s originally from England “with a touch of Irish,” she says. She comes from a long line of gardeners and farmers, and says she learned about gardening at her mother’s knee. -more-

Cucumbers in Cream Sauce. -more-